My Daring Highlander Read online

  My Daring Highlander

  Vonda Sinclair

  Beautiful and fiercely protective of those she loves, Lady Seona Murray captured Keegan MacKay’s attention when she first set foot in Dunnakeil Castle. Though she is a chief’s daughter and forbidden, Keegan has fallen in love with her from afar and burns to possess her. But so does the clan traitor, Haldane, an obsessive outlaw bent on murder and kidnapping.

  Sinfully handsome, Keegan MacKay is a fearsome guard as well as the chief’s cousin, but Seona’s father would never consider him a worthy husband for her because he is not a titled laird. Seona has secretly watched the sensual, tawny-haired warrior from across the crowded great hall for months, but when he is tasked with escorting her across Scotland, back to her home, their simmering attraction flames into sizzling passion with just one kiss.

  Though she fears she is endangering Keegan’s life, Seona cannot resist his seductive charm or his spellbinding kisses. Keegan sets fire to the memories of her sad past and shows her what it means to truly live. But her father has other plans. He’s arranged for her to marry a wealthy Lowland laird. Is Keegan daring enough to steal her away? Or will the vindictive Haldane snatch her first?

  My Daring Highlander

  By Vonda Sinclair

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  My Daring Highlander, Copyright 2013, Vonda Sinclair

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people because this is an infringement of the copyright. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com or other bookseller and purchase your own copy. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the author. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, names, incidents, locations, and events are fictitious or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental or from the writer's imagination.

  www.vondasinclair.com

  ***

  Dedication

  To my own blue-eyed charmer, my husband.

  To my friend, Dana, another Highland adventurer.

  Acknowledgements

  Special thanks to Sharron Gunn for your Highland expertise.

  Special thanks to Vanessa, Terry, Judy, Dana, Eliza, Andrea, and Donna.

  My Daring Highlander

  Vonda Sinclair

  Chapter One

  Assynt, Scotland, May 1619

  Something in the early morn air didn’t feel right.

  Keegan MacKay rode at the front of the MacKay party of just over two dozen, his gaze scanning the surrounding misty green hills and gray granite mountains. As head guard of the MacKay clan, Keegan took his duty seriously. He was to spy danger before it presented itself.

  Had his outlaw cousin, Haldane, returned to kill Chief Dirk and claim the chiefdom for himself? This wouldn’t be his first attempt. Although Dirk’s youngest brother was but twenty summers, he was a formidable foe and slippery as an eel when it came to capture. Haldane and his band of outlaws had escaped Dunnakeil’s dungeon last November. Then, they’d vanished.

  No doubt they would come out of hiding again soon.

  Wanting to travel as far south as possible before sunset, they’d left Munrick Castle and the MacLeods at daybreak. Though more than two hours had passed, the sun had not yet burned off the thick gray mist rising from the nearby loch.

  Their journey had two purposes—Dirk’s wife, Lady Isobel, wished to travel to Dornie for a visit with her brothers, and Keegan was in charge of taking Lady Seona Murray back to her home near Inverness. A task he dreaded for he’d grown attached to her.

  A prickle of warning passed over Keegan. Was there danger behind them? He glanced back, then guided his horse, Curry, off the narrow muddy trail, turned about and waited until several in their party rode past.

  Keegan’s gaze settled on Lady Seona. Though she wore a plaid cowl over her head now, he had memorized how glossy her chestnut-colored hair was. More than once, he’d fantasized about running his fingers through the loose strands. They would surely be silky and cool against his skin.

  Her dark blue eyes met his, bewitching as always… and so were her Cupid’s bow lips. Damn, how he craved kissing her. Like a fool, he had longed for her for months, but he had never dared to touch her. Her chaperone aunt pinned her vicious eagle-eyed glare on him, as she always did.

  Keegan had tried to tell himself he was daft for wanting Lady Seona so badly. He was not a chief or titled laird, and her father would never allow them to marry. Cousin of the chief wasn’t good enough.

  Dirk paused beside Keegan, startling him from his wayward thoughts. “Is something amiss?”

  “’Tis only a gut feeling that someone is following us,” he said, keeping his voice low.

  “Aye. I had the same feeling.” Dirk narrowed his piercing pale blue eyes and glared back at the hills they’d just passed through.

  People had often remarked that Keegan had eyes like Dirk’s and that they were more like brothers than cousins. Keegan agreed with that assessment and highly valued his role within the clan of protecting them and the chief. He was happy Dirk returned last fall to take the position he’d been meant for since birth. He was an excellent chief and a strong warrior.

  From the mist behind them, a distant horse’s whinny carried on the breeze.

  “Did you hear that?” Keegan asked, his gaze searching the murky landscape.

  “Aye.”

  Keegan caught a glimpse of a black horse and dark-clothed rider as they veered off the trail and behind a yellow-blooming gorse bush. “There.” Keegan pointed.

  “Aye. We’re being followed.” Dirk moved toward their party, giving quiet orders to the guards to surround the three ladies and their four maids, then he and several guards joined Keegan.

  “I wager ’tis Haldane,” Keegan said.

