Page 10 of The Cruel Highlander (From Enemies to Marriage #3)

CHAPTER 9

Somehow the faintest cry broke through the haze of kissing Aiden. Valorie didn’t think it was possible for anything to distract her from Aiden’s mouth, but a mournful little howl caught her attention. Valorie pulled her face away from Aiden with a confused glance around the clearing. Their limbs were still tangled together against the tree when Valorie heard the cry again.

“Did ye hear that?” Valorie asked, but Aiden just looked at her with a mix of confusion and desperation. She felt similarly. Valorie was certainly desperate for Aiden still; kissing him was not nearly enough to satisfy the desire that had been building between them. In fact, Aiden’s mouth on hers had only ratcheted up the tension between them. But she needed to know where that little cry was coming from.

Valorie had always had a soft spot for broken things. Any time she came across an injured animal, no matter how small, she did her best to help them. She took care of a bird with a broken wing, a squirrel who had lost its mother, and even a few stray kittens over the years. Whatever that cry came from needed her help— so the moment with Aiden would just have to wait.

Valorie strained to hear the sound again over her pounding heartbeat and heavy breathing. Aiden had really done a number on her with that kiss.

There it is! Valorie thought as she once again heard the cry breaking through the fog Aiden had put over her mind.

Quickly disentangling herself from Aiden, Valorie ran off in the direction of the sound without another word. She leaped quickly over downed branches and roots as she followed the sound. There it was again! Much closer now. Valorie slowed her run and quickly spun around to search for the source of that cry.

Focusing on this rescue mission was the perfect distraction to not think about that kiss with Aiden. Valorie would surely spend hours reliving every moment of his lips against hers — dreaming of the way that he had held tightly to the back of her neck as he took what he needed from her lips.

Yes, Valorie knew she would be thinking thoughts of Aiden late at night. But there were more important things happening right now. Although… kissing Aiden did feel very important. Especially in the context of her grand plans. What did their kiss mean? Surely, one kiss did not change everything… even a kiss like that. Valorie didn’t have anything to compare it too, but even she knew that was an outlier. It couldn’t be normal to feel like that every time you kissed someone — people would never get anything done!

Still, despite what was likely a once in a lifetime kiss, nothing had changed. Valorie had desires that didn’t involve being someone’s wife. Maybe she could finally see England — or even the rest of Scotland would be nice. A life stuck in someone else’s castle was not part of that dream. The further she got from Aiden’s lips, the clearer everything was becoming. She needed to stick to her original plan.

The tests had been an utter failure, but Valorie could certainly come up with some other way to force Aiden to end this betrothal. There was still her decorating idea to consider or other ways to encourage the laird to leave her. She had wanted to sort this out today before she was forced to move into his castle, but Valorie would adapt.

Although, their kiss was definitely an added hiccup. Would she be able to resist another kiss like that if she lived with Aiden? Seeing him every day in his kitchens, his dining room, and his study, experiencing Aiden’s most comfortable self, he’d probably smile and wink at her too — Valorie would need to resist in order for her plan to work.

Maybe avoidance would be the best strategy — because something told Valorie the temptation of Aiden Wright might be too much to effectively resist, at least for long. Only one day in and she was succumbing to his charms. How would she fare after a fortnight? Or a month? Valorie shuddered at the thought.

Before any of that though, she needed to find whatever was crying out to her. Valorie scoured the woods around her, renewed in her mission to locate the wee animal and put that kiss behind her. She knew she had to be close now, so Valorie carefully observed every tree, bush, and shrub for any signs of the creature.

There! In a bush off to her right, Valorie saw a flash of white and brown. Quickly, she raced over to the bush. Stuck in the branches was the tiniest fluff ball Valorie had ever seen, still crying out for help. Valorie slowly brought her hands to the bush and the tiny puppy trapped within. The wee animal was still just a young thing; it was the smallest puppy Valorie had ever seen. Its little eyes stared back at Valorie pleadingly.

