As they walked, he could feel Katie struggling to maintain her composure, her breathing uneven. The heat of her blush warmed his skin. The feel of her soft curves against him made him burn with desire. Electricity crackled between them like lightning.
Aiden glanced down at her, his grip gentle but unyielding, and said, “Let us go outside.”
Katie looked up at him with a mix of gratitude and fear, her lips trembling as she tried to find her voice. But before she could speak, they had exited the ballroom, the door closing behind them and muffling the noise. The dimly lit hallway offered some semblance of privacy, but the weight of what had just unfolded still hung heavily between them.
Aiden couldn’t let this beautiful creature escape him. Even if she was shy and deeply embarrassed, she needed to explain exactly what her mother had meant. Her forethought before speaking was a quality he found endearing. He found nothing more repugnant than a woman who spoke before considering her words.
As they paused in the quiet corridor, the only sound was the distant hum of the ball.
Aiden led Katie briskly through the candlelit hallway, his grip on her arm firm as he steered them toward the garden. She was struggling to keep pace, her long skirts rustling against the polished floor, and she glanced around anxiously. Aiden was keenly aware of the eyes that followed their every step. The whispers had already started, and from the now familiar flicker of dread in her beautiful eyes, he knew she could also hear the gossip circling them.
It gave him pause, knowing that she worried more for her reputation than he did his own.
“Please, Sir,” she whispered urgently, glancing up at him with wide, apprehensive eyes. The beast inside him roared protectively as he paused and considered her words carefully. “My reputation will be in tatters if we’re seen alone together like this.”
“I am supposed to be chaperoning the happy couple!” her mother called out with a smile to the few people in the hallway and then rushed after them in her clacking heels and billowing skirts.
Aiden ignored Katie’s pleas, his jaw set in determination. He had to help this young lady extract herself from the humiliating backlash of her mother’s hasty announcement. They both needed to get out of this mess as soon as possible, despite the beast rattling hungrily in his chest.
Firmly clasping her delicate arm in his palm, he turned sharply down a narrow hallway and steered her toward a side door that led to the garden. He hoped that her pesky mother hadn’t seen them as they slipped between hedges and sculptures and disappeared into the moonlit night.
Once outside, the cool night air embraced them. It was a welcome relief from the stifling heat of the ballroom. Aiden took a deep breath but pressed on, trying to find somewhere they could talk without being overheard. The entire time he led her through the garden, she tried to firmly but sneakily slip from his grasp. It quickly became a game of cat and mouse that thrilled him a bit too much.
As they reached a shadowed alcove near the edge of the garden, she finally succeeded in pulling away from him.
“Unhand me!” she demanded, her voice trembling. “Unhand me,Sir!”
Aiden turned to face her, his expression dark and unyielding. “Undothis,” he shot back, his voice low and intense. “Why is yer maither tellin’ everyone we’re to marry?”
Katie’s breath hitched, and she took a step back, making Aiden pause. “If I could undo it, I would,” she said, her voice shaky. “I have no desire to be associated with a barbarian!”
Aiden’s eyes narrowed at the insult, but he didn’t rise to it. Instead, he folded his arms across his broad chest, his gazesteady and piercing. “Then why is she sayin’ it? What game is she playin’, lass?”
Katie bit her lip, her eyes trained on the ground, and his heart stopped. Her mother must be an overbearing fool if the defiant beauty before him was wilting like this. The thought of Katie being mistreated or hurt in any way ignited his anger to a dangerous level. The fear in her eyes when she glanced at him prickled his conscience and forced him to compose himself.
“She’s… she’s desperate,” Katie admitted quietly. “Anyone who knows my name is a prospect in her eyes.”
“Anyone?” Aiden echoed, a hint of disbelief in his voice. In his opinion, Katie wasn’t meant for just anyone.
Katie nodded, her shoulders slumping. “To my mother, yes.”
Aiden stared at her for a long moment, the anger in his eyes softening slightly. He reached into his coat and pulled out the letter Leah had entrusted him with, holding it out to Katie. She took it with trembling hands and glanced down at the sealed envelope, but her mind was too clouded with panic to focus on the letter’s significance.
“I cannot address this right now,” she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper. “My mother will never let this go. If she thinks my reputation is ruined, she’ll force me to marry the first man who offers, just to save face.”
Aiden watched her carefully, seeing the genuine worry in her eyes. It was clear she was teetering on the edge of desperation. Before he could think better of it, Katie turned to him, her eyes wide and pleading.
“Please,” she begged, her voice quivering. “Go along with it just for a brief while. I’ll do anything you want in return. Anything.”
Aiden’s brow furrowed as he considered her words. The despair in her voice and her fear made him pause. He didn’t like being dragged into this farce, but something about Katie’s vulnerability struck a chord within him.
“Anythin’?” he repeated, his voice deep and measured.
Katie nodded frantically. “Yes. Anything.”
Aiden stepped closer, his gaze locking onto hers. “Very well,” he said, his voice low and commanding. “For five nights, when and where I ask for ye, ye will be mine.”
CHAPTER 3
