Ranulf initially froze, no doubt at the unexpectedness of her throwing herself at him.But he soon got on board with it, his strong arms moving about her waist and easily lifting her off her feet as he deepened the kiss.
Sephie instinctively wrapped her legs about Ranulf’s waist, immediately able to feel the hard length of his arousal pressing against the heat between her legs.
The very long length of his arousal!
Not that Sephie had anything to compare it with, but she was sure the eight or nine inches pressing against her was larger than average.
All perfectly in proportion, she reminded herself, before once again losing herself to the hunger of their heated kisses.
* * *
Ranulf wanted nothing more than to keep on kissing Sephie, to do more than kiss her.But Wallis’s deliberate cruelty to her and her family had ensured Sephie had been under severe stress all day.As a consequence, Ranulf needed to see to the comfort of his mate before he did anything else.For instance, holding her in his arms had allowed him to know how cold she was in only the cream Aran-knit sweater and fitted jeans.
Much as it grieved him to do so, he lifted his head and broke the kiss.
But he kept his arms around Sephie’s waist, unable to release her completely.“We will return to Drake House now so you can see for yourself that your parents are safe and well.”He tilted his head as Lachlan spoke to him through their link.“They have availed themselves of the bathroom, enjoyed a cup of tea, and are now both wrapped up warm and sitting in front of the fire, eating bowls of stew and fresh bread.”
“How— Again, never mind.”She gave a dismissive wave of her hand.“I don’t care how all of this came about, only that it did.”
Ranulf knew that was how she felt right now.But no doubt once the shock had worn off and she had been totally reassured as to her parents’ welfare, she would want answers to the many questions floating around inside her head.
Ranulf sincerely hoped that once Sephie asked those questions and he had answered her truthfully, she wouldn’t run away screaming.
Although he somehow couldn’t imagine his beautiful and brave mate ever running away screaming from anything or anyone.
He hoped he wouldn’t be the first.
CHAPTERSEVEN
Sephie instinctively liked and felt comfortable in the company of Belle and Zoey, Ranulf having introduced her to the other two women the moment she entered the warmth of the old-fashioned kitchen at Drake House.She would forever be grateful to them for having taken such good care of her mother and father.
Belle seemed a little shy, but her glances toward Lachlan were full of love and heat.Zoey was louder and brighter, in nature as well as her clothes, the latter multicolored.But her love for Hunter shone from inside that big personality.
Zoey had also confirmed that the man now being held prisoner in the dungeons beneath them was definitely Edgar Wallis.
Zoey said she should know, because Wallis had been her guardian.
Sephie’s parents had let out cries of joy the moment she entered the kitchen unharmed, the two of them standing up to hug her.They had finished eating the stew and were now seated comfortably beside the warmth of the huge kitchen range.
Ranulf’s brothers, Lachlan and Hunter Drake, were much harder to read than their partners, despite the impulsive hug Sephie had given them after hugging her exhausted and tearful parents.
Both men were very handsome in the same austere way Ranulf was.But just being in the same room with all of them, she once again sensed a restraint and power beneath their surface politeness.She had sensed this same aura with all three brothers when she first saw them at Ben’s funeral after the New Year.
It was as if, as with Ranulf, there was something else beneath these two men’s tough veneer just waiting to break free.Something that was even more lethal than the threat presented by their already tall and muscular frames.
Nonsensical thoughts, of course, but Sephie could hardly be blamed for having a flight of fancy after the surreal day she’d just lived through.
There were definitely a few things she needed Ranulf to explain, though.
The main one being that, when they were in the church, Ranulf had seemed, had implied, that he had been waiting for some sort of signal.
A signal that Sephie had been totally unaware of.Because there hadn’t been one, and yet Ranulf had still known exactly when it was safe to make his move to stop Wallis.
But all that could wait to be answered later.
In truth, she could hardly believe that the danger was truly over.
The situation had appeared bleak, insurmountably so, after they had watched Wallis taking his time setting up the dynamite.Sephie had been slightly numb, mentally and physically, by the time he pushed her outside to walk in front of him on the snowy pathway from the inn to the church.