“Shh, it’s okay baby; I’m goin’ get ye out,” Valorie cooed softly to the animal; the poor thing was shaking and whimpering — not crying out nearly as loud now that someone had found it, though. Somehow the fluffy thing had gotten itself tangled up in the bush and now couldn’t get out. It was all alone out here in the woods; Valorie couldn’t see traces of any other animals nearby.

As carefully as she could, Valorie began removing the branches from the animal’s fur, ensuring that none of them snapped against the little animal. All of the animal’s fluff was really making this difficult; it had gotten so tangled up in the thorny bush.

When the puppy was nearly free, she said sweetly, “Almost there, wee one; I’ve got ye.”

Finally, Valorie managed to get the puppy out of the bush and brought it close to her chest in a cuddle. The baby was still shaking horribly from the experience. How long had the poor thing been alone out here? Maybe if Valorie wasn’t so distracted with kissing a certain laird, she would have heard the crying sooner.

“Where’s yer momma, wee one?” Valorie asked, continuing to coo and make comforting noises at the animal in her arms. The little puppy needed her; Valorie would not be leaving it behind today. She stroked the animal softly trying to keep the poor thing calm.

“What the hell is that thing?” Aiden’s disgusted voice came suddenly from behind Valorie.

* * *

Aiden had a horrible time keeping up with Valorie; apparently, he’d lose in a regular foot race as well as a horse race. Maybe he’d have a chance without any obstacles, but Aiden had no idea how she navigated all the roots and downed trees out here in the woods.

To be fair, Aiden was surprised he was able to make his limbs work at all after that frenzied kiss. Part of his problem too was that Aiden had stood stunned for crucial moments as soon as Valorie fled. His mind and his body did not catch on to what his eyes were seeing, and that was Valorie running away from him. So now here Aiden was, running through the woods like a loon, feeling like he’d been thrown into battle blindfolded, spun around three times, and told to fight his way out.

Still not knowing why Valorie had run off, Aiden was desperate to find her again. During his stumbling trek through the woods, he overthought every moment of their kiss. Had he been too rough with her when he pushed her up against the tree? She certainly seemed to enjoy it at the moment, but maybe he should check? Maybe she didn’t like the way he bit her lip or held her tightly by her hair. He had to say, it was the first time a woman had run from him mid-kiss, but one never knew what they were going to get with Valorie.

One minute they were enjoying the most mind-blowing kiss Aiden had ever experienced, and the next, Valorie was gone.

Valorie mentioned hearing something in the woods, but Aiden had not been able to hear a single thing over the racing of his heart and the pounding in his blood. The woods could have exploded around them, and Aiden was not sure that he would have noticed. An army of enemy clansmen could have approached, and Aiden would still be kissing Valorie against that tree. Was she not as consumed by him? Aiden needed to find her.

Thankfully, as Valorie flew through the woods, she left enough of track to follow that Aiden finally found her. The lass was incapable of not leaving an imprint behind her. She was… lasting. Aiden approached Valorie, ready to question what she had been doing running off like that and how anything had managed to distract her from their kiss.

But then, he saw the disgusting creature in her arms.

Looking at it coldly, Aiden harshly asked, “What the hell is that thing?” The creature was so miniscule and looked like some sort of bog monster the way its fur was matted down and full of sticks and twigs. Aiden continued to glare at it with utter disgust; he hated dogs. He was just barely keeping the memory of the last time he’d seen a dog at bay when Valorie brought the monster right up close to his face.

In one of his more creative torture experiences, Myles had once brought in a pack of wild dogs to devour him. The dogs were starved for days before they were let into Aiden’s dungeon — he only knew this because his captor bragged about it after the fact, but it made them even more blood thirsty in the moment.

Down in the dark and damp dungeons that had become his home, the dogs were left to have their way with Aiden. There was nowhere to escape, but Aiden still tried to scramble to the corner of his cage and fight them off. His body, though, was frail from years of hunger, and he had no weapons of any kind. All Aiden could do was try to protect his face from their jaws.

