Page 19 of Highlander's Runaway Seductress
Grimacing at the thought of spending a sennight or more with a disagreeable Damien chilled her heart. She forced herself to eat the rest of her meal while asking Ben if he knew more about the Dolberry Clan.
Ben admitted that he did not know much, as all what he knew came from Damien. “Ye’ll have to ask him, Amelie.”
I’ll have a better chance at gettin’ an answer from a stone that gettin’ one from him.
The sun was rising, but also dark clouds were blackening the east horizon and she wondered how far they could travel with snow or rain hampering them. She helped Ben into his cloak and donned hers as well, then sat and waited for Damien to come to them. She kept an eye on the sky while they waited and when Damien came to the room, the sky was overcast, but no rain or snow was falling yet.
“Ye’re up, good,” Damien nodded curtly. “We’ll be leavin’ now. The horse and cart are already hooked up.”
Amelie nearly confronted him about his brusque manner, but clamped her lips shut. She was not sure she could do it without the kiss being mentioned and she did not want Ben to know about her and Damien’s private business.
We are all travellin’ together, how long will it take for Ben to catch on, that is if he hasnae already.
After giving him her agreement, Amelie walked behind Damien who was helping Ben out. They mounted the cart and moved off into the hills with a stiff, uncomfortable silence over them. She kept her eyes pinned on the opposite side of the cart, instead of looking at Damien.
Ben was humming what seemed to be an old hymn, eyes closed and swaying with the motions of the cart and Amelie was glad he was not paying attention to her. It allowed her to watch Damien at length and dwell on her thoughts. She was not going to take responsibility for his foul behavior toward her, but she had to get Damien to tell her why he acted so strangely with her.
They travelled the day through with breaks to get water from springs and relieve themselves. The sky however was growing increasingly grey and the wind was getting colder. She had taken to huddling close to Ben through the thick wilderness and prayed that they would get to a town soon.
When they did arrive at a small township, Amelie breathed a sigh of relief while huddling in her coat. Her breath changed to frost when she spoke, “Please find us somewhere away from this cold.”
Damien’s only reply was a quick nod, and Amelie was too cold to do anything but huff under her breath. She kept close to Ben when Damien went from door to door asking about inns or hostels in the village but found none. The only lodging they could get was from an old woman who gave them space in her empty barn and gave them old gurney sacks to use as bedding.
“There’s a spring at the other side of the property,” the lady said, “There are buckets in the barn, be free to use them.”
When they did get to the barn, there was only one stall that was free, so Damien made up a bed for Ben there and took the rest up above to the narrow loft. They could not make a fire, but at least they were out of the cold.
Amelie dug into her pack and pulled out her bread and cuts of cheese. Keeping her head down and her knees to her chest, Amelie ate over a tight stomach. She heard the scrape of his boot and knew he was pulling it up to his chest.
“So ye willnae speak to me,” he asked.
A thunderbolt of shock ran through Amelie, moments before her shock turned to anger. Her hands dropped to her lap, and Amelie’s eyes narrowed.
“Pardon me! I willnae speak to ye? How about ye nae meetin’ me eyes at all?” Her voice dropped to a hiss. “Ye havenae looked at me since ye kissed me! Why is that?”
Damien’s head twisted to the side. “Daenae worry. I shouldnae have asked.”
Setting the food aside, Amelie shifted her feet to get on her knees. “And why is that?”
His head swiveled back to her and his eyes were alight with passion. “I said—”
“I daennae care what ye said,” Amelie snapped, feeling all the frustration that had been bottled up inside her, bubble to the forefront. “I want to ken why. Just tell me why and stop bein’ so aggravatin’.”
“Ye daenae need to ken.” His jaw worked and his eyes flashed with heat.
Amelie was about to push more, but seeing the look on his face—a hard, mulish, and unyielding expression—she swallowed her anger and sat back. “Fine, be mulish.”
She sat back and after putting back the remnants of her food, set it aside and used her pack as a pillow, then turned her back to Damien.
Silently, Amelie fumed. She hated that Damien was insisting on putting up a barrier between them, but worst was that she hated how she was starting to care for him, and he clearly did not feel the same.
Amelie bit her lips to stop a sudden lance of pain through her heart, and as the night drew on and she slept, snow began to fall, hard and thick upon the roof. Some clumps flitted through the thatch roof, but she was warm despite it all. All because sometime during the night Damien had laced an arm around her waist and had pulled her back to his chest.
She did not know it until she woke with her body caged against him. Tremulously, Amelie touched her fingertips to the back of his hand and felt his arm tighten, possessively.
What is this? How does he go from snubbin’ me to holdin’ me? If he is so repulsed by me, why is he holdin’ me like he would…a lover?
She moved to peel his hand away from her, but instead, found herself studying it. His arm was dotted with dark hair, but she saw the silvery skin of healed scars, cuts, and what looked like a burn mark. Before she could stop herself, her fingertips flitted over some of the scars, wondering what had caused them.
