If they weren’t compatible, then she would pull away from him. She would stop him when he lowered his head to hers, capturing her lips with his own.
Her body melted into his, and it was confirmation that while he could tell himself that this was just business, nobody had ever felt the way she did as he wrapped an arm around the small of her back and pulled her flush against him.
A soft moan escaped her lips as she came up for breath. If he could swallow that sound just to commit it to memory, then he would do so. His fingers slipped from her jaw to the curve of her neck and cupped the back of her head, his fingers tangling in her soft tresses. He knew that he was pulling more of the strands loose, but she wasn’t stopping him, so he didn’t stop.
He could drink in the taste of her soft lips for hours. Andoh,did he want to.
The rustle of something moving in the trees drew his attention, and the hands that had been resting so gently against his chest were suddenly shoving at him, pushing him away like she had only just remembered herself.
Her breathing was erratic, and her eyes were wild as she scanned the tree line. Whatever had just happened between them shattered as she stepped away.
Was his one chance slipping away from him?
Emily’s wide eyes were trained on the forest that they had just come from. Her hands were trembling when she grabbed her skirts.
“Did ye hear that?” she whispered.
The sound came once more, and she took off straight into the thicket of trees.
9
It was hard to hear the faint sound coming from the forest with her heart pounding in her ears.
Why had she done that? Why had she allowed Kaden to kiss her? Was it just a moment of weakness? Oh Lord, she couldn’t actuallyfeelsomething for him, could she?
No, she couldn’t allow that. It just wouldn’t stand. She had been fighting that sort of thing in every forced engagement that she had had until now.
No, she needed to focus. Now wasn’t the time or the place to be thinking about stuff like that. She needed to find out what was making that whimper.
She froze where the sound stopped, glancing around in the hope that she might see something or hear the animal that wasmaking that noise. She swallowed against the strange thrill that was still coursing through her overheated body.
The whimpering started up again, and she whirled in the direction it had come from. She moved more slowly, so that she wouldn’t startle whatever it was. She didn’t need it fighting her just because it didn’t know that she was here to help it.
She moved slowly and gently toward the bushes that seemed to have ensnared a brown and white ball of fluff. Such a small puppy, pulling and tugging where its matted fur was ensnared in the sharp branches around it.
“Shh, careful now,” she cooed, slowly reaching out her hand to steady the puppy and the other to work on freeing it. “I’m nae going to hurt ye.”
She meant it too.
The puppy nervously licked at her hand, as it must have been able to tell that she was working to free it from the branches. It still yelped and whined, even as she pulled it loose.
She turned to cradle it against her chest, hoping to warm its freezing paws and nose with her body. The puppy must have been there for a while, for how cold it was. It was shaking and trembling against her while still attempting to lick her face with its dry tongue. She needed to give the poor thing some water.
“What the devil is that thing?” Kaden’s voice came from behind her, the first time she had heard him speak without using that silken timbre. If anything, he almost sounded disgusted.
“What does it look like?” Emily scoffed, not even wanting to take her eyes off the thing. It was dirty and in need of a bath. “She’s clearly lost her maither somewhere in the woods. I cannae just leave her here!”
She turned slowly to him, and even if he had waved gold in front of her face, she wouldn’t have been able to name the emotion in his eyes. She tried to offer him a smile.
“’Tis just a baby…” She couldn’t seem to stop herself from rocking in place, as if it weren’t a puppy, but a bairn instead. She lifted her free hand to pet its soft little head, and only then did the pup start to settle, nuzzling into the warmth of her arms.
Kaden shook his head, something crossing his dark features like a ghost. The smile slipped right off her face as she tilted her head to the side. He took a step back, almost stumbling. He almost looked like he was about to trip over the flat ground behind him.
“Me Laird?” Emily prompted, not understanding what was happening. “Kaden?”
He turned to go back the way they had come from. “Well, let it run off to wherever he came from.”
Why was he being so dismissive? It was impossible for somebody not to like puppies!
