Page 69 of A Vampire Bewitched
Holy shit. They weren’t lying.
“Dinna look so worried, we won’t hurt ye, lassie.” Tall, dark, and yummy informed her nobly. “You came here with Nik 'n' the daft one? Aye?”
What had he just said? Something about Nik? “You know Nik and Aiden?”
“Aye, I do. Very well. We’re old mukkers…uh, friends,” he clarified. “We saw them pull up with ye’ last night.”
“Friends, huh?”
He gave her a reassuring nod.
“Then why did you kidnap me right out from under your ‘friends’ noses?”
Knowing Nik was right there in the tunnel, she had just stepped right around the corner, wanting a little privacy. No sooner had she finished her business and walked out from behind the tree she’d been using as a screen when a rough sac had been yanked down over her head from behind and she’d been scooped up and thrown over a burly shoulder. The owner of which had then taken off at a dead run. It had knocked the air out of her, and by the time she could breathe again, let alone scream, she’d been dumped back out again.
He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, looking up at her sheepishly from under long, dark lashes. “Well now, that's a funny story.” He gave her a shrug. “It seemed a good idea at th' time,” he said a bit arrogantly.
“And what about now?” she asked, sarcasm dripping from her voice. “Does it still seem like a good idea now?”
“Well, ye dinna have to be like that about it,” he said, obviously taken aback by her tone. Settling his weight on one powerful leg and his hands low on his narrow hips, he had the decency to look a bit guilty. “Although, I have to admit, we may have acted a wee bit rash. We didna really stop to think about it.”
Emma took a step closer, about to give him a large piece of her mind. Immediately, the other two stepped up to flank their leader, and she rethought her decision. Pissing off a group of bona fide werewolves was probably not the smartest thing to do. A change of tactics might be a good idea.
She gave him her sweetest smile, “Well, it’s not too late! You can just take me back.”
His eyes widened and he glanced at his companions with a look that said he clearly thought she was completely off her rocker. “We canna do that! Are ye mad, lassie?”
So much for her attempt at womanly wiles. “Why the hell not?” She nearly stamped her foot with frustration. She was tired. And she was hungry. And, dammit, she wasn’t in the mood for this shit.
“Just take me back! I won’t even tell them it was you guys. I’ll just say I went for a walk! Yeah. I just went for a walk! That’s all. IswearI won’t say anything about you, if you’ll just take me back to Nik.” She couldn’t imagine what he must be going through after her little disappearing act.
And she had a sister to rescue.
Exchanging looks amongst themselves, they seemed to be considering her plea, and she dared to hope she may have gotten through to them. But as the minutes ticked by and no one made a move to honor her request, her small flame of hope was dashed.
Sighing heavily, she crossed her arms and gave them all a withering look. “What?” she snapped.
Cedric looked over at Red, but seeing he would get no help from that end, he finally turned back to Emma, who had started tapping her foot impatiently.
“What?” she demanded again. “What now?”
“Aren't ye worried he'll be pissed at ye for wandering off?” Cedric asked quietly. “I assume he told ye not to.”
Shrugging nonchalantly, she assured him, “He will be. But he’ll get over it.”
Cedric gaped at her. “Ye do ken that he's a vampire?”
“Yes.” She rolled her eyes with a heavy sigh. “I know he’s a vampire.” What the hell was he trying to get at? She wished he’d just spit it out already.
“'N' ye’re no’ scared o' him?” he asked in astonishment.
“No. Why would I be scared of him? He wouldn’t hurt me,” she assured him. “Look, I’ll be fine. Just drop me off where you found me,” she pleaded. “If you really are their friend, then you have to know he’s probably sick with worry by now.”
A dawning look of comprehension slowly came over his face. “Worry, ye say?”
“Yes!”
Exchanging a strange look with Lucian and Duncan, he mused, “A vampire only worries aboot his human mate. We’ve a’ heard the stories. Is it really true, lassie?”
