Claimed by a Laird (5 page)

“A nurse?”

She tilted her head to the side as she considered how to
best explain. “I take care of sick and injured people and help them to heal.”

“So, you are a healer then?”

Anna nodded slowly. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

“And you say you are from across the ocean?”

The disbelief in his tone was not lost on her. She bowed her
head in defeat and twisted the fabric of her long chocolate-brown skirt between
her fingers.

He grabbed her hands to stop her fidgeting. “Lass, I know
you believe what you have told me. Your coin and my dreams are the only proof
of your story. It will take some time and questions before I can fully accept
your words as truth.”

“Yeah, me too,” she replied with a bitter laugh, unable to
keep the fear out of her voice.

“Do not fret, Anna. I will not abandon you once this is
over,” he whispered. “I owe you my life.”

Surprised by his determined tone, she turned her face back
to his in curiosity. Damn it all if he didn’t actually look sincere.

A pulsing knot formed in her throat and she shook her head.
She had always prided herself on her strength and self-sufficiency. Deep down,
however, she feared she was not up to the task of caring for herself in
thirteenth-century Scotland, if that was indeed where she was.

She clenched her hand until her nails bit into the tender
flesh of her palm and wearily leaned the side of her face against his shoulder.
It was crazy. How could she even consider trusting this man when mere moments
ago he was threatening to slit her throat? She’d already had enough of
frightening, violent men in her life and was lucky to have escaped with only a
few bruises. Not every woman was quite so lucky.

But there was something about this man in particular that
drew her to a place both comforting and alarming. He’d been stuck in a dark,
dank dungeon for days after trading his own life for that of his brother. She
couldn’t think of a single person, other than Ian and her grandparents, who
would sacrifice everything they had for their family. Galen was only attempting
to make his way back to his clan and Anna happened to get in his way. Now that
he realized she wasn’t a threat, he was willing to take her in.

Maybe for just a little while, she could push aside her
general distrust of men and let him take care of her. At least, until she could
find a way out of this mess and get back home.

“You want me to do
what
?” Anna whispered, stiffening
in shock.

“You need to distract him and get him to turn his back on
me,” Galen explained once again as he clasped the rope he had taken from the
dungeon behind his back and stared down at her.

She raised a disbelieving eyebrow at him before peering
through the ajar, wooden door leading to the defensive curtain wall of the
castle complex, and the lone guard staring blankly toward the river. “And just
how am I supposed to do that?”

One corner of his mouth turned up playfully as his eyes
skimmed her form.

Anna’s cheeks burned and she tore her eyes away from his.
Was he somehow picking up on her growing attraction to him and trying to use it
to his advantage? She was not certain how much time they had spent sitting next
to one another on the floor of the dungeon antechamber, but it had seemed like
an eternity as his nearness infiltrated her every thought. By the time he had
decided it was safe to attempt their escape, she was little more than a weak
puddle of desire.

“I don’t do that sort of thing,” she snapped, hoping he
would only detect her anger and not her arousal at his casual perusal of her
figure.

Galen grabbed her by the arms. “We have no other choice. I
will not be able to get to him before he sounds the alarm unless you keep him
otherwise engaged.”

“But I wouldn’t even know what to do,” she protested,
attempting to stay focused as his face came within inches of hers. His firm
grip on her arms sent little sparks flowing through her veins. “What if he
doesn’t speak English?”

“If you had ever seen yourself in a looking glass, you would
know that matters not.”

Her eyelashes fluttered as she quickly lifted her eyes to
his, her skin prickling with sudden heat. Surely she had misunderstood. A man
who looked like the star of some Hollywood action movie simply couldn’t be
attracted to her. She was average. Just another ponytail-sporting,
scrubs-wearing nurse who could barely be bothered to put on a pair of jeans to
run to the grocery store. Why on earth would this charismatic warlord be
attracted to her?

He audibly blew out a breath and released her arms only to
cup her face gently between his palms, forcing her to look straight into his
eyes. “If I am caught, I know what my fate will be, but I cannot promise you
would be so lucky. I cannot protect you if I am dead, lass.”

Anna shivered as his words brought her back to reality. The
worst-case scenario of what could happen to her darted through her head. She
had only seen one brutally beaten and raped woman during her short time as an
ER nurse, but the indelible memory of that woman was more than enough incentive
to gain her cooperation.

“All right,” she stated, shaking off the horrid visions.
“Let’s do this.”

He released her and she unbuttoned her forest-green wool
cardigan, exposing her chocolate-brown tank top underneath, and handed her
purse to Galen.

His eyes narrowed as he peered at her. “What are you doing?”

