Saeran stared into pale green eyes, heart dropping to her stomach. This was not good. She had felt it, but now it was confirmed and she—she was going to faint from the pounding of her heart.

He didn’t wait for her to invite him in. She wouldn’t have anyways. He pushed past her, took one look at the clothes that were strewn across the floor, and rounded on her with a glare so furious and heart-stopping, she actually felt the fury coming off of him.

“I knew it. I knew ye’ were no’ just a normal lad. Why, Saeran? Why would ye’ lie to everyone like that?”

Brodrick slashed a hand through the air angrily. She had never been afraid of him, except for the first time she’d seen him. Saeran was reminded that he wasn’t a kind, rough-around-the-edges man. He was a killer, plain and simple. He could play at being amiable, but once it came to the life of his laird, he was deadly.

She swallowed, backing away from him.

“Brodrick—”

“I canna believe I did no’ notice it before. I suspected, but—why? I should kill ye’ were ye’ stand—”

She flinched, reaching for something, anything to defend herself with. She never would have thought that Brodrick would figure it out. She had not prepared herself for this. Saeran had thought Connor was the only one to worry about, but she had been wrong, so foolishly wrong.

“Yer a threat to Kane. To Connor. To everyone—and yer just going to let them put their lives on the line for ye’. Yer disgusting, Saeran. Disgusting. Kane was beginning to trust ye’—both of yer personalities—and then my worst fears are proved correct. Was this a game?” he demanded. “I donna play games. Neither does Kane. Once he finds out—”

“No,” she said sharply, a thick feeling of déjà vu going through her. “No, he cannot know. Brodrick, I swear to you, I am not a threat. He cannot know, not yet.” Not until she was long gone, with no chance of him finding her.

“Ye’ think I’m going to believe a liar like you? I’m disgusted. I thought better of ye’ than this.” She could see it in his eyes. He was honestly disgusted by her lies, by everything about her. She let out a sharp breath, turning her head away from him. She only saw what she felt reflected in his eyes.

She felt the sting of tears.

“I’m not trying to harm anyone, Brodrick. Please, listen to me. Do you really think Connor would lie to Kane for no reason?”

“If Connor can lie to Kane at all—”

“Damnit, Brodrick,” she snapped, a well bursting inside of her. She was tired of all the anger and suspicion. “For once, I would like someone to understand that I’m only trying to protect myself. Connor gave me hell for this. You know him better than I do. He wouldn’t lie without reason, and I wouldn’t hurt Kane.”

He stared at her.

The fire crackled in the dim room, causing dark shadows to move over his face. She stood there, refusing to back down.

“Blaine did this to ye’, didn’t she?” he finally asked.

That was not what she was expecting to hear. Thinking that it was some sort of trick, she nodded her head. Her best bet was to be completely honest with him.

“The king sent the two of us here for Kane’s hand.”

“I know this, lass. But I donna understand why you would consent to…that.” He gestured to the limp pair of trews on the floor. She crossed her arms over her chest, face flaming. “Ye did no’ have to hide from Kane, ye ken.”

“If I hadn’t, I would be with Hans Grayham right now,” she said, meeting him square in the eye. “Blaine was positive that my only choice was to die with Kane or die with Grayham—I chose neither.”

“So ye’ pretended to be a lad.” He frowned, some of the threatening aura disappearing. “Did ye’ ken about the dowry?”

Saeran nodded. “I found out the night before.”

“Do ye’ ken his plan?”

“To make Blaine hate him by the time his family arrives, so that she will break the engagement? Aye.”

“Do ye’ ken how much the man cares for ye’?”

“Ay—excuse me?”

“Saeran,” he said with sigh. “Yer as blind as a bat if ye’ canna see that revealing yerself to him is what’s best for both of ye’.”

“Nay,” she insisted. “Brodrick, I must implore you to keep this silent. I’ve come this far, I can last a little longer.” Until she figured out what to do with herself.

“Ye’ canna ask me to—my god,” he said, glaring at her. “Why did you no’ say something before? I put ye’ through training. Ye’ve had to see men’s—” He stopped, taking a step backwards, horror entering his eyes. “If my wife found out about this, she would kill me.”

She had known Brodrick was weary of his wife, but now she knew the full extent. There was real terror overcoming him when she looked at him.

“I—Saeran, my God, I’ve ruined ye’.”

Funny, Kane had said the same exact thing.

