Chapter Thirteen
Aidam moved forward in his chair and used a delicate touch to wipe Ellie’s tears from her cheeks. He was amazed by their softness and could not help but keep his hand cupping her face as he watched her reaction to his story.
“I have something I need tae tell ye,” she replied, turning her face into his hand and breathing in deeply.
“Ye can tell me anything, lass,” he said, keeping his caress light. He was terrified she would move away from him. Her closeness was a bandage on the wound he opened in revealing his parent’s story to her. They shared something between them now, something more profound than the loose thread of friendship that had been there before. Ellie knew grief. She was still grieving over the loss of her own Da. Yet, she spared tears for Aidam and his long-held grief. She felt guilt. And that he could not fathom. “There’s naething ye can say that would make me change my opinion of ye.”
What is my opinion of her?He asked himself. He was unsure exactly, but in this moment between them, he knew there was nothing that could pull him away from her. They were connected.
“Ye were so honest with me about yer family and yer life. Ye deserve a better friend than I have been tae ye,” she said, sighing as her eyes closed into his palm.
The room was dense and charged as if the gentle rain had grown into a full-on Spring thunderstorm somehow and weighted the cottage in a way that was too intimate for Aidam to put words to. He lifted Ellie to her feet and settled her into his lap. The chair easily supporting both of their weight. He brushed a loose hair from her forehead and kept his gaze locked on hers.
“Are we friends then?” he whispered, curling that same loose hair around his finger. He could not seem to put it down, suddenly fascinated by its softness.
“Aye, we are, Aidam.” Her voice was breathless. “We’re friends, and I dae nae lie tae my friends.”
“I dae nae want ye tae lie tae me, Lass,” he choked out. He wanted so much more from her than friendship. But she was fragile. He forced himself to remember why he brought her here in the first place. She had been upset. He wanted her to confide in him. To trust him. “Ye ken ye never have tae.”
“I was upset when ye came upon me in the stables.”
“I kent that much,” he replied, urging her on. She gave him a puzzled look but did not move away from him.
“I was thinkin’ of leavin’ the keep,” she took a deep breath. “Forever.”
“Is it possible, lass, that marriage tae me uncle is nae what ye need?”
“Ye should be angry at me. He’s yer uncle. Should ye not be upset that his betrothed just told ye she was ready to leave him? Forever?”
Aidam did not care one iota what his uncle wanted. He knew in his gut, and perhaps somewhere deeper down, that Ellie would be making a huge mistake if she married the Laird. Her admission that she was thinking about leaving the keep was the exact information Aidam had longed to hear. An opening appeared that he would be damned if he would let go of easily. She was already more than halfway decided. All he had to do was give her a reason to make her final choice.
“I couldnae be angry with ye, Ellie. My uncle’s prime is past. He cannae be for ye what ye need. I understand why the idea of marrying him would upset ye so.”
Ellie stood then, and Aidam felt whatever tender moment shared between them fading fast. He knew what he said was the truth.
“That’s what ye think this is about?” She accused as she began pacing the room. “What, pray tell, do ye mean yer uncle cannae be what I need?”
“Exactly what I said, lass,” he replied, standing up as well, but not allowing his voice to rise to meet hers. She was suddenly unreasonable. “Ye ken a man when ye see one. Ye want a man who can match ye wit for wit; move for move. Ye deserve tae ken love and desire with a man who wants ye for ye. A man who can match yer passion with passion of his own.” She looked up then, her eyes shooting daggers in his direction. “My uncle isnae that man.”
As long as he took breath, he would never understand how quickly Ellie MacAskill’s mood could swing. Why was she angry with him? He was only agreeing with her and pointing out what to any knave would be obvious. He wanted to know why she was going through with the engagement if he had been right and she didn’t want to marry his uncle. Why had she been so adamant that the marriage was what she wanted?
“Ye were right all along. I dae nae want tae marry yer uncle. I never did,” she said, her voice low.
“Well, I’m glad ye can finally admit it,” he said, refusing to back down from the challenge in her voice. Even in his own limited experience, Aidam knew that was a dangerous sign, but something in his countenance would not allow him to back away from her anger. She was a challenge to him now. He wanted the vulnerable Ellie back. The one who moments ago felt terrible for the way she had treated him. Yet, he desired this version of her too. The angry Ellie. The spitfire in front of him, challenging him with her hair wild and her mind moving quickly to come up with a sharp quip with which to lash him. She was mystical in her beauty, and he knew underneath her uncertainty she was filled to the brim with that passion she desired. He wanted to be the one to take it from her. He wanted to be the one to match her. Not his uncle, who carelessly tossed her aside like a loose stone.
“Aye, admit it indeed. Because ye always have tae be right, Aidam. And where do ye think I can find this man ye say I deserve? This man so full of passion that matches my own?” She said, leveling him with a look that could cut glass.
No, Uncle doesn’t deserve this woman,he thought. She wasn’t a boring rock. She was a diamond of the first water, and in more ways than only her beauty. Aidam wanted to claim her as his own.
“I think ye ken exactly where tae find th’ man yer looking for, lass,” he said, closing the distance she had so casually put between them. She took a step back, and he reached for her, pulling her to him. There was no way she would be getting out of whatever it was between them now. Nay, he would not allow it.
“Ye are the most arrogant, irritating—”
“Hush, lass,” he said, cutting her rant short with one final, gentle tug bringing her against his chest, and before he had a chance to think better of his actions, Aidam decided to show her exactly how arrogant he could be by closing his mouth over hers.
* * *
Ellie was unsure how her mood had shifted so abruptly. One minute she wanted Aidam to know the secret she had been carrying and how she felt honored that he trusted her with the tale of his family, but then he ruined it with his arrogance.
