“Is that right?” Emily sneered.
Perhaps if she were rude enough, he would take it all back.
“I ken that ye’re strong of mind and of heart, that ye arenae afraid to speak yer mind even when doing so is unpopular. I’m confident that ye apply those skills to everything ye’re passionate about,” he answered.
That caught her a little off guard.
But he wasn’t done.
“Ye keep yer head held high, and ye seem the type to make up yer own mind about a thing before jumping to conclusions. Brave. Would ye nae agree?”
Emily’s mouth opened, her jaw going slack as she struggled to find the words, and snapped shut again. She shifted uncomfortably.
Did he have to look at her like that? Peering at her like he could see straight through her?
She was going to get lost in his eyes, so she refused to look at them for a moment longer.
“None of that means that I will marry ye, me Laird.”
Perhaps she was going crazy, but it almost seemed like he was biting back a smile.
“Nay?”
Emily shook her head.
Kaden lifted one shoulder in a shrug as he closed the distance between them. He was standing almost as close to her as he had been when they had been dancing. She could feel the warmth radiating from him. Her skin felt like it was tightening around her limbs, and she was suddenly hyperaware of her body.
What was happening to her?
She pressed her lips together in the hope that it might ground her better. This wasn’t the right moment for her to lose herself.
If he was bothered by her rejection, he made no sign of it.
“We’ll see about that.” Kaden walked a half circle around her, taking her measure. She refused to shrink under his gaze, and he had already seen more than enough of her. “Ye havenae forgotten?”
An involuntary shudder rippled up her spine, and she shook her head. No, she hadn’t forgotten. How could she?
“Find another way to get what ye’re due, me Laird. We would be a terrible match.”
“Is that right?”
Emily hummed in affirmation.
“Ye daenae ken me enough to make a statement like that.”
Her gaze snapped up to him. “I daenae have to. I ken meself just fine. I daenae need to ken ye.”
He leaned down, invading her personal space as her breath caught in her chest. She could see every fleck of yellow and gold in those warm brown eyes. The way his wavy hair fell over his forehead, and each scar that marred his skin. She could feel his warm breath tickling her face, close enough that if she moved one inch, his lips would touch her own.
Was that his intention?
It almost… it almost felt like a test.
Wasn’t it?
There was a whisper of movement by her thigh, a slight ruffle of her heavy skirts where Kaden’s fingertips brushed lightly over her dress, then at her elbow, as if he were drawing her closer. Her chin lifted as she looked up at him, the warmth of him lulling her closer.
She should have been afraid of him. A small part of her knew that with the reputation he had, with the rumors that every woman she knew whispered about him, she ought to reject his closeness. But she almost wanted to pull him closer.
