Page 78 of Wedded to the Heartless Highlander
Erica’s soft sighs and moans spurred him on, and as the night deepened, they found solace and passion in each other’s arms.
21
The sun had barely crested the horizon when Erica slipped out of Hunter’s chambers. He had woken up before her and kissed her thoroughly before he whispered, “Stay in bed, lass.”
She pressed her fingers to her lips now. Her body was deliciously sore. But most importantly, her heart was still heavy from the whirlwind of emotions they had shared the night before. The tenderness and passion between them lingered, but so did the questions.
Have we made progress, or is this still a transaction, without a real future?
She wasn’t sure, and the uncertainty gnawed at her even as she smiled faintly, her fingers brushing over the mark he’d left on her chest—a small reminder of how real last night was.
And howincredible.
By the time she reached her room, Erica had resolved to focus on the tasks of the day ahead. Lily was expecting her for a reading lesson, and there were castle matters to attend to.
She pushed open the door, intent on freshening up and changing, but she froze when her gaze landed on the small, folded paper resting on her vanity.
She smiled.
His thoughtfulnesskens nay bounds…
Butterflies fluttered madly in her stomach as she reached for the letter.
“That’s strange…” she mused.
The handwriting on the back of the letter was unfamiliar, and the edges of the parchment had been slightly creased as though it had been handled roughly.
Maybe he was in a hurry?
Slowly, Erica unfolded the letter, her eyes quickly scanning the words. The more she read, the colder her blood ran.
Lady MacKinnon,
You think you belong to him, but you don’t. I’ve seen you in that beautiful dress—the one I picked out just for you. The flowers that remind me of you. The necklace that dangles around your traitorous neck, even now. All of my gifts, unacknowledged. He can’t give you those things, can he? No, because he doesn’t know you as I do.
You gave yourself to another in that dress. On the 14th. Did you think I wouldn’t know? You are mine, Erica Kilmartin. And on the appointed day, I will come for you. Prepare yourself.
Erica’s breath hitched, the letter slipping from her trembling fingers onto the vanity. She stumbled back, one hand clutching the edge of the table as she tried to make sense of the words. Her mind raced, jumping from one thought to the next.
The14th—the date stood out like a blade. That was yesterday, when she and Hunter had argued, their emotions spilling over as they made love in the moonlit gardens.
Someone was watchin’ us. I kenned it!
The mention of the gifts—the dress, flowers, necklace—it was what twisted the knife in her chest. Those hadn’t come from Hunter, after all. She’d assumed they were from him, a rare and quiet gesture of his affection despite the walls he kept so firmly in place. Now, the possibility that they had come from someone else made her sick to her stomach.
But who?
Her fingers brushed over the necklace adorning her neck, and she let out a strangled sob. All of the progress she thought they’d made suddenly felt hollow, built on mere assumptions.
Erica cringed at how foolishly she had acted, thinking that Hunter actually cared about her. She couldn’t even say for certain if they were beyond the boundaries of convenience.
So, he claimed her, and she had shared his bed, but it was all built on pretense. It was all a lie.
A sob escaped her lips, and she buried her face in her hands, the tears flowing freely now. Her shoulders shook as she sank into a puddle on the floor next to the hearth, the words on the pages glaring up at her mockingly.
“Me Lady?” Kara’s voice was soft, tentative.
Erica looked up, startled, to find her maid standing in the doorway. She hastily wiped her cheeks. But the tears refused to stop, and she sat there in even further defeat.
