Page 45 of Saved By the Highland Beast
Her lips quivered as she stared at him with wide eyes. “The reason I left London and came here to Scotland is that there was a man that was sending me letters. It started out innocently enough with letters that seemed as if they were written by a secret admirer, but it quickly became apparent that the writer was watching my every move. My mother thought it best if I got away for a while. I didn’t get another note until…”
“Until you returned to London,” he finished for her, breathing a sigh of relief that she wasn’t married.
She slowly nodded with her eyes shut. “He must have found a way to slip the note between the cases while we were leaving home.” Her voice broke with fear. “I’m afraid he might have followed me here to the castle now.”
Dean crumpled the note in his fist. “I think the chances of that are more than likely,” he said hotly. “Why did ye nae tell me about this ‘afore?”
Tears fell down her cheeks as her trembling turned into shaking. “I’m so sorry, Dean, I know this was incredibly irresponsible of me. I never thought that he would follow me to Scotland, and now I’ve gone and placed your family in danger.” Her voice caught in her throat as she cried. “This is all my fault.”
“Sophia…” he whispered as he took a step forward and drew her into his arms. He felt a pang of guilt at the way she was crying. He hadn’t intended to blame her for what had happened. “Look at me.” He drew back slightly and lifted her chin with his finger. “I dinnae blame ye for anythin’. I only meant that I would never have let ye go back to London by yerself if I kent about this.”
Sophia looked into his eyes, her body still trembling as he held her close.
“My only concern is for yer wellbein’. I dinnae ken what I will do if anythin’ happens to ye.” He swore under his breath and shook his head. “I promise that the devil will nae lay a hand on ye, nae now that yer under me roof. Ye will be safe, I promise.” His voice grew husky and thick as he stared down at her in his arms.
“Dean…” she whispered through her tears.
“Aye?” He searched her face.
“I… I love you.”
Dean thought his heart would explode as he stared at her in disbelief. “I love ye too,” he finally said as he brought his lips down to hers and drew her into his embrace, his tongue hungrily searching her mouth.
He realized at that moment that the protectiveness he felt toward her was because he loved her more than he’d ever loved anyone before.
Sophia sighed as she kissed him back, then drew a few inches away. “I was so afraid that it was all in my head and that you didn’t feel the same way that I do about you,” she whispered with her eyes closed. “I was so scared that if I told you how I felt you would push me away.”
“How could I nae love ye?” he asked. “When ye came into me life with yer messy ways and turned everythin’ the right side up? I may not have realized it before, but I’ve loved ye for longer than I knew. I think I was just afraid that ye would feel obligated to say ye love me too because yer in my employ.”
She laughed and kissed him again. “I’ve never felt more at home than when I’m with you. I would never feel obligated to tell a man that I love him if I didn’t.”
“Aye, I ken what ye mean.” He pressed his lips to hers once again and raked his fingers through the auburn curls that hung down her back. “Yer safe here,” he whispered again before pushing her gently against the cupboard and kissing the tears from her cheeks before returning to her mouth.
* * *
Dean looked at the men seated around his table before glancing at Sophia’s anxious face. He’d called Hamish and Anthony into the great hall to inform them of the problem he now faced. The woman he loved was in danger, and they needed to do everything they could to protect her at all costs.
“I’m sorry to pull ye away from yer work,” Dean began. “But a problem has arisen, and we need to address it immediately.”
Anthony and Hamish exchanged worried glances.
“It has come to me attention that Sophia has gained the unwelcome interests of an unknown man.”
The men both frowned as they looked to her.
Dean did his best to explain what had happened in London before she came to the castle and the note she had found hidden in her luggage.
“The bastard!” Hamish suddenly exclaimed as he banged his fists on the table. “I will tear him apart with me own two hands if he dares come within the reaches of this castle’s walls.”
“Calm yerself, Hamish,” Anthony said with anger in his voice. “Dean obviously has a plan if he’s called us here.”
“Aye, I do.” Dean nodded. “I will go into the village this afternoon and see if any strange men have been seen. I’ll check all the inns and even scout the forest.” He turned to Hamish. “I will entrust ye to secure the perimeter an’ ensure that naebody enters this castle without ye knowin’ about it.”
“Aye, nae so much as a bird will fart in this direction,” Hamish asserted.
Anthony rolled his eyes but quickly looked serious again when Dean turned to him.
“I will ask ye, Anthony, if ye will stay close to her side an’ ensure that naethin’ happens?”
