Page 41 of Craved By a Highland Beast

“Tell him I was urgently needed back home,” said Alaric, but Evan wasn’t convinced that was a good idea. After all, he was the laird of the clan. If anyone would be summoned back urgently, it would be him, not Alaric.

“What kind o’ emergency would require yer presence but nay mine?” asked Evan. “Nay . . . nay, I will tell him ye had tae return fer a lass.”

“A lass?” asked Alaric, incredulous. He gave a short laugh, shaking his head. “How is that better?”

“It isnae as suspicious,” Evan pointed out with a small shrug. “He willnae question ye runnin’ after a lass.”

“It’s embarrassin’.”

“Precisely.”

The more embarrassing the excuse, the less likely that Ruthven and his men would question it. Evan could get away with minimal explanations, giving them just enough information to justify Alaric’s absence.

For a few moments, the brothers only stared at each other, neither of them willing to back down. In the end, Alaric gave a long-suffering sigh, finally relenting with a nod, much to Evan’s satisfaction.

“Fine,” he said. “Fine, tell them what ye wish. But dinnae forget tae speak tae Bonnie. Ye willnae feel any better until ye dae.”

Evan knew that to be true, of course, but he also couldn’t help but worry something would go wrong. After all, half of their conversations seemed to devolve into arguments and the last thing Evan wanted was to try and confess his—largely unknown to him—feelings only to say something foolish and anger her.

It sounded more likely than he wanted to admit. He had never been good with words; neither had Alaric. But at least Alaric could always handle women better than he could and he was bound to know how to speak to Bonnie.

Perhaps he could tell me what tae say.

Just as that thought popped into Evan’s mind, he dismissed it. It wouldn’t be honest, he figured. Alaric could give him some pointers as to how to charm her, but he couldn’t know what Evan felt for her.

Besides, Alaric had to go. Their mission was more important than Evan’s inability to form a proper sentence in the presence of the woman with whom he was infatuated.

“I will,” he promised Alaric, and once the two of them exchanged their goodbyes, they left the room—Alaric heading to the stables and Evan heading to the neighboring chambers, which he had called home ever since they had arrived at Castle Ruthven.

It was still early in the morning; too early for Bonnie to be awake, and so Even resigned himself to the fact that he would have to wait for a few agonizing hours, until she woke. In the meantime, there was only one thing he could do: practice what he was going to say to her.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The water was like a warm cocoon around Bonnie, its surface still steaming from the last bucket the maids had poured into the tub. Small ripples formed around Bonnie’s fingers as she slid them through the water, watching the displaced liquid move back and forth with the kind of serenity she missed those days.

Even this bath wasn’t enough to calm her. For hours after she had returned the key to Ruthven, only for him to finally realize it was gone and sending all of his guards on a hunt around the castle, she had feared the man would figure out the truth and have her, along with Evan and Alaric, hanged. As the time passed, though, no one had come to her chambers to drag her to the gallows or demand an explanation. If Ruthven suspected anything, he certainly didn’t suspect her.

But what if he suspects Evan an’ Alaric?

Bonnie hadn’t gathered the courage yet to speak to either man, fearing that if Ruthven caught them together, he would see thetruth. It was a foolish notion, she knew—after all, she had every right to speak to the men who were meant to be her cousins. Still, the concern held her back and so she had stayed in her chambers since the incident, claiming she was feeling under the weather so she could avoid the previous night’s dinner.

Sooner or later, she would have to face Ruthven, though. Sooner or later, she would have to spend time with him without even anyone else acting as a buffer between them.

With a sigh, Bonnie held her breath and sank under the surface of the water, closing her eyes. It was peaceful in there, the warmth of the water enveloping her entirely, every outside sound muffled. For a few moments, she could pretend that she was all alone in the world; no responsibilities on her shoulders, no schemes she had to follow. Just her and the silence of the water, holding her safely in its cradle.

The peace didn’t last long. Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed her and dragged her out of the water, and Bonnie screamed in terror. In her surprise, she inhaled just as she broke the surface, water shooting up her nostrils and down her throat and choking her, the hair that plastered itself on her face and the drops that fell in her eyes blinding her entirely.

With frantic hands, she tried to push her hair back, eyes blinking rapidly to expel the water. Distantly, she was aware that someone was talking to her, the voice rough and demanding, but she could hear nothing over the rush of blood to her ears.

“Bonnie!” that voice shouted and she finally recognized it as Evan’s. “Are ye alright? What happened? Talk tae me.”

“What?” Bonnie asked around a cough. Her eyes still stung, but she managed to focus her gaze on Evan, noting the terror in his wide eyes, the rapid rise and fall of his chest as he took quick, shallow breaths.

What is he askin’? What happened?

Bonnie’s mind struggled to catch up with Evan, her initial panic at being dragged out of the water so suddenly still lingering. Her heart had almost lurched out of her chest in her fear and now no matter how much she told herself there was no danger, her body didn’t seem to understand that.

Mebody . . . me body! I’m still in the bath!

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