“I doona like this side of ye. Ye remind me of…”
“Who?” he growled.
“No one.”
“Then go!” he commanded again.
She glared at him.
“That’s right, lass. I gave ye an order.”
She stepped closer, giving him a tiny shove to the chest. “Ye smell like an open bottle of wine. Drunk.”
“I am no’ drunk. Believe me. If I could be…”
“So ye are sober and barking rude orders at me?”
He threw his hands up and paced several steps away. “If ye havena noticed, lass, ’tis a man’s duty to give orders to women and children and servants. ’Tis the natural order of things.”
“Oh,” she said, rawness in her voice. “So, the true spirit of Adam MacKay is rearing its ugly head now. Not the man I’ve grown to admire and respect.”
“That man shoulda never been introduced to ye. He’s a weak vessel. Overcome by…by…” He couldn’t finish his thought.
“By what?” she demanded.
He met her wary gaze. “Kisses.”
“Kisses? I doubt that verra much,” she scoffed. “I am sure ye have kissed dozens of lasses.”
“Hundreds,” he corrected her.
“Hundreds?”
“Aye.”
This time she turned away from him, clearly shocked by his claim, which was completely untrue. But he wanted to scare her away, to preserve his own heart. It was too late, though. He cared deeply about her, loved her.
“Why are ye treating me so badly, Adam? What have I done to ye?” She faced him again, pain in her eyes.
“Ye want to know?” He surged forward and took her by the arms again. “Bewitched me. Tempted me with yer smiling eyes and mouth. Paraded yer beautiful body before me. Let me taste of yer sweetness and kindness. Showed me the kind of wife I want and need but I can never have.”
Her shoulders slumped, but she held his gaze. “I never meant to disappoint ye. But I told ye, I canna stay here, Adam. Me sisters are everything…”
“Stop!” He didn’t want to hear the same excuses again. “Will ye grow old alone just to preserve yer sisters? What about me? The children? Raini?”
She tried to pull away, but he held tight to her arms.
“Nay,” he growled. “Ye hide behind yer sisters because ye doona wanna face the truth of the world. Ye are a passionate woman, Kali. And ye need to be kissed more. Then bedded by a man like me. Ye were made for it.”
“I was made for sin?”
“Now ye are twisting me words.”
“Am I?”
“Aye, ye are. And ye know it. Admit it, ye’re afraid of yer feelings.” He dared her with his dark gaze.
“I fear nothing, especially ye.”