In contrast, the dogs were fast and vicious. The minute they were let into his cell, the dogs showed no restraint, immediately going for the closest food source, Aiden. It was only after Aiden had been severely injured from the mauling that his captor called the dogs back. He needed Aiden alive, of course, but mauled was fine. Myles would not want to risk losing the bargaining chip that was his prisoner to something so trivial as death.

With the tiny creature in Valorie’s arms now so close to his face, Aiden was struggling not to think of sharp jaws biting and tearing at his skin. He often dreamed of that pack of dogs, their drooling jowls, and how quickly they hit bones. The attack would likely be forever imprinted in Aiden’s mind, and he had avoided dogs ever since. Successfully, in fact. He didn’t let dogs around the castle, and no one in his family had one, so his life since he’d been rescued had been mercifully dog-free.

Valorie, apparently, had a very different experience with the wild animals because she had no qualms about holding the violent little thing and bringing it right up to Aiden’s face.

“It’s just a baby,” Valorie said softly, stroking the creature’s small head like it wasn’t a killing machine. Aiden just shook his head harshly, trying to stop reliving the angry growls and the sound of teeth tearing flesh.

“Well, let him run off to wherever he has to go then,” Aiden scoffed dismissively, finally getting out of his head enough to respond to Valorie. He was torn between anger and fear, and only one of those emotions would he show to Valorie.

“We have many things to talk about,” Valorie smirked. “Is the big bad laird afraid of a small baby like this?” she teased. Apparently, Aiden was not hiding his fear as well as he thought.

Aiden snapped and pulled Valorie close to him by the arm. “I’m not afraid of anythin’,” he said coldly. A lie of course. Aiden was afraid of many things. Most notably, losing everyone he loved to some horrible fate which was why he kept that list of people very short. Also among his fears — dogs of any kind.

Aiden stared harshly at Valorie, who was so close to him now that he could smell her sweet scent again. The scent that he had fully drank only a few moments ago in the clearing. Aiden dropped his gaze to her plump lips; they were red and puffy from his ministrations and looked absolutely delicious. Valorie too, he noticed, was watching his lips carefully.

Slowly, so not to startle the monster, Aiden released Valorie and took a step back. Now was not the time to lose control again, not when he was in the presence of a true beast.

“Well, then, she …” Valorie said pointedly at the puppy once they were sufficiently separated. Valorie had that suspicious glint in her eye that told Aiden he had already lost somehow. “…cannae go anywhere; she’s afraid of everything.”

Aiden glared at the puppy while Valorie continued, “I’ll have her with me for the rest of me — or her — life, so if ye daenae like dogs…” Valorie trailed off, shrugging her shoulders as if to say, ‘what can you do?’

The lass is already working another scheme, how delightful! Aiden thought with glee. If there was anything better than kissing Valorie, it was her mischief.

Aiden laughed, “I ken what ye’re doing, and ye daenae have to.” Aiden paused and raised an eyebrow at the lass. “I have no interest in gettin’ married. Ye’d have known that if ye weren’t so focused on gettin’ rid of me,” Aiden teased gently.

Aiden watched Valorie blush heavily with his jest, but she said nothing. In truth, Aiden hadn’t wanted to bring up his proposal just yet; he was enjoying watching Valorie attempt to maneuver out of their betrothal. The way her mind worked was equally terrifying and arousing. But since the lass was already working on her next plan, he better fill her in on his.

“I want to get me council off me back, and ye want yer father to stop playing matchmaker. So, I propose we pretend,” Aiden paused to let that sink in. “Ye accept the proposal, and we act as though we are truly betrothed, but we will not ever wed.” Aiden waited, holding his breath for Valorie’s response. When she merely continued to stroke the wretched creature, Aiden continued his arguments.

“We are already practically betrothed in everyone’s eyes, so if ye agree we could be the perfect fake match. A lot can happen in a year lass, and we’d have bought enough time to find a way to end this without getting anyone upset,” Aiden finished with a stern nod.

Valorie looked at him contemplatively for the longest time before she finally nodded. “Aye, but the puppy stays,” she said decisively.

“Absolutely nae.”

“We shall name her Willow like the tree we found her under,” Valorie announced, and that was that.