Page 54 of Bound to a Scot
“Just friends, eh?”
Maddox’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts with a startle. She spun around to see him stepping out of an alcove she’d justwalked by as if he’d been waiting for her. Anger and a pained sense of betrayal were written all over his face.
“What dae ye mean?” she asked.
“Ye and Lorn,” he said. “Ye told me ye were just friends.”
“We are.”
“Didnae look that way tae me. I saw ye two taegether.”
She frowned. “Are ye followin’ me?”
He shook his head. “I was walkin’ by and happened tae see that two of ye. And I have tae say, ye looked much closer than just friends tae me.”
As she gaped at him, her face warmed with the outrage bubbling in her veins. She crossed her arms over her chest and fixed Maddox with a firm glare of anger.
“What we are is none of yer business,” she said.
“Emmeline—”
“Nay,” she snapped. “We cannae keep doin’ this. ‘Tis nae good fer either of us. Now please, leave me be.”
Speaking the words, though she knew them to be necessary, tore at her heart and she had to struggle to keep the tears welling in her eyes from falling. Knowing it was a battle she was going to lose, Emmeline turned to go. But Maddox’s big hand clamped around her wrist and spun her around to face him, sending her heart into her throat.
“Wait,” he said. “Just… wait.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Their bodies were pressed together in an alcove that he’d barely fit in by himself, standing so close together that her round, full breasts were pressed to his chest. Her breath was warm on his cheek and smelled of berries and Maddox reveled in the soft curves of her body against his.
He strained to pull himself back enough that his own arousal wasn’t pressed to her belly knowing it would make an already awkward situation completely untenable.
“Maddox, we cannae be seen taegether like this,” she objected.
Her words lacked conviction, as did her eyes. Maddox held her gaze knowing he was crossing a line but no longer caring. The image of them together that had been seared into his mind was driving him mad. The lump in his throat and the way his heart raced when she was near was getting to be something he couldn’t live with. Seeing her with Lorn, embracing him in a familiar way, had given rise to a jealousy unlike anything he’d ever felt before.
“Maddox—”
“I just want tae talk tae ye.”
“I dinnae ken if I want tae talk tae ye,” she snapped. “Nae with the way ye were just talkin’ tae me. Who dae ye think ye are?”
They were pressed so tightly together, Maddox felt her heart pounding in her chest even as his own beat a staccato rhythm in his ears. He licked his dry lips and tried to keep his stomach from churning so wildly within him.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didnae mean tae speak so harshly tae ye.”
“I should hope nae.”
“I just… seein’ ye two taegether?—”
“Is none of yer business,” she cut him off.
“I ken. I ken. I just… I cannae pretend this thing doesnae exist between us. I cannae pretend that I dinnae care about ye.”
A strange expression crossed her face, and her eyes filled with a sadness that tore at his heart. It was a look he never wanted to see on her face.
“Dae ye think it’s easy fer me tae see ye with Cecilia?” she asked quietly. “Dae ye think it’s easy fer me kennin’ ye two will be married soon?”
