Piper didn’t understand.Not at all. “Play along with what?”
“I’ll explain later,”he said, sheathing his sword. “Right now, I need yer name.”
She shouldn’t tell him.Shouldn’t cooperate. But something in his eyes—something that didn’t look quite as cruel as she’d first thought—made her answer.
“Piper,”she whispered. “ Piper Armstrong.”
“Piper.”He tested the name, and the way he said it—low and rough—sent an unwanted shiver down her spine. “I’m Elijah Quinn. Laird McMahon.”
A laird.Of course he was. Only lairds would have the money to participate in something like this.
“Are ye hurt?”he asked, taking a step toward her.
Piper flinched back.“Stay away from me.”
He stopped immediately.“I’m nae goin’ to hurt ye, Piper. I promise ye that.”
“Ye just foughta man for the right to claim me,” Piper said, her voice shaking. “What exactly do ye think claimin’ means?”
“It means keepin’ye safe,” Elijah said quietly. “It means gettin’ ye out of this nightmare. But to do that, ye need to trust me.”
“Trust ye?”Piper let out a bitter laugh. “I’ve known ye for five minutes, and ye’re already askin’ me to trust ye?”
“Aye,”he said simply. “I am.”
They staredat each other across the small clearing. Piper’s mind raced. Could she believe him? Could she trust that thisman—this laird who’d paid to participate in a hunt—actually wanted to help her?
Or wasthis just another trick? Another way to make her compliant?
“Come here, lass,”Elijah said, holding out his hand. “We need to go before any of the others come lookin’.”
“And if I refuse?”
His jaw tightened.“Then ye’ll be caught by someone far worse than me. Someone who really does see ye as a prize to be claimed. Is that what ye want?”
Nay.God, nay.The thought of that other laird—the one who’d chased her, who’d looked at her like she was meat—made bile rise in Piper’s throat.
But goin’with this man… trustin’ him…
“How doI ken ye’re tellin’ the truth?” she asked.
“Ye daenae,”Elijah admitted. “Nae yet. But ye will. I swear it on me clan’s honor, Piper. I’m nae goin’ to hurt ye.”
His clan’s honor.That was supposed to mean something, wasn’t it? Lairds didn’t make vows lightly.
But me parentsvowed to care for me, and look how that turned out.
Still,what choice did she have? Run deeper into the woods and hope she wasn’t caught? She’d barely survived the first ten minutes.
Slowly,Piper pushed away from the tree. Her legs trembled as she took a step toward Elijah. Then another.
He waited patiently,his hand still extended. When she was close enough, he reached out and gently took her arm. Not grabbing, not forcing. Just… guiding.
“There’s a good lass,”he murmured.
Then,before Piper could process what was happening, he bent and swept her up into his arms. She let out a startled yelp, her hands instinctively clutching at his shoulders.
“What are ye—put me down!”