Page 40 of Highland Spy

She was the kind of woman men couldn’t help but want.

And it made something inside Connor want to fight every damn one of them.

Conversations buzzed around him, and only then did he realize he hadn’t been paying attention to what was being said.

He’d been too distracted.

He gritted his back teeth.

They’d be there all night if he didn’t focus, and the last thing he wanted was to keep Ariana in the ring of all these men.

He skulked through the crowd, head lowered with a gait meant to suggest he’d already had a few pints of ale before his arrival. A man no one noticed despite his upturned hand in a show of begging coin. He shuffled his way down the long lines of tables, listening intently to every word spoken, sifting through what was useless and what held potential.

“Aye, I hear she’s a fine one,” a man said on Connor’s right. “The kind of lass that shouldna be in a convent.”

Connor moved closer and tried to listen when Ariana’s soft laughter sounded behind him.

He turned, slight enough to be imperceptible, but enough to see the man’s hand resting on Ariana’s inner thigh.

Rage heated Connor’s body, leaving him boiling beneath the thick cloak he wore. A cool coin pressed into his palm, pulling at his attention once more.

“And why’s the lass in a convent?” asked another voice in the same conversation.

“I think it’s her brother who’s put her there.”

Connor’s heartbeat thundered in his ears.

Ariana’s back was only several feet away. Her flimsy sleeve had slipped from its place and revealed the delicate curve of her shoulder, her flesh flawless and naked.

He felt the sudden urge to trail the pad of his middle finger over the graceful line arching from her neck to her arm, but instead placed his hand fully upon her.

The skin beneath his palm was warm and soft.

“The men behind ye were generous.” He spoke in a cracking, aged voice. He knew Ariana would understand he meant for her to get information from them. “Would ye be so as well, lovely lass?”

The large man beside Ariana grabbed Connor’s wrist and flung his hand from her. “Dinna touch her, ye filthy lout.”

Connor measured the man in a quick glance: an overly sure beast who would be taken down easily.

Ariana lay her hand in a graceful gesture on the man’s chest. “We must be kind to those less fortunate.” She rose from the bench and he stiffened.

“Where are ye going?” he demanded.

Ariana continued to rise. “To see if the other table will aid me in helping to buy a meal for this poor man, of course.”

“If I kill him, he won’t need to eat.”

Connor fought to suppress an eye roll at the arrogant show.

The man’s hand wrapped around Ariana’s wrist and Connor’s body went tight, his muscles ready to spring into a fight. Connor knew men like the one holding Ariana now. They did as they wanted, they took what they wanted. They did not accept no as an answer.

“Tut tut,” she admonished gently. “Surely you aren’t afraid I won’t come back.” Her tone was coy.

She leaned toward the man’s ear and said a few words before easily extracting herself from his grip. She left with little more than a wink and received not a word of protest.

Whatever the hell it was Delilah was teaching, she knew what she was doing.

Ariana had no trouble finding a place among the men who’d been speaking of the nunnery, and within minutes, Connor was set against a rear table with a plate full of steaming food.