“Distraction, ye say? I’m sure I can offer that up.” Kai appeared on the other side of the table and placed down two tankards. “How about I give ye yer next lesson?”
“Here? Now?”
“Where better? How many times have ye and I sneaked down here in our lives? We ken we’ll nae be disturbed.” He winked at her conspiratorially.
“Aye, as ye wish. What’s me next lesson?”
“Casual touch,” he whispered, resting his elbows on the table.
“Touch!? I asked fer a seduction lesson, nae lessons in what tae dae in the bedchamber.”
“That is nae what I’m going tae dae.” He laughed, shaking his head as they both sipped from their milk. “But if ye ever have any questions about that, ye ken ye can always ask me.”
“Oh aye, ask the men who kens everything about the bedchamber.”
“I dinnae ken everything.”
“Ye ken a fair deal, dinnae ye?” she said sharply, to which he smiled, roguishly. “That’s nae something tae be proud of.”
“Why isnae it? Would ye nae want a lover who was experienced and kenned what he was doing, Ava?” His laughing question made her fidget.
“What did ye have in mind fer this lesson?”
“Brief touch as flirtation. Here, let me show ye.” He looked at perfect ease as he rested his elbows on the table. “Say I was Laird Blair Grant and ye were sharing dinner with me. If I had placed me arms so near tae yer own, like this…” He shifted, so they were holding their tankards close together. “Ye ken how easy it would be tae touch me, tae tease me. Try it.”
“How?” Her voice was sharp. “I’m nae just going tae grab Laird Grant’s hand.”
“Nae, please dinnae dae that.” He laughed, shaking his head. “If I wanted tae get yer attention in conversation, I might dae this.” He lifted one hand from his tankard and delicately brushed the backs of his fingers against her hand. A pleasant tingling sensation shot up her arm. “I might even dae this, if I was asking something about ye, something personal, wanting ye tae confide in me as yer friend.” He trailed his fingers on the inside of her wrist, so delicately that the weird feeling between her legs grew stronger. “Now, ye try.”
He placed his hands back around his tankard, smiling at her.
“Yer smile doesnae help things,” she said tartly.
“Why nae?”
“Because I feel like ye’re laughing at me.”
“Never.” His face became serious. “I laugh with ye, Ava. Never at ye. Now, trust me.” He had deepened his voice to that same tone he had used that morning in the cave.
She fidgeted a second, then she gave in. She wasn’t going to truly learn from him unless she committed herself to these lessons. Lifting her hand, she ran her fingers across the inside of his wrist.
“Softer, ye’re trying tae seduce me, love, nae check if I still have a heartbeat.” He smiled at her. She couldn’t help smiling back as she softened her touch further.
He called me love. He did that once before. Is this all part of his act? Is it what he daes with every woman he seduces?
“There, now ye have it,” he said in a richly gravelly tone as he looked down at their hands.
She trailed her fingers up to his palm, then feeling bold, slid their fingers together.
“Ye’ve mastered that particular skill,” he whispered, raising his eyes to meet hers as he continued to entwine their fingers together.
“Can I ask ye something?” Ava murmured into the air between them.
“Ye can ask me anything. Ye ken that,” he encouraged, and she believed him. With Kai, she was always free and open. In this kitchen, back in the place where they had spent so much time when they were younger, it felt as if there were no barriers, no walls at all.
“Ye can seduce as easily as ye breathe, Kai,” she whispered softly. “Why dae ye use this skill tae seduce many women and nae just one ye want tae marry?”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
