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Chapter One

Blair Sinclair stood in the early ed to hi to the landscape but the air s Its scent filled hiht path for the first ti time

He raked his hand through his hair, h his mind The parade of women he’d wasted time with, the one woman who’d tossed him aside, and the death of his parents that had jarred hi some hard truths

Shaking away the memories, he focused on the present His eyes swept to the east where he could just catch a glimpse of the ocean The laird who’d hlands were a difficult and soh him He’d not fall prey to this place the way the last laird had Not just because he wouldn’t try to farm this land, or raise sheep on it, at least not for a profit He was sure to succeed because he was the next branch of the Sinclair Shipping Co if it came to that

He stood straighter, filling his chest with clean Highland air He would be part of his brother’s business, but he had done this on his own Saved and scraped until he could buy the perfect piece of land on a beautiful harbor

As his eyes sought the water again, he caught a flicker or a flash of light He’d grown up on the ocean and recognized the sun glinting off a white sail Blair had yet to put in docks, or purchase the ships that would join his brother’s fleet So as sailing into his harbor?

He brushed the dirt from his kilt and started down the path that would take hie, mildly relieved to have a break fro to co a scythe to cut back the weeds from around the caretaker’s dilapidated cabin

It would take all his h his brother, Stone, had offered, he refused to take aid from his family He was athe se his ho manor that came with the land

Not that he cared His brother was the Earl of Alban His title literally h the name likely came from the rocky cliffside they called home, the Sinclair clan was about as hard-headed as they came A point of pride for them, really

He’d push his way to success no matter the cost

Making his way down the slope that led to the beach, he caught sight of the tiny sailboat once again It listed to one side, its angle at odds with the waves Narrowing his gaze, he watched as the sail dipped into the water He heard the cry, so faint, it ull Or a person, who’d just been tossed into the near freezing water

Hishis efforts, he barreled down the rest of the path and stripped his shirt as he ran He barely noticed the cool h the sand The boat was still afloat but sinking, and as heat the mast

It was an older boy, he’d wager by the size and the sound of the voice, wearing a floppy fishing hat on his head Why the lad didn’t swiain, Blair kneas getting in the water Hell and damnation

“Help,” came the cry

Diving in, Blair ignored the blast of cold as he began taking long s beneath the waves He was an excellent swi down fast Now only the boy’s head re to see if the boy obeyed

“I can’t, my—” But Blair’s head went back under the water as he made a final push to reach the boy and hestroke, he made it to the boat, just as it sank below the surface The boy reached up with one arrabbed his elbow “Let go of the mast,” he yelled over the rush of the surf

He did and Blair pulled hi the boy on his back and swi to shore

But as his body came into contact with the lad, he realized in a split second that it was no child at all and certainly not a boy His insides clenched in reaction and he gritted his teeth to control his body’s reaction Arainst his bare chest couldn’t be mistaken He looked down at the delicate features of a bloody woreen eyes stared at him as her full lips opened in a tiny O Not just a woman but a beautiful one at that

Hell and damnation

Elle clung to the neck of thefor the thousandth tiain It had gone wrong fro worse with each breath she took

“Let go of h her near frozen body

The last thing she wanted to do was let go His muscles rippled underneath her in hard warmth At this moment, he was all that stood between her and the frozen waves “What?”

“I need to turn ye around tae swio”