Caden clenched his fists at his sides. White-hot anger flared in his chest. He wanted to tear the place apart at the mere thought of Gregor Kilmartin or even Finlay touching his wife again.
Caden looked from her to Finlay, unable to read between the lines, but something must have set her off. Nathan sat quietly, observing them.
Finlay nodded. “That is why I offered to marry ye, Ava. Nae just because he’s old or because ye wanted to be free. Even though the feud between our clans is ancient and shouldnae matter, I ken what the current Laird is like. He’s manipulative, vindictive, and vengeful. Gregor Kilmartin would be a terrible husband for anyone, especially ye. I wouldnae want ye to go through that, ever.”
He reached out and gave Ava’s hand a reassuring squeeze.
Caden fought the urge to snap at his brother. An image of him chopping off Finlay’s hand flashed through his mind.
He let out a slow breath through his nose. “Finlay, please take Nathan to his room to give me a moment with me wife.”
The death glare he shot his brother should have been enough, but the idiot was too busy consoling Ava to notice.
“But Braither, I—” Finlay swallowed, his brow furrowed.
“Now,” Caden ground out. .
“Aye, me Laird.” Finlay bowed his head and reached for the little boy.
Nathan looked just as confused as he did, but gladly let his uncle pick him up and carry him out of the room.
Once the sound of footsteps had faded, Caden turned to Ava, who continued eating her breakfast as if nothing had happened. The back of his neck prickled when she did not acknowledge or look at him.
After several moments of silence, he decided to speak. “Yer friendship with me man-at-arms is touching, but ye belong tomenow. Ye’d do well to remember that.”
Ava’s head snapped up, her back ramrod straight. “I?—”
“Daenae interrupt me,” he whispered harshly.
She clamped her mouth shut for once.
Caden rose from his seat and crossed the room to her. Ava kept her eyes on him, following his every step. With one hand, he pulled her chair out and turned her to face him.
He rested both arms on the high back of the chair, framing her head. The firelight danced in her eyes, or was it something else? Images of Finlay’s hand on hers flashed through his mind.
“Hearing ye say that ye talk about ye wanted someone else to marry ye isnae very pleasant, wife.” Caden’s breathing was heavy, mixing with her own breath that she could not seem to catch.
“Well…” She stared at his mouth. “First of all, I will be friends with whomever I please.”
His eyes narrowed. “Ye willnae?—”
“Daenae interrupt me, me Laird,” she hissed, baring her teeth. “Ye promised me freedom. Finlay has been me best friend for years. Ye cannae force me to disregard that. I am yer wife, nothing will change that, but I willnae carry on as if he and I daenae have a history.”
Caden’s nostrils flared, and restlessness raised the hairs on his arms. He could not take his eyes off her.
“Besides,” Ava continued, “ye’d do well to remember that I didnae want to marry him. I didnae want to marry anyone for that matter, so daenae mistake me intentions for feelings. I did what I had to do to get out of marryin’ a stranger, and look where that got me.”
Caden felt like he had been hit by a bag of bricks.
“Second, hearing ye say that ye’ve never wanted to marry or fall in love wasnae pleasant either, husband.” She fixed him with a glare. “I daenae enjoy feeling like a piece of meat that was rejected by one braither only to be passed to the other.”
Wood splintered beneath his fingers, and black dotted the edges of his vision. Ava flinched at the noise, before a gasp slipped past her lips, short and sharp.
“Daenae speak to me this way,” Caden snarled.
“I will speak to ye however I like. As I told ye before, me Laird, Finlay’s nae the kind… he’s nae the kind of man I would be interested in.” Ava wrung her hands, staring at them as if they held the key to vanishing.
Caden felt something inside him crack open. He leaned in, forcing her to look him in the eyes. Lips parted and tingling, he resisted the urge to claim her right there and then.
