“They left us a present,” Brodrick said, storming into the hall. Kane looked up from his chalice.

“What kind o’ present?”

“Daniel Duncan’s boy was found dead in town. Daniel is down there now, tending to the body.”

Kane closed his eyes. “Are ye’ sure it was them?”

“Aye. No doubt. They left a piece of their plaid behind, a clear message. They are gearing for battle faster than yer preparing for it, my laird. This is the second sign in the last fortnight. Surely ye’ aren’t thinking about letting this go. Daniel is demanding blood.”

“They’re trying to get my men riled,” he murmured, swiping a hand over his face. He pushed the chalice away from him, glaring into the fire.

“It’s working. Ye’ canna sit back and let this go on as if ye’ donna notice it.”

“I donna plan on it,” he growled, glaring at Brodrick. The man stared at him, his jaw ticking. He understood his friend’s concerns and wanted to act on them, but it was not the time. The MacLeods expected him to retaliate immediately. They were impatient, unskilled, and unknowing in the world of battle.

Nay, his clan would wait. They would wait until it would hurt the MacLeods the most to attack—after the next storm. They were downhill, and the creek rose to raging heights when Mother Nature tempered with it. When the next storm came, their lands would be flooded, their village at a loss of supplies, and their men tired from fixing the damages.

Once they were weak, Kane would attack with a fury so strong and swift, it would be over as soon as the fight had begun. By the end of the next storm, the MacLeods would no longer be a threat.

Brodrick stared down at him, then stiffly squared his shoulders. Kane would tell him everything when he had his final meeting with the McGregors.

“Donna worry,” Kane said, waving a hand. “I have it taken care of.” Brodrick didn’t speak, but sat down. Kane grinned.

“Ye’ give me that look like ye’ ken I’d get over it.”

“I did,” he said, chuckling. “Yer not the most stubborn of men.”

“Tell that to Saeran Sinclair. As far as he’s concerned, I’m as hard-headed as Ol’ Garry’s mule.” Brodrick gave him a weary smile.

He raised a brow. “What makes ye’ say that?”

“Och, but the lad is a wee wimp. I’m the devil! I see the looks he gives me when I send Cameron after him in the ring. I think he’s the only one here who hates me more than everyone hates Blaine.”

“Do ye’ want me to have a talk with him?” he asked, purposely ignoring the mention of his to-be betrothed. Thinking about her gave him a sour taste in his mouth. “Ye’ know he’s to be taken off his normal duties. Connor pointed out to me that he’s cost me more in damages than he can repay in battle.”

Brodrick burst into laughter. “Oh, but he has! Almost took my head off once, too! The lad is a menace with a sword, but no’ the kind we are looking for. I should have brought it to yer attention beforehand, but ye’ve been too busy. I’d rather have him contained to an area where people will keep an eye on him than let him loose amongst the lands.”

“Is he that bad?”

“Aye, he’s that bad.”

“Poor lad. And he wanted to be my squire, too.” He started to laugh. Conversation with Brodrick had always gotten him out of the dark moods, though it had been harder of late. At least this Saeran provided something other than battle to talk about.

“Actually, it was his sister that wanted him to be a squire. The lad was quite resistant at first. But I figured he’d rather play with the men than follow after his sister, ye’ ken? The woman is a terror, though ye’ haven’t taken much time to figure that out, from what I’ve seen.”

Kane grunted.

“If the lady is as much of a dragon as I’ve heard she is, I donna want anything to do with her.”

“But what about the dowry? Helen and Alex?”

“Let me correct myself. I donna want anything to do with her yet. Have ye’ heard her yell at Saeran? ‘Tis the most unpleasant thing. If she can yell at her brother, how far do ye’ think she’ll go in offending me? I heard she called ye’ a barbarian to yer face. I donna need a wife offending every damn person she meets.”

“Aye,” Brodrick said, nodding with understanding. “Some o’ the Highlanders out here will think nothing of it to silence her.”

“Out of obligation to my wife,” he said, shuddering at the word, “I’d have to wage war with yet another clan. I donna want to be stuck with a dragon for my first wife, ye’ ken?”

Brodrick shrugged. “Falling off a cliff the night of the wedding never raised suspicious, my laird. Hell, ye’ve done such a good job of being a beastly man that she may end her life before ye’ have to do anything about it.”

Kane chuckled. “Aye, well, the king promised me her dowry once we both agreed to the betrothal. He never said anything about going through with the marriage if she backs out from how ungodly a barbarian I am,” he said mockingly.

“I donna think the king will let go of such a prize that easily. He’d have something to say to ye’ if she went back to him in tears. Though as The Lion, I bet yer actions are expected from the women.”

