THE GIFT: A Highland Novella Read Online Free PDF Page B

took hold of her again. Long after he set her on the beast, she felt the imprint of his hands burned onto her skin.
    Weakness for a man was the most common ailment that led women to seek her cures. Lily had believed herself immune. She was stunned to find that she was falling prey to the malady, especially for a wild Highlander she ’ d known less than a day.
    The conclusion was inescapable. He had bewitched her.
    She did not know how he ’ d done it — and she doubted he even meant to — but there was only one sure cure. As soon as she could safely do so, she must part from her blue-eyed Highlander with no hope of ever seeing him again.
    Sadness descended upon her like a weight. Good heavens, she had the illness worse than she thought.

CHAPTER 4
     
    Usually a good fight, like a good swiving, left Roderick relaxed, but he felt on edge. The lad ’ s clothes Lily wore did nothing to disguise the tantalizing feel of her shapely arse between his thighs. When he was not imagining her naked, he was wondering what she was thinking. She had not said a word for miles. He ’ d never known a lass who could keep silent for so long. It was unnatural.
    “ You can leave me at the first town we reach, ” she said.
    Learning that she ’ d spent the morning planning her departure worsened his already foul mood.
    “ How much longer before we come to one? ” she said, sounding damned anxious.
    “ If all goes well, we ’ ll reach Ayr tomorrow. ”
    “ Tomorrow? Are there no towns before this Ayr? ” she asked. “ I don ’ t wish to be a burden on you any longer than I must. ”
    “ You ’ re not a burden, damn it, ” he said, “ and there are no other towns. ”
    He was not about to abandon her in Ayr. Whether his grandmother was right or no about this lass, Lily would be better off wintering in the isles with the MacDonalds, where he could ensure her safety.
    “ Your husband must be worried about ye, ” he said. “ Have ye left him for good, or do ye plan to return to him once ye feel you ’ ve tortured him enough? ”
    The question of whether she was married had been burning in his mind. He told himself he had a duty to find out. If Lily was the seer he was supposed to bring home to serve his clan, he must know what obstacles lay in his path.
    “ I have no husband, ” she said.
    Was she lying? “ At two and twenty, ye ought to have one. ”
    “ Ought I, now? ” she said with a laugh in her voice.
    “ Aye. ” He stifled a groan when the motion of the horse caused her backside to rock against his crotch.
    “ I can put food on my table myself, ” she said. “ What would I want with a husband? ”
    “ To keep ye warm at night. ” As soon as he said it, the vivid memory of waking with her pressed against him came into his head. He imagined what that might have led to if they had not been surrounded by damned Douglases …
    “ I don ’ t need to be wed to have a man for that , ” she said.
    Roderick did not like her answer — no matter that he had been picturing her naked beneath him without the benefit of pledges.
    “ Ye need a man to protect ye, ” he said, though he did not know why he was arguing with her. “ A husband will put your life before his. ”
    “ Ha, not the men I know, ” she said. “ Besides, I can take care of myself. ”
    “ I saw how ye take care of yourself, ” he said. “ I suppose ye were just taking a wee nap on the hillside when I found ye? ”
    When she shivered against his chest, he regretted reminding her of the state in which he had found her. He suppressed a ridiculous urge to wrap his arms tightly around her and kiss her neck.
    “ What was your plan once ye found that healer on the border? ” he asked, though they both knew she would never have made it that far.
    “ I imagined her as a kindly old woman who would teach me her ways of healing and invite me to stay for as long as I liked. ” She gave a light laugh. “ I must have gone a bit mad from hunger, for I had