Aaron watchedas she struggled with her words. He moved around the desk and folded his arms over his chest. Innocence seeped off her as she moved to the side for Ryan. She was meek and timid, like a deer uncertain of the scent. If he was going to get anywhere with her, he'd have to be the one to extend an olive branch.
"I wantedto say I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I did."
"Did ye want me to stay?"Ryan asked, pausing at the door.
"Nay,"Aaron answered. "Ye can go. And close the door behind ye."
A sparkof delight coursed through Aaron as he watched the panic shift through Izzy. He tilted his head and remained planted to the desk.
"Ye were sayin'?"he asked as he tried to keep his tone as calm as possible.
"I was tryingto tell you that I am sorry."
"And what didye do that ye've come here to apologize for?"
"Well, I mean…"Izzy started as he pushed off the desk and inched closer to her. He didn't want to move too fast in fear of having her bolt from the room. The fact was he wanted her company — if only he wasn't such a monster to look at. "I must have hurt you by the way you left."
"And what ifI told ye, ye did?" he asked. "What would ye say to that?"
"That'swhat I'm trying to do. I'm trying to make things right here."
"And just howfar would ye be willin' to go to see that happen?" Aaron asked as he inched closer. The heat off her body crashed against him as the air current played with the hem of her robe. As much as he wanted to stay mad at her, he couldn't; his desires had sabotaged any retribution he was storing up for her.
"I'm not goingto sleep with you if that's what you're implying," Izzy replied as she rolled her eyes. Aaron couldn't help but notice how firm her breasts were by the way they held the fabric. How he wanted to roll his tongue over her perky nipples and ravish her in every way possible.
"Aye, wouldnae want that,"Aaron said as he pulled in a long deep breath, savoring the hint of lilacs and cinnamon. "Buttell me truly, what are yer objections to me? If we had met differently and say, under different circumstances, what would ye find so repulsive about me?"
Izzy's eyessparkled with wonder and awe. There was no fear within them. Nor did he get the impression she was even remotely afraid of him. There was a small shimmer of intrigue dancing in her gaze as she straightened.
"I couldn't tell you.I doubt we'd even cross paths."
"SayI was at the Baron's party and came to ask ye to dance. Would ye have danced with me?" Aaron asked, his voice barely over a whisper. She quivered as he spoke, sparking a vapor of hope within him. She chewed her lower lip as she mulled over his proposal. It was nearly impossible for him to read her despite her direct gaze.
"I don't know,"she answered. There was a playfulness to her tone that tickled Aaron's ears. "There's a possibility that I might have. If…"
Aaron snickered.He arched his eyebrow as he pinched a strand of her hair and drew it to his nose. How he savored her scent. It was wild yet calming. Like some memory playing in the back of his mind. "What? And why is there always a clause with ye English?"
"I was just goingto comment on your wardrobe," Izzy answered. "If you were wearing something else, I would have said yes."
"Oh,so ye reject the colors of me clan? Ofyersoon to be clan? That doesnae settle very well with me, and I daenae think it would with the rest ofourpeople," he said with a mock sarcasm lacing his words.
"That wasn'twhat I meant. You like to toy with words," Izzy objected as Aaron watched her bosom rise and fall as rapidly as the wings of a hummingbird. But it was the flush to her cheeks that betrayed her.
"Maybe nae,but that's what ye said."
"I did not.I merely commented on the outfit you presented yourself in. It was… a bit bold and reckless."
"Bold?"Aaron's lips curled at the corner. "Reckless?" He wondered what being reckless looked like. Ever since the death of his parents, Aaron had been calculated and composed. Everything was planned and analyzed before it was carried out to exact precision. But Izzy was something he couldn't understand or figure out. She was like picking up an axle only to get a barrel. She was the unknown element that tripped him up and scattered his thoughts.
"Yes,"she answered. The conviction in her voice rattled something deep within Aaron. His breath hitched as her gaze bore into him. How he wished she would stop chewing on her lower lip. Pursing his lips into a tight line, he tried to calm the frustration festering within him.
Oh,how she is distracting.
"And what makes ye think so?"Aaron asked, his curiosity sparking his intrigue. Was it the rumors swirling around him that turned her away? Surely, she had heard how he was a cold-hearted killer. How he murdered his parents and caused half the castle to burn to ashes just to cover it up. But there was nothing in her gaze that gave him the impression she knew any of that.
"For starters,you don't go up to a lady and demand anything," she proclaimed. "It's brutish and rude. I'm not some horse you need to corral. Ask politely and see the response you get."
Aaron's eyesnarrowed as he stepped back. The confusion flashing through her face made him smile as he bowed.
