Page 55 of Captured By the Cruel Highlander
“Me sister willnae thank me for usin’ Buck that way,” he muttered. “I’m fine as I am.”
Emily pursed her lips, her knuckles white against the saddle. It was even colder as the wind whipped at her dress.
“Ye arenae shiverin’ anymore, lass…”
They walked on silently, and Emily watched the lush forest pass them by, wishing she had kept moving through the night and was halfway home by now.
Adam walked steadily beside Buck, trying to keep his mind on what he needed to do as they neared the castle.
Theo had been beside himself with worry, as had Moira when Buck had returned without him. He was glad, in a way, that he hadn’t told Theo where he was headed.
If Theo had searched the woods, he would have found their little home away from home, and then Adam would have had far more explaining to do.
“I wanted to thank ye,” Emily said suddenly.
The soft clop of the horse’s hooves was a steady drumbeat in the air between them as they emerged from the forest.
“Ye didnae have to come and find me last night, and I would have been lost if ye hadnae, so thank ye.” Her tone was very prim today, as though she were suppressing her rage.
Adam shrugged. “I had to get ye back.”
He couldn’t think of anything more to say, and as the castle loomed ahead of them, he was grateful that they were almost home. His heart was thundering in his chest just from her proximity. When he had seen her that morning, it had takeneverything in him not to shove her back inside the hunting lodge and have his way with her right then.
Something about the dress, coupled with the darkness of her hair, made her eyes the most vivid green he’d ever seen. Their otherworldly light had returned to them, and she reminded him even more of a goddess than she had before.
“Ye are quiet this mornin’,” Emily said, eventually.
They had been walking in silence for much of the way, and now her words sounded like an accusation.
“Aye, well, there isnae much to say,” he muttered.
“Do ye nae wish to talk about what happened last night?”
Adam was so astonished that she was bold enough to bringthatup that he couldn’t find any words to respond.
“Or would ye just prefer that we return to the castle in complete silence?”
“We kept each other warm, and now we’re goin’ back.”
A weighted silence followed that statement, and then Emily spoke, her voice as sharp as glass. “What did ye say?”
“Did ye nae hear me?”
“We kept each otherwarm?”
Adam’s grip tightened on the horse’s reins.
Take it back. Tell her ye can still taste her skin on yer tongue. Tell her that ye?—
“Aye,” he said gravely.
If he could put distance between them, it was less likely that he would lose control again. If that meant she was furious with him, then so be it.
“So the only reason anything happened between us last night was because ye were tryin’ to keep us both warm?”
“Of course.”
They were nearing the castle now, and Emily didn’t speak again until they were approaching the gates.