  Dirk nodded. “He will never give up trying to kill me until one of us is dead.”

  “’Haps you should wear a cowl so he cannot identify you so easily,” Keegan suggested. Dirk’s bright copper hair made him easy to spot from a great distance. And an easy target.

  “Hmph. I’ll not hide from that wily weasel,” he muttered.

  “I wasn’t suggesting you hide, cousin. Merely use caution and disguise yourself so we can protect you better.”

  “I don’t wish for anyone else to be struck with an arrow either. I want Haldane and his whole band of outlaws taken out before he kills someone else.” They had murdered two MacKay guards last winter and stolen almost a dozen horses.

  Dirk’s friend, Rebbie, the Earl of Rebbinglen, halted his horse on Keegan’s right. “How many did you see?” he asked, his expression as dark as his eyes and hair.

  “One, but I’m certain there are more,” Keegan said.

  “Without doubt. That damned McMurdo highwayman is likely with him.”

  “Aye, they have been fast friends since Haldane turned outlaw.” None of them held any fondness for Donald McMurdo. They’d had several run-ins with him in the past. For a certainty, Keegan detested the murderer who had slaughtered at least eighteen people in the Durness area, including one of Keegan’s cousins.

  Last winter, Keegan had scuffled with McMurdo in Smoo Cave, and the old highwayman had kicked Keegan in the groin. He’d fought past the pain and subdued McMurdo by holding a knife to his throat. He shouldn’t have been so lenient with the bastard.

  Keegan and those beside him stared
back at the elevated green hillside. ’Twas too quiet, water trickling in a small burn and the late spring breeze fluttering the leaves of a nearby bush the only sounds. How he wished the mist would clear away, taking with it the outlaws’ cover.

  Keegan glanced back at Lady Seona, glad to see eight armored guards surrounding her and the other women. They were well-protected. One less thing for him to worry about when the outlaws decided to show themselves.

  Isobel held a lethal-looking dagger in her hand. ’Twas one she often carried in a scabbard at her side. Did Seona own a weapon? Would she even know how to use one? He should’ve taught her how to use a blade before this journey.

  “Ready yourselves,” Dirk said, pulling a pistol from his belt.

  Four archers on foot nocked their arrows and drew back the bow strings.

  Keegan unsheathed his basket-hilt broadsword and held a targe before him to deflect any arrows or sword strikes. His gaze traveled up the green hillside, swathed in vibrant bracken fern where men could easily hide. Plaid flickered in the hazy gray mist. “Look.” He pointed with his sword. “They’re going to try to ambush us from the hill.”

  “Move the women over there,” Dirk directed the guards, pointing toward an indention in the hillside surrounded by rocks and scrubby bushes. “And help them dismount. Put the horses in front of them.”

  “Have a care,” Lady Isobel said low, but her concerned words to her husband were clear.

  “Aye,” Dirk responded.

  Keegan envied their relationship. ’Twas obvious they were mad for each other. He yearned for that closeness with Lady Seona. But now was not the time to ponder such things. He needed to focus and clear his mind. Lives depended on it.

  Movement at the top of the hill drew his attention.

  “He may have stones the size of cannonballs,” Rebbie said. “But I’d love naught more than to shoot them off.”

  Dirk snorted. “I hope you get the chance, my friend.”

  All the men except the archers held swords and round targes, ready for battle.

  “’Haps you should move back, Dirk. The last thing we need is for the chief to be hit by a stray arrow.” Keegan felt daft even suggesting it, considering Dirk was probably the most capable warrior of them all, tall and broad of shoulder and about the same size as Keegan. They had sparred much over the past few months, training and keeping in practice. Sometimes Keegan won their matches and sometimes Dirk did, proving they were evenly matched.

  “Don’t worry over me, cousin.”

  An arrow whizzed down from the hill. All the men lifted their targes. The arrow struck Keegan’s and bounced off the central brass boss or one of the metal studs.

  “That little bastard,” Dirk muttered and dismounted. He led his beloved horse, Tulloch, to a safer spot and the other men did the same, including Keegan, not wanting their horses seriously injured or killed.

  “Show yourself, Haldane!” Dirk yelled toward the hill. “Coward!”

  A head popped up out of the bracken. ’Twas difficult to identify the person at this distance but he appeared to have red hair like Haldane.

  Dirk aimed his pistol and fired, but his target ducked.

  “I don’t want to kill my own brother, but I will if he forces my hand.” Dirk shoved the pistol into his belt. “There he is again! Archers, shoot!”

  At this distance, and with the mist reducing visibility, Keegan could not tell if the man was indeed Haldane. If not, he was likely in his gang. Besides that, he’d shot the first arrow, provoking retaliation.

  The MacKay archers let fly several arrows.

  “Come out and fight like men!” Dirk called out.

  Arrows streaked toward them from the hillside. With their targes, they easily deflected or caught each one.

  Annoyance twisted through Keegan. He was tired of this cat and mouse game and eager for a good fight. “I’m going after him.”

  “Not without me,” Dirk said.

  “Nay, you stay here. The clan needs you.”

  “The clan needs you as well,” Dirk grumbled.

