Page 20 of Craved By a Highland Beast

After the servants brought him dinner and Evan cleaned up for the night, he checked in with Alaric, the two of them going over their plan. Once they were both satisfied with the details, he made his way to Bonnie’s room and opened the door without knocking. It was a habit by then, as he and Alaric always entered each other’s rooms unannounced, but it didn’t take long for him to realize he had made a mistake entering so nonchalantly in Bonnie’s room.

She was in the middle of pulling her nightgown on, the thin fabric clinging to her breasts and her hips, highlighting all her curves. Evan could do nothing but stare in silence and he could only imagine Bonnie felt the same shock as she stood there, mouth hanging open, staring right back.

The shock didn’t last long. Before he knew it, she stomped towards him and kicked him right in the groin, so hard that Evan instantly collapsed to the floor, groaning in pain as he curled onto his side.

I deserved that.

Even so, he wished it had been a slap instead. His breath was knocked out of him and he struggled to draw air into his lungs, the pain radiating from his groin down his legs and up his stomach, and he closed his eyes firmly as he tried to get himself under control again.

Somewhere above him, Bonnie was yelling, but he couldn’t pay any attention to what she was saying. Surely, she was angry that he had barged into her room, and that was enough for him to know.

The pain slowly subsided and Evan rolled onto his back, looking up at her. She stood over him, hands on her hips as she glared down at him, looking at him expectantly as if he was meant to say something.

“What?” he asked.

“I said why are ye here?” Bonnie said, and Evan thought she must have asked him the same question before, when he couldn’t hear her. “An’ why dae ye nae knock? Have ye lost yer mind?”

“I came tae talk tae ye about the plan,” he said, as if it was obvious. “Why else would I be here?”

His question gave Bonnie pause and she snapped her mouth shut, once again glaring at him. Just then, the door opened once more and Evan saw Alaric there, wide-eyed with concern.

“What happened?” he asked, before taking in the scene in front of him and frowning in confusion. “Why are ye on the floor?”

“Bonnie attacked me,” Evan said.

“Ye deserved it,” Bonnie countered.

“I certainly didnae.”

“He came intae the room without even knockin’!”

Alaric’s face contorted strangely as he tried to hold in his laughter, his hand coming up to cover his mouth. Still, Evan could see his laughter clearly in the way his shoulders shook uncontrollably. Without another word to either of them, he slid out of the room just as quickly as he had come, shaking his head.

“Dinnae fight,” he called over his shoulder. “I’m goin’ tae sleep.”

Evan lay back on the floor with a sigh, before finally pushing himself up, groaning as he stood. Instinctively, he took a step back, putting some distance between himself and Bonnie.

“Ye shouldnae act like this,” he warned. “We’re supposed tae be family,cousin.”

“Bein’ family doesnae give ye the right tae barge intae me chambers,” Bonnie pointed out. “It certainly doesnae give ye the right that we’re pretendin’ tae be family.”

“Nae one will believe we’re family if ye keep attackin’ me,” Evan said. “Sit. I came tae talk tae ye about the plan.”

“The plan?” Bonnie asked, making no move to sit. “I thought I kent the plan.”

“The details o’ the plan,” Evan corrected. “Alaric an’ I need ye tae distract Ruthven while we are trying’ tae find information an’ look around the castle. Keep him company. Make sure he stays away from us while we look around the castle.”

“So, I’ll have tae spend time with him?” Bonnie asked, sounding less than thrilled by the prospect.

“Naturally,” said Evan. “But if we dae this right, then ye will never have tae see him again.”

It was clearly the right thing to say. Bonnie brightened at that, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “I will remember ye promised me that.”

“As ye should,” said Evan. “We will keep ye safe, as much as we can. Still, ye need tae be careful. Ye need tae be very careful withRuthven. He is more dangerous than ye ken. Dae ye ken how tae fight?”

Bonnie hesitated for a moment, before she shook her head, just as Evan had expected. What noble girl knew how to fight? Their fathers and mothers thought it better to teach them skills that would make them good wives rather than showing them how to protect themselves, which, in his opinion at least, was far more important. One could never be too careful.

“Alright. I’ll show ye how tae defend yerself, at least,” he said. “It’s alright if ye dinnae dae everythin’ right from the beginnin’. We will work on it.”

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