Taken By Storm(28)
“Why do you fight so relentlessly for the helpless?” he asked, sitting beside her.
“Who else fights for them?”
Burke shook his head. “Something had to have happened to make you such a staunch defender of those in need.”
“My land, my people, that’s cause enough to fight against injustice. You can’t tell me you haven’t done it yourself.”
“True enough.”
“I imagine you’ve even stepped outside the law on occasion.”
“A necessary evil,” he admitted, “as now.”
“You do realize you take your life in your hands by residing among outlaws.”
Burke shrugged. “I am not known here in your country and I do not plan on remaining here. I hope to convince Cullen to return with me.”
“No desire to remain in Scotland?” she asked, wondering why she would even think he would give credence to such a thought.
“My home is the Dakota Territory. I miss it even now.”
“I feel the same,” she admitted. “There’s no way I’d leave Scotland.”
They sat silent for a moment, both digesting their declarations and both wondering why they felt disturbed by the news.
Burke broke the silence. “When Janelle says he’s able, I’d like to speak with Peter.”
“A good idea,” Storm agreed, anxious to move away from the fact that while they were much alike, she and Burke were also worlds apart. “You may be able to learn something that might determine if the man removed from prison was your brother.”
“I thought the same myself, though I know so little of my brother,” Burke said with sorrow.
“He could resemble your father. Do you?”
Burke grinned. “My father often commented that I was spared his features and lucky to have my mother’s good looks.”
“So you have no idea what your brother looks like?”
“Not a hint, which is what makes this search all the more difficult,” he admitted.
“Difficult, but not impossible,” Storm encouraged.
“You really do enthrall me.”
“You, Mr. Longton, continually stun me.”
“My honesty can do that at times, but then at least you know who you deal with, and damn if I don’t love the way my name rolls off your tongue in that thick Scottish burr of yours.”
“Pardon if I don’t find my name sounding as titillating on your tongue. Your American accent is a bit harsh on the ears.”
He laughed and attempted to pronounce her name with a Scottish burr. It wasn’t long before they both were laughing.
“I prefer your American accent. It does less damage to my name,” Storm said after calming her laughter.
“It was worth a try,” he said and reached out his fingers to her chin.
She pulled away, uncertain of his intentions.
“No, no,” he urged, holding his hand steady. “You have a piece of fish—”
She let him dust the piece from the corner of her mouth, a light dusting as if he barely touched her, and yet he left his mark. He stirred her senses and sent a shiver through her though she concealed her reaction, remaining perfectly still.
“You haven’t known a man’s touch in some time, have you?” he asked, his hand drifting off her.
“Storm!”
She turned to see Tanin signaling her from Janelle’s hut.
“Peter must be conscious enough to speak coherently,” Storm said and stood.
“I’ll have an answer from you sooner or later,” Burke said as he walked off ahead of her.
A chill ran through her, seeping into her bones and causing her to shiver. Was she imagining things, or did Mr. Longton seem interested in her? She shook her head. She felt foolish for even giving the idea credence. He was nothing more than a brash American who spoke out of turn every chance he got.
She was a woman who missed her husband and the intimacy she had shared with him. There wasn’t a night she hadn’t ached for Daniel’s touch, for his hard, warm body next to hers, for the way he held her close when they slept or the way he teased her body alive with his fingers and his lips.
Somehow, Burke had managed to spark those memories and ignite them. However, it would do her little good to feed the flame. Mr. Longton would eventually return to America. She would never see him again.
But then her life was far from conducive to finding love. Perhaps she should allow herself to enjoy a brief interlude with Burke and fill the emptiness inside her, if only temporarily.
She could make no commitment to a man or promise a future with children. More than likely she would eventually be caught, imprisoned, and perhaps put to death, or she would live out her days in the woods as an outlaw.