I have never seen Lucas so enraged. He’d rarely deviated from his cool demeanor for the four years he was my bodyguard. Now, though, his eyes are alight like the fires of Hell.
“That motherfeckerpoisonedye?”
“It’s fine, it’s awright.” I’m patting his chest gently, appeasingly and I can feel his heart thundering. “It was a bad night and morning, but I got the mushroom bits out before they could cause more damage and the antidote did the rest.”
“I should’ve killed him before I took ye out of there,” he hisses. “I’m gonna go back and cut that piece of shite into-”
“Aye,” I agree. “The little ratbag deserves to die. Not now, though.”
He’s so angry. I’ve never seen him like this. Not even the night he hauled me out of that party after I’d managed to sneak out of my flat without him catching me and punched my date in the nose, and-
Lucas fecking Stewart has no business getting angry about another man hurting me. He threw away everything between us.
I’m exhausted. My spine is sending flames of agony through my midsection and irrationally, I am enraged at this man.
“Oh. Now ye care?Nowye care that I was in danger? Not for the last three years after ye walked out of my life and never spoke to me again? Ye went to feckingSiberiato get away from me? Ye fecking hypocrite!”
Lucas puts his hands on his hips, staring at me as if I’ve lost my mind.
Maybe I have.
“Cat,” he says slowly, “I had to leave. There was no choice.”
This breathtakingly arrogant bastard.
“There was a choice!” I stalk forward, smacking him on his bare chest. “Ye could have let me talk to my father, made him see reason and-”
“I broke the first oath I made to your family! I got involved with the asset!” I hit him again and he dinnae seem to notice. “It was my responsibility to report to the Chieftain.”
“Theasset?”Now, I’m screaming. “Did ye just call me ‘the asset,’ like I’m a fecking package to be delivered? Not even a human being? After working together for four years, that’s all I was to ye?” I laugh bitterly, “Well no fecking wonder ye could sleep with me and leave without a word.”
“Ye know that’s not true.” Lucas grabs my flailing hands, holding them together. “Yeknowhow I felt about ye. Every fecking day was torture, not being able to touch ye. But if a man loses his honor, he’s got nothing left, lass. I’d intended to ask the Chieftain to release me from my service, so I could be with you. As a man, not an employee of the MacTavishes. Though I knew the chances were 50/50 that the Chieftain would shoot me in the face.”
“Ye tookmychoice away from me.” My voice wobbles humiliatingly. I will not cry in front of this man. “You made the choice to not let me be part of the discussion, my choice to tell my da that ye were important to me, that I…”
My hands are still clasped in his enormous, warm ones. Against his beautifully sculpted chest. Yanking away from him, I turn. “I’m going to sleep. Dinnae bother me.”
“That’s a good idea,” Lucas says coldly. “The storm’s dying down. We’ll leave at first light.”
Then he walks out of the room, just the way he did three years ago.
Chapter Thirteen
In which Lucas Has Had Enough.
Catriona…
Three years ago…
“This is ridiculous. Take me home.”
Lucas has been dead silent since he punched poor Nick in the face. I dinnae have to be a doctor to know Lucas broke his nose when I heard the bones crunch.
He’s not speeding, he’s driving precisely the speed limit, and he refuses to look at me. We’re heading toward the ocean and away from my flat.
“What the hell do ye think you’re doing? Givin’ me the silent treatment because I went on adate?”The tendons in his jaw tighten, so I know he’s gritting his teeth.
It feels like a win.