“That’s what Saeran is here for,” Kane said, shrugging. He ignored his friend’s comment. He’d been acting like a beast without any help of Blaine’s. “If she has to complain about something, it’s normally to him.”

“Kane, that’s downright evil.” Still, Brodrick continued to laugh.

“I haven’t noticed,” he lied, taking back his chalice from Brodrick. He tilted it to his mouth, then realized it was empty. “First ye’ mock me. Now ye’ drink all my ale? What kind of clansmen are ye’,” he growled, getting to his feet.

Brodrick followed suit. “The most loyal one ye’ can have. After all your lazyin’ around, ye’ need to get up, if only to get yer own ale.”

“I should beat you,” he said over his shoulder, on his way to the kitchen.

“Aye, but ye’ won’t!”

He started to his chamber. He’d had enough for the night, and tomorrow was the last day the McGregors would be there. He didn’t need to show up stumbling around like a lad who’d just had ale for the first time. That would give the McGregor something to laugh about.

The stairs loomed in front of him. His head started to pound. He hadn’t gotten any sleep lately, and his bed was calling to him. As he took the first step, a sound came from the left of him, from the kitchens. He frowned.

It was probably a servant. He took another step, and then the sound came again. He looked to the heavens and sighed. Servants were normally in bed by this time of night. Kane swiped a hand over his face and retracted his steps, storming into the kitchen. It was probably the cook’s children. They were always stealing pastries, and while he didn’t mind it, it was late. They should be in bed with their mother, not ransacking his kitchen like thieves in the night.

He entered the kitchen, prepared to deal with two little children.

Except, the person leaning over the counter with an apple in her mouth was not a child.

Recognition slapped him in the face.

The water nymph.

She was standing in his kitchen, eating his apple, and staring at him...as if she’d seen a ghost.

A panicked, high-pitch sound came from around the apple. Faster than he could blink, she was running across the kitchen, away from him.

“Wait!” he growled, furious that she’d run from him. He chased after her, taking her by the arm when she would have climbed the steps. “Donna go.”

She refused to look at him, trying to pull her arm from his grip. He loosened his hold so that it wouldn’t hurt her, but he refused to let her go. The object of his late-night fascination was standing in front of him—in nothing but a filmy shift.

His mouth went dry. All of the blood in his head rushed to his cock, and the only thing he wanted to do was peel the material away from her smooth flesh and gaze upon it. Her skin would still have that soft tan, her body as perfect for him as if he’d molded it himself. Against his will, he tugged her closer to him. His body demanded a connection to her, demanded that after nights of dreaming about her, he touch her.

She stopped struggling. All she did was stare up at him, eyes wide with terror…and something else. Something like fascination, almost.

“What is yer name, lass?” Lord, he’d been dying to ask that question. A whole month, the only thing he had to think of her by was the brief view he’d seen of her by the creek, and her image had haunted him.

“I—Please, let me go,” she whispered, turning her face from him.

“Just tell me yer name, lass,” he said softly. He turned her face towards his. God, the clarity of her eyes was overwhelming. As blue as the creek he’d found her in, he knew that if he stared long enough, he could easily drown in them.

“My lord, I—”

“A name. A name is all I ask for.” She had to be a servant. Though he’d never seen her, it was the only explanation he could think of as to why she was roaming around his home. He slid his hand from her jaw to her neck, feeling the frantic beat of her heart. The fear in her eyes intensified.

“No. Please. I must go.”

“There is no’ a single thing ye’ could be doing this late at night,” he murmured, making her look at him again. She turned her head away as quickly as she looked at him, as if she was terrified of him seeing her face.

“Sleeping,” she said quickly, yanking herself out of his arms. They felt cold. Empty. He clenched his teeth against the urge to draw her back into them. She was obviously terrified, though he had no clue why. He would never force a woman, and all he wanted was her name.

“Ye’ can spare a moment to tell me yer name, lass. ‘Tis all I’m asking for.”

“I do not have one.” He moved in front of her when she would have ran past him. Kane wasn’t letting her out of his sight until he knew his nymph’s name.

He chuckled. “Of course ye’ do. I’m no’ going to punish ye’ for being in the kitchens, if that’s what yer afraid of. Come, lass. Tell me. Then ye’ can go to bed.”

She shook her head, blonde locks falling in front of her eyes, and once again tried to move past him. He growled. What was so damn bad about him that she couldn’t tell him her name? Especially if she was a servant of his? He knew that most lairds wouldn’t think twice about taking a maid, willing or no’. Mayhap she suspected that giving into him on anything would result to that.

His heart softened. The lass was only frightened for her safety. It only endeared her to him that she wouldn’t use her body to get out of the situation like other servants. Although he had to wonder why she was running around in nothing but a shift.

