Page 44 of The Bastard Heir
“Why did you do that?” The words were low and rough, pulled from deep in his chest.
She wanted to hold him, but held herself back. “I didn’t know how much he knew. I didn’t want anyone to suspect you.”
“That’s not your concern.”
She frowned up at him. “How can you think that it’s not my concern? I’m not the only one who feels what’s happening between us…am I?” What if she was? She didn’t think that was true, given how he looked at her and touched her, but what if it was?
He stared down at her, unmoving in his anger, and she didn’t know what to think. Finally, he relented, and a little bit of the tension left his shoulders. “No, you’re not the only one, but it doesn’t matter. This can’t happen, Carolina. No matter how I feel or how you feel, we can’t happen.”
She nodded, a little relieved that his objection wasn’t an emotional one. If it was simply an issue of logistics, then she could understand. “I know that it won’t be easy. I know we’re not an ideal couple, but I think we can figure it out.”
He exhaled a breath and shook his head. “You don’t understand.”
“What is there to understand? I—”
He took her hand and laced his fingers with hers before pulling her farther down the hallway, away from the study doors. His boots thumped over the thick rug and he turned his back to the rest of the world, blocking her in against the wall.
“I’m a wanted man.” He kept his voice low.
“Oh, that.” She nearly laughed because she thought he was going to say something far worse. “I think, once the facts are known, that the shootout will be seen as justifiable. You weredefending yourself. But as of now, no one knows about it, and I won’t tell anyone you were involved.”
It was too shadowed in the hallway to see his eyes clearly, but he stared down at her so intensely she was certain that she was missing some vital piece of information. His next words confirmed it. “It’s not just the shootout. That’s bad enough, but there have been others. I’m the leader of a gang known as the Reyes Brothers. Have you heard of us?”
She searched her memory but couldn’t remember reading about them in the newspaper. “No. What do you mean by gang?”
“The hacienda was in trouble before my grandfather was murdered. There were rustlers, hired by ranchers in the area, taking our cattle and selling them across the border. I, along with some of our hands, went and took them back. Pretty soon we were being hired by other small ranches for protection, and the lines began to get blurred. Then Derringer entered the picture and I’ve spent the past few years looking for him. We’ve made enemies and sometimes we’ve had to kill those enemies. Sometimes self-defense looks a lot like murder.”
At some point her heart had begun to pound so hard against her ribs she thought it might actually try to force its way out of her chest. He was telling her he was a bad man, but what she had seen with her own eyes was completely different. “I don’t believe you’re bad.”
“Carolina, I’m telling you I’m a very bad, very dangerous man. It’s the truth.”
She touched his cheek to keep her connected to him. No matter what he said, he was the same man who had been so tender with her. Though she couldn’t see them now, every time she looked into his eyes, she saw an honest man. “I believe that you think that. But I only know what I see with my own eyes. You aren’t a bad person, Castillo. You’re kind and brave and honorable.”
He sighed, and she sensed even more of the tension leave his body. “None of that will save you from the bad things that I’ve done. I can’t bring you into my life. It’s too dangerous.” He brushed a strand of hair back from her cheek and tilted her head up a little. “If you’re connected to me, Derringer could find you and use you against me. I can’t allow that to happen.”
“It’s too late for that. I’m already connected to you.” Whether anyone else knew it, she was connected to him far more deeply than she’d ever realized was possible. When he hurt, she hurt. It was why she’d opened her mouth to protect him without even thinking through the consequences.
He groaned and slanted his mouth over hers, driving his tongue into her mouth in a kiss of possession that left her breathless. Careful of his wound, she curled her arms around his shoulders and pressed closer to him. Already his body was so familiar to her, a safe place where she felt protected and loved. When he pulled back, they were both breathing hard, his hand warm on her hip, while the fingers of his other hand wrapped lightly around the nape of her neck.
Finally, he spoke. “You’re right. You’re already connected to me, and it’s too late to change that.” Taking a deep breath, he added, “Then I suppose you need to decide what you want to happen now.”
She was too dazed from his kiss to think clearly. “What do you mean?”
“We have two options.” He waited for her to meet his gaze before continuing, and his fingers tightened on her a little. “We walk in there and tell your parents we’re getting married, or you leave here a compromised woman.”
Her mouth dropped open in a silent gasp. “Married?”
Castillo nodded, the pad of his thumb running over her bottom lip. “Yes. The way I see it when the guests leave here they’ll take their gossip with them and our names will be connected whetherwe want them to be or not. Derringer could hear about it and come for you. At least with my name—the Jameson name—I hope you can be protected.”
Oh. She didn’t know why, but her heart fell a little. Their marriage would be for her protection and nothing more. He must have seen her hesitation, because he hurried to continue.
“I’ll make certain nothing stands in the way of your going to school.”
She nodded.
“Do you think your parents will approve of me?” he asked.
She remembered his uncertainty that first night in her room, and it nearly broke her heart. “My father likes you, Castillo.”
