Page 25 of Captured By the Cruel Highlander
“Wouldyetrust a man who kidnapped ye?” she asked, attempting to soften her voice, hoping that her dimming fury might soothe him.
It had the opposite effect.
“I didnae have to save ye!” he said sternly. “But I did.” As he spoke, he started to advance on her one step at a time. “I saved ye, and now ye are me responsibility, whether ye like it or nae. As long as ye stay with me, even if ye dinnae trust me, ye must obey me.”
He drew level with her as he said the words, and Emily was trapped against the statue and his huge body. She clenched her jaw, jutting her chin and mustering as much defiance as possible.
“And what if I run? Ye willnae ken where I am, and ye’ll have nothin’ to bargain with.”
He chuckled. It was the first time she had seen him laugh. The sound rippled between them like the echoes at the bottom of a deep well.
“Try it and see what happens,” he said darkly.
She felt her rage rise to the surface, and while she still had the chance, she gathered the long skirts around her and sprinted away from him.
I will show him. I will be caged by nay one!
She made it to the end of the path, looked around for an exit, and darted to the right, where she saw an arch leading into another garden.
When she looked back, she was infuriated to find he was not even running after her. He was walking at a leisurely pace, even through the thick rain, without a care in the world.
She ran through the arch, her knee smarting at every step, and came to a stop as she found herself in a small, walled garden. It was a dead end.
“Wrong turn, lass,” came his gravelly voice behind her.
In desperation, she turned and ran at full speed in his direction, hoping to squeeze past him and back into the gardens.
It was a wasted effort. No sooner had she lunged at him than his hands encircled her waist. He lifted her over his head, and she kicked and screamed for all she was worth, before he lowered her again and pushed her roughly against the wall.
They were entirely alone, hidden by a curtain of rain and panting wildly against one another.
His hands gripped the sodden sleeves of her dress and pushed her harder into the wall even as she gasped.
“Wherever ye run, whatever ye do,” he murmured, “I will always find ye.”
He lifted her without ceremony, pinning her against the wall as he pressed his big body against her, their wet clothes rubbing together.
Raindrops fell in rivulets down his sharp cheekbones, his grim smile the last thing she saw before he leaned forward and crushed his mouth to hers.
Emily gasped at the contact, and as soon as her lips parted, his tongue darted into her mouth as he pressed his body against her. She grunted as his hands ran over her waist and lifted her further, before maneuvering her legs around his waist.
She was utterly helpless, trapped as she was, and she could barely breathe from the assault of his lips on hers. His tongue tangled with hers repeatedly as he began to rock his hips against hers in a wicked, writhing motion that sent a rush of desire through her. It was so intense that a groan ripped from her throat, and he bit her lip as his fingers tightened around her thighs.
She shuddered at the heat of his body and the biting cold of the rain. The sky was black above their heads, water cascading between them as he kissed her urgently, with more vigor every time.
She didn’t remember her hands rising, but suddenly, her fingers were tangled in his hair, gripping hard just as he mirrored the movement. He tugged on her hair sharply, and she moaned into his mouth as he did it. The pleasure of it was a wicked surprise as her body came alive against him.
But no sooner had she acknowledged how pleasurable his body felt than it was pulled from her clutches.
With a care that belied the lust in his eyes, he released her and lowered her gently to the ground. As soon as she was standing and had regained her balance, he stepped away. He was panting, his eyes finding hers with a mix of shock and shame.
“I am sorry,” he said swiftly. He looked up at the sky and then down at himself as though only just realizing how heavy the rain had become. “I shouldnae have done that. Go back to yer room.”
Without another word, he stalked away through the arch and out of the gardens.
Emily collapsed against the wall, her trembling fingers coming up to touch her lips.
I have never felt pleasure—never felt anything!—like that before.
