Highlander's Beautiful Liar A Scottish Medieval Highlander Romance Historical Novel - Adamina Young Page 0,47
he would have traveled here already.” Stopping at a clearing of the bluffs, he looked over at the beautiful view in front of them. “How about here?”
“This is lovely.” Before he could get to her, she hopped down nimbly from her stallion and landed gracefully.
“Ye are supposed to let yer husband do that,” he grumbled as he followed suit and opened the packs.
“Honestly, Alec, there is no one here but us. There is no need to continue the pretense.” Grabbing the blanket from him, she spread it out.
A knot formed in his stomach. “What do ye mean by that?”
“I have decided that I am comfortable with what we have,” she said simply as she sat down and smiled at him. “You will never come to love me, but we are compatible. You do not seem angry with me that we are marred, and I appreciate that. Things could be far more difficult. I think this is an excellent opportunity for us to discuss how we progress.”
“Progress?” he asked hollowly.
“Set certain ground rules in regards to other people.”
What the devil was she talking about?
“I am not a fool. I know how men are, even in marriage, so I believe it will be better if we are honest with each other. Women have been looking at you. I have noticed, and I do not want you to come to hate me for tying you down when you might want to be with another.”
Rage swept over him, but he tempered it as he opened a cloth of cheese and biscuits and placed it in front of them. “Yer father strayed in his marriage and it resulted in ye.”
Cora nodded impassively. “Yes.”
“And ye have seen firsthand from yer mother that yer father is not the only one.”
“Alec, you do not need to justify my conclusions. I am simply attempting to open up an honest dialogue here.”
An honest dialogue. When she was the one who lied about her name and her family. When she still seemed to keep secrets.
“Is there someone here who has caught yer attention?”
“What?”
“Ye seem to be giving me permission to break the vows that I made to ye, so I cannae help but wonder if ye are simply trying to excuse yer own actions.”
Her eyes chilled just a little as she straightened. “You are not about to imply that I have my eyes on Innes Campbell again, are you?”
“Ye brought his name up.”
Her pain was written all over her face as she stood. “This was a mistake. I should go.”
“Cora.”
Ignoring him, she walked to the horses. “Do not worry. I won’t return to the keep right away. I will take my time so everyone believes we enjoyed ourselves.”
“Ye are not leaving.” Jumping to his feet, he reached out and took her hand. “Ye were the one who started this conversation.”
“Because I cannot figure you out! I have no idea what you want from me! You look at me and you touch me at night as if you adore me, but in the morning, you are never there. During the day, you avoid me, and when we are together at dinner, everything is an act. I fear the day that you look at me with resentment and hatred.”
“And ye are willing to share me to avoid that?” he hissed. “I wilnae share ye, Cora. I wilnae have ye looking at other men or wishing ye are with them when I am in yer bed. Do ye understand me?”
Her eyes filled with tears. “You thought I was with Innes before our marriage bed.”
“And I was wrong. Ye were innocent. I should never have said that.” His grip tightened just a little. “Doona cry, Cora.”
“I don’t want to share you either.”
“I have noticed no women looking at me. I had no plans to marry, and I doona regret that I didnae marry for love. When I am with ye”—he swallowed hard—“there is no one else, Cora. No other woman.”
She opened her mouth, but he heard the familiar twang of string vibrating. He pulled her to the ground and covered her just as the arrow grazed his arm. He didn’t even register the pain as another arrow embedded into the tree trunk next to them.
“Stay down,” he growled as he pulled her up against him and dragged her behind the tree. “You stay here, and you do not get up until I return.”
Her eyes rounded. “Alec, you are bleeding.”
“Stay here!”
Keeping low, he darted behind the next tree and glanced around. Someone had just tried to