She tried to slip under his arm. He sighed and grabbed her by the waist, smiling when she made a sound of frightened frustration and hit at him. At least the lass was not so weak that she couldn’t try to escape him.

He tried to ignore how comfortable she felt against him, even though she was struggling like a wild animal to get out of his grip. He brought her to the hall and stood there until he knew she wouldn’t run, then sat in his chair.

He had things he wanted to know, and she was not—

Kane lunged for her when she sprung out of the chair, then plopped her right on his lap.

“Yer not going anywhere until ye’ tell me yer name,” he warned her, making sure to keep his hands on her modest parts.

She gazed at him with wide eyes. God, they were so damn blue. When she wiggled in his lap uncomfortably, he realized he was staring and that she’d just roused exactly what he’d been trying to hide. He lifted her and moved her bottom away from his cock, growling a little.

“Name, lass.”

Her head shook. The locks once again fell in front of her face, and he reached up, pushing them away. Kane didn’t like her face being hidden like that. He wanted to see the face he’d been dreaming about every night.

She grabbed for his wrist when he pulled away. Her hand was trembling, but her grip was firm. The feel of her fingers on him, of their physical connection, burned him like fire. The sensation ran up his arm, to his chest, then down to his gut.

The woman felt it too. She held his eyes, and a fine shiver wracked her delicate body. His teeth ground together.

“I do not have one,” she insisted faintly. His hand felt the leap of her pulse, and he leaned forward.

“Yer lying to me.”

“Aye, well, you’re holding me in a most improper way,” she said, her voice holding more steel. A faint blush came over her cheeks, mixing with the fear that had overcome her features. Her modesty cleared away the panic.

“Aye, well, yer trying to run from me. I just want a name.” He tightened his hand around her trim waist. What could be so bad about giving him a damn name? Mayhap she wasn’t a servant, but an intruder as he’d thought before. He narrowed his eyes on her.

She drew away from him as much as his hold would allow her.

“Alice,” she said abruptly. “Alice is a name. May I go now?”

Alice, he thought, watching emotions flicker over her face. The name was as innocent as the woman sitting on his lap appeared to be. He let his hand slide from her neck, away from the pounding pulse, and to her arm.

“Now that I’ve given you my name,” she said stiffly, drawing her arm away from his touch, though a faint blush spread to her cheeks, “I will retire to my bed.”

If only I could join her.

He could let her go and continue his life as if she’d never bitten into the apple. That was exactly what he should do, what with the feuding and the MacLeods’ threats. There was simply too much going on to consider keeping the lass in his life, especially since he should be courting Blaine.

Aye, that’s exactly what he should do. Let her go and gain Lady Blaine’s hand in marriage.

However, he was going to do the exact opposite. Now that he had her on his lap, he wanted to keep her there—at least until he had his fill of her. Gwen had come to his bed nearly every night, offering herself to him, and every night she came, he’d send her away because this woman’s face was in his mind.

Once he had her, he was sure she’d fade from his mind.

That was the only reason why he did what he did next, a silent “seal of the deal” to himself. Taking her chin between his thumb and forefinger, he drew her face until it was directly in front of his. Her breath came in short, uneven gasps. Her lips were parted, ready for him to take what he’d been dying to since he first saw her in the creek.

When she made a small sound in the back of her throat, rationality hit him.

He pulled away.

Aye, Kane wanted her. His throbbing cock was proof enough. But he wanted her to want him back, this nymph, this golden angel. He didn’t want to kiss her while fear darkened her eyes.

Even though he wasn’t going to kiss her just yet, even though every ounce of blood within him was screaming at him to, he set her away from him.

“I have no’ seen you around here,” he said, holding her hand to keep her from running away. She stood before him in nothing but a filmy shift. His eyes latched onto her peaked nipples. Oh, aye. She’d felt what he had.

“That...that is because I am visiting and—”

“I donna care about that,” he said, waving a hand. Despite how much he knew he needed to wait, he drew her close. She stood between his knees. He stared up at her, enthralled by the way the candlelight caught on her golden hair, creating a golden halo around her head. “I want to see more of ye’.”

She drew back as if he’d punched her. Alice stared at him with wide, horrified eyes. “That cannot happen, my lord. I’m—you’re far too busy. I am only here as a visitor and—”

He growled. She snapped her mouth closed.

“I donna care for excuses. Yer a visitor here, aye?”

She nodded silently. Her hands began to wring in front of her. He wanted to reach out and take them, soothe her fears. But he didn’t. She’d only become edgier.

“Well, if yer under my care, then I say ye’ can spare some time to visit with me.”

“I do not know if that is such a good idea, my lord.” She shook her head, adding emphasis to her words. Kane grunted.

