“You’re alive,” he said, his voice low and dark but comforting.
Ryan? A sense of overwhelming relief washed over her. And a fuzzy question surfaced. When had he returned from Green Valley? She envisioned him racing to the rescue on a white steed while he wore the McKinley plaid, the kilt reaching his knees, sword belted at his waist, a shirt open to his collarbone, his face frowning as he scooped her up from the cold ground and—
“I’ve got her!” Ryan wrapped her in something warm and soft that smelled of him, his distinctive male scent of fresh soap and heat. Of spices and the wind in the firs, of the wild. Was it his plaid? She imagined him now wearing only the long shirt that reached mid-thigh and sturdy leather boots that met his knees, his expression worried and stern.
“Are you all right?” he asked, lifting her off the cold ground. He jostled her as he ran, his arms so tight around her that she felt he was going to crush her. But the heat and his protectiveness comforted her.
And when they reached the laird’s castle, he was going to kiss her and tell her how much he loved her, how he couldn’t live without her. She would be a member of his clan as they would want her to join them. Despite her being a MacDonald. Did the McKinley clan fight with the MacDonalds? She didn’t know but fervently hoped not.
“Carol, can you focus?” His darkened eyes studied her for a moment as he rushed toward their destination.
She parted her lips, couldn’t get a word out, closed her eyes, and concentrated on him and the way he held her so… so possessively.
He squeezed her tight again and kissed her lips gently, which got her attention. As soon as she opened her eyes, even as blurry as her vision was, she saw his lips curve slightly upward, but his brow was still furrowed in a deep frown.
After what seemed like forever, his feet tromped on wooden steps—when she thought they should have been stone—and then inside. She felt the warmth of the castle keep and smelled the scent of apple pies coming from the kitchen far away.
“Ohmigod… Carol. Is she all right?” Lelandi asked. “What’s happened?”
Lelandi? The Highland romance Carol was living instantly died, and she remembered the pies Lelandi, Silva, and she had made after returning from the tavern and her date with Ryan.
“I think she’s been drugged. She’s not said a word since I found her. She can barely open her eyes, and she is limp and unresponsive.” Ryan rushed through the house.
Carol smelled the scent of the roses on the mantel as they passed them. Felt his legs lift, his thighs bumping her back as he ascended the stairs. What was she wrapped in, if not his plaid?
“Where were you when Sam raised the alarm?” Lelandi’s words were spoken close behind him, her footfalls on the carpeted stairs lighter but just as hurried.
“I was searching the woods out back when I heard gunfire and Sam’s yelling. When I drew too close to her kidnappers, they must have heard me coming and dropped her.”
“Oh, Carol.” Lelandi’s voice was clearly shaken. “Take her to her room. I’ll call Doc.”
Then the hazy world seemed to fade away. Carol was safe and home for the moment with the man of her dreams. And free.
Chapter 12
RYAN HUGGED CAROL TIGHTER AS HER SLIGHTLY TENSE body seemed to lose all strength again. He’d gotten Darien’s approval to stay and guard her, but damn if Darien had said he’d stay in the sunroom, which was too far from Carol’s bedroom to be any help. Although he’d planned to sit in the recliner in her room later that night anyway. If he couldn’t serve as her bodyguard in the way he felt would offer her the right amount of protection, there was no sense in his being here.
If he hadn’t been searching around the grounds outside before he retired for the evening, he’d never have heard the men take off with her on the other side of the rambling two-story house in time. And if he hadn’t nearly reached them to identify them by sight, they wouldn’t have dropped her and left her behind, he was fairly certain. For that, he was grateful.
“Carol, can you hear me? It’s me, Ryan,” he said, his voice soothing, wanting her to know it was him and not one of the men who had taken her hostage.
“Hmm,” she said, stirring a little.
As little as it was, he was still glad to hear her response. “Until Doc gets over here with something to counteract the sedative they used on you, you’re going to feel pretty out of it. Your skin and hair are caked with soap, and Lelandi doesn’t have the strength to wash you in the shower. A bath would take too long to prepare, not the way you’re shivering. I’ll have to wash you in the shower.”
“Hmm.”
He took that as a yes, although they hadn’t any other choice.
When he reached the bathroom, the shower had been turned off, but the room was thick with warm moisture, the mirrors steamed, the scent of sweet peaches still lingering in the air. He lay Carol down on a towel on the tiled floor, but as soon as he released her, she reached her hands slightly up to him.
“I’m right here, Carol,” he coaxed, squeezing her hands, hating to have to leave her unattended for even a second when she didn’t seem to understand what was going on.
Then he released her again and turned on the hot water. Once he had stripped out of everything but his boxers and when the water temperature felt right, he unwrapped her from his goose-down jacket and lifted her in his arms.
She shivered, and he squeezed her tightly against his body as he climbed into the tub.
“I’m going to set you down, wash the soap off, and then dry you and put you into bed. Doc will be here soon.”
Lelandi hurried into the bathroom. “What will the other bachelors think?” Her tone was more amused than alarmed. She eyed him as he stood in only his boxers with a naked Carol in his arms. “Here, let me help,” she said, reaching out to grab Carol’s arm.
“I’ve got her,” Ryan said, setting Carol down in the tub, not wanting Lelandi to do any heavy lifting in her condition.
Lelandi handed him the handheld showerhead, and he washed Carol’s face and hair, the spray wetting him also. “She’s probably got soap in her eyes. If I can’t get her to open them, Doc will have to flush them.”
“He’s unable to come. He said the drug should wear off. Silva will pick up some medicine that will help counter the sedative. Doc’s got three cases of swine flu and a human boy whose brother accidentally broke his nose playing basketball with him, and one of the pregnant humans is in labor now, so he has to remain at the hospital. Nurses Charlotte and Matthew are busy helping him.”
“I should have been with her. Those bastards would have never gotten near her.” Ryan lifted Carol’s chin and applied a steady stream of water to her face.
Lelandi grabbed a towel from the nearby rack. “I’m sure Darien will agree now to allow you to stay close to her.”
“A little late,” Ryan muttered. From now on, he would do this his way.
“I feel the same way, but you know Darien. You’re an outsider.” Lelandi handed Ryan a warm, wet washcloth. “He still wanted one of his bachelor males to woo her. Now you’re becoming a real obstacle to his plans.”
His own feelings mixed on the subject, Ryan wasn’t about to reveal his thoughts on the matter. “How do you feel about what he thinks?” When she didn’t respond, Ryan looked back at Lelandi and noted the wry amusement on her face. He shook his head. “Jake or Tom would make tolerable mates for her but not the beta males.”
“What about you?” Lelandi asked softly.
With the rush of the shower as he ran the water over Carol’s hair, he almost didn’t hear Lelandi’s words. “I’m here to do a job. Serve as her bodyguard. That’s all.” Yet even as he spoke the words, he didn’t feel sincere in the least.