She was a liar and belonged to no clan.
Wrapping her arms around her waist, Ainslee crossed the room and picked up the tartan, draping it around her shoulders once more. While Morea had offered to bring up a bath, Ainslee had declined, wiping off the remainder of her disguise in the basin instead. Her brother would come to destroy this clan. He would not wish to look weak in the eyes of his clan. Ainslee could not allow him to hurt these people any longer.
She would have to stop him, and perhaps it was time for her to reveal herself. It would at least distract Liam from shedding more Scottish blood and shed hers instead.
Ainslee had nothing save Katherine to be concerned with.
Perhaps she could bargain with her new husband. After all, she had saved his life more than once.
The door opened suddenly, and Ainslee watched as her husband walked in, followed by servants carrying a huge, copper tub and trays of food.
“Wife,” he said.
Ainslee clutched the tartan around her shoulders as if she were not clad in the dress.
“Husband.”
He gave her a once-over as the servants filled the tub with steaming water, his eyes both hard and wary of her. She imagined he was wondering what else she had been keeping from him, but did he not realize she had more than one occasion to kill him if she chose to do so? How many times had she saved his life?
Once the servants removed themselves from the chamber, he shut the door, turning the key in the lock. “What are you doing?” she asked as he reached for the collar of his tunic.
“I’ve been training all afternoon,” he replied, pulling the shirt over his head. “I’m in need of a bath, and I believe ye are as well.”
A bath? With him?
“Nay,” she said quickly, pressing her legs against the bed.
He arched a brow, his broad chest on full display. Ainslee swallowed as she watched his muscles ripple with his movements, still dotted with the evidence of her brother’s brutality.
“Aye,” he said softly as his hands went to his breeks. “Swallow yer pride and join me. I wilnae touch ye.”
Ainslee turned sharply as his hip bones came into view, her cheeks reddening as she heard the whisper of his breeks being removed from his strong body. What game was he playing with her? The last time they were in this room together, he had told her no more lies between them, yet she still had another to tell.
That and the tub did not seem large enough for both of them.
“Ainslee?”
Ainslee closed her eyes briefly at the softness of his voice. He was trying, yet once she told him the rest of her story, he would be turning his back on her once more.
Not that she blamed him.
So why not have this one moment with her husband before he looked at her with disdain?
Her fingers trembling, Ainslee removed the tartan and placed it on the bed, working on the laces of her dress quickly before she could change her mind. Soon her dress was on the floor, and she was clad in her shift.
Which she planned on remaining in.
Drawing in a breath, Ainslee turned, finding Arran already in the tub, the water barely covering his abdomen. “I dinnae think there’s enough room,” she replied, her voice shaking.
He gave her a quick grin. “Come and find out.”
Ainslee’s heart clenched in her chest. How could he be so handsome?
“This isnae a vera good idea.”
Arran chuckled, and a flush went through her. She didn’t know what to do with this man, her husband. “Would ye like for me tae get out?” he asked, his voice light as he made a move to do exactly that.
“Nay!” she nearly shouted, her face burning. She had seen his body before but having him not unconscious made her nervous.
