Page 65 of A Virgin for the Highland Beast
Filling in the space between them, Emma found herself yearning to feel his hands on her body. She needed his touch.
“I willnae be coddled,” Hunter said, but the softness in his voice proved he was fighting against his desires, and Emma wasn’t about to let his rational side win.
“I’m nae coddlin’ ye,” Emma whispered as she rose to the tips of her toes and let her teeth graze his neck. “I want ye.”
“Want me to what?” Hunter asked, his voice hitching.
“That’s all,” Emma answered. “I just want ye.”
In the sanctuary of Hunter’s embrace, Emma could feel the steady pressure of his body against hers. It was inviting and welcoming. Hunter was like a barrier against the chaos of the world. The sense of security that enveloped her was overwhelming. She knew there was no other place she’d rather bI than with him.
The danger they had faced seemed inconsequential, now that they were finally together. With Geoffrey nothing but a horrible memory, Emma yearned to join her body with Hunter’s. She needed to feel him in every possible way. And she yearned for the tumult around her to dissolve into irrelevance so that she could remain cocooned in this moment with him and him alone.
“If I hadn’t found ye in time…” he murmured, haunted by the specter of what could have been.
Hunter reluctantly pulled away, his breaths coming in heavy bursts.
“Dinnae get lost in the ‘what ifs.’ We’re here now, that’s all that matters. There’s nay threat loomin’ on the horizon. Nay distant enemy to ransack the lands. We’re free from the demons that have tormented us for so long.”
“Ye’ve no idea what Geoffrey could have done to ye—” he began, but Emma pressed a soft fingertip to his lips, halting the words he had yet to speak.
“Ye dinnae have to tell me a thing,” she whispered. “I see it now—the necessity of an escape always within reach. ‘Tis why ye keep the doors ajar and the windows open. But ye dinnae have to go any further than that wit’ me.”
But Hunter’s resolve remained unshaken as he confided, “I want nay secrets between us. I need ye to ken everythin’.”
Hunter curled his fingers around her wrist as her gaze remained locked on his. She knew no matter what Hunter had to say to her, she’d accept it wholeheartedly.
“Hush, now, me love, ye dinnae need to worry yerself about such things,” Emma said as Hunter drew her hand to his lips.
Brushing his lips over her palm, his hot breath tickled her hand.
“Ye have to ken, yer cousin is the one who took me.” Hunter’s voice was so low that Emma had to lean closer to hear him.
“What? How is that even possible?” Emma asked, cocking her head to try and catch his eyes, but Hunter’s focus had shifted to some point too far for Emma to reach.
“It all happened when I was but a lad, nay more than fifteen. I remember me faither had just returned from a business trip when he asked me to go out huntin’ wit’ him. I was thrilled. I recall we hadnae had much luck that season and were tryin’ to bring home somethin’. That’s when me troubles started.” Hunter paused. His eyes focused on Emma, and she could see the pain lingering in his eyes. “I found a body in the woods,” he gasped. “He looked to be about me age.”
“John?” Emma whimpered.
Hunter bobbed his head and swallowed hard.
“Ye found me braither out there.”
“Aye,” Hunter answered. “Me faither asked if I had accidentally killed him. I swore I didnae have a hand in the boy’s fate. But since all I had was me word, suspicions started swirlin’ about.”
“And that’s why ye dinnae like rumors?”
“One of the reasons,” Hunter replied.
As much as Emma wanted to hear his story, she found it incredibly distracting, the way he was using her fingers like a paintbrush over his lips.
“Then what happened?” Emma asked, her breath hitching. She chewed on her lower lip as she watched him.
“We heard somethin’ in the bushes and left to fetch one of our horses to bring the lad back to the castle and give him a proper burial. But when we returned, he was gone. I thought nothin’ of it, but when ye’re locked away for as long as I was, ye have time to think about a great many things.”
“When were ye taken?” Emma dared to ask.
Hunter pulled in a long, deep breath. “I was seventeen,” he answered. “Two years after I had found the remains of yer braither. I was snatched up, and I never once kenned why I’d been taken. It seems like yer cousin considered me a danger to him, for having found the body. He probably thought I had seen him killin’ yer braither, and that’s why he started all these rumors. If he made me the villain, no one would question him. But since yer parents wanted to meet me, he had to get me out of the way before I ruined his plans. He was too cowardly to kill me, though. Or maybe he hoped to get money out of it in the end. I wouldnae know. He probably enjoyed the power, the sick bastard. Some of the men there were kind to me, others nae so much.”