“O’ course it’s a good idea. Yer a visitor. A visitor visits her host. I’m the host, the laird. I want ye’ to visit me.” He was barely focusing on the conversation at this point. His eyes had focused on an errant curl. It stuck out from the side of her head, making her look adorably flustered.

“Visit...you how?” she asked hesitantly. The second the question was out of her mouth, her eyes widened. She took a frightened step back. “My lord, you are to be betrothed!”

“No’ like that.” Yet. “I want to see ye’ more, and that’s that. Starting tomorrow, after the McGregors leave.”

Her head shook. “My lord, I simply cannot allow this. Bl—Lady Blaine would be furious to know her soon-to-be betrothed is...is...philandering around with another woman.”

“But we’re no’ philandering,” he pointed out, drawing her between his legs again. “Company. I want yer company, lass. No more, no less.” He ignored the way she spoke against him so boldly. Sure as hell he’d picked the one woman in the house, despite Blaine, that would not agree to everything he said. ‘Twas not a bad thing, though. He actually liked it. The only person to deny him anything was Brodrick.

“My...company,” she said, dumbfounded.

He nodded, raising a brow when she only stared at him as if he’d grown two heads. “I do no’ see why that is such a shock, Alice. A man and a woman canna share company?”

“It’s highly uncommon, especially under these...circumstances.” Once again, she drew away from him, even pulling her arm against her. She didn’t look like she was going to run. Rather, she looked like she was morbidly intrigued. He smiled, leaning into his chair with his elbow propped on the arm rest.

“What circumstances could you possibly be talking about, my lady?” Her face turned pink, but there was a spark of something in her eyes, something he couldn’t identify. It wasn’t bad, though. Curiosity mixed with longing. Kane’s chest tightened. What could the lass be longing for?

A woman liked to feel important, he thought, watching the way she held herself. By the way she stood with her shoulders curled, she must not be used to feeling like such.

“Well,” she stuttered, gesturing between the two of them. “You are...and I am...oh, and Lady Blaine,” she said, eyes widening. “No, this will not do. I’m sorry, my lord. This is not doable. You haven’t even spent time with your betrothal! It is quite unfair to her that you enjoy my company, and not hers.”

Kane couldn’t stop himself from smiling. If she was concerned about his betrothal, then she sure as hell wasn’t here for his title. Alice was honestly concerned. God, but she was quite a little thing. She was concerned for Lady Blaine, and by the formality she was showing, she didn’t know her all that well.

Poor lass. If only she knew Lady Sinclair.

“Yer worried about Lady Blaine’s part in this?” he asked, raising a brow.

She nodded quickly. “Aye. It’s wrong that her betrothed ignore her for another woman.”

He waved her censure away. “Lady” Blaine didn’t deserve an ounce of his time, but alas! A man must make sacrifices.

“I know of a way to fix this,” he said, gesturing for her to come forward. With the same trapped doe look in her eyes, she hesitantly crossed the space to stand in front of him.

“If ye’ agree to meet me tomorrow, I shall spend time with Lady Blaine.”

She considered his words for a moment, and then her eyes brightened. “Would you really?”

He nodded, even as she abruptly frowned.

“I’ll know if you don’t,” she warned.

“I would never go back on my word to a lady.” That was a lie. Most times, a lady was a pompous gossiper from court who knew nothing of his ways. Alice was different. A certain kind of lady, one he’d never encountered.

As if she knew what he was thinking, she blushed. “I am not a lady by any means, my lord. Simply a visitor. It would be best if you’d stop calling me as such.”

He smiled a little. “Well, for someone who is ‘no’ a lady’, yer very bonny,” he said, telling the complete truth. He’d never seen anyone as beautiful as she, in a shift, no less! Kane almost didn’t want to know what she looked like during the day. He feared it would knock him off his feet.

“I believe you may have had too much to drink,” she whispered, that becoming blush rising once again. He liked that. Kane liked knowing he could please her just with words.

“I believe that I’m actually quite sober,” he murmured. Then he straightened in his chair. “Meet me here tomorrow at midday.”

“When will you set time aside for Lady Blaine?” she asked, worrying her hands in front of her. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling wider. Her concern for Lady Blaine was too sweet, though the viper didn’t deserve it.

“As soon as I’ve had my time with you.”

“Only as...friends, correct?”

He nodded. “As friends.”

“Then Blaine will have your attention.”

When I’m with her, I’ll most likely be thinking of you, so nay. She’ll no’ have my attention.

Still, he nodded.

She bit her lip, then curtsied. “Tomorrow, midday. Then you shall sit with Lady Blaine to sup.” Without waiting for his approval, she gave a short nod, and then turned on her heel.

The grace with which she strode away in her filmy shift made him laugh.

Adorable. The water nymph was simply adorable.