“Do ye nae want her either?”
Silence.
She had not expected Aaron to ignore her questions for the third time.
She swallowed and turned to climb into the carriage, before he caught her wrist. His grip was not cruel, but it was firm enough to make her pulse quicken. Her breath hitched in her throat, and she turned back to face him, unable to help herself.
“I am what I must be, Edith,” he said, his low voice edged with something she had never heard from him before. “A brute, if need be.”
Her heart thumped against her ribs. It was loud enough that she was certain he could hear it. But she did not pull away. She could not have, even if she wanted to.
“Ye speak as though ye are the only man in the Highlands with burdens.”
“Ye ken nothin’ of it,” Aaron said, each word measured and heavy. “Ye ken nothing of what it takes to hold this clan together. To keep the peace. To carry it all without fault.”
Edith blinked.
He doesnae think himself capable?
The realization dawned on her, and slowly, almost without deciding to, her free hand rose between them, her fingersbrushing against the line of his jaw with a softness that surprised even her.
Aaron’s expression hardened. “Ye think this is a jest?”
“Nay.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
For a moment, Aaron did not say anything. He only stared at her.
The wind tugged at the loose strands of her hair, throwing them into her face and obscuring her vision.
Aaron moved closer. “Ye daenae like me, Edith. Ye ken that.”
“That isnae true,” she whispered, her breath catching in her chest.
“It is.”
“Only when ye daenae wish to be liked.”
Something shifted in his expression, a crack, before his control snapped back into place. “Every man in Hallow depends on me.”
“And…?”
“And men like me cannae choose to be liked.”
“Everyone chooses.”
Aaron laughed then, a low, humorless sound. “Ye truly believe that? Just like ye chose this arrangement? Just like ye chose to be here?”
Edith swallowed, her hand dropping from his face. “It isnae the same.”
“How so?
She lifted her hand back to his face, intentionally this time. She brushed her fingers against the stubble on his chin. “I am doin’ this by choice.”
Aaron’s gaze darkened dangerously. His breath brushed against her hand as he leaned in closer, his heat touching her.
“Stop.” The word was almost a groan.
Edith knew she should listen to him. Every careful lesson she had taught herself over the past few weeks told her to step back, to let the distance between them settle into something manageable again.
