He laughed. “So ye are, and I like it. Want it or no, I claim thee for m’own,” he answered stubbornly.
She smiled and touched his cheek “Then I have the right, to do the same.”
“Aye, lass ye have the right. I give it to ye freely,” he said and kissed her long and sweetly.
* * *
Two days had passed since Hunter had seen her.
He thought he would go mad. Mary Horwich had taken Exerilla with her on an overnight trip to visit with a friend and do a little shopping.
At any rate, he had a job to do. Tomorrow he would see her, because he couldn’t bear another day without her in it.
No time to think this out. Night had already fallen and he had to concentrate on the job at hand.
He was energized and slightly confused by all that he felt because of the lass. He was also ready for the action he had promised his brother he would take.
As he sat his horse and waited, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He had met his match in Exerilla Radley.
She was everything he could ever want and more, and yet the question of her being human, remained.
When they had joined, he had felt a connection of something more than passion and more than what he had expected.
A bolt of light had engulfed him and he thought it was from his magic. He hadn’t been able to explain it, other than thinking something deep in his wizard’s soul had decided the human girl was his mate.
Her scent lingered long after he took her home and that scent was more than human. It tasted of his own brand of magic. He shrugged the notion off. He questioned himself for doubting her. She was a very special human, but human all the same. She could have magic inside her and not know it? It may have been shielded from him. He could still feel the sensation of floating when he escorted her home that afternoon, after they had made love. He didn’t want to stop. He wanted to bury himself deep inside her and never leave.
He knew he had to see her safely home. Somehow he had managed the strength to pull himself together.
He had escorted her back to Horwich and left her there. He could still feel the sensation of feeling momentarily stunned. He didn’t want to leave her and go. Not even for a night. It was as though an invisible thread, beautiful and bright held her to his heart and body. Breaking that thread had left him empty and lost.
During the past two days, he had visited Horwich House only to find that Mrs. Horwich had taken her off for a short trip to visit with a friend.
He had been devastated to find she wasn’t near.
She could not be with him forever. She was human--she would grow old and die and he would be lost. He had allowed this to happen.
Even so, he had decided he had to be with her for as long as time would allow. He could not do without her, human or not.
This evening, however he had to take care of business and put matters into motion. Jerry Swit had finally returned. He looked haggard and unhappy which was very much unlike himself. Something was wrong with him, as though he had been spooked.
His lordship had watched him as he scarcely ate before announcing that he was off for town. Hunter looked at Jacob who shrugged his shoulders as they finished dinner quietly together.
His lordship waited only a bit before he headed out and it didn’t take him long to find Swit sitting on the front steps of the Mermaid Tavern.
Hunter tethered his horse to the hitching post and sat with him. “Ye doona look happy, man.” He saw Swit’s hand on his gun and added, “Ye will never have it cocked in time.”
Swit had already relaxed his hand when he recognized the voice and shrugged, “Eh, tis you then? Couldn’t quite tell in the dark. What in thunder brings you out this evening? Thought you and Jacob were going to settle in for a night of cards.”
“I might ask ye the same thing, but I don’t have to…I actually know.”
“What do you think you know?”
“That you have been playing spy for the enemy.” Hunter’s voice was grim and hardened. He allowed no room for dissembling.
Swit released a long breath of air and sounded beaten. “Are you working for the someone else then?”