Highland Enchantment (Highland Brides) Read Online Free

dizzy? Disoriented?" She moved her fingers upward, skimming them through his hair. A thousand unacceptable feelings shivered through him. He stifled a moan and kept his eyes wide open lest she realize the ecstasy of her touch.
    "Shouldn't you have worried about me before?" he asked, managing a grimace.
    She scowled, and for a moment he wondered if he saw the edge of guilt in her expression. That mystery aided in his attempt to shove away the raw emotions caused by the touch of her fingertips.
    She pulled her hand away. He remembered to breathe.
    It was clear by her expression that she thought she should have seen to his wounds earlier, but something had made her push on until nightfall. That wasn't like the Rachel he'd known since adolescence She was a healer first and foremost. All else was secondary.
    "Why the rush?" he asked. "Is there a babe somewhere that refuses to be birthed without your assistance?"
    "Is your vision impaired?"
    "Nay," he answered. "Tis not your cousin's babe that waits to be born is it? Shona's? Sara's?"
    "My cousins are fine." Her hand neared again. He caught his breath, and then she was touching him again, skimming her fingers light as moondust along the edge of his jaw and downward. Poetry danced like wicked sirens in his mind. "You're lucky. Your face is mostly unscathed. No broken bones there."
    "I'm an entertainer." It was difficult to speech, more difficult still to act nonchalant. "I must protect my best assets. At least my best visible assets." He forced a grin. "Else how will I entice those buxom young maids to perform with me? Ouch! God's balls, Rachel!" he scolded, covering his chest with his hand. "Are you trying to kill me?"
    "There's blood seeping through your tunic."
    "I noticed," he said irritably.
    "I thought perhaps you hadn't. There was a buxom maid involved," she said, settling back on her heels.
    "I but hope it didn't break her heart that I left so abruptly."
    "Last I saw of her, she was hanging on her husband's arm, admiring him for the manly way he trounced you."
    "More than probably she's scared of him."
    "And you're more than probably a fool!" she countered. They glared at each other for a moment then she exhaled deeply and glanced away. "You'll have to remove your tunic."
    "I—" he began, but Rachel interrupted.
    "Is my water boiling, Davin?"
    "Aye, my lady."
    Liam refused to contemplate how she knew the huge soldier was approaching from behind her.
    "Help me get the Irishman to the fire," she said. "Then you may find your pallet."
    "But..."
    She glanced up at the huge warrior. "Liam has long been a friend of my clan. I assure you, I am quite safe."
    With a brief nod, Davin bent over Liam. His hands closed like meat hooks around his burden's arms and Liam was wrenched to his feet. The distance to the fire was short. It only seemed as grueling as a journey to the Holy Land. But eventually he was dropped in front of the fire like so much ruined millet.
    "You are certain—" Davin began.
    "I will be safe," Rachel assured him. "And I need you rested. Go. Find your bed."
    Liam watched the huge guard turn, watched his blond head duck as he disappeared into a nearby tent.
    "So what hole did this Davin crawl from?" he asked.
    "You needn't concern yourself," Rachel said, and wrapping her hand in a scrap of woolen cloth, lifted a pot from the fire. "It seems you have enough to worry on."
    "Has some fat earl taken ill? Is Davin his man?"
    She poured the water into a pewter mug, then dipped her hand into a huge leather satchel and brought out a doeskin bag. Pulling out a few crispy leaves, she dropped them into the cup, swirled the contents about and set it aside.
    "Has Lord Haldane relapsed?" Liam asked, watching her closely.
    "When I left the duke he was on the mend," she said, and poured half the remaining water into a wooden bowl. Adding a dram of oil from a tiny jar, she dunked a folded cloth into the bowl and lifted it toward his face.
    So she had traveled to London to tend the