Her mouth tightened, but then her demeanor softened a little. At that moment, he realized he respected her much more than he had initially thought.
“If I agree to this,” she asked, folding her arms across her chest, “what do I get?”
“Simple. Freedom.”
“What makes ye think I daenae have freedom?”
He gave her a look that seemed to say,Come on.
“Ye and I both ken ye would do anything to escape yer uncle.”
“What. Are. Ye. Offering?” she pressed, her voice sharper.
He kept his voice steady. “Rooms that are yers. Doors that shut and locks that answer to ye. The running of the hall and the quarter where the bairn sleeps. If ye set a rule, I will adhere to it.Ye will also stand beside me during important events of the clan, and nay one will put a hand on ye without facing me wrath.”
She twisted her lips, another short breath escaping them. “And in exchange, all I have to do is to be yer wife?”
“Nae me wife, butLadyMacLeod,” he clarified, his voice just as calm.
She tightened her arms. “Just to be clear, I daenae care for ye.”
“I daenae ask for it,” he assured her.
“And we daenae have other… duties toward each other?”
A brief moment of silence passed, but he kept his eyes narrowed.
“I am nae inviting ye to me bed,” she clarified.
“I daenae expect ye to. But we do have to keep up a facade if this is going to work. Which means we must spend the night together at least once a week.”
“Ye have really thought this through, have ye nae?”
“A lot.”
Another moment of silence passed between them, punctuated only by the music lingering in the air.
“Why me?” she asked suddenly.
He exhaled. He could think of a million reasons. Because he felt captivated since the first time he had laid eyes on her. Because he saw the fire in her eyes. Because, in a way, she had a spirit just like him.
“Because ye seem like a nice business partner.”
Her chest rose and fell along with the silence before she eventually broke it. “I will think about it.”
“Daenae think too long, Emma. This is the opportunity of a lifetime.”
A laugh escaped her lips. “Ye’re nae selling this short, are ye?”
“Think about it. Ye’d do whatever ye please, protected by me name. All I ask is that ye act the part of me wife.”
“Aye. I got that part?”
“Ye would be untouchable.”
The last word left him and settled between them like a blade. He did not fill the silence. Instead, he let it work. She did not look away from him either.
Ava laughed from across the room with two lads he didn’t recognize. Emma’s eyes flickered to her sister before returning to him.
