The Ranger Read online

  She groaned, her bones and joints objecting, as she attempted to stand. Creaking like an old woman, she made it back up to her feet.

  In no hurry to return to camp, she took a moment to savor the moment of solitude. Though the rest of the party was only a few dozen yards away, the dense canopy of trees and moss seemed to suck up sound. Occasionally, she could hear the faint sound of voices, but otherwise it was remarkably quiet and the most peace she’d had since arriving in the barmkin yesterday morning to find Sir Arthur Campbell ready to ride out with them.

  Nearly two days of trying to force herself not to look at him had taken its toll. It was worse than she’d feared. Even though she’d ignored him, avoiding his gaze every time he looked in her direction, she was painfully aware of his every movement. The hole of longing that seemed to be burning in her chest was growing bigger. Heavier. Grinding away at her emotions, leaving her raw and tender.

  She didn’t know how much more of this she could take. Why did he have to be here?

  Heaving a weary sigh, she turned from the soothing stream of water rushing over the rocks. Berta would send her brother after her in a panic if she didn’t return in the few minutes that she’d promised. Besides, it was getting dark.

  She’d taken only a few steps into the forest when a man stepped out of the shadows to block her path.

  Her pulse spiked in panic. She opened her mouth to scream, but it was smothered by recognition.

  Her mouth slammed shut. Her pulse, however, remained frantic. “Don’t do that,” she snapped, gazing up into the handsome face of Sir Arthur. “You scared me to death.”

  He hadn’t made a sound. How such a large man moved with such stealth, she didn’t know.

  “Good,” he snapped back. “You shouldn’t be out here alone.”

  “I wasn’t alone,” she said with a tight smile. “I had you spying on me.”

  She took supreme satisfaction from the tightening of his jaw. It was horrible of her to take such delight, but prying any kind of reaction from him seemed like a major achievement.

  He gave her a long, penetrating look. “Something I’m sure you know all about.”

  Now it was her jaw that felt tight.

  He was standing too close. Though her brother and the rest of the men were only a shout away, this was far more alone with him than she wanted to be. Being any kind of alone with him was dangerous.

  It made her remember things. Like kissing him and the taste of cloves. Or how the thick muscles of his naked chest had rippled in the candlelight. Or how the damp waves of his hair had curled against his neck. Or how he’d smelled. Like soap and—she inhaled—virile man.

  He hadn’t shaved, and the stubble on his chin gave him a rugged, dangerous edge that—devil take him!—only added to his appeal.

  Furious that he was getting to her after all that had happened, she tried to push past him. An exercise in futility if there ever was one. “There is no need for your concern,” she said. “I was just about to return.”

  He grabbed her arm to stop her, as if the impenetrable blockade of his chest weren’t enough. “Next time you leave camp, do not do so without a guard—preferably me or your brother.”

  Her cheeks burned, furious at his tone and his overbearing attitude. Sir Arthur Campbell, knight in her father’s service, overstepped his bounds. “You have no right to give me orders. The last time I looked, it was my brother—not you—who was in charge.”

  His eyes flashed, and his fingers tightened around her arm. His voice was very low and his mouth …

  She gasped. His mouth was low as well. Perilously so. Achingly close to hers. If she stood up on her tiptoes, she might even be able to reach it with her own.

  God, she wanted to. Desperately she wanted to. Heat flooded inside her, concentrating in her breasts and between her legs. Her nipples tightened, aching for the heated friction of his hard chest.

  Her body’s betrayal was humiliating. He had no right to make her feel like this. Not after his cruel rejection. Not after he’d left and proved that he was the man she’d first thought him. Why couldn’t he just leave her alone?

  “Do not challenge me in this, Anna. If you’d like me to get your brother involved, I will. I was trying to save you from the embarrassment of being treated like a child, but I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep you safe.”

  Something in his voice made her skin prickle with alarm. “What is it? Are the rebels near? Did you see something?”

  A shadow crossed over his eyes. He shook his head. “Not so far.”

  “But you sense something.”

  His gaze shot to hers, dark with suspicion, as if he thought she was trying to trap him into admitting she’d been right about the abilities he’d displayed before.

  He seemed poised to deny it, but then he shrugged, dropping his hand from her arm. “Aye, I feel danger. And you should, too. Don’t be fooled into thinking they aren’t out there just because we haven’t seen them.”

  Chastened by what she sensed was genuine concern, she nodded. “I will do as you ask.”

  Both of them knew he hadn’t asked, but he seemed satisfied enough by her agreement not to quibble with semantics.

  She knew she should walk away, but something made her ask, “Why are you here, Sir Arthur? Why did you insist on joining our party?”

  He looked away. Her question had discomfited him. Good.

  He squared his jaw. “I thought your brother could use my help.”

  “And I thought you didn’t like scouting.”

  A wry, enigmatic smile curved his mouth. “It’s not as bad as I feared.”

  Her eyes scanned his face, but she wasn’t sure what she was looking for. “And that’s the only reason? Because you wanted to help my brother?”

  He looked down at her. The intensity of his gaze penetrated with all the subtlety of a bolt of lightning. She could see the tic pulsing below his jaw. He was restraining himself, but from what?

  “Since you wouldn’t listen to my warning, I had no other choice but to come and ensure you reach your destination safely.”

  Safely delivered into the arms of another man. “I’m sure Sir Hugh will appreciate your service.”

  He tensed, his eyes sparking like wildfire. For a moment she thought he was going to push her up against the tree and kiss her.

  But he didn’t. Instead he clenched his fists and stared down at her angrily.

  It wasn’t disappointment she felt, it wasn’t, she told herself. But it didn’t work.

  “Don’t push me, Anna.”

  But she was past warnings. “Don’t push you? How could I push you when you don’t care? You made yourself quite clear that night in the barracks. You were the one who told me to stay away, remember? Not the other way around.”

  “I remember.”

  The huskiness in his voice told her that wasn’t all he remembered. Her skin started to heat and tighten. The memories crackled between them like a breath of air on embers, flaring, ready to catch fire.

  Anna didn’t understand why he was doing this. Frustration welled up inside her. “Have you changed your mind?”

  At another time Arthur would have admired her challenge. Anna’s frankness and openness were part of what made her unique. But not right now. He didn’t want to think about changing his mind. It was taking everything he had just to keep his hands off her.

  Why couldn’t she be shy and retiring? That he could handle.

  He knew he was acting like an arse, but two days of being near her, of watching her turn away to avoid his gaze, of her acting like he was nothing more than a hired sword, had stretched his restraint to the breaking point. He couldn’t take another evening of watching her flit around the campsite, laughing and smiling with the men. Smiles that were conspicuously absent in his direction.

  He liked it on the periphery, damn it. But from his familiar position on the edge of the campsite, away from the camaraderie of the fire, he found himself longing for the warmth of one of those s