Why?
“What do you mean by that?” she asked, clearing her throat as she spoke. She didn’t want to reveal to him that she was rather shocked by what he had just proposed.
He nodded, not taking his eyes off her. “It is all quite simple, really.” He spoke as if they were in a business meeting, something she didn’t really like, but her curiosity refused to let her leave and not hear him out. “In order for ye to get yer kiss, ye must return to me castle with me as soon as tomorrow and stay with me for exactly two weeks. Not a day longer.”
She thought he would say something more, but he clammed up at that point, awaiting her response, which she was not ready to give yet. She frowned, instead, her brows furrowing.
It almost felt as if he had this plan ready from before. Maybe he even had someone else in mind for it? Unexpected jealousy flared up inside her, shocking her. Why would she be jealous? She had no reason to be. And yet, she was, no matter how hard she tried to deny it.
“Why?” she asked simply, hoping that she was showing at least a semblance of control over her conflicting emotions. “It seems like an awful lot for a simple kiss.”
There had to be more to this, something she was not seeing clearly, something he refused to reveal. Why would they spend two entire weeks together? Then, more intrusive thoughts stole the spotlight, and she continued with her questions.
“Why two weeks? Why wouldn’t just a few days suffice? You know, if anyone in London ever got word of this, I would be a ruined woman. My reputation would be tarnished, and for what? A single kiss?”
She could barely stop herself from asking him a million questions, all because she couldn’t understand why he would create such a preposterous condition for what she considered a very simple request.
Much to her surprise, he merely shrugged. “Ye are the one who wants somethin’ from me, so I’ll be the one to set the terms for this wee deal of ours.”
It was obvious that he felt as if all the control was in his hands. Worse yet, she felt that way, too. She had revealed to him her desires, baring her own state of mind at the time being, and now, he knew he had something she wanted.
It made her feel furious. It made her feel embarrassed. But at the same time, she still wanted that kiss more than anything else, if not even more than before. She couldn’t find another way to release the tension she was feeling, which was all directed at him.
“I thought you were a gentleman,” she said, hoping to appeal to the side of him she hadn’t seen yet but hoped he still possessed.
Again, he shot her that devilish smile that disarmed her immediately. “And I thought ladies dinnae ask strange men for kisses in the middle of the night.”
She had to admit that he caught her off guard with that comment. She blushed more fervently than ever, mostly because he was right. And she hated the fact that he was right. To makematters even worse, he closed the distance between them, and once again, they were facing each other.
He was standing so close to her that she could feel the warmth of his breath on her lips. They were inches away. All she had to do was lean in, and they would kiss.
But she would rather die now than do that. She wanted to show to him that she was still in utter control, if not of the situation itself, but then of her own self. That small victory would be enough for her.
But then, his hands slowly reached up, his fingers cupping her chin, forcing her to look up at him and lock eyes with him. His touch was electric. It sent bolts of lightning through her jaw as her lips parted. She yearned for that kiss now more than ever.
For a moment, she thought that he had changed his mind, that he realized what a preposterous request he had bestowed upon her.
“And ye got one thing wrong, lass,” he told her in a voice that made her knees turn to jelly.
She could barely keep herself up, but it was mere defiance doing it for her. He probably thought that he had this effect on all women, that he was irresistible to them. She didn’t want to be like all the others. On the contrary, she wanted to be the special one, the one that would take him by surprise, and that he would always remember.
“And what, pray, would that be?” she managed to squeeze through clenched teeth, refusing to look away for even a moment. That was as much courage as she could muster, while her heart was beating like a frightened doe’s.
“It willnae be just a kiss,” he clarified, much to the delight of her racing heart. “I am willin’ to show ye pleasure the likes of which ye’ve never felt before. I will make yer knees weak and yer body tremble.”
His words shocked her, they titillated her, and they made her mind explode with desire. “But then, after two weeks, ye must leave and never contact me again,” he added, bringing her back down from the mad flutter of her mind.
Still, with his fingers touching her chin, she could feel the tension and chemistry between them, she could hear it in her heartbeat, and she knew that their kiss would be something magical. It would show her what true, raw desire felt like. She was absolutely certain of it.
But at the same time, she could not stand the arrogance this man possessed, the confidence, the brass. She hated that she felt strangely drawn to him, despite her conscious mind telling her that this would be a mistake.
“What do ye say, lass?” he asked again, without even the slightest hint of impatience.
Keira found herself captivated by the intensity in Raphael’s gaze, his fingers gently holding her chin, guiding her to meethis eyes. It was a charged moment, the weight of his proposal hanging in the air, urging her to make a choice that could change everything.
His eyes held a sincerity that was hard to deny, a depth of feeling that both drew her in and left her feeling vulnerable. The soft flickering of the candlelight cast shadows on his face, accentuating the earnestness in his expression. He was telling her what he wanted, just like she did. She could not blame him for being so blatantly honest.
She felt it all at once—nervousness, excitement, and a touch of fear. At that moment, under his gaze, she knew that this decision was significant. It was a crossroads, a moment where she could choose the predictable path or follow the call of her heart into uncharted territory.