“Brodrick—”

“Nay,” he said, shaking his head. He turned his back on her, rigid to the point of looking like a statue. “I came here with the intent of forcing you to tell him, but now—I must go.”

“What?” That was it? He was just going to show up, tell her that he knew who she was, then leave? No threats? No forcing? Nothing? Connor had been more adamant than Brodrick was, and Brodrick was Kane’s closest friend. He should have been more furious than Connor had been at her deception!

“I—I think I’m going to be sick. Ye’ poor lass, I just—my God, Saeran. My God.” Then he left, leaving the room as quickly as he had come into it.

She stared after him, wondering what in all that was Holy had just happened.

* * *

Kane looked around and decided that now was the time to leave. Brodrick had disappeared to God knows where, and that meant he was free to leave without a problem. He would get to the bottom of Alice’s pain, and then kill anyone or anything that had caused it.

Aye, killing the problem cured it.

He shoved away from the table, threw his payment for the lone ale he’d had on the table, and practically ran to the door. Alice had been left alone for far too long. He would be amazed if she did not hate him for his negligence. He frowned as the cold air blew his hair away from his face. Alice was not a hateful person. She would be upset with him, but her heart was too kind to hold hate.

“Kane.” He nearly groaned at the sound of Brodrick’s voice from behind him. The one man he did not want to see. Of course. “Kane, ye’ canna go.”

“How do ye’ ken where I’m going?” he asked, raising a brow—then he got a good look at Brodrick. His face was as pale as the moon and his eyes…he looked like he’d seen a ghost. Kane took him by the elbow, drawing him to the side of the pub. “What the hell happened to ye’?”

“I—Kane. Donna go to Alice.” He shook his head, avoiding Kane’s eyes completely. “She is—”

“Is she hurt?” he demanded, feeling fear rise inside of him. He had known better than to leave her alone. He had known. Shame and fury attacked him like a wolf, digging sharp, angry teeth into his heart and pulling. Alice was too gentle. Too sweet. She should never have been left alone in her misery. He was so furious with himself that he did not think to ask Brodrick how he knew something was wrong with Alice.

“Kane, listen to me. Alice is no’—”

He shot off toward the inn before Brodrick could finish. Time spent talking to Brodrick meant time that Alice could be hurt. Feeling like he was choking for breath by the time he reached the inn, he threw open the doors, racing up the stairs.

She had been in the room with the lone window on the east side of the building. His feet thundered over the wood as he stormed through the hallway. There was a soft sound from inside of the room he suspected was hers, and then a cough and a thump. It was dainty and sweet—completely Alice. With a growl, hating himself more than he ever had before, Kane wasted no time in knocking or waiting for her to answer. He shoved the door open, then froze. Stared. Felt as if his heart had fallen to his stomach.

The delicate figure was bent over the edge of the bed, blonde mop of hair spread over tangled blankets. He surged forward, instinct the only driving force through his fear. There was something wrong with her. No normal person sat like that.

Kane didn’t breathe until he had her in his arms.

“Alice,” he said raggedly, smoothing back her hair with a trembling hand. “Alice, damnit. What happened? Why are ye’—”

“Wait a moment.” The muffled voice was accompanied with a shove to his shoulder. Stupefied, he let her crawl out of his arms so she could resume her position on the floor.

“What are ye’ doing?” he said, dazed as he watched her. She did no’ move like she was upset, nor had she sounded like it. He recalled the thumping sound. “Did someone attack ye’?”

If someone did, he wouldn’t mind taking his confusion out on them by slicing their heads off. His hopes fell when she shook her head, back still turned to him.

“I was trying to walk,” she said with a grunt, her voice muffled from her face being pressed into the edge of the bed. He realized that her hands were moving underneath it, searching for something. He frowned. “And I slipped on the corner of a blanket. Then this,” she said, pulling out a cup from under the bed triumphantly, “rolled right on under it.”

“Ye’ were trying to retrieve a cup,” he said drolly.

“Aye.” Wide, confused eyes lifted to his. “I could not just leave it there. Then Mabel would be missing one! Why, what did you think was wrong?”

“I…” He narrowed his eyes on her, having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that there was no attacker he could kill. “Brodrick came to me.”

She stiffened. Like that, all of the innocence and confusion dropped out of her face.

“He did no’ say what was wrong, but I figured ye’ were hurt. Then I heard the thump, thought you were being attacked…wait. So ye’ really just lost yer cup under the bed? There is no one here. At all.”

Alice shook her head.

