“You’ll be safe with me,” he murmured.
He took long strides crossing the street. Charon didn’t go in through the pub, instead went around the building to gain entrance at the back.
In no time he was inside. He took the stairs up to his private quarters and walked into the bedroom. Yet, he couldn’t make himself release Laura.
He sank onto the bed with her still in his arms. She clung to him, though she had stopped trembling. “I need to get you something for your face.”
“He said I teased him.”
“He’s a liar. Forget him.”
She raised her head so her eyes met his. “He was adamant about me going with him. Desperate even. I never wanted to be manhandled like that again.”
Again? Charon wished now he had dug into her past. “He willna touch you ever again. That I can promise.”
A ghost of a smile played on her lips. “I don’t think I’m meant to find anyone.”
“Because of one date with a deranged man? Doona base your facts on that.”
“I base my facts on my life. If you knew my family, you’d understand.”
It was the first time she had spoken of her past, and he didn’t want to let the opportunity slide. Plus it would keep her mind from the attack.
Though he had no such problems. As soon as Phelan returned to let him know where Ben was, Charon planned on paying him a little visit.
“Tell me about your family.”
“They’re … I don’t talk to them.”
“Why?”
“It’s better that way. Tell me your secret now.”
He smoothed her hair back from her face, careful not to touch her bruise. It felt so good to touch her and have her in his arms. His secret wouldn’t be shared with her. Ever. “Did Ben say why he wanted you to go with him?”
“No.”
Laura began to shake again, and Charon silently cursed himself for bringing the bastard up. He set her on the bed and rose to pour some scotch.
On his way back, he grabbed a shirt from his closet and took them both to her.
“Drink this now. All of it,” he instructed. “Then go change into this. You’re sleeping here tonight.”
When she stared at him, he nudged her hand holding the glass until it was at her lips. Once she had drained it, Charon took the glass and watched her go into the bathroom.
It took everything he had not to follow and pull her back into his arms. But after the night she’d had, it would be the last thing she wanted.
“Charon.”
He looked to find Laura standing in the bathroom doorway in her torn dress. She walked to him, rose up on her tiptoes, and placed her lips on his.
Fire rushed through his veins as his body roared to life. He’d dreamed of kissing her, yearned to take her lips.
His arms locked around her, refusing to let her go. For a moment, he simply savored the feel of her body and mouth. Then he tilted his head and slipped his tongue past her lips.
He deepened the kiss, the taste of her more erotic and intoxicating than he could ever have dreamed. The place in him that had been empty for so long began to diminish as she tangled her tongue with his and sank her hands into his hair.
Flames of desire, potent and exciting, coursed through him. They licked at his skin, urging him to taste more of her, touch more of her.
With his hands splayed on her back, he made himself pull back from the intensity of their kiss. It was the last thing he wanted, but he couldn’t take advantage of her after the night she’d had.
It was the hardest thing he did, but Charon slowly, reluctantly ended their kiss. When he looked down at Laura, her eyes were filled with desire and longing that rocked him to his very core.
How could he have ever thought to push her away?
CHAPTER TEN
Jason Wallace stood alone under the night sky on the back porch of the hunting lodge. Every hour he spent at the lodge told him it was one of the best investments he’d made since inheriting Declan’s money.
“Any word?”
He smiled as Aisley’s voice reached him. She was another of his cousins, one who had very powerful magic. Aisley didn’t yet understand her true role in his plot, but she would. Very soon.
“No’ yet,” he answered. “I suspect verra soon to be hearing from Ben.”
Aisley’s heels clicked on the stone patio as she walked to a potted plant and leaned down to smell the roses. “And you think that taking someone close to Charon will hurt him far more than just killing him?”
“Aye. He willna be expecting it. The Warriors think they’re so smart, hiding in MacLeod Castle. Deirdre was able to penetrate the castle. Even Declan was able to, but nothing ever came of it. I decided to approach things another way.”