Page 23 of Captured By the Cruel Highlander
“Ye might as well have thrown me in the dungeons as ye initially wished to,” she said sarcastically. “Perhaps ye could have guaranteed me silence. At least thenonewoman in this castle would do yer biddin’.”
He pulled hard on her hand at that, his patience evaporating. She spun around with a cry of surprise, and he pulled her roughly against his chest. Her hand came up to his arm to brace herself, and her eyes grew wide.
If Adam had chosen to, he could have taken her mouth right then—bending her backward over his arm and ravishing her ashe saw fit. But instead, he simply pressed her body against his, enjoying the feel of her soft curves.
“I should punish ye for that,” he murmured. “Ye dinnae ken who ye are dealin’ with,M’Lady, and ye shouldnae underestimate me. I have ye in me domain now, and ye shall do as I say when I say. Is that clear?”
She shuddered against him, and he watched her pupils dilate with lust as he pressed her harder against his chest. But just as his lips whispered against her flesh, he pulled back. She looked up at him in confusion as he slowly released her.
Emily stepped back, regaining her balance as he preceded her down the corridor.
“Are ye comin’ for dinner or nae?” he called back over his shoulder, gratified, after a few charged seconds, to hear light footsteps following him.
Good girl.
9
Adam tried to ignore the awkward atmosphere at dinner.
Freya was still angry with him about his treatment of Buck and only spoke a few words to Emily, and there was little he could think of in the way of conversation.
Since he had refused her request to write to her family, Emily’s spirits had visibly plummeted. She had been surprisingly accepting of her situation until now, but as he watched her push around the food on her plate, she seemed more melancholy by the second.
“Do ye have any siblings, Lady Emily?” Freya asked, eventually.
“Call me Emily, please,” Emily said, smiling.
Adam clenched his jaw. She never smiled athimlike that.
“I have a braither,” Emily said, glancing at him reproachfully. “Or I did.”
He growled at that, throwing his cutlery onto his plate and pointing an accusatory finger at her. “It was nothin’ but a scratch!”
“What did ye do to her braither?” Freya asked in alarm.
“He tried to attack us,” Adam responded defensively.
“He did nothin’ of the sort!” Emily protested. “He was just tryin’ to stop ye from takin’ me hostage. And ye stabbed him with yer sword.”
Freya gasped, and Adam lost self-control.
“I scratched him with me sword!” he bellowed. Freya winced at the level of his voice, but Emily didn’t so much as flinch. “Yer braither is just fine.”
“Ye cannae ken that?—”
“I can. I have injured many men in me life. Hundreds, thousands! I ken when I strike to kill and when I strike to wound. I barely grazed him.”
He resumed eating with more vigor.
Me life would be so much easier if it didnae have any women in it! They are multiplyin’ before me eyes.
To his dismay, however, Emily rose to her feet and stormed out of the room. He glanced at his sister, but she had the good sense to stay silent.
He chewed his food aggressively, telling himself he was glad that Emily was gone. It would make things easier for him in the long run. If she hated him, they could live separately, and his focus could remain on his clan, where it belonged.
But after a few moments, guilt began to creep into his mind. He had dragged her here against her will, and she’d had the good grace to go along with his plan. She was alone, friendless, and without her family. He had not even allowed her to write her father a letter to let him know she was safe.
He sighed and rose to his feet.
