***Quick author's note: For those who need the warning, we get just a little bit steamy this chapter, so maybe skip the middle of this chapter. Enjoy!***

William slit the throat of the man at his feet. It was a mercy killing. There was no sense in letting a man suffer as his lifeblood drained from his veins to water Mother Earth. The man was a Cameron; he'd told them as much. William and his men tended to their wounds and hurried to get on their way home. They couldn't follow the troupe of men who had taken his sister, but they could get home and gather forces to get her back. His father would not let this insult stand. They would retrieve Grier at any cost.

There were no dead among his men. The slain man at his feet was the only casualty, and that only because he wouldn't have survived his wounds even if tended. They needed a healer and reinforcements, and there was no time to waste getting home.

Ewan didn't trust Grier not to attempt an escape after he dismounted. He tied her wrists together as the men made camp for the night. He's been cordial to her the rest of the afternoon, and they'd stopped at the light waned. As soon as she could, she rushed to check on Adam, bound hands and all. He hadn't woken again, as far as she knew, since his second blow to the head. His hair was crunchy with dried and clotted blood. She examined him with gentle fingers from where the soldiers had laid him down near the horses. She brushed the hair from his forehead, tenderly checking him over for other wounds. She put his head in her lap, watching him for signs of change. His breath was strong and even, but she wanted to be there in case he woke up, ever the healer. The desire to be close was borne of the selfish impulse to stay by the only familiar thing she had with her, but the healer in her wasn't about to leave a patient who might need her. She herself was still a bit on the dizzy side, but the ache in her head had eased. She watched the men as they tended to their duties. She didn't trust any of them, although none of them had actively attempted to harm her since her abduction. None except Ewan, but his assault had been upon her lips only. She didn't expect her first kiss to be so aggressive. She had imagined it would be sweet and tender, like the maids in the keep growing up had described their kisses.

She watched as Ewan approached her. There was no swagger to him, just a radiation of power. He was tall, at least as tall as William, and broad with battle-earned muscle. He knelt down in front of her.

"You should eat something," he said, offering her a greasy piece of roasted rabbit from the fire.

"I'm not hungry," she said, lifting her chin to dare him to disagree.

"When you're hungry you can eat, just let one of the men know." He turned away from her, munching on the piece of rabbit he'd proffered .

She was too worried to eat. Adam hadn't woken yet, and she wouldn't eat until she knew he was safe.

A shadow fell over her, and she looked up to see another man kneeling in front of her, offering her food.

"I'm not hungry."

"Aye, you are. You're just too stubborn to take food from Ewan. I saw your lick your lips when we began roasting. Come on, eat. You're hurting no one but yourself, lass." He was an older man, skin weathered, but face lined with the marks of an often used smile. She lifted her hands and took the meat from him, stuffing the fragrant morsel into her mouth. He laughed at her enthusiasm. "Slow down, lass. There's plenty more. My name is Angus. You don't need to fear us. No one here would ever harm a woman."

"Funny. I get the feeling there is one of you who would."

"Ach, well, Ewan isn't as used to willful women as some of us. He'll change when he gets married and has a wife to contend with."

"I will not marry that brute," she spat.

"I'm not saying ye will, lass, but try to understand him. He's doing what he thinks is the best way to avoid wasting the lives of men on both sides of the battlefield."

"My father would never treat my mother like this man treats me."

"You're both young. Be easy. No harm will come to you. Now, let me have a look at your man here and see if I can't help him. You're bargaining chips, not slaves, and no use to anyone if you're dead."

With diligent fingers, Angus cleansed the blood from Adam's hair and bandaged him up with clean linen strips. Adam moaned a little and moved, making her heart beat faster. He was alive. If he was alive, then he would be fine. With that relief came the realization that she needed to tend to her own needs. She whispered her need for privacy to Angus, and he walked off, returning with Ewan behind him.

"I'll take you into the woods so that you may tend to yourself," said Ewan, offering her a hand.

"No," said Grier, struggling to her feet on her own, bound hands be damned.

"I'll only keep watch. You'll have your privacy. Or you can do it right here where someone else can keep an eye on you."

"Fine."

He grasped her gently by the arm, and guided her a little ways from the campsite. "I'll be over here if you need me."

"I won't," she snapped. She waited for him to walk off far enough, his back to her. After a few minutes, she shook her skirts back into place. It would have been easier if he'd untied her wrists, but Grier made due. Of course he wouldn't trust her to behave, and he shouldn't, thought Grier.

She looked over her shoulder at his back, lit from behind by the firelight that made its way through the trees. He was handsome, but she'd never let him know that she thought him so.

"Almost done?" he called over his shoulder.

"Aye. Have patience," she yelled back. She heard him grunt in response.

