Page 37 of The Copper Heir
“The money has nothing to do with what we did together, Emmy.” He had moved onto his side to face her and was much closer now as he looked down, blocking the sun from her face. “Even if you had left my room before anything happened, I would have given you the money. I didn’t buy you, not that way.”
“I think the facts would disagree.”
“I don’t care. I know what happened that night, Emmy.” He tipped her chin up so that she looked at him and the expression of tenderness on his face stole her breath. “You know what happened.”
“It’s a lot of money. It’s made things difficult.” The slight weight of his thumb moved across her bottom lip to settle at the corner of her mouth.
“It’s not that much money to me. Take it. I want to know you’re safe. It doesn’t change what happened between us.” His eyes were darker now, the pupils reducing the green to a sliver.
“It would make me your whore.”
He sighed and then took a long breath, as if coming to some determination before he spoke. “It wouldn’t. Emmy, you’re not that type of woman.”
“You’ve said that before.” She moved to get up, but he caught her shoulder and gently pressed it back down.
“Wait. I know what I’m talking about. My parents’ marriage was arranged because my father saw a way to marry into the Hartford family of Boston. My grandfather and his before him were very successful politicians and businessmen. My father wanted that so he bartered himself for it. That’s not you. My mother liked the idea of his mining wealth without liking the idea of him. She married him anyway. Emmy, sweetheart, that’s not who you are.”
She wanted to believe him and, looking up into his eyes, she came close. But the pain she saw there drew her attention. “This is the second time you’ve mentioned your mother unfavorably. She hurt you.”
When he dropped his head, she pressed her hand to his cheek, surprised when he kissed her palm before nodding. “Isabelle Hartford Jameson stayed with her husband long enough to bear a son, me. Then she hightailed it back to her family in Boston, complaining about the harsh conditions in Helena and her husband’s cruelty. She had no qualms about leaving me as well. I believed her lies about my father’s cruelty, though I’d never seen it myself.”
He took another deep breath and met her gaze, making her own breath stop. “Until I spent some time with her family in Boston and realized the harsh conditions she complained about were the lack of people she considered her social equal. My father’s great cruelty had been to insist that she live with him at the ranch instead of in Helena. She could never tolerate it here. Not the barbaric social structure. Anyone could be considered high society with the right bank account. She hates that.
“I didn’t realize her hatred included me until I was older. Though I attended Yale, I’m not the son she wanted. Never have been. I prefer herding cattle, tracking elk and raising horses to the high life in Boston. She thinks I’m as barbaric as my father.”
Her heart clenched for him and any mother who couldn’t value his good heart. “I’m so sorry, Hunter.”
“Don’t be. She’s not a part of my life, because it’s her choice.”
He went quiet for a moment, just allowing her touch on his cheek. Her sisters were still laughing in the background as they played. She imagined what it might be like to spend many more days like this, just the four of them. Emboldened by the way he had opened himself up to her, she asked, “Last night you said you would keep me if you could. But you’re an outlaw.”
He nodded, his eyes sad. “I ride with a gang. You deserve more stability than that and I can’t offer it to you. My brother needs me and I can’t walk away from that.”
“Because he’s the only family you have?”
The corner of his mouth tipped up in a smile and he nodded once in acknowledgment. “Aside from my father, yeah. Nothing matters more to Cas than his family. When his grandfather was murdered, it almost broke him. He’s vowed to have vengeance and I’ve vowed to support him. If I leave them now, they’ll be vulnerable to all the enemies we’ve made. I won’t walk away.” He was silent as he took a deep breath and looked off into the mountains in the distance. “This whole place should be his. I’m the illegitimate one.”
Pain tightened her throat as she realized that he held the burden of his father’s sins on his own very capable shoulders. “You don’t have to atone for all of the things your father has done.”
“No, I don’t. But someone should. Cas deserves it.” The fierce intensity in his eyes when he looked back at her went through her like a bolt of lightning.
She loved him in that moment. Every man she had ever known in her entire life had let her down one way or another. Hunter was different, or at least he was when it came to his brother. “What are we doing, Hunter?”
“Hell if I know,” he whispered, slowly shaking his head, his gaze tracing her face before lighting on her lips.
Before she could even think of the many reasons she shouldn’t, she leaned up just enough to press her lips to his. When they parted, her tongue slipped inside to brush his and it felt so good she didn’t think at all anymore. His hand moved to cup the back of her head, holding her close as he deepened the kiss, filling her with his heat and making her ache to be filled in other ways. If she moved just a little, she knew that she’d find him aroused and the knowledge thrilled her.
Another squeal from the water made her jerk back, glancing over to make sure they hadn’t been caught. He didn’t let her go though, his hand tightened in her hair and a thrill of pleasure shot through her. She loved that he knew what he wanted and wasn’t afraid of taking it. Being near him, with him, had made her bolder, too. Like maybe she could take what she wanted as well.
Before she could stop herself, she kissed him again, a quick peck on the mouth before she was sliding out from under him. Too stunned to react, he let her go, eyes narrowing as she backed away. Grinning, she turned and ran, giving him one last glance on her way to the river, but squealed and quickened her pace as he came to his feet to give chase. Her sisters looked up and laughed before they, too, ran along the shallows at the edge of the river.
He closed the distance quickly and a muscled arm wrapped around her waist just as her bare feet touched the icy water, swinging her around. “You’re playing with fire,” he growled nearher ear, and his other arm went around her hips, pulling her back against him so that she could feel his arousal.
“Is that a bad thing?”
He laughed softly and took in a deep breath, his nose buried in her hair. “It is if you don’t want to get burned.”
“Maybe I do.”
