A wild, reckless euphoria swept through her. This was freedom. The wind, the sky, and this man to share it with. What more could she want?
ANNA’S HAIR TICKLEDhis neck and kept blowing in his face, but Emeric didn’t mind in the least. The second they’d left the castle, he’d felt his burdens ease. The weight he seemed to constantly carry lessened and he found his heart swelling with a wild kind of joy. Out here, there were no expectations. Out here there was just him and Anna and right now that was all that mattered. He wished they could keep riding to the ends of the earth, just the two of them.
But he’d promised her the truth, no matter how hard that truth would be, no matter how it would scour him from the inside out and leave all his innermost demons exposed to her judgment.
She had trusted him enough to tell him the truth about her life, had shown him the vulnerability that lay behind her bravado. He felt honored by such trust. He knew how much it cost her, how difficult she found it to reveal the side of herself that hid behind the joking, the flirting, the sunny exterior. He would do everything he could to prove worthy of her trust, even if that meant exposing his own secrets.
But the thought terrified him. He’d not told anyone. Nobody in the clan. None of his sword-brothers in the Order of the Osprey. Not his mother, sister or uncle.Especiallynot his mother, sister or uncle. He understood all too well the devastation the truth would wreak on them. Better to carry it alone and in silence as he’d done all these years.
He gritted his teeth and rode on. It had been a long time since he’d made this journey—years—but still he knew the way. He wouldalwaysknow the way, like a ribbon of fire burned into his brain.
They skirted the village and rode around the southern shore of the loch. Those not invited to the victory feast were still making their way home following the games, most in high spirits, a few a little worse for the drink, but everyone they passed called out greetings and congratulations on his victory. He waved and greeted them in turn, though his mind was elsewhere.
“Are you going to tell me where we are going?” Anna asked finally.
She looked awkward and ungainly clinging onto the saddle. No horsewoman this one, and he had to admit he liked the way she leaned against him with the horse’s movements, her back pressing into his chest. The soft sweep of her neck and shoulder were just within touching distance of his lips. All he would have to do was lean down slightly...
“Would it mean aught to ye if I were to tell ye?” he said.
“Try me,” she replied, with a stubborn set to her jaw.
“A river settlement called Malrey.”
She glanced at him over her shoulder. “Nope. You were right. Never heard of it.”
He laughed lightly. “Well, that’s our destination.”
“Why? What are you going to show me?”
His jaw tightened. What indeed? “Ye are just going to have to trust me.”
She arched an eyebrow. “You know you pull off the handsome, mysterious stranger rather well.”
“Oh, so ye think I’m handsome?” he said, flashing her a grin.
“Don’t let it go to your head.”
“And mysterious, eh? I like the sound of that. But stranger? Nah. We havenae been strangers since the night of Oskar’s wedding when ye dragged me up onto the dance floor whether I liked it or not.”
“Oh, don’t pretend you didn’t enjoy it!” she replied. “That look of terror wasn’t fooling anyone.”
“I assure ye, the terror wasnae feigned. Ye are a very scary woman, Anna Webster.”
She laughed lightly, a sound like the tinkling of summer rain or the ripple of a stream. It lifted Emeric’s heart to hear it. “I know. It’s one of my many faults.”
“Oh?” he said, teasingly. “What are the others?”
She waved a hand. “Too many to list. But one of the worst is my penchant for getting involved with medieval highlanders.”
“Aye, not a good habit to get into. It could land ye in trouble.”
She glanced over her shoulder at him again. “I’ll bear that in mind.”
Her gaze met his. Emeric swallowed, suddenly at a loss for words. Thoughts of their destination and what awaited them there flew out of his head and was replaced instead by the overwhelming urge to kiss her. Her presence dominated his senses. He could smell her light scent, feel the warmth of her against his skin, hear the soft hiss of her breathing.
He cleared his throat. “Aye. That would be wise.”
She snorted, turned to face forward and Emeric was grateful. He hoped she didn’t realize how aroused he was. The bulge in his groin ached something fierce.
