Page 128 of The Dragon Laird’s Obsession

Kerr jerked away, and Ailis stumbled forward again.

Then pain sliced across her palm, and she gasped.

His dagger had caught her as he tried to stop her. A thin line of blood appeared across her skin as she panted. Fear gripped her so tight, her heart nearly stopped beating.

Kerr stared at it as his patience finally fractured.

“Enough.” His hand tangled painfully in her hair.

Ailis cried out as he dragged her backward. “Let me go!”

“I have been patient with ye for far too long.”

He hauled her toward the priest now, and Ailis fought every step.

The priest looked horrified. “Me Laird, this is hardly⁠—”

“She will be me wife.”

“Nay,” Ailis gasped.

Kerr forced her down. Her knees struck the cold stone and pain shot through her legs. Blood dripped from her palm.

She looked down at it then at Kerr.

Years ago, she might have begged or trembled before him.

She was not that girl anymore, and she would not let him force her.

She lifted her chin, gathering her courage again. “I willnae marry ye, nay matter what ye do!”

Kerr’s nostrils flared, his face reddened with his anger. “Ye willnae refuse me for long.”

“I belong to nay man, especially nae to ye.”

Kerr turned to the priest who watched them with a terrified look. “Do as I command and wed us this instant,” he ordered, and his words shook through the hall.

The priest’s face drained. “Me Laird⁠—”

“Do it.” Kerr stared at the old man as his expression twisted with helplessness. “All right then… if ye willnae wed us, then I shall simply ruin her, and make her mine.”

Kerr grabbed Ailis’ arm to drag her to the exit again, and this time Ailis struggled with even greater force, her despair set into every strain of her voice.

Thankfully, the doors burst open as they struggled, and Ailis froze when she heard the heavy thud of footsteps. For one impossible heartbeat, Ailis could only stare through her tear-blurred vision as Gordon entered.

He was covered in dust and road grime, his hair disordered from the ride, his face hard with fury. His chest rose and fell as though he had ridden without stopping. His eyes found hers, and everything else disappeared.

“Gordon.” His name left her lips as barely more than a breath.

Kerr released her as Gordon stepped forward. “How did ye get in here? Me Keep is heavily guarded.”

Gordon took a step forward. “Yer men are weak. They daenae have the strength to stop me. Now take yer hands off me wife.”

The words seemed to shake the very room.

Ailis’ heart slammed against her ribs.

Me wife.