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.With Gillian, anything was possible.“Hold, Sinclair!” Ross shouted when Sinclair finally saw him and would have fled.Ross reined in sharply beside him.“I’ll thank you to keep your hands off my wife.”“Our meeting was accidental,” Sinclair replied, keeping a wary eye on Ross.“We were merely discussing old times.”Ross slanted a speaking glance at Gillian.“Why didna you tell me you wanted to go riding? I would have found you a proper mount until your own horse arrived from Braeburn.Go home, Gillian.We will discuss your behavior later.”Gillian stiffened her shoulders.“There is naught wrong with my behavior.As Angus said, we were merely socializing.”“From now on you will socialize in the hall, like a civilized person.”Gillian bristled.“Are you suggesting I amna civilized, MacKenna?”“I am suggesting you are acting inappropriately for a married woman.Some might misinterpret your accidental meeting.”If Ross didn’t know better, he would have sworn he saw flames shooting out of Gillian’s head.“You canna tell me how to act, MacKenna,” Gillian charged.“Wife or nay, I will do as I please, and it pleases me to converse with Angus.If not for your agreement with my father I would be Angus’s wife.”Ross clenched his fists at his sides to keep from reaching for Sinclair and beating him to a bloody pulp.Angus backed his horse away.“’Tis best you return to Ravenscraig, Gillian.I fear for your life if you continue to defy the brute you were forced to wed.” He turned to Ross.“If you beat Gillian, MacKay will call off the truce.”Ross knew precisely whom he wanted to beat, and it wasn’t Gillian, although a thorough tongue-lashing might ease his temper.“I have yet to beat a woman, but that may change verra soon.”“I’d like to see you try it,” Gillian dared him.Ross spared her a withering look.“Go home, Gillian.I want a private word with Sinclair.”Ross’s fierce expression must have convinced Gillian, for she reined her horse around and galloped off.“Foolish lass,” Ross bit out.“Raven is the devil’s spawn.She shouldna be riding him at breakneck speed.”“You care naught for Gillian,” Angus charged.“You wouldna keep a leman if you did.”Ross narrowed his eyes.He was seconds away from wringing Sinclair’s neck.“Who told you I kept a leman?”Angus smirked.“Gillian.Did you go to your leman after you relieved Gillian of her virginity?”That did it.Ross leaped at Angus and bore him to the ground.The smaller man didn’t have a chance.Ross had his dirk out and pressed against Angus’s jugular before Angus could reach for his own weapon.“Go ahead and kill me, MacKenna,” Angus goaded.“Killing me is one way to end the truce.”“Why are you so anxious for the feud to resume?”Angus bared his teeth.“You stole my woman.I want you dead, MacKenna.The sooner you die, the sooner I can claim Gillian.If it takes a resumption of the feud to kill you, then that is what I want.”“’The feud is done, over, Sinclair.Accept it.But heed me well: If you persist in pursuing my wife, I will kill you.Once MacKay is made aware of my reason for killing you, the truce will remain firmly in place.”Picturing Gillian in Sinclair’s arms made Ross crave Sinclair’s blood.Had Gillian yearned for Sinclair even as Ross was making love to her last night? His blood boiled at the thought.Gillian was his, and he intended to keep the flame-haired hellion.Slowly Ross withdrew his dirk and rose to his feet.Angus inched backward across the ground before rising and dusting himself off.“That was uncalled-for, MacKenna.”“Take that as fair warning, Sinclair.I am the only man with the right to bed Gillian.”“Will you take her even if she is unwilling?” Sinclair challenged.The corner of Ross’s mouth curled up in a smile so charged with sexual innuendo that no one could mistake his meaning.“Do you really think Gillian is unwilling? She didna resist me on our wedding night.In fact, she ignited in my arms and burned to a cinder.”He leaped onto his horse, still smiling at Sinclair.“’Think on that before you attempt to seduce my wife again.” Digging his heels into his mount, he rode off, leaving Sinclair choking on his dust.Fuming in impotent rage, Ross reined his sure-footed gelding back toward the hills.No matter how badly he wanted to return home to confront Gillian, it would have to wait until later.He needed to cool down first.Gillian returned to Ravenscraig in a fury.How dared MacKenna embarrass her in front of Angus! It wasn’t as if MacKenna held her in high regard.He barely knew her.Their marriage had been dictated by circumstances; he had no right to tell her whom to befriend.Why should he care what she did, when he had Seana waiting for his summons? The man was impossible, a veritable ogre: possessive and overbearing.A thought occurred to Gillian as she rode through the gates into the courtyard.Would MacKenna really attempt to beat her? Angus had thought so.But the threat of a beating didn’t bother Gillian in the least.She could protect herself as well as any man.Gillian dismounted before the stables and tossed Raven’s reins to the stable lad.By the time she strode through the front door, she was in no mood for a confrontation with Seana or anyone else.When Donald hailed her, she pretended not to hear and proceeded up the stairs to the solar.She went directly to her trunk, which had been delivered the day before, and flung open the lid.Gillian had no idea whether Ross was angry enough to beat her but she wasn’t going to take any chances.She rummaged amid the clothing in her trunk until she found the sword her father had given her.It was lighter than a claymore but sharp and deadly.Dismayed, she shook her head.She had been wed but one day and already felt the need to defend herself.Gillian paced her chamber, waiting for Ross to return.She had missed the midday meal but felt no hunger pangs.Nor was she afraid to face the MacKenna.It was nearly time for the evening meal before she heard his footsteps approaching her chamber.She reached for her sword, hiding it in the folds of her skirt just as the door burst open.Ross stormed into the chamber and halted before Gillian.Her defiant attitude was something to behold.Though he knew he shouldn’t, he admired her spirit.“What have you to say for yourself, woman?”“I wanted to go riding.There is naught else to say.”“Did you arrange to meet with Sinclair?”“When, pray tell, was I supposed to do that?”“I doona know.What did he want?”“We were simply passing the time of day.”Ross’s mouth flattened.“Doona lie to me, wife.He had his hands on you.”Gillian’s chin angled higher.“Verra well, if you must know, he had wife stealing in mind.”Ross felt ready to explode despite his unnatural calmness.“You were wise to refuse.”“Who said I refused?”Ross felt a burning sensation in the pit of his stomach.“Doona jest with me, Gillian.One thing I willna abide is an unfaithful wife.”Gillian glared at him.“What about an unfaithful husband?”“I have no intention of betraying my wedding vows.Heed me well, wife.There will be no more ‘accidental’ meetings with Sinclair or any other man.”Gillian bared her teeth.“What will you do, beat me?”He reached for her.Gillian must have thought he meant her harm, for she whipped out the sword she had hidden in the folds of her clothing, holding him at bay with the sharp tip
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