“Is that the only reason why you’re here?” she asked, a note tinging her voice that he couldn’t stand to hear. He knew she tried so hard to hide her disappointment, but Alice was an open book. The hurt was in her eyes.

Kane reached for her hand. She immediately twined her slender fingers with his, allowing him to pull her to her feet. He sat on the bed, gently tugging at her until she was sitting on his lap, his arms around her waist.

“Nay, lass. I was worried about ye’.”

A flush came over her cheeks. That’s what she had wanted to hear, he thought, smiling. She liked to know that someone was thinking about her. Kane was definitely thinking about her—hell, she was the only thing in his mind as of late! Not even the MacLeods were thought of as much as she was, and to a normal man, they were more pressing an issue than a woman was.

But Alice was not just a woman. She was his woman, and as his woman, she deserved all of the thoughts and attention he had—which was why he wanted to know why she had been in such distress when he’d first come upon her.

“Ye’ were crying earlier. I demand to know why.”

The shy pleasure on her face turned into dubiousness. “You demand?”

“Aye,” he said firmly, taking a stray strand of her hair and tucking it behind her ear. “I donna want ye’ to cry again. If I can stop it, I will.”

The shy pleasure returned. His heart warmed when she leaned into his touch, like a kitten preening under the caress of her master. “It’s nothing,” she said lightly, kissing his palm. The action was so surprising that he couldn’t stop himself from pulling her closer against him. Kane buried his face in her hair, breathing her in.

He had thought that he would not be seeing her for weeks, months. To be holding her in his arms right now felt like finding an angel in hell.

“It’s no’ nothing, love. Ye’ can tell me. I’ll always listen to ye’.”

“I…” Indecision warred on her delicate features. As she struggled to speak, he gave her the time she needed while rubbing the creases out of her brows, trying to sooth her aches as best he could when all he wanted was to make her speak. Kane had never been a patient man. Aye, he could play at it for the sake of his clan and his status as chieftain, but the truth of the matter was, he liked things to happen the second they came up—like finding out what had distressed his Alice.

“The move—it was so sudden, and I do not entirely understand it. When Connor sent for me, I did not know this was what he planned.”

“I just wish ye’ would have said something.” His heart physically hurt to think that she could have been harmed on her journey, when she could have easily traveled with him. Connor had known of it. Why hadn’t he said anything to him? Kane growled low in his throat. He would beat Connor into the ground for his carelessness over Alice the next time he saw him.

“Our destination was kept from me until we arrived,” she said quietly. He felt her turmoil in the trembling of her body. Kane moved them farther onto the bed, keeping her tight against him, until he was leaning against the headboard with Alice’s cheek pressed against his chest.

“I’m sorry, love,” he said, and truly, he was. “I ken how it feels to be taken out of yer home and thrust into something different.”

She tilted her head up, meeting his eyes. There was such sadness in them, such desolation. He had a feeling that it went deeper than what she had gone through today.

“When my father died, the McGregor took me away from Shaw land. I had to stay in the barracks with his men and learn what it took to be a leader. It was different from the coddling I was used to,” he said quietly, tensing when her soft lips brushed against his neck. His hand tightened on her hip.

“I’ve had a lot of changes recently as well,” she murmured. “It’s hard. One moment, everything is going perfectly and you have a nice, warm, loving family—and then it’s all ripped away from you and you’re left wondering ‘why’.”

Kane tangled his hand in her hair, hating to see the sadness there. She was filled to the brim with it, and he hated himself for only now noticing it. She had entranced him with her beauty and fire, but he hadn’t bothered to see the darker things lurking beneath the surface. Now, he couldn’t stop himself from seeing it, and all he wanted to do was soothe her.

So he did.

With his hand in her hair, he tilted her head up, leaning down.

His lips covered hers with a groan. When her hands slid up his chest with feather light touches, he knew he had done the right thing. This time, when he took his Alice, it would not be out of anger—but out of the tenderness he felt for her.

She pulled away from the kiss way too soon. Her eyes were lowered, a blush on her cheeks.

“What’s wrong, love?”

“I…you do enjoy my kissing, correct?”

The question was so out of the blue that he couldn’t stop the laughter that burst from him—until he realized she was serious and looked like she was humiliated. He sobered, taking her face in his hands, and smoothed his thumbs over her warm cheeks.

“I’ve never enjoyed a kiss as much as I do yers, lass.”

“Are you sure?”

He answered her by taking her lips in a hot, passionate kiss. When he was done with her, she would have no doubt in her mind that he enjoyed everything about her.