Page 51 of Captured By the Cruel Highlander
“Yer maither was.”
“Aye, but only because me faither was away at war.”
“Well, that’s yer own short-sightedness, nae hers. She’d be a good laird if she was given the chance. She’s a formidable woman.”
“Aye, dinnae I ken it,” he grumbled as he struck the flint, and they both watched the flames begin to dance before them. “I dinnae need anyone runnin’ me clan for me—I’ve been doin’ it for years. Me duty is to protect me people, and ye’ll be among them as me wife. When are ye goin’ to realize that ye belong to me now, lass?”
To his alarm, she jumped to her feet, threw off the blanket, and started to pace behind him. He turned around, confused.
“What do ye mean,belong to ye?”
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“What do ye want from me, Adam? One moment ye are tellin’ me we must live separately, that ye only want me as bait to lure Stewart to ye, the next ye tell me I belong to ye and ride out in the rain to find me and bring me here. What exactly are ye expectin’ me to think?”
He stood up as well, and she was reminded of how enormous he was inside the tiny space.
“Did ye want me to leave ye here? Is that it?”
“Of course nae!” she replied. “But ye arenae being clear on what it is ye want from me.”
“I dinnae want anythin’ from ye!”
“Ye see? Ye are tellin’ me one thing and then changin’ yer mind the next. Ye kiss me one minute and say ye’ll protect me, and in the next breath ye tell me I have nay say in anythin’ ye do!”
“I am the Laird of me clan, and I’ll command me people as I see fit.”
“Command yerpeople?” she scoffed. “I am nae yer ‘people,’ and if ye think that’s the position a wife would take in yer life, then I pity yer future.”
Adam advanced on her angrily. “I expect me wife to do as she’s bid.”
“Then ye will be very disappointed in me,” she spat. “Because I dinnae take orders from anyone, least of all ye.”
Adam gripped her by the arms and shoved her against the wall. She felt a spike of arousal at the authority in his eyes, and her skin became hot where his fingers touched her.
“I am nae yer puppet to control, Adam Kane!” she said firmly. “Ye dinnae rule me. Ye never will.”
“And if I force ye to take orders?” he said, his voice dropping to an intimate murmur, mimicking the thunder that rumbled outside. “What would ye do if I gave ye nay choice?”
“How would ye do that?” she asked incredulously. “Ye told me once that ye would throw me in yer dungeons, but ye never did.”
She shivered as he lowered his head to her neck, the angry atmosphere between them morphing in an instant into taut desire. Emily’s fingers clenched at her sides, fighting the urge to pull him to her. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears, her breath short and sharp. His body was a furnace, burning against her skin as his rumbling voice enveloped her.
He rubbed the tip of his nose against her skin as his lips skimmed over her flesh.
“Maybe I’ll tie ye to me bed,” he whispered as a low moan escaped her lips. “What if I willnae touch ye again unless ye beg me?”
He moved his big body against hers, and Emily gasped at the solid weight of him—she felt safe in his presence. He cleared her mind of thought. For the first time in a long while, there was nothing she needed to do but allow herself to feel.
The crackle of the fire as it caught the logs behind them merged with the hammering rain on the roof. It felt as though they were in their own private world, where nothing could touch them, and she was a slave to his will.
“I will never beg ye,” she managed as his teeth scraped over her neck. She jolted violently, her hands coming up to grip his arms.
“I think ye will—ye’ll do as yer Laird commands,” he continued.
His hips rocked forward, and she felt his hard length beneath his kilt. Her legs opened of their own accord, and he groaned as he pushed between them. His hands tightened on her arms as he pulled her roughly away from the wall and dragged her toward the fire.
“I can still feel ye shiverin’ beneath me,” he said gruffly, pushing her down before the leaping flames.
