Chapter One

She Was Born to Wield a Blade, Not to be Won...

When bandits tear through her village, Lady Kandra of Stafford rides out for blood. She finds a band of Highland warriors and doesn't wait to ask questions. She draws her sword. Only after her brother lies wounded and the dust settles does she learn the truth: these were never the men who raided her home.
Lachlan MacKinnon has never met a woman like her, a knight in her own right, fierce enough to challenge him and cut down his men without flinching. He can't let the attack go unanswered. He can't ignore what a female English hostage is worth in ransom. And he can't explain why the moment he looks into her eyes, something drew him to her.
Kandra wants none of it. Not his cage, not his gold, and certainly not the bond neither of them asked for. A wager between them was supposed to settle who bends first. Instead, it lights a fire neither can put out. A Clan war over her is closing in, her father is coming for her, and Kandra is running out of time to decide what she's really fighting for: her freedom, her family, or the man she can't resist.