Fin tossed his head and shrugged. “I don’t think I want to be around when you tell her what’s happened.”
“I’m not going to tell her.”
Fin dropped the stone to his lap, gave his brother his full attention. “What do you mean?”
“I’m keeping this information from her until we have had a chance to grow to know each other better.”
“You mean until you bed her.”
Duncan winced at how his brother’s words sounded. He wanted to deny them, but couldn’t.
“Aye.”
“Be careful, brother. Tara has already been deceived enough for one lifetime. Keeping this from her might be the cause of great misery for you both.”
“Telling her now would send her fleeing in the night.”
“If that is what worries you, then lock her in her rooms.”
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Duncan shook his head. “Have our trips to the future left no impression on your brain? If you bind women from her century, they will despise you for a lifetime. No one wants to feel trapped.”
“And you, brother, are daft if you don’t realize Tara is already trapped. Both of you are duly trapped.”
Still, Duncan wasn’t going to tell her anything about their binding vows. Instead, he would woo her like he’d been doing in her time.
Of course he would have to wait for her to stop yelling, and throwing things at the walls. He had to stop picturing the imaginative ways she conjured torturing him, even if it was only in her head, before he could implement his plan.
Unlike Fin, Duncan was a patient man. He would wait as long as it took for Tara to see they were meant to be together.
Just as he started to relax, a tremor of dread went through him. Duncan stood abruptly, startling his brother.
“What is it?” Fin jumped around to see what caused Duncan to move so quickly.
“Damn it,” Duncan cursed. Adding nothing in the way of an explanation, he ran out of the room at an alarming speed.
Not needing an invitation, Fin followed.
****
The more she paced, the angrier she became. He’d lied. Over and over again, he had lied to her.
God he had made her want him. She desired him more than any other man she had ever dated.
Ever kissed.
Disgusted with the way her skin tingled thinking about being in his arms, Tara tossed a heavy tray at the wall.
Duncan had used her. What made him so different from the woman he called Grainna? Worse, 118
Binding Vows
Duncan had used her emotions and feelings, tossed them at her for his needs. Maybe that wasn’t a fair assessment of the situation, but Tara didn’t care.
She was hurt and angry. She hadn’t even begun to consider what life in his time would mean. She did realize she would never see Cassy or her sister and nephew again.
She yelled her frustration and noticed the heat of anger building all over again. With all that fury, the need to get outside overwhelmed her.
She grabbed her sweater off her bed and stormed out of her room. She didn’t notice her own strength when she slammed the solid wood door behind her and it bounced off the wall.
The hallway was clear. Not that it mattered.
She would likely punch anyone who blocked her path. She almost dared Duncan to get in her way.
She found the main hall where she had confronted Duncan and his parent’s only hours before. The massive double doors towering over fifteen feet tall had to be the way out of the house.
Not that the MacCoinnich’s residence resembled a mere home. The place was a friggin’ castle! One she might appreciate, if she was on tour in Scotland with a bunch of old people enjoying their retirement.
But no! She wasn’t on tour. That fact was confirmed further when she crossed over the front door threshold.
She stepped into a huge courtyard where several men dressed in armor and kilts all stopped participating in their daily chores to gawk at the new arrival. A few horses were tied to posts, while others had riders on their backs.
“Take a picture!” she yelled before storming past them all.
She had no idea where she was going. Sunlight pooled down on her from above, through another set of doors, looking very much like they belonged on the 119
Catherine Bybee
set of a movie.
The doors were large enough to allow six or seven men to move through, side by side on horseback. It was obviously the way in and therefore her ticket out.
She tossed her hair over a shoulder, sucked in a deep breath, and damn near ran to her freedom.
****
The front doors were left open, and by the look on the men’s faces Duncan knew she had already crossed their paths. “Where?” He barked the question to all who stood staring.
Several men pointed in the direction of the gate.
He could hear her curses in his head and knew she hadn’t gotten very far.