Ranulf’s chiseled lips now curved into a half smile.“Either way, the name suits you.”
“I—” What was she supposed to say to that?“Thank you,” she added awkwardly.
“As does the scent of strawberries,” he added in that gruff voice.
“I told you, I’m not wearing perfume.”She frowned.“I’m allergic to most of them, so I prefer not to bother.”
Ranulf made no comment on that remark, but his dark green gaze stared at her so intently, it seemed as if he was looking into her very soul.
She gave an impatient grimace.“Would you please read the letter I just gave you!”She glanced behind her toward the inn.
She couldn’t see, but definitely knew, that those narrowed and cold pale gray eyes would be watching her every movement from inside the inn.The notice the man had pinned to the outside of the door earlier this morning that read CLOSED FOR FAMILY EMERGENCY was clearly visible.
“Please,” she encouraged again urgently.
Ranulf continued to look at her even as one of his large fingers slipped beneath and broke the seal of the envelope before he took out the single folded piece of paper.
“Aren’t you going to read it?”Sephie prompted restlessly when he made no move to open the sheet of paper.
He arched one dark brow.“Do you know what it says?”
She winced.“Not exactly.”
“How not exactly?”
She grimaced.“I can maybe guess some of it.”
“Tell me.”
Tell him?
Sephie had no idea where to even start!
CHAPTERTHREE
Ranulf obviously didn’t know Sephie very well—lusting after her from afar for the past two weeks and doing everything he could to resist that pull for the same amount of time, didn’t count—but for the past few minutes, he had been able to sense her increasing distress.
Caused, he felt sure, by whoever had written the letter.
Persephone…
How apt that she should have been named for the goddess of spring and new beginnings, because Ranulf could no longer deny that she was his fated human mate.
To him, her voice sounded like a perfectly tuned wind chime.
Her beauty, including her pink hair and that delicious smattering of freckles across her nose, was breathtaking.
Just as her pillowy soft lips and her luscious curves cried out for Ranulf to explore and possess them for his own.
As for her scent of strawberries… He now realized why they had long been his favorite fruit.
His mate was absolute perfection.
From the top of the inadequate woolen hat on her head to the sodden boots on her feet.
The hat, puffy coat, and fashionable boots might be suitable for an afternoon shopping in London or Edinburgh, but they certainly weren’t sufficient for winter in the Scottish Highlands, where the snow season ran typically from November to April, with heavier falls during December and January.This December and January, the snow had fallen even more often and deeper than usual.
“You’re cold,” he voiced his concern when he saw Sephie shiver.“Come here.”He opened up his leather jacket before reaching out to grasp the tops of her arms.He pulled her in tightly against him before then wrapping the two sides of his jacket completely around her.
