Page 30 of Captured By the Cruel Highlander
I hope Bruce has been forced to see a healer.
Her brother had an infuriating opinion of anything medicinal. He tended to favor his own methods of recuperation rather than any prescribed techniques. Emily could imagine him dying of a fever merely because he refused to have anyone examine the injury Adam had inflicted.
“Will ye allow me to send a letter?” she asked, thoughts of her brother reminding her that she would not be able to tell him she was safe.
Adam leaned back in his chair, meeting her gaze with a steadiness and authority that made a shiver run down her spine.
Why does he have to be so big?
“To yer friend?” he asked.
She huffed irritably. “Aye, me friend, Ceana.”
“But who is that?”
“Me friend,” she answered evasively.
Adam rested his big arms on the table, the tapestry of scars even more pronounced in daylight. They were numerous and chaotic, like an intricate map depicting the battles he had fought.
He certainly doesnae believe in wearing sleeves in winter,she silently noted, before looking away.
“Yer friend from where? What does she do? Does she command an army?”
“She commands a whisky distillery,” Emily answered bluntly and heard a quiet snort from Freya. “So she could render yer men quite useless with a few bottles of that.”
Adam extended his big hand toward her and gestured to the letter as though she were a child.
Emily pulled it from where she had tucked it in her bodice and handed it to him. She was still uncertain whether it would be sent. Adam could have thrown it straight into the fire when he left the room, but he put it in his pocket with just a hint of satisfaction.
“Why can I send a letter to her and nae to me faither?”
“Because yer friend Ceana sounds quite uninterestin’.”
Emily gaped at him. “Ye dinnae ken anythin’ about her!”
“Nor do I need to,” he answered casually, as though he were discussing the weather.
“Ye had nay business readin’ me private correspondence anyway—I told ye it held nay significance for ye.”
“He read me diary when I was a child,” Freya chipped in and received a furious look from Adam in response.
“Hold yer tongue if ye ken what’s good for ye,” Adam growled at his sister.
“Hadyewritten anythin’ interestin’?” Emily asked, turning to Freya, who appeared to be enjoying their exchange immensely.
“Aye, I complained about me big braither bein’ a troll,” Freya said with a grin.
Adam dropped his knife on his plate with a clatter. “That is enough!” he barked.
His sister flinched. It seemed he was willing to allow Freya her liberties, but only so far. He was quite terrifying when a full ragewas upon him, and Emily was dismayed to find that she was excited by that side of him.
What might he be like in the heat of passion if he lost control? She could not help the pulse of lust she felt as she remembered him pinning her effortlessly to the wall of the garden, ravaging her mouth with his tongue.
“I have informed yer faither that ye’re safe,” Adam said finally, shooting her a glance and lowering his voice to a more moderate level.
Emily froze at his words, glancing up at him in amazement. A wave of relief washed over her. “How?”
“Me men sent word. They delivered the news this mornin’.”
