But Dallan knew Finn. His gaze followed Finn’s to the center of the field, where Eva spun round and round, laughing. He raised a questioning eyebrow at Finn, crossing his arms over his chest. “My sister troubles you?”
Finn froze. That was a dangerous question. “Doesn’t it bother you, her dancing with a strange man? Who knows what he may attempt?” He considered sprinting to the field to shove the bastard out of the way. Why hadn’t he just agreed to dance with her?
“Clearly, it bothers you,” Dallan observed. “Have a dance with her yourself if you’re worried. You’re big enough to scare the fellow off.”
“I thought it would be inappropriate,” Finn replied through gritted teeth, unable to look away from Eva, “seeing as she is your sister.” Why did he feel as though he ought to punch the lad?
“God’s bones, Finn! You’re my friend,” Dallan said incredulously. “By all means, rescue her! ’Tis not as though Cormac or Broccan will let me anywhere near her.”
At that very moment, the farmhand in question slipped his hands over her hips.
And Finn lost all control of his actions. He let loose a choice expletive, eliciting an amused chuckle from Diarmid, before striding straight to Eva and that fool hanging off of her. He stepped so close they had to stop dancing lest they run into him. The sound of his three friends’ laughter reached him all the way across the field.
Finn said nothing, glaring daggers at the man as he reached to pull Eva into his arms.
“Thank you for the dance, Simon,” she called while Finn spun her as far away as he could get in one turn.
“A lady should know better,” Finn growled, unable to keep his temper in check. His friends had been correct in their assessment. Hefeltready to go into battle.
“Than to dance at a dance?”
“Than to dance with a strange man, who clearly had other intentions.”
Eva twirled and grinned at him wickedly, the temptress. “I do believe the man I now dance with has other intentions as well.”
“You’d better not have done that to trick me into dancing,” he grumbled, nearly stepping on her foot when the tempo changed unexpectedly.
“It worked faster than I expected.” She slowed her movements, allowing him to get his feet correct. “You could have just told me you didn’t know how to dance.”
“I could have,” he agreed, “but it wasn’t why I refused your request. What I told you was the truth.”
His eyes fell to her bust. He corrected himself, but not before she noticed. In the soft orange glow of the fires, he could still see a touch of pink bloom on her cheeks. Gods, he wanted to kiss her.
“You’re looking at me differently,” she whispered. “What are you thinking about?”
He leaned as close as he could without being inappropriate. “Taking that gown off you,” he whispered back.
For a moment she said nothing, and he feared he’d gone too far. He was about to apologize, when she finally spoke up.
“I’ll be waiting by the lake.”
The reel came to a spiraling stop and Eva, without so much as a backward glance, disappeared into the crowd in the direction of the forest path.
Finn cursed his own weakness, knowing he could only follow her.
Perhaps Eva wasn’t the one who needed rescuing.
Chapter Twenty-One
Eva had finallyreached the end of her grand plan. She stood waiting by the stone, basking in her victory. She’d gotten Finn to dance with her, and she’d worn the gown so that she could spend more time with him. And maybe steal another kiss.
Alright,definitelysteal another kiss.
A shiver of excitement ran down her spine as she thought about their last kiss. Surely there was no harm in kissing, right? Plenty of women kissed men and didn’t marry them. She even knew a few who’d had babes with men and not married them. The church had several things to say about that, but most people went by the Brehon law, the laws that had been laid down generations ago, laws made by the ancestors of the lands in order to protect future generations. Even the local priests knew it, and many were supportive of the old ways of doing things.
So, really, there was nothing wrong with enjoying her kisses with Finn.
Unless Finn thought she intended to court him.