  “You are the chief,” Keegan argued, matching his cousin’s fearsome glare.

  “Do you think that matters? Haldane is my problem and I’ll deal with him.”

  “I’m ready to go after him and McMurdo,” Rebbie said, eager battle-lust gleaming in his dark brown eyes.

  “We’ll all go,” Dirk said, motioning to a half dozen of his men.

  ***

  Lady Seona Murray watched with sickened dread as Keegan, Dirk and several more men charged boldly toward the hill where the outlaws lurked.

  She’d stayed with the MacKays for several months and almost considered them her clan now. They had certainly shown her more care and consideration than her own clan had.

  “Dirk,” Lady Isobel called, but not too loud. If her husband heard, he ignored her. “He is mad,” she grumbled through clenched teeth as the men disappeared from sight, the eerie mist enfolding them. “Haldane will kill him if he has half a chance.”

  “They are capable warriors,” Seona said, knowing she was right, but at the same time realizing they were not invincible. She said a silent prayer for their safety.

  “Aye,” Isobel said, her dark brows furrowed.

  The eight well-armed guards would not let the women move from the cover of the huge rocks surrounding them on three sides.

  Seona was equally worried about Keegan, but could not voice her concerns. Her Aunt Patience, standing on Isobel’s other side, could never know that Seona held Keegan MacKay in such high regard. All winter and spring he had made a point to greet Seona at every opportunity with a charming smile and a bow. Sometimes she would catch him watching her with an intense focus from the other side of the great hall, but he had not done anything more intimate than usher her to the high table and pull out a chair for her almost every evening.

  His pale blue eyes enchanted her, made her feel vibrantly alive. They reflected great interest and longing. She wanted to do naught but stare into his eyes for hours. His thick, tawny mane looked as if it would be soft and silky; her fingers itched to find out. Though he was a tall, broad-shouldered warrior, his size did not intimidate her, for he had an easy smile. The only part of him she had touched was his arm when he escorted her. Each time she slipped her hand around his elbow, she savored the hardness of his well-developed muscles.

  A few times this spring, on rare and precious sunny days, she and Isobel had watched the men training with swords in the walled barmkin outside Castle Dunnakeil. She could not tear her gaze away from Keegan then, especially when he grew warm and threw off his doublet. His muscles were obvious through the thin damp linen of his shirt, and his calf muscles beneath the bottom edge of his plaid intriguing.

  She only hoped he would be careful as he and the men pursued the outlaws. With each minute that passed in relative silence, Seona’s stomach ached more and more. The mist before them, strangely lit from behind by morning sunlight, hurt her eyes. She squinted against the brilliance.

  “Why have they not returned?” Isobel grumbled a quarter hour later.

  Having no answer for her friend, Seona shook her head. Indeed, what could be taking so long? Had they been ambushed and killed silently? A chill passed over her.

  “Will one of you go check on them?” Isobel asked the bearded guard closest to her.

  “Nay. The chief has commanded us to stay and protect you ladies,” he said in a brusque tone.

  A sound from within the white mist caught Seona’s attention and then a movement, low to the ground.

  Seona shoved Isobel into her aunt, toward the left side of the stony enclosure. Something struck the sandstone, spraying rock particles over them.

  “What on earth?” Aunt Patience squawked.

  The women ended up in a heap on the ground. Seona’s knee pained her, but she hoped she hadn’t injured the others.

  Seona looked behind her. “An arrow,” she said, pointing to the broken shaft and feathers on the ground whe
re it had bounced off the rocks exactly where Isobel had been standing.

  “Men advancing from the rear!” a guard shouted. A clunk against wood sounded as an arrow drove into his targe.

  The other guards cursed and moved into position to better shield the women.

  “Saints, Seona, you saved my life,” Isobel said in a stunned voice.

  Seona knew not what to say; she’d simply acted on instinct. Isobel had become like a sister to her over the past few months, and obviously she’d help her in any way she could. Just as she wished to return home and help her own sister.

  Seona’s attention was riveted to the four enemies on foot, wielding swords, storming from the bright mist in front of them, the opposite direction from where Keegan and Dirk had charged earlier.

  Chapter Two

  Who were the men materializing out of the blinding mist? As of yet, Seona could not see them well enough to distinguish their features.

  Four MacKay guards leapt from their horses, drew swords and lashed out at the attackers. Blades clashed and clanged. From her crouched position, Seona caught a glimpse of one of the outlaws—Haldane, with long red hair and a scruffy beard. His face possessed a gaunt, hungry look, and his green eyes glinted wildly.

  Seona envied Isobel’s dagger for she had naught to defend herself with besides the tiny knife she used while eating. She prayed the older, more experienced guards could easily defeat the young outlaws.

  Shouts echoed from the opposite direction, startling her. More enemies? Or the MacKays returning? Behind the tall rocks and horses, Seona was unable to see who was approaching. She and Isobel stood. Abruptly, Haldane and his three cronies fled into the mist. Keegan, Dirk, Rebbie and several more men chased after them on foot, swords drawn, battle-cries echoing.

  “Dirk!” Isobel shouted. “They could be hiding in the mist!”