Claiming the Courtesan

ravity. Break her? He might just as well try to catch the moon and bring it down to earth.

Even if he managed such an unlikely feat, he’d merely set the moon before her for her delight. His passion for this one woman was his eternal fate.

He dismounted swiftly and took a stride toward her. Tannasg was perfectly trained and stayed where he was.

“Verity, it’s over. Give up. You’ll never find your way through these mountains.” Trying to sound unthreatening, he stretched his hand out. “Come to me.”

She shook her tousled, dark head. She looked tired, dirty, wet, bedraggled. And heart-stoppingly beautiful. The bizarre assortment of clothes she’d stolen from the house hung too large on her and added to her air of fragility.

“No.” She was frighteningly near the edge, and he didn’t want to startle her into any sudden move.

He made his voice soft and coaxing. “Come to me, Verity.”

“I haven’t gone through all this for nothing,” she said bitterly.

“I promise I won’t hurt you.” He risked another step. She was almost within reach.

She laughed scornfully. “I know what your promises are worth.”

“Verity,” he said and lunged across the last distance to grab her.

She jerked away, and his hand slid uselessly on the smooth skin of her arm. She screamed as she toppled over the edge.

Chapter 16

“Jesus, no!”

Was it a prayer or a curse? Kylemore didn’t know. Verity’s scream rang in his ears as he flung himself to his knees and crawled to the edge of the cliff. Every second seemed to stretch into an hour. Every falling stone echoed like a thunderclap.

“Thank God,” he whispered as he peered over the ledge.

She clung to the precarious slope about a dozen feet down. The cliff didn’t fall away in a sheer drop, but the stony surface was unstable and she could slide to the base of the ravine any time in a deadly tumble of rocks.

“Hold on.” He looked directly into her terrified eyes, desperate to instill what strength he could.

“Of course I’ll hold on!” she snapped back.

This reaction was so purely her, so utterly true to the woman he’d come to know, that he almost smiled. She fought her fear the only way she could. With anger. He understood the response. But unspoken terror flattened her lush lips, and her arms strained against the rocks. His own terror coiled like a cobra in his belly. If she let go, nothing would save her.

He fought to keep his voice steady. “I haven’t got a rope. But if I throw you my coat, you can use it to climb up.”

He lifted himself up far enough to strip off his coat with trembling hands. All the time, he held her gaze, as if he kept her on that rockface through sheer mental power alone.

“Hurry, Kylemore.” This time her voice held no bravado.

“Don’t look down,” he said urgently. “Look at me.”

She closed her eyes, as if gathering her will. When she opened them again, they focused unwaveringly on him.

“Trust me. I’ll get you out of this,” he told her.

Let it be true, oh, let it be true, his heart pleaded.

He reached out as far as he could and threw the long coat, holding tightly to one sleeve. Even with his arm fully extended, the garment still landed a good four feet above Verity. He swore under his breath and cast again.

It was no good. The coat was too short.

“Verity, Hamish should be here soon. Can you hold on? If I climb down to you, the whole hill will likely go flying.” A small rockfall near her left hand confirmed what he said.