He sighed, meeting her gaze. “I daenae want children.”
She flinched, frowning as if she might have misheard.
Well, of course, she would be surprised. Everybody wanted children. Women wanted babies, and men wanted sons to carry on their legacy. Old folks needed children to take care of them when they were old, and lairds needed heirs.
Even if one did not have particularly strong feelings about children, that hardly mattered. Children followed a marriage as a matter of course. Nobody said that they didn’t want children.
“What, nae ever?” she managed. “But ye are Laird Bryden. Yemusthave an heir.”
“Ye sound like me councilmen,” he muttered darkly.
“Aye, but?—”
“Enough. Enough questions, lass. Concentrate on remembering who ye are before ye pry into me life, eh? Focus on yer past before worrying about mine.”
She pressed her lips into a thin, mulish line and said nothing.
He planted his fists on his hips, narrowing his gaze at her. When she stayed quiet, he spoke again.
“Now, if ye are done probing into what is none of yer business, I suggest ye get some sleep. We’ll be up at dawn to travel on, and ye will be tired. Ye must rest, and so must I. We have a long road ahead of us. Good night to ye, lass. I’ll wake ye when it’s time to rise.”
He turned his back, intending to slip out of the door and take his place stretched out before it, but then she spoke, taking a half-step after him. He could hear her bare foot slap on the floor.
“Wait!”
Evander froze, his back still turned. There was a pleading, hopeful note in her voice, just the tiniest hint of a crack there. He closed his eyes, tightening his fists.
“Must ye tempt me every single moment, lass?” he breathed, hopefully not loud enough for her to hear.
Her silence hinted that she might have heard anyway.
At last, he turned, somewhat hesitantly.
She stared at him, her face unreadable. “I… I daenae want to be alone,” she stammered.
Have I ever heard her speak in such a plaintive way? Nay, I think nae.
“I will only be outside,” he responded.
She closed her eyes. “Even so, I cannae sleep alone. And believe me, this embarrasses me as much as it does ye.”
He thought about refusing. A quiet demurral and a pointed exit would deter her, he was sure of it. She wouldn’t cry or whine; he knew that.
Instead, he let out a long, jerky sigh. “I’m only flesh and blood, lass. I wish ye would stop testing me.”
He turned slowly and found her looking at him, her fingers twisted together. His chest ached. Her eyes, wide and dark in the gloom, flashed up at him, unblinking. As if she were seeing straight through him and into his head. Worse, into hisheart, and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it.
“Please?” she whispered.
That undid him.
He wanted to lunge forward and wrap her up in his arms. He wanted to hold her, squeeze her, press her against him. Instead, he gave a small smile and a nod.
“If that is what ye want,” he said.
She nodded, smiling in unabashed relief. Without another word, she turned on her heel and hurried over to the bed, scrambling inside. He followed, his heart thumping. She slipped under the covers and hesitated, clutching the edge of a fur.
“I daenae intend to get into bed with ye,” he said pointedly. “I’ll lie on top of the blankets.”
