Her scent instantly filled his senses.Her soft curves fit perfectly against his much harder ones.Her head nestled beneath his chin as she instantly burrowed into the warmth of his chest, and her arms wrapped tightly about his waist.
“God, you feel so good.”Her cheeks were flushed when she looked up at him.“What I meant to say was you feel lovely and warm.Yes, warm,” she repeated firmly.“So warm, I think I could live inside your coat forever.”She winced.“Could you possibly put anything I just said down to my having brain freeze from this fricking weather?”
His mate was also funny.
Adding to her perfection.
“I am more than happy to continue listening to any words of approval you might have for me,” he assured gruffly.
He might be, but Sephie was mortified at the depth of her oversharing.
Ranulf did feel good.Very Good.
And she probably could live cuddled in the warmth of his jacket and nestled against his chest for the rest of her life.
But she shouldn’t have toldhimthat when they had only introduced themselves to each other minutes ago.
Minutes ago!
Preciousminutes, when she should have continued to insist Ranulf read the letter before he gave her an answer, so she could relay it back to the man holding her parents hostage.
She had no certainty about what was written in this letter.She only knew what the consequences would be if she didn’t ensure Ranulf Drake took those contents seriously.
“He has a gun and is keeping my parents prisoner,” she murmured urgently against Ranulf’s chest.
His arms tightened.“Who is?”he prompted just as softly.
“He said his name was Edward Walker when he arrived at the inn last night, asking for a room, but I doubt that’s his real name.”She released a shaky breath.“As it’s my parents’ first year in the village, and they are still getting used to everything, they had decided not to let any rooms over Christmas and New Year.But then last night, this man just walked out of the dark and into the inn.The snow had started to fall again after a bit of a hiatus, and he was soaking wet.He seemed so desperate, and his manner was warm and friendly.”She shook her head at how mistaken they had all been about the man and his intentions.“That whole thing was a ruse,” she added bitterly.“He now has my father tied up and my mother locked in the cellar.”
Ranulf frowned.“I didn’t see any unfamiliar forms of transport when I walked through the village just now, so how did he get here?”
“He said his car had broken down half a mile from the village and he’d walked— What’s funny?”she prompted when she felt the vibration of Ranulf’s massive chest against her cheek.
“I was merely thinking how unoriginal he is.”Ranulf sobered.“My brother used that same excuse to gain access to Edgar Wallis’s home when he…visited him in Cornwall.”
“Edgar Wallis?”
“I believe that is the man’s real name.”
“He told my dad his name is Edward Walker and that he’s from Yorkshire.Although he doesn’t have an accent,” she realized with a frown.
“Is he about five feet ten inches tall, has a slender frame, cold gray eyes, wears glasses, and looks like he could be a university professor?”
“Yes…”
Ranulf nodded.“Then his real name is Edgar Wallis, and his main residence is in Cornwall.He was a lawyer but is now retired.There was a couple of hours’ break in the storm last night,” he murmured as he looked up at the snow-filled sky.“I believe he took advantage of that to arrive by helicopter, not car, and the reason he’s here at all is that he’s a hunter.”
She frowned.“I doubt he’s going to find too many deer or pheasant in this weather.”
His mouth twisted.“He isn’t hunting deer or pheasants.”
“Then what is he hunting?”
“My brothers and me,” Ranulf revealed grimly.“At least, something we have that he wants for himself.”
Sephie pulled back to look at him.“I don’t understand…”
“We’ll talk about that again another time,” he dismissed.“When this man doesn’t have a gun pointed at your parents to make you do his bidding.”
