“Be quiet.”
Duncan laughed again, wiping the water from his eyes. The low rumble of his voice did little to improve her temper.
“Dinnae,” she said firmly, fighting the water with all the dignity she could muster, “dare tae think fer a moment that I am enjoying this.”
Duncan’s grin deepened in a way that suggested he absolutely did think precisely that.
“I merely did this,” she continued briskly, “tae prove a point.”
“A noble cause.”
“And now that ye ken the truth,” she added, fixing him with a look meant to discourage further commentary, “I expect ye never tae question me again.”
Duncan tilted his head slightly. “Never?”
“Never.”
“That seems a rather severe rule.”
“It is a necessary one when dealing with men who enjoy provoking people.”
He hummed thoughtfully. “I’ll consider it.”
“Ye will dae more than consider it.”
“Aye?”
“Ye will obey it.”
For a moment Duncan simply watched her, that infuriating amusement still dancing in his eyes. Then he inclined his head with exaggerated solemnity.
“As ye command.”
Elaina did not believe him for a single moment. But she had said her piece, and remaining there under his gaze suddenly felt far more dangerous than jumping into the loch had been.
So she turned. The water parted smoothly around her shoulders as she began to swim back toward the shore. And immediately she felt his gaze. She could not see him now, for her back was turned to him, but she could feel the weight of his attention as surely as if he had reached out and touched her.
It made the fine hairs along the back of her neck rise. Her heart, which had only just begun to settle, betrayed her completely by quickening again.
This is absurd.
And yet, the image of him lingered stubbornly in her mind, of that effortless strength in the way he moved through the loch as though it belonged to him, as though everything around him did.
Elaina exhaled slowly, trying to steady herself.
She had known handsome men before. She had lived among them her entire life, lairds and officers and visiting dignitaries, who had spent far too much time admiring themselves in polished mirrors.
None of them had unsettled her. None of them had made her feel this strange pull low in her chest. And yet the infuriating,arrogant, impossible Duncan Grant had somehow managed it without even trying, which made it all the more irritating.
Her arms moved steadily through the water as she swam, but her awareness of him did not fade. If anything, it sharpened. She knew he was still there, still watching. The knowledge sent another unwelcome warmth spreading through her despite the cold water surrounding her.
She would not allow herself to be distracted by a man simply because he looked, rather unfairly, impressive emerging from a loch at sunrise. That was hardly a reason to lose one’s composure. Still, her heart refused to slow.
And though she did not turn to look, a small, traitorous part of her wondered whether he was smiling.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The study at Castle Grant had always been Duncan’s most reliable refuge.
