Ryder tutted. “We can control ourselves, eh, Megan, me sweet?”
She swallowed. “Aye, I’m sure we can manage.”
“Very well,” Flora said reluctantly, “but I’ll be back soon, aye?”
“Aye,” Ryder nodded, stepping aside. Flora picked up her box of sewing implements and left the room, eyeing Megan as she went. Ryder neatly kicked the door shut and leaned against it.
“Yer handsome warrior, eh?” he remarked, breaking into a grin.
“I was trying to think of somethin’ nice to say,” Megan snapped. “Ye make it very hard to think of ye kindly, ye ken. Next time I’ll just call yehen.”
“Aye, I’m sure ye will. I came to talk to ye briefly about what happened yesterday in the woods.”
Megan swallowed and tilted her chin up. She looked into the mirror as if examining her reflection, but she could see Ryder’s reflection over her shoulder. Always, her gaze shifted back to him.
“I’m nae sure that there’s much to say about it,” she said at last.
“Perhaps nae,” he conceded. “First things first, though. Ye’ll nae be wearin’ that gown to the cèilidh.”
She rounded on him. “What? Ye commissioned this gownforthe cèilidh. Sophie picked it out!”
“Aye, well, I didnae think ye would look likethatin it! Every man there will be slaverin’ over ye and wantin’ to dance with ye.”
She blinked. Was he saying that she looked beautiful?
Trust him to give me a compliment without it even sounding like one.
“And what’s wrong with that?” she managed at last.
He grinned. “Ye are mine, or did ye forget?”
“Do ye want me to turn up to this big, fine cèilidh with all of yer fellow lairds looking like a hag, then?”
He rolled his eyes. “Daenae be so dramatic. Ye could wear a burlap sack and look passably pretty.”
“Passably pretty? Keep insultin’ me, and I might arrive at the cèilidh naked.”
At once, Megan regretted throwing that insult at him. His eyes darkened—not with anger, but with something else—and she found herself vividly imagining the scene. In her head, she walked naked through a crowded feasting hall, the recipient of shocked stares. However, she was only focused on a single stare. It was Ryder, sprawled out on his throne, watching her approach…
Enough!She all but screamed at herself.
“I want to wear this dress,” Megan tried again when the silence dragged on.
He took a step toward her, arms folded, eyes flashing.
“Challengin’ me again, eh?” he murmured warningly. “This is nae a battle of wills that ye will win, me sweet. If ye are trying to make me attracted to ye in hopes that ye will get what ye want, then…”
“How dare ye!” she snapped, rounding on him. “I daenae needyerattraction.”
“Good, because our bargain is a simple one. Three months, and that is all. Yesterday, we blurred the lines in our relationship, so I thought I would make things clear. What happened then should not have happened. I should have been stronger, but I willnae make the same mistake again.” His expression softened, just a little. “I daenae want to hurt ye.”
“Hurt me!”
“I mean I daenae want ye to get confused, aye? It’ll nae happen again, this confusion between us. Aye? Do ye understand? Did ye not say that ye were saving yerself for the man ye would marry? Or was that just an excuse?”
She cleared her throat, not sure why there was a weight in her chest now. Her own words came back to haunt her, echoing around her head.
“ Of course I understand,” she managed, swallowing hard. “Thank ye for… for reminding me. I’m sure I’ll be able to marry, when I find the right man. My sisters all managed easily enough.”