Her lips curved into an impish grin as she pulled the hem of
her tank top down, revealing an ample portion of her cleavage, and then cupped
her breasts, pushing them up and together as she adjusted them in her bra.
“Exactly what you suggested. I’m going to distract him.”

Every muscle in his body seemed to tense and his eyes turned
a smoldering black in the moonlight.

The feral scowl on his face was unnerving to say the least.
Anna forced herself to take a deep breath in a desperate move to ignore the
tingling in the pit of her stomach. “But you can’t kill him, okay?”

“Why the hell not?”

“Because I have vowed not to harm anyone and I can’t be a
part of some poor guy’s death just because he happens to work for the wrong
side.”

Galen’s face paled. “A vow? Are you a nun?” he asked, his
voice tinged with cold disappointment.

“No, I’m a nurse, remember? Let’s just get this done before
I lose my nerve,” she admonished, wringing her hands.

He rolled his eyes in exasperation, pulled her fidgeting
hands apart and waved her ahead as he shrank back into the shadows of the stairwell.

Anna peeked around the door again, spotting the young guard
at the far end of the wall. Goosebumps covered her arms and she fought a shiver
as she moved forward. Their whole survival depended upon how successfully she
seduced some innocent man who now stood only a dozen or so feet in front of
her.

At that moment, the young man glanced in her direction and
whirled to confront her. Throwing some words at her she didn’t understand, he
drew his sword.

Her heart nearly stopped, threatening to rip any away any
shred of confidence she had left. She stilled and breathed deep. If that tour
guide hadn’t pulled the story he had told out of his ass, then she was probably
the
Anna Campbell. And if that was the case, then she and Galen would
make it out of this mess with their heads still intact.

And get married.

Anna hastily pushed the crazy thought aside before it could
send her into a panic. “Excuse me,” she sweetly said, praying her voice
wouldn’t crack. “But I think I’m lost.”

The hard edges of the young man’s face softened as his lips
split into a crooked grin. “Yes, you are, lass,” he replied in English with a
laugh as he sheathed his sword and nodded to his right. “England is that way.”

She put on what she hoped appeared to be a timid smile and
walked toward him.

“Are you a cousin of the laird?”

“What?” she asked, her heart jumping as she passed and
pivoted on her heel to face him so he would turn his back toward Galen.

“Our laird’s mother has English cousins,” he explained. “But
I have not seen nor heard of anyone arriving.”

She resisted the urge twist her hands together and instead
forced a serene smile onto her face. “Your laird wasn’t aware of our journey
until we arrived a little while ago,” she said with a shrug.

He stepped toward her unhurriedly, almost as if he thought
she’d bolt if he moved too fast. His eyes searched her face for several moments
before his mouth finally parted in a roguish grin. “You are not a cousin, are
you?”

Anna turned her face toward the river rushing below as her
pulse thudded in panic. She never had been very good at lying. Even as a child,
any adult within a ten-foot radius could tell when she was fibbing. Her face
would always heat up, her voice would quiver and her words would tumble out
like an amateur auctioneer at an estate sale. “What makes you say that?”

The cool night air dissipated as his body heat surrounded
her. She swallowed a gasp, silently willing her heart to remain steady.

He chuckled close to her ear. “I doubt our laird would allow
his cousin to wander the castle alone and unguarded.”

She resisted the urge to push away from him. His hungry gaze
on her cleavage practically singed her skin. “You’re right,” she softly
replied, twisting the words from her throat as she desperately searched her
brain for any plausible explanation. Surely one of the dozens of medieval
romance novels she had read years ago could provide her with something.

“I’m a-a-maid to his cousin,” she finally said, using her
best helpless female voice. “I was trying to make my way to her room, but I got
all turned around. This is such a big castle.” A nervous laugh escaped her
throat.

He brushed her hair away from her shoulder. “Do not be
frightened of me, little dove. I have no intention of hurting you.”

What the hell was taking Galen so long? She resisted the
urge to peer around the young man toward the door.

He trailed one finger down her back. “It is a cold night and
I would hate for you to become chilled. Let me escort you back to your
chamber.”

Anna’s stomach twisted into a fitful knot and she resisted
the gasp wanting to break from her lips as he tilted his face toward hers. She
took a quick, sharp breath through her nostrils as the young man’s thin, hard
lips pressed her mouth. With little ceremony, he used his thumb to coax down
her chin so her lips would part.

Anger welled within her chest. Damn that MacAirth laird. If
he wasn’t going to come to her rescue then she was just going to have to do it
herself. She pulled her foot back in preparation to shove her knee between the
young man’s legs when his head was suddenly knocked to the side.

