Page 20 of Highland Prince of Darkness

She felt foolish for letting him get to her, for letting herself shout back at him when she should have just remained calm and composed.

* * *

Iain was seething, his breathing was heavy and he was having trouble piecing together his troubled thoughts. He couldn’t deny that May looked beautiful in front of him, even in the half-light of the candles, and even while angry at him, she was a sight to behold.

However, he wasn’t expecting her to turn on her heels and reach for the door. But Iain was quicker than her and managed to move between her and the handle before she had the chance to unlock it.

“Where are ye going?” he asked with narrowed eyes.

His patience was running thin with her, especially after seeing her dancing with another man. The man had clearly been enjoying himself too much, and it set Iain on edge to witness such a sight.

“I dinnae want to dae this anymore, Iain. I’m tired and I want to return to our feast,” May looked up at him while glaring daggers.

“Ye want to go and dance with more men?” he questioned with anger.

Iain knew that he was just being paranoid. He was the one that was going to marry her, the rest of the court and the entire clan knew that. However, just the sight of another man looking at May was one of his biggest insecurities. Iain guessed that it stemmed from the anger he felt all of those years that he didn’t keep up with the affairs of the McIver clan. He didn’t know if May was married or courting anyone, and he hated to think that she would move on and marry someone that would be considered worthy by her father. Nothing in the world angered him more than thinking of that.

“Of course I’m nae, but now that ye have brought it up, I might go and talk to my good friend Archie.”

Iain could see what she was doing, and she was doing it on purpose. He felt a pang of something tugging at his heart, an anger that was so sour and so uncontrollable that he simply had to take a moment to breathe deeply.

“Ye’ll nae go and dae that,” he spoke in a low voice eventually. But May seemed to be willing to take her chances that evening as she stepped even closer to him and showed little sign of fear.

“And what are ye goin’ to dae if I decide to go against yer word?”

He knew that she was baiting him, she was waiting to see what he would do. Iain felt completely conflicted; his thoughts were tattered and frayed like old fabric, but he was driven by his anger and the unsettled feeling he’d had since arriving back in the place that had once been his home.

Iain leaned in and didn’t stop until his lips were crashing against May’s in a slightly messy but passionate kiss. She let out a squeak of surprise, but her arms flung around his neck as though it was an instinctive reflex to his movements. Iain couldn’t explain why he did it, especially after the way that he still was angry at her, but he was giving into his body.

It was a moment of weakness, but it was one that was completely out of his control. Much to his shock, May was kissing him back with the same intensity. Her lips moved against his, creating a strange sensation that was both so familiar and yet so new.

It had been years since he had last felt their lips mold perfectly together, their mouths opening for one another and May allowing him to take full control of the kiss. Yet they had both grown so much over six years, and the memories were slightly faint, so the kiss still felt incredibly new to him.

Her hands were running through his hair and Iain’s dropped down to her waist where they rested comfortably on her hips. However, his thoughts were slowly starting to collect, and a growing part of him was throwing a wave of confusion as to what he was doing. Iain’s brows knitted together and he suddenly found himself moving back and away from May.

Her eyes snapped open in surprise at the quick movement, she clearly hadn’t been expecting the kiss to be cut off quite so quickly. However, Iain didn’t want to explain that he had no idea what was going on. Instead, he turned and left the room almost as quickly as they had burst into it.