If she could get away, then she could find her brother and they could rescue Adam together. There just wasn't a lot she could do for Adam on her own. Quietly, she slipped into the woods' dark embrace, leaving the light of the fire, and Ewan's infuriating presence, behind her. If she went too quickly in the dark, she would fall. If she went too slowly, she would be caught. She paused every few moments to listen; nothing but stillness and night sounds followed her. It was so dark under the cover of the trees that she could just barely make out the shapes around her. The only noises were the night animals, the breeze as it brushed the leaves around her. It was soothing to listen to sounds that were so familiar to her.

"How far do you plan on going?" said a voice from out of the dark.

Grier jumped, her heart threatening to leap from her chest. "Don't do that," she said.

"Did you think I'd let you just walk away?"

"I had hoped you were dense enough not to notice, yes."

Ewan put a gentle hand to her arm, guiding her towards him in the darkness. She could just make out his outline.

"I am not afraid of you," she said.

"That's good. I don't want you to fear me."

"Then why do you handle me so roughly?"

He sighed. "You're difficult."

"That's not an excuse."

"My apologies, my lady."

She tilted her head back, trying to make out his face in the gloom. "Why?"

"I apologize and you ask 'why?'"

"Yes."

He chuckled, "Because my mother would have my hide if she thought I'd laid a hand on a woman in anger."

"Oh," she said.

"May I try again?"

"Try what?"

He pushed her backwards until she hit the rough bark of a tree, hands moving from her arm to rest at her waist. Her heart began to beat harder against her ribs. She felt his breath on her cheek, mere inches from her. One of his hands slid up waist, her shoulder, to cradle her head in his palm. The other pulled her gently against him as his lips descended onto hers. She sighed into him, the feeling of the kiss vastly different from the one he'd given her earlier. This one was soft, gently encouraging. His tongue licked along her lips. With a small moan, she arched into him, bound hands pressing into his chest, fingers curling into his shirt. She felt like she was melting into him, losing herself to her captor. He was just so warm.

Ewan ended the kiss, slipping his lips down her jaw, her throat, teeth nibbling as he made his way down her collarbone. She leaned into him, begging for more. Grier was lost to the sensations he caused in her, the burning heat he left in a trail behind him across her skin. She was so soft, so pliable in his arms. His trews were too tight, aching to take her there in the woods. He pulled away from her, knowing he had to stop now or he would never be able to keep his control.

"No," she cried in a soft voice near his ear.

"Yes. We should get back to camp before I do something you're not in a mind for yet."

She responded by looping her bound hands around his neck and pulling him down to her.

Her kiss was gentle, hesitant, inquisitive. Her inexperience flamed his need to take her, making it harder to pull away from her and keep away her until after he had her bound to him in the eyes of God and the law. With great reluctance, he ducked from under her arms, picking her up to carry back to camp. If he'd known it would be this easy to subdue her, then he would have done it sooner. His mother always said he would catch more flies with honey than vinegar. The girl snuggled into his shoulder, relaxing, becoming heavier, until he realized that she had fallen asleep in his arms. He had never considered himself to be a particularly comfortable bed, but for the moment he would be happy to serve as her temporary furniture. By the time he passed the last branches shielding them from camp, she was deep in her slumber, and he gently placed her down on a blanket, covering her up against the evening's chill.

"Sir," said one of the men.

"What is it?" said Ewan, standing.

"The captive has woken up. He's lucid."

"Good. Maybe he can shed some light on this situation then."

It was true. Adam had woken up. Angus had noticed him stirring while he sat nearby, watching the orange flames lick their way across the firewood. Truth be told, Adam thought he'd almost rather be dead than feel this awful. It was as if the hammer of the old smithy god banged down on his skull at every movement. The rough leader knelt down in front of him.

"Why were you escorting the lady home? Surely one or two men would have sufficed."

Adam spat. "She's not safe. You've proven that quite nicely."

"I am not her enemy, and neither am I yours. Answer the question."

"We'd gotten word at home that someone meant Lady Grier harm. Her father wouldn't allow us to take the chance. We were taking her home until you ambushed us."

"You wouldn't believe me if I said the rumor wasn't about me?"

"Not a pig's chance in hell."

"The truth doesn't sit easily with you then. I meant to rescue her from her abductors."

"Well you botched that rather well, didn't you, stealing her from her brother. Now you know the error you've made, let us go," said Adam.

"She's coming with me and so are you. I've sent a message to Laird Grant, and he will know what I'm about. If he disagrees, well, then we have a fresh problem to work with. Eat something before you pass out again," said Ewan, looking at the man's pale face.

"You can't do this to her. You can't have her."

Ewan's eyebrows lifted. "Is that so? And why not?"

"Because she doesn't belong to you. I vowed to protect her, and you won't stop me."

Ewan considered the captive. Nodding to Angus, he said, "Tie and gag him once he's fed. I want nothing he says upsetting the lady."

With that, he left the captive and Angus to their own devices, thinking that perhaps he had a little more competition for the lady's hand than he had expected.