Anna swallowed a yelp as his body slumped against hers. She
stumbled backward then exhaled in relief as Galen quickly took the man’s
lifeless body from her and laid it at her feet.

“What the hell took you so long?” she hissed.

Galen shrugged. “I did not want to interrupt.”

The sarcasm dripping from his voice gave away his
displeasure. Flinching at the chill of his dark stare, she forced her attention
to the unconscious man before her and knelt to check his pulse.

“I did not kill him,” Galen spat, jerking her to standing by
her arm.

Anna wrenched away and glared at him, incensed by his sudden
anger and ungratefulness. “What the hell, Galen? I did exactly what you
wanted.”

He ignored her and pushed her purse into her chest before
turning to secure the rope on the battlement. He yanked on the rope, testing
his weight against it, before throwing the end over the side of the wall.

“I will make my way down first. Hold the rope so when I pull
on it you will know I am ready for you to climb down,” he brusquely commanded.

All the blood drained from her face. The mere idea that he
actually expected her to descend a castle wall was more than enough to distract
her from his anger. “You want me to climb down that rope?” Her voice shook as
painful memories of the fake rock wall in ninth grade gym class flew through
her head. “How do you know it’s long enough?”

“I do not know for certain,” he snapped. He glanced around
for any sign they had been spotted before pushing himself on top of the
battlement.

Anna grabbed his forearm in desperation, distracted for a
split second by the sheer solidity of his muscles. “You don’t know? Are you
crazy? What do I do if you don’t pull it?”

His gaze finally met hers and the features of his face softened.
He cupped her chin in his hand, his thumb brushing the corner of her mouth. “If
I do not pull on the rope then that means I am unable to. You will need to find
another way out on your own.”

Galen paused for the briefest moment before dropping his hand
and bending down. He reached into his boot and pulled out a dagger. “Take this.
You may need it.”

Her hand shook as she accepted the weapon, her eyes
nervously darting back and forth between the blade and his face. “You will pull
on the rope, won’t you?”

Galen’s lips curved into a soothing smile. “Yes, lass. I
will. Just as long as you do not cut the rope and send me to my death.”

“I would do no such thing!” she insisted, hurt that he could
think she was capable of such duplicity. “I cannot believe—”

“Anna.” He smirked.

“What?”

“I will pull the rope.”

The sincerity in his tone melted her bluster. She nodded,
chewing on her lower lip as he hoisted himself onto the rampart and disappeared
over the wall into the darkness below. She closed her eyes momentarily,
allowing the crisp evening air to fill her lungs, before tucking the knife into
her purse.

Thinking the unconscious man at her feet had twitched, she
stared at him in paranoia for several long minutes before she grabbed the
thick, gnarly rope and carefully listened for any sound from below.

How on earth had she gotten herself into this absurd
situation? The pendant lying against her chest warmed briefly. It had become
hot when she had swooned after first entering the dungeon antechamber. If the
pendant was responsible for transporting her back in time, didn’t it stand to
reason that it could take her back home too?

Anna pursed her lips in determination and wrapped her free
hand around the pendant, closing her eyes to concentrate. Instead of wishing
for passion and love as she had done upon entering the antechamber, she
fervently wished for home and everything that went with it—stability, safety,
routine and the absence of a certain hard-bodied, sexy-as-sin man who had the
uncanny ability to make her nipples hard just by looking at her.

The rope suddenly dragged hard back and forth against her
palm, scratching her skin. Startled, she jumped, momentarily forgetting where
she was and what was happening. Her eyes flew open and landed on the body of
the Graham guard at her feet. The pendant went strangely cold in her hand.

Damn it. She had half a mind to yank the stone off her neck
and fling it over the rampart. Sighing in resignation, she peered over the edge
of the wall and attempted to convince herself everything would be all right if
she descended into the darkness and met the stranger waiting below.

With one last quick glance at the unconscious man, Anna
threw her purse around her neck so the strap lay crosswise over her chest,
clambered onto the rampart and over the side. Gripping the rope tightly and
finding a decent foothold, she carefully eased herself below the battlement.

Her palms burned and her biceps strained as she steadily
lowered into the darkness, daring to look neither up nor down. Her hand slipped
and she gripped the rope tighter, halting her descent. Tears stung her eyes as
she silently cursed Neil Campbell for bringing her the pendant. Had he known
what it might do to her? Was this all just some cruel joke?

“Anna!” came a hoarse whisper from below. “Do not stop now!”

Galen’s voice cut through her gasping breath and renewed
enough of her strength to propel her into making her way down. Soon, however,
she reached the end of the rope.

“Galen,” she quietly cried.

“It is fine, lass. Just let go. I will catch you.”