For a moment, Emily was worried that he might kick her away. Instead, he chose to stand perfectly still as Maggie danced up on her hind legs, attempting to coax him into picking her up.
“Sorry! I tried to catch her! We were—we…” Emily trailed off, because she didn’t have a good explanation. She shouldn’t have to explain herself in the first place.
Kaden turned his focus from the puppy to her. A cold shudder ran down her spine that had nothing to do with the cool evening breeze.
What had happened for him to look at her so coldly?
“Come with me,” he demanded, the scent of whiskey oozing off him as he roughly grabbed her by the shoulder.
Her history told her that it was never a good idea to go somewhere with an angry man.
“Kaden, stop it,” she protested, attempting to dig in her heels so that she was not so easily moved, but her slippers did not help. He wasn’t hurting her, but it was uncomfortable.
“Stop it right now! Unhand me!” she tried a little louder.
But he would not be swayed. He kept pulling her along, a now-distressed Maggie following after them, confused as to why they smelled so uncomfortable, no doubt.
Kaden didn’t stop until they were hidden by the shadow around the side of the castle, where there were no windows or anyone to look at or down on them. He seemed like he was about to speak again, and she took advantage of the pause to wrench herself free from his grasp.
“Ye cannae just grab me whenever ye like! I daenae care for that!”
It was only because she cared for and respected Kaden that she was willing to ask him to stop. Only this once. If he tried it again, he was going to finally meet the woman who had sparked all of those rumors about her.
Kaden attempted to grab her once more, a look of determination on his face, and she smacked his hand away. He wasn’t so easily deterred. Whether it was the drink or whatever it was that had put him in this mood, she didn’t know.
Emily didn’t see what choice she had other than to slap him. So she did. Or she tried to.
There was no reason that a man as large as he was should be able to move as quickly as he did. He snatched her wrist, and when she tried to slap him with the other hand, he efficiently caught it too and used both as leverage to back her against the cold brick wall of the castle.
The darkness swallowed them both as he pinned her to the wall with his body. And then he kissed her.
This kiss was so different from the ones before it. This kiss was desperate, like he needed to remind himself that she was real and touching him. He kissed her like she was air and the only thing keeping him rooted to this earth, all-consuming as she tasted the remnants of whiskey on his lips. He claimed her with that kiss, pressing against her firmly.
Emily knew that she should push him away. She ought to knee him or tell him how unacceptable this was, but clearly the rational part of her mind had abandoned her entirely.
Eventually, he broke the kiss and pressed his forehead against hers, loosening his grip on her wrists. “Tell me nay one else has touched ye.”
Was that what all of this was about? Where had that even come from? She thought that she had made herself perfectly clear. What had changed since then?
Kaden looked genuinely worried. It was hard to make out his entire expression from how close his face was to hers. She lowered her arms between them, her hands resting gently against his chest.
“Nay one has touched me,” she answered truthfully. “I’ve never wanted anyone to… Only ye.”
The pleased, guttural groan that escaped him was something she wanted to remember forever.
With just a few words from her, Kaden seemed to melt. He leaned into her, kissing her softly, like she was some delicate thing, softer than a man built like him should have been capable of.
She didn’t know if this was some sort of test or if she was supposed to beg or hold him, but she didn’t care either. Kaden’s kisses turned fervent as they trailed down her jawline and left a hot trail to her neck, where he licked and sucked the skin like he couldn’t get enough of her taste.
He wrapped her long braid around his wrist, using it as leverage to angle her head the way he wanted so that he could have better access to her neck. His free hand dropped to her thigh, lifting her robe and nightgown until he could reach bare skin. Her knees almost buckled when he touched her.
If he could touch, then so could she.
Her touch was hesitant at first, not wanting to have a repeat of earlier. But he seemed to have forgotten entirely about that. She started at his shoulders, feeling the muscles there and the way they curved over to his strong arms.
Then he shifted. His hand found her waist as he lowered himself to one knee, the one on her thigh sliding higher where nobody other than herself had ever touched her before. Even then, therehad been only a few times that she had allowed herself to explore that part of her.
Not that her fingers would ever compare to the feel of Kaden’s lips on her. The night air was cold against her skin as he bared her hips to his gaze, glancing up with a hungry look in his eyes.
