His Wicked Ways

His Wicked Ways is a historical romance by Samantha James, published by Avon Books in 1999 and set in the Scottish Highlands among families still fighting a feud that has outlived most of the people who started it.

Cameron MacKay is the last surviving member of the once powerful Clan MacKay, and his single goal is to find Meredith, the last daughter of the Clan Munro, and force her to provide him with an heir. He takes her from the priory where she has sought refuge expecting a frightened girl, and finds instead someone who bargains boldly for her freedom and does not lose her nerve. As the journey goes on he finds her difficult to resist, and Meredith has her own long-standing reasons to believe that men bring pain to the people who love them, which makes her a far harder captive to hold than the plan allowed for.

The novel runs on the tension between a feud that demands an heir and two people who cannot help finding each other worth listening to. Its Highland setting, with feuding clans, a priory, a ruined stronghold and a great deal of weather, stays close around the pair while their bargain is renegotiated.