Taken By Storm Part 2

"Anything I can do to sway your choice?"

"Tell me what brought you to Scotland."

His brown eyes glared down at her. "I'm here to find my half brother and I don't intend to leave until I do."

Chapter 3.

"I t's a long story and I don't want to bore you with it. Needless to say, it's imperative I find my half brother, and I've been told that I might find him in Dunwith," Burke said. He would feed Storm what was necessary for her to help him, for now, especially since he had discovered there might be a bounty on his brother's head.

"Does he know you search for him?" she asked.

"He doesn't know of my arrival." That his brother didn't even know of his existence wasn't something he

was willing to share with her just yet. Her suspicion of his explanation was obvious in the tight set of her rosy lips and the squint of her turbulent blue eyes.

"What exactly do you want of me if I grant you permission to remain with us?"

He could tell that she was giving it thought, so he was confident he could convince her to let him stay;

besides, she intrigued him. She was a pint-sized bundle of courage and d.a.m.ned fair on the eyes. He couldn't help but wonder how she'd look without the stocking cap.

"I need to learn what I can of your land and its people."

"What in particular?""I'm not sure. I don't know exactly what will help me locate my brother. I think if I familiarize myself withScotland and its people, it might help me to understand my brother and then eventually help me to findhim. Otherwise I feel like I'm shooting at a target in the dark." That all wasn't exactly true, but it wasn'tnecessary for her to know that he had hired detectives to help locate his brother and they had given him astarting point.

She smiled, and he felt a catch in his heart. It was such a sincere smile and sparked a beauty in her face that he found hard to ignore.

"Targets can easily be hit in the dark, Burke."

d.a.m.ned if he didn't like the way his name rolled off her tongue in her sweet Scottish burr.He took a step closer to her. "You'll have to teach me the secret of hitting a target in the dark." Not thathe didn't already know, but it would make for an interesting evening.

She shook her head, her smile never wavering. "I think you already have such skills."Burke rubbed his hands together and grinned. "I think we'll get along well together.""As long as you can obey me.""Back to that again?""If you want to remain with my group, you will follow orders like everyone else," she said firmly."So if I agree to obey you, then you'll let me join the group?""Remain with the group," she corrected. "You won't be joining in any rescues.""Somehow I doubt that."She laughed. "We'll see about that, Burke."

d.a.m.n, he really liked hearing her say his name."So what do you say? Follow my orders and I'll help you find your brother for an agreed-upon fee."He held out his hand. "I accept."She hesitated. "I'd rather hear you say you will follow my orders."She was going to be a challenge for sure, but, h.e.l.l, he lived for challenges. Besides, she had amended "obey" to "follow," so he could live with that."I'll follow your orders."She accepted his handshake. "Then we have a deal.""As to the fee?""We'll talk on that later. I have things to see to.""Anything I can help with?" he offered. He wasn't out to impress Storm, but he did want to show her that he would pull his weight."Something tells me you're a good hunter."His grin turned to a low laugh. "Something tells me you're perceptive.""Be wise and remember that.""I've never been called a fool.""There's always a first time." Storm smiled and signaled Tanin, who hurried to her side. "Take Burke here with you to hunt for tonight's meal. He's going to be staying with the group for a while."

Storm walked off, stopped abruptly, and spun around. "Burke, Tanin's my right-hand man; obey him asyou would me.""Whatever you say, Storm," Burke said.She laughed, shook her head, and walked off."We're limited in weapon choice," Tanin said.Burke was forced to take his eyes off Storm's retreating back, actually her curvaceous hips. Her snug dark trousers let all eyes know that she was definitely female. And being male, he appreciated the beauty of her sensual sway.

"I'm versatile when it comes to weapons. What have you got?"

Storm watched the prisoners eat the roasted venison with gusto. They had made it across the river and into the thick of the woods hours ago. They would not be followed. The king's men feared her forest. They believed she had bewitched it to serve her purposes, and with good reason. Not one of the king's men who had entered had ever left or been found.

