Kayden frowned, turning to come back to the bench, his brow furrowed as he handed her a tumbler. “I daenae want to talk about her.”
His shoulder brushed against hers as she sat closer than before. She breathed him in, appreciating the smoky scent of him, the manly musk that clung to his clothes. She leaned towards him, half in sympathy, but mostly to breathe in more of his scent.
“It’s still painful what happened to her?” she murmured.
Again, it was not what she had meant to say.
He clenched his jaw. “It is why I could never trust the English.”
She swallowed, looking down at her glass contemplatively. She swirled the amber liquid before taking another sip, resisting the urge to shrink back from him.
“I understand your antipathy. I do. I have sisters as well.”
“Aye, so ye see why I daenae want Englishmen in me territory.”
She gave him a coy look. “All of them?”
He inclined his head. “Aye.”
She took a deep breath before bending to put her tumbler on the floor. She got to her feet, swaying slightly.
“Well, there isoneEnglish person in your territory who hasnointention of leaving. You’ll just have to get used to that.” She gave him a dignified nod before swaying towards the connecting door.
Even as she walked away, she could feel his gaze burning into her back.
She opened the door and stepped into her chambers. She looked over her shoulder and was surprised to find him right behind her. He grabbed her arm, pulling her flush against him.
“I didnae say Englishperson,did I?”
He was so close that she could feel his hot breath against her cheek. Her mouth trembled in reaction, and his eyes darkened as he stared at it. Then he pushed her away.
“Ye should go to bed,” he said. “I think ye’ve had enough for one night.”
He reached for the connecting door and closed it. She stared at it, blinking a few times, before she turned and went to her bed.
Collapsing onto the soft covers, she closed her eyes with a sigh. She could still see his piercing blue-grey eyes,piercing her soulas they stood in the doorway. She could not quite understand the look she’d seen there. It was so intent, yet conflicted.
She expelled a loud breath. “The scotchhastaken effect. But at least I didn’t make a fool of myself.”
17
Kayden walked back to the castle from the stables, his mind on Lilliana. He could not help but think that she was avoiding him. He had not seen her for two days. After her startling declaration—nay, after she’d all but ambushed him in his chambers, he’d expected more from her.
When she hurried off to her rooms, he’d been tempted to follow, to demand an explanation for her behavior, perhaps to take her up on her unspoken invitation. But he did not want to rush her or risk misunderstanding her actions.
If this marriage was to work—and he realized that he wanted it to—then he could not act like she was a temporary dalliance.
Her eyes on his body had been hot with desire, and it had been all he could do not to scoop her up into his arms, throw her on his bed, and give her the ravishing she so clearly wanted.
He slammed into someone, coming back to the present with a bang. Blinking a few times, he opened his mouth to apologize to whomever he’d smashed into until he realized that it was Jacob.
“Lost in thought?” his cousin asked with a grin.
Kayden narrowed his eyes. “What are ye doing, lurking about? Were ye waiting for me?”
“As a matter of fact, I was. I have news.”
Kayden sobered at once. “News?”
