Page 44 of A Virgin for the Highland Beast
“I suppose I havenae had much reason to, until today.”
Emma didn’t question his words further. She found herself hoping that perhaps, with the stresses of their circumstances behind them, things might be different.
Her happiness was short-lived, however, as a guard approached their table, interrupting their merriment. Emma watched him as he leaned across and whispered something in Hunter’s ear.
Hunter’s relaxed demeanor instantly shifted, replaced by a rigid, alert stance.
“What’s happening?” Emma asked, her heart pounding.
“We have company.”
16
No sooner had the words left Hunter’s mouth than the atmosphere shifted. The cheerful merriment gave way to a silence so profound that it drowned the echoes of the earlier celebrations.
The arrival of the men, stern and armored, had cast a chilling shadow over the wedding. Emma’s single utterance, “Geoffrey,” was like a crack of thunder.
Hunter could feel the undercurrents of the looming confrontation. He rose from his seat as his clan turned towards him for direction.
“This is a weddin’, nae a battlefield. I’d suggest ye leave yer swords in their sheaths.” His voice cut through the silence like a blade.
Eyeing the intruders before him, every muscle in Hunter’s body tensed.
“Laird MacRoss, there seems to have been some misunderstandin’,” Geoffrey said as he stepped away from his men, with his hands raised. “Ye see, that’s me cousin beside ye, and I’ve come to bring her and her sisters home wit’ me.”
“This is me wife,” Hunter growled, his protective instincts flaring as the unwelcome guest claimed rights over his new wife. “And from where I stand, they are home. Now, ye can either stay and enjoy the celebration in peace, or I’ll have ye removed from me lands by force.”
“And here I thought ye’d be pleased to be rid of them,” Geoffrey said with a sinister grin plastered on his face.
The more Hunter listened to Geoffrey speak, the more he was convinced that he knew the man before him. And they had not met under pleasant circumstances. This voice, his Igance… the poison lacing in his words.
Hunter was almost sure that Geoffrey was his captor.
He had neverseenhim, of course. The coward was always hiding, barking orders to his guards but never really showing his face. Still, the more Hunter thought about it, the more it made sense. And he had a feeling this had everything to do with the death of Emma’s brother all those years ago…
It took every ounce of his strength not to slay the man on a hunch. He’d need proof first.
“Ye thought wrong,” Hunter snapped as he felt Emma’s warm hand graze his.
The last thing Hunter wanted was to ruin the festivities for Emma, yet knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that the man before him tortured him, beat him, and imprisoned him for so long ate away at his resolve to maintain peace.
“And from where I stand, ye’re outnumbered and unwelcome,” Hunter warned, his voice icy and resolute.
Glancing at Archie, Hunter noticed his friend’s hand on the hilt of his sword. All Hunter had to do was give the signal and the wedding would end in a bloodbath.
“That may be true, but understand, ye’ve taken somethin’ from me, and I want it back,” Geoffrey said, his eyes shifting from Hunter to Emma.
“I never belonged to ye, nor did me sisters,” Emma spat.
“Aye, ye do. Are ye nae from Clan Clyde? And the last time I checked, it was I who was the Laird. Ye needed me blessin’ for this union, but I’ll nae grant it. Now, step down, we’re leavin’.”
“Ye may go,” Hunter said through clenched teeth as he held onto Emma’s hand. “But ye’ll be leavin’ alone.”
Hunter glanced at Archie.
Without a word, Archie and several other guards pulled their blades from their sheaIpoised themself for the imminent attack.
“Let us nae ruin such a lovely day by spillin’ blood. We are family now, after all,” Geoffrey said as he waved his hand, giving a silent instruction to his men not to advance.
