Page 77 of Captured By the Cruel Highlander
Pausing, she looked up at him. “How many times did ye come here as a boy?” she asked playfully. “Be honest.”
“Many. The cook hated me and me sisters. We always stole the best cakes.”
Emily smirked. “Do ye ken, Mrs. Young’s seed cake is the best I’ve ever had? The woman has a talent for it.”
She spoke the words casually, but Adam hesitated. He had made a lot of mistakes that day, and he was still not comfortable admitting that Emily had been of use to him, but he knew now was the time.
They clambered down the ladder together and landed in the dim passageway. He watched her jump down like the pixie she was, and those bright green eyes followed his descent as he joined her.
The passage was eerie and silent, darkness closing in from either direction. In the gloom, he was able to dispel some of his fears and speak plainly.
“Ye did well today,” he said curtly, and Emily raised her eyebrows in amazement. “Mrs. Young has been a problem from the start?—”
“That is because nay one was listenin’ to her.”
“Will ye let me finish, lass?” he said sternly.
Both of them had instinctively lowered their voices, standing together beneath the low ceiling. It was impossibly intimate, whispering together in the dark, and Adam felt a pulse of need so strong that he had to stop himself from reaching for her.
“She might nae have been heard, that’s true, but from what Barclay told me, she has changed a great deal since she first came to our lands. When she first arrived, she was repeatedly making unreasonable demands—things we could never have agreed to. Whatever ye said and whatever ye did, I thank ye.”
Emily beamed. “And do ye admit that ye cannae do everythin’ on yer own?”
“Dinnae push it, lass.”
Her tinkling laugh preceded him down the passage as she made her way back to her room.
Adam had been using these passages all his life, and evenhesometimes forgot in which direction to head. Emily seemed to have no such trouble, turning to the left and right as though she had been born knowing the routes.
Once they reached the door that led to her chambers, Adam slowed down.
“Me rooms are further down. I’m goin’ to see if the back door to me chambers is still wide enough while I’m here.”
Emily turned to him, her shiny hair falling about her shoulders and over her nightgown. She still wore his jacket, and it fell almost down to her knees. Her scent permeated the air again, wrapping him up in the smell of the Highlands. It was almost as though he could feel the heather below his feet.
And tomorrow, she will be me wife. Or I’ll take revenge on a man and never see her again.
At that thought, he stepped up to her, uncertain what he wanted but knowing that he didn’t want to lose her in that moment.
His fingers moved to her hair, and she sucked in a breath as he ran them through the long strands. It fell in shimmering waves about her face, and he could not help admiring it.
“What will ye do,” Emily whispered, “if Stewart doesnae come tomorrow?”
“He will.”
He took a step forward, looming over her as she turned her face up to him. Her sharp features were all the more beautiful in the flickering torchlight. His hand was still running through her hair, and he cradled her head as the night seemed to close in on them.
She let out an unsteady breath, and Adam tried to remember why getting close to her was so unwise.
His hands ran down her neck and over her shoulders until they settled on either side of her waist. His thumbs brushed over her stomach as her eyes sparkled.
“Are ye ready to go home?” he asked, even as their bodies lined up against one another and her hands came to rest on his hips.
He lowered his head to hers, but she didn’t pull away this time.
“Aye,” she whispered, and her full lips remained parted as they stared at one another.
Adam moved the last inch toward her, capturing her mouth with his own. He intended to keep the kiss light, as though to bid her farewell, but as a moan slipped from her mouth, he found his hands gripping her tightly. He pushed her gently against the wall, thrusting his tongue against hers with an almost desperate urgency.
