Page 16 of Highlander's Runaway Seductress
“Nay,” he said, slanting a look to her. “I can do it meself. Stay here with Ben and eat some of the provisions we bought in the town. Ye two must be hungry.”
Again, before she could say a word, he had ducked under the treeline and was gone. Defeated, Amelie reached for the sack of bread loaves, cheese and dried meat they had bought in the town and glumly handed pieces of each to Mr McLowe.
“What am I goin’ to do with that boy?” He sighed while breaking his bread apart. “He needs to learn how to trust, but doesnae seem to bring himself to do it, even if it meant savin’ his life.”
Amelie wanted to tell Ben that there could be another reason for Damien’s reluctance to be near her but bit her tongue.
Lackluster, Amelie bit into her food as well. “To be fair, it goes both ways. I want to trust him, too. I suspect it’s hard for him because of what happened with his parents.”
“Oh, lassie, his parents dinnae die. It’s somethin’ we use instead of the horrible truth,” McLowe winced.
Dread settled in her stomach as she asked, “What happened?”
“They were poor, lass,” McLowe said, regrettably, “and they must have thought Damien could fend for himself because they abandoned him at seven.”
Any hunger Amelie had, vanished and she dropped her food, staring blankly at her lap. No wonder Damien had such a hard time trusting. If his parents had gone off and left him like a pile of rubbish, his heart must be scarred.
Mr McLowe reached over and patted her thigh. “Daenae let it distress ye so much, lass. He’s a strong soul.”
Tears brimmed in her eyes as Amelie imagined the poor boy, waking up to see his parents gone. Of him, scavenging for scraps just to stay alive, or of him sleeping on the bare floor, shivering from the cold.
Hurriedly, she wrapped up her food and tucked it away. “Pardon me, I have to go find him.”
It was easy to follow Damien as his boots had made a path through the underbrush. She did not think that he would have gone far because dry, lifeless tress were plenty during the path he had forged, but he was nowhere there.
As she walked further, the sound of the brook grew louder, and she followed it, soon breaking out in front of a tree-shaded stream hemmed in by a couple of large boulders, with Damien sitting on the largest one. His knee was drawn to his chin and he was staring out into the forest.
Amelie did not take another step as she was sure he heard her. Silently, she waited for him to acknowledge her, and when he did, he did not look at her.
“Ye’re nae supposed to be here.”
“I came because I cannae stand this silence between us,” Amelie said. “Listen, I daenae ken why ye kissed me, but I daenae care.”
“Good,” he said, as he hopped off the mossy stone and made to stride pass her. “I’d advise ye to put it out of yer mind.”
Shooting a hand out to grab his arm, Amelie stopped him. “Nay, ye’re nay dismissin’ me like I’m a stray cat. Ye are goin’ to tell me why ye cannae look me in the eye.”
A soft snarl left Damien’s mouth and instead of yanking away, he pushed her against the closest tree. An inch away from his eyes, Amelie was drowning in the sea of blue in his gaze. His hands were planted on either side of her shoulders, trapping her.
In the flickering dimness, a wild, icy fire lit his eyes and waves of tension rolled off him. A thrilling shiver ran down her spine, reacting to his intoxicating strength. Trapped against the tree and his body, Amelie’s skin grew hot and her limbs trembled.
“Listen, lass,” he growled, eyes narrowing to slits, “I made a mistake kissin’ ye, for what, misplaced lust, or pride to think that I was yer first kiss, I daenae ken, but I shouldnae have done it. I came to take ye to yer faither’s home, and after we do that, ye will never see me again. I’ll be a faint memory by the time ye’re married off. If we hurry, we can get to yer home and this will all be over.”
There was something in his voice, an undertone tone of…misery?
Swallowing, Amelie dared to reach up to cup his face. “Why are ye hurt?”
His eyes flashed. “Because I ken Ben told ye things about me past he shouldnae have. I can see it in yer eyes, and I daenae need yer pity. Now, let us go back, get some rest, then, we’re off to yer home. Now, do ye understand?” he demanded.
Transfixed, Amelie could not tear her eyes from his gaze, the dueling battle of heat under the icy blue. An irresistible, pulling force vibrated in the inches of space between them. Her heart started to beat out of rhythm, the tempo uncontrolled and wild. An undefined sense of longing and desire warmed her through and unbidden, Amelie wetted her lips.
His eyes dropped to the swift swipe of her tongue and his nostrils flared in a bestial huff. A muffled curse left his mouth just as his lips crashed upon hers.
Shocked, Amelie could not breathe for a moment, and when the shock dissipated, she still could not think because Damien’s firm, hot lips took hers with hard, passionate intensity.
Pressed against the tree, Amelie dug her hands into his hair as pleasure overrode her senses, a rush of sensation surging from her lips to her toes, warming everything in between. She clung desperately to him as his kiss grew demanding and possessive.
Amelie was sure that had he not been holding her against the tree, she would have collapsed as her knees were weak. She shivered when, while pulling away, his teeth bit at her bottom lip and his tongue swept over it, like a gentle apology.