She smiled at the thought. A few of the soldiers had begged to join her group, while others took flight to freedom. And stupidity had claimed the lives of the rest.

Tanin approached with a piece of meat for her.

She took it with a warning. "Not another word of how proficient Burke is with a bow and arrow."

"I tell you, Storm, I have never seen anyone with such remarkable skill. He focused on his target, drew

back on his bow, and-" He shook his head. "He fired on a fast-moving target and hit it dead on.""So you have told me, what? Ten, twenty times now?""He will be an a.s.set to the group.""A temporary one," she informed him."Who looks forward to his time with all of you."Storm would have toppled off the rock she was sitting on if Burke hadn't quickly wrapped his arm around her middle and held her firm.

"Easy now," he said, standing behind her.

"I didn't hear you approach," Tanin said with awe.

"A skill I learned from a tracker friend of mine."

Storm rested her back against his chest, his heat seeping into her, and for a moment, she felt relaxed and

secure. The thought jolted her, and she quickly dislodged his arm and scooted across the large rock,

turning to face him.

"I don't appreciate you spying on us," she said, annoyed.

"Not my intention," Burke a.s.sured her. "I simply took a brief walk, heard voices, and, recognizing them, decided to join you."

"Your friend can track in the dark?" Tanin asked, his awe still obvious.

"Don't you have duties to attend to?" Storm snapped at Tanin.

Tanin nodded, seeming unperturbed by Storm's annoyance. "I'd like to learn some of that skill."

"Any time," Burke agreed.

"More food?" Tanin asked.

Storm shook her head. "Thanks, I've had enough, but make sure you enjoy your share."

"Feel guilty you snapped at him?" Burke asked after Tanin walked away.

Storm almost snapped again but instead took a breath and measured her words. "Tanin is a good man.

He knows my strengths and my weaknesses and exploits neither. That is why I trust him with my life."

"He speaks highly of you as well."

Storm chuckled. "Tanin would say little to you about me."

"That confident about him?"

"That confident," she a.s.sured him.

"You have beautiful blue eyes."

Surprise widened Storm's eyes. "How can you be so sure in the dark, Mr. Longton?"

Burke took gentle hold of her chin and lifted. "The moonlight makes the blue appear the color of the sea

set to squall-beautiful, tempting, yet unforgiving. Are you unforgiving, Storm?"

"In some regards I am," she answered, her heart suddenly pounding in her chest, reminding her of the hurt and pain she had suffered and how unforgiving she had become.

"Suffering often brings strength."

She turned her head, her chin slipping from his fingers. "Easy words to utter when the suffering has finally

pa.s.sed, but suffering is suffering, Mr. Longton, no matter what way you look at it."

"Agreed, but strength is strength, Storm, and I daresay your suffering must have been great to have given you the strength you now possess. Perhaps someday you will share your pain with me."

"You will not be here long enough for me to trust you with such a confidence. And besides, you have not

fully trusted me."

"How so?" he asked.

"Your brother. There is more to your finding him, is there not?"

Burke leaned against the rock.

"If you withhold information about your brother, how will I ever be able to help you locate him?"

Burke crossed his arms over his chest and stared into the night.

Storm sensed he wrestled with the decision to trust her, but what choice did he truly have if he wished to

find his brother?He relented. "I've never met my half brother, Cullen, though my father had spoken of him to me since Iwas young. He told me how he left his year-old son with his deceased wife's sister while he journeyed toAmerica to build a new life. He met and married my mother, and they staked a claim in the Dakota Territory together. My father returned to Scotland before I was born to get Cullen, but when he arrived, he discovered that his sister-in-law had died and no one knew where his son had gone.

"My father searched throughout the years, and on his deathbed two years ago made me swear to find my

brother and bring him home, and to let him know he had never stopped searching for him. I gave my word I would. Besides-" Burke turned to look at Storm. "He's my brother, he's family, and he needs to finally come home."

"I understand," Storm said, "but he may not want to go to America. Scotland is his home, his heart is here."

"Perhaps he'll have no choice."