"I'm nae a spy or an enemy. I just want to go home. How hard is that for ye to understand?"
"So ye were runnin' away? Why? Did ye nae think me a man of me word?" he inquired. His tone was serious, and Leah couldn't help but think he was somehow weighing every word she spoke.
"I couldnae take me chances," Leah answered. "Yer reputation preceded ye and storm or nay, I need to get home."
"And what's so important that ye cannae stay a single night under me roof? Am I such a horrid man that ye think me a monster? Yet have I nae shown nothin' but patience and kindness to ye since ye arrived?"
"Aye ye have, but?—"
"Ye ken what," Killian said as he stalked around her, his gaze finding its way into the darkest parts of her being. How he managed to disarm her rattled her. Yet, no matter what she thought of or how she tried to distract herself from him, she couldn’t.
A smirk tugged at the corners of his lips as he moved closer. Leah dared not move. The hair on the back of her neck tingled. "Ye should have picked a better room to hide in. Ye were right to question me. Now, now, ye'll see just how much ye've wounded me."
"Laird MacMillan?" Leah gasped as Killian brushed aside a strand of her hair from her shoulder. The gentleness of his fingers grazing over her collarbone sent little bumps rising over her. She swallowed as she dared to look into his eyes. There was a storm brewing behind the lust brewing within him. For a moment, Leah wondered if she’d have the courage to run or if she even wanted to run.
The Mad Laird. That was how she knew him. Her chest tightened as she wondered what merit the stories held. Surely, there was a kindness to him. A gentleness that lurked behind his stony surface. His lips curled like a scroll being rolled up. Leah glanced at her arm as his fingers curled around it.
"Ye're mine," he hissed as his grip tightened around her arm. Panic stole the breath from her lungs as she tried to figure out how things had shifted so quickly.
"What?"
The smile playing on his lips stretched as his eyes gleamed. The tempest of emotions coursing through her sent her head spinning.
"I dinnae stutter," he answered. "Ye're mine as of this moment. I'll haveyeto be me wife."
4
"Ye are mad, ye must be," Leah gasped as she stumbled into the door. Pleasure trickled through Killian's body as he eyed the wee lass. She was a curious blend of strength and fragility that perked Killian's interest. But perhaps it was her fierce spirit that captivated him the most, even as she trembled at his touch.
"So they say," Killian answered, unrelenting in his pursuit to make her cheeks flush brighter. He delighted in the array of colors that kissed her cheeks with each move he made. A part of him relished the shiver that danced along her spine at his proximity.
"Then ye can understand why I would turn ye away," Leah said as Killian gave her an inch of wiggle room. Just as he predicted, Leah used the inch to fight for her mile. Cleverly wiggling and shifting under his outstretched arm, he watched her slip by him.
"Aye, but I think if ye hear me out, ye might reconsider," Killian said, turning to face her.
"Oh I highly doubt that," Leah answered as she kept one hand over her eyes. Entertained by her antics, Killian leaned against the door and folded his arms over his chest. Frantically waving one hand about to gauge her whereabouts, Leah shuffled along the room defiantly.
"What are ye doin'? And just where is it that ye think ye're goin'? The room is sealed. Tis the only place in the castle, that is. But one way in and out," Killian said, refusing to mask the humor in his tone. "And right now, that would be through me."
Leah dropped her hand from her face. Killian shook his head the moment he noticed her eyes sealed tighter than a tomb.
"I cannae talk to ye like this. Open yer eyes. If ye're a healer as ye say ye are, then I've got nothin' that ye have nae already seen before. This act is a bit childish." It was the tone in his voice that snapped her. She jumped at his order just as he knew she would. Everyone had the same response to him; why would she be any different?
"Fine," Leah said, keeping her icy blue eyes on the ceiling.
"So ye'll marry me?" Killian said, slapping his leg. "Excellent. And here I thought I'd have to beg and even bribe. This turned out much better for me than I would have hoped."
"Wait just one moment," Leah snapped, her gaze direct and furious. "Ye're twistin' words about when ye ken very well that was nae what I was sayin'."
The smirk returned to Killian's lips as he tilted his head. The fiery side of Leah entertained, tickled, and intrigued him. It was as if she could command a room if she would only unleash her true self. As much as Killian enjoyed the idea of seeing Leah coming into her own, he put aside the fantasies.
"Aye, I ken what ye were sayin'," he answered as he moved to the tub and snatched the silver cross off the table. "And what if I told ye that by helpin' me I would help ye?"
"What makes ye think I'm some damsel in distress?"
"Do I need to remind ye on how ye were presented to me?" Killian asked as he waited to see what expression she'd make next. Would it be fury? Or agitation that flickered through her eyes?
"That is beside the point."
