To Desire a Highlander Read Online Free PDF Page B

escaped, gathering a new crew and ship on my way home. Sadly, my other men are no more.”
    Gillian edged closer. Curiosity compelled her to hear his explanation. That, and the surprising awareness that sprang between them when he caught her gaze again, smiling this time. The smile made his eyes twinkle and the wind riffled his hair, tossing the gleaming black strands. Gillian’s pulse raced, looking at him. He had a disturbing effect on her, something about him taking her breath, drawing her forward even when she didn’t wish to go.
    Rough and bearlike he might be, but he’d turned much too handsome.
    And she was much too aware of the change.
    “I didnae expect a welcoming party.” He addressed Mungo, but kept his attention on her. A frank gaze that swept from the top of her head to her toes and back up again. “I’d forgotten how swiftly word spreads in these isles. It is good of you to greet me.”
    “Aye, well…” Mungo hooked his thumbs in his sword belt, oblivious to the tension crackling in the chill air. How Donell’s smile widened, his gaze not on Mungo, but steady on Gillian.
    She could scarce breathe. Try as she might, she was unable to look away from his dark eyes. Had they always been such a rich molten brown, so blatantly male, and disturbingly sensual? His smile made them crinkle, a small detail that only heightened the good looks he’d gained in his absence. Gillian wished he’d scowl; anything to banish the dimple just above his beard. She also tried not tonotice how his nearness almost made her dizzy. For sure, she didn’t like the shivers that his bold perusal sent rippling all through her.
    “We’ve brought supplies, readied your hall.” Mungo rocked back on his heels, blethering on. “Seeing as you’ve been gone all these years. It was the least we could do, almost family as we are—”
    “Indeed.” Donell nodded, but said no more. He rubbed the back of his neck, some of the warmth going out of his eyes, his smile fading.
    He seemed taken aback, not sure what to make of her father’s words.
    Watching him closely, Gillian thought she’d seen confusion flicker across his face, but the look was so fleeting, she couldn’t be sure.
    He’d turned away, glancing to where his men were still scrambling off the longship. A few were already unloading spears, swords, and armor, while some shouldered great rolls of fleeces and large sailcloth satchels that surely held clothes and bedding. Several of her brothers had climbed aboard and were helping to heft crates and barrels onto the shore. From the smell drifting on the wind, the cargo was salted herring and dried meat.
    “I’ve brought a shipload of provisions.” Donell turned back to her father, slinging an arm around the older man’s shoulders. “But my men and I thank you for your generosity. For truth, your Castle Sway kitchens produce more appealing fare than our meager goods.
    “You’ll join us for a homecoming feast this night?” He again looked at Gillian, but then his gaze flicked to the large square keep so high above the rocky shore. Swirling mist almost hid it from view, but the tower’s ruinous statewas apparent. Salt and sea wind had bleached the window shutters still in place, turning them as gray as the crumbling stone. A few gaps in the walls warned nights within would prove as cold as on the rocky shore.
    Donell gave her father a self-deprecating smile. “Then again, as things stand…” He flashed another glance at Gillian. “I cannae promise my hall is fit for a lady—”
    “Pah!” Mungo waved away his objection. “My gel is no ordinary lass. As your betrothed, she’ll put the place to rights before you can blink. Gillian has a way with housekeeping, she—”
    “That I ken.” Donell didn’t miss a beat, heading over to her, coming fast.
    The glint in his eye, the hard set of his jaw, made her forget every word he and her father had just exchanged. Indeed, even her reason for standing here almost