As soon as the big black entered Wildfire's stall, he went to her feed box and began to eat, completely ignoring the mare. Wildfire blustered over the invasion of her territory, but the stallion quickly established his superiority by letting out an ear-piercing snort that made Alec grin. The horse flared his nostrils, then lashed out with a solid kick to her backside. Wildfire was duly intimidated. There wasn't room enough for her to rear up. She gave it several good tries anyway. The stallion let her have her way, and in the end, she quit her blustering and joined him at the feed box. She only tried to nudge the stallion away from her food once.
'My stallion is just as possessive as I am,' Alec remarked.
'Milord?' Donald asked, obviously confused by that comment.
'Never mind,' Alec said. He was smiling, for he was thinking of Jamie. Then he remembered Father Murdock's comment that Jamie wanted a bedroom of her own.
'Like hell,' he muttered. The horse had more sense than her mistress, he decided.
Alec wasn't going to let the matter rest. He was going to have a quick talk with her. The only bed she was going to be sleeping in was his bed. He'd soften his lecture, of course, because he didn't want her to cry again. But he was going to stand firm in his decision. And that, as she liked to say, was that.
Jamie didn't have any idea of the worry she was causing her husband. She'd only just realized she'd taken the wrong direction. After having a pleasant conversation with the blacksmith, she decided to meet the occupants of the other cottages nestled together near the back wall.
'They all be at their nooning meal,' the blacksmith announced.
'Could I have a look inside each hut, do you suppose, Henry?' she asked.
'Of course, mistress,' the bald man agreed. 'They'll be honored when I tell them you were interested enough.'
Jamie took her time climbing the steep hill. She paused to pick some sweet-smelling wildflowers growing near the wall, then continued on. She thought she heard a sound behind her and turned to greet whoever was approaching.
There wasn't anyone there, however, and she concluded the wind was playing tricks on her.
Jamie looked inside the cutter's cottage, walked on to the last hut, the tannery, and was just peeking inside when she was given a mighty shove from behind. She was so startled by the sudden attack, she fell forward to her knees.
The door slammed shut on her soft gasp of disbelief.
There weren't any windows in the hut. It was as dark as night inside. She whispered an unladylike expletive as she began to feel around the earthen floor for the flowers she'd dropped.
Jamie assumed the wind had pushed the door forward and she just hadn't gotten out of the way in time.
She gave up trying to find the flowers in the dark, stood up, and brushed the dirt off her skirt.
Alec would certainly think she was as awkward as a new foal if he could see her now, she thought to herself.
She still hadn't caught the danger. Jamie didn't begin to worry until she smelled the smoke. She tried to get the door open. It wouldn't budge.
She did panic then. She pounded on the door with all her might, shouting for Alec. The little square hut was turning into an inferno. In less than a minute, the entire roof was in flames.
Her screams soon turned into weak coughs. A piece of timber fell next to her feet. Jamie moved away from the beam, amazed that such an easy feat could be so difficult. She stared in fascination at the long-stemmed pink rose she was holding until the heat began to curl the edges of the soft petals.
The flames were licking their way toward her. The hut became filled with smoke, and it was simply too difficult to stand.
Jamie collapsed to the ground, gasping for clean air. The earthen floor felt wonderfully cool against her face.
She refused to believe she was going to die. Alec would get there in time. He'd save her. He had promised to protect her.
Oh, God, please make him hurry. Don't let him be left alone again. He needs me.
He still needs to tell me he loves me, she thought.
And just where in bloody hell was he?
Jamie was suddenly furious. After he saved her, she was going to give him a good lecture on the merits of being prompt.
Lord, she was losing her mind. The burst of anger had drained the remainder of her strength. Jamie closed her eyes and began to pray.
Alec's anguished roar reached her through the haze of smoke. Jamie managed a weak smile. 'Thank you,' she whispered to her Maker.
Alec had just started up the hill when he heard the shouts. He'd seen the flames atop the tannery hut then. He quit breathing and started running. By the time he caught up with Gavin, he was in a rage. He knew she was inside. He knew.
He and Gavin reached the hut at the same moment. They both saw the beam of wood propped against the door. Gavin kicked the wood out of the way just as Alec ripped the door off its hinges and threw it to the ground.
Terror gave him added strength. And when he saw Jamie, he was so consumed with fury, he nearly felled the walls with his tormented bellow.
He had her in his arms and outside the hut before the walls collapsed. Alec knelt on the ground, protecting her in his arms, afraid to breathe until he was certain she was breathing, too. Her racking coughs should have been evidence enough for him that she had survived, but his mind was still too raw with fear to think with much logic.
It took him long minutes to regain some semblance of control. Gavin knelt next to him.
'Alec, let her have some air,' he whispered, barely recognizing his own weak voice.
Jamie opened her eyes to find her husband's worried face above her. She tried to smile at him through her tears. His eyes were misty, too, she noticed when her thoughts stopped trying to skip away from her. The smoke must have affected his vision, she decided.
She reached up to touch his forehead and only then realized she was still clutching one of the wilted flowers. She let go of the flower and began to stroke his brow.
He touched her forehead at the very same moment.
'I promised you I wouldn't leave you.' Her voice sounded like a gruff old man's.
'I'll never let you.' His voice sounded like dried leaves being stomped on.
They shared a smile. 'You're all right now, Jamie? You weren't hurt?'
The caring in his eyes stunned her. 'I knew you'd save me.'
'How would you be knowing that?' he asked.
'Because you care, Alec Kincaid.'
She had imitated his burr perfectly. Alec nodded, pleased with her answer. He stood up, keeping her head tucked under his chin. He noticed the crowd of soldiers when he turned to walk down the hill. 'She's none the worse for her mishap,' he called out.
Jamie tried to pull away just a little so she could nod to his men, but Alec slammed her back against his chest in a hug as fierce as a bear's.
He inadvertently squeezed another cough out of her, too. The man simply didn't know his own strength, she thought happily. He didn't know his actions were so telling, either. She could feel the tremors in his arms. And when she'd been waiting for him to save her, it was her name she'd heard him bellowing. He was beginning to love her, if only just a little, whether he was willing to admit it or not.
That realization made her forget all about her brush with death. 'You took your sweet time coming after me, Kincaid,' she reminded him.
'The hell I did,' he countered with a grin. 'I ran like Satan.'
'I'm not so insignificant to you after all, am I?'
He didn't answer her until they'd reached the castle doors. 'No, you're not.'
She realized after a long minute that he wasn't going to give her any more than that. But all the same, she
