Page 37 of Promised to the Ruthless Laird
He nodded, but he felt it, the burn of frustration. He should’ve known. He should’ve seen them. He had let his guard down, and it had been his fault.
“Aye, ye might be right,” he muttered, his gaze fixed on her collarbone, unable to look her in the eye. “I should’ve seen ‘em, though.”
The words felt wrong, his admission of failure sitting heavy on his tongue. He frowned, feeling Edin’s eyes on him. His hands lingered near her, drawn to her collarbone, the soft curve of her skin. He couldn’t shake the feeling of wanting to touch her, to ground himself in something real.
The warmth of his thumbs against her skin was a small comfort, but it did little to calm the chaos in his chest. “I should’ve felt ‘em watchin’.”
He remained quiet for a long moment, the only thing holding him together being the thought of Edin tracking him, watching him. It was a strange comfort, and as he spoke again, he felt a little lighter. “But I reckon ye were just too distracted, what with bein’ obsessed wi’ me from the start.”
The thought itself struck him like a jolt of electricity, and his eyes shot to hers. There was something in her gaze, something shocked. But beneath it, the same tension that had been swirling in the air between them since the moment they’d first met.
His lips twisted into a half-smirk. He wanted her to admit she felt something for him. “Ye spent all that time followin’ me about. Admit it, lass. Ye couldnae stay away.”
Her eyes rolled, but there was an edge of something in the way she looked at him, something that made his chest tighten. “Ye’d like that, wouldnae ye?”
“I would.” The answer was immediate, too fast. “But I want the truth more.”
Her face tightened as though she was pulling herself inward, and for a fleeting moment, he thought she might walk away. But then she spoke, her voice steady, betraying none of the turmoil that he knew was running through her. “I was doin’ me job,” she said. “I needed tae ken what I was walkin’ into. I had tae be prepared.”
The words stung, a bitter reminder of just how much of their relationship had been built solely on the mission. Was she pretending to be someone else?
He swallowed hard, trying to keep his thoughts from spiraling out of control. Her words echoed in his mind, but his gaze didn’t leave her. “Is that why ye’re here now?”
“What d’ye mean?”
He searched her face, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Is this just another job fer ye?” His voice softened, but the question was still there — sharp and probing. “Because it doesnae seem like one.”
Her mouth opened, then closed, as if she was unsure how to answer. His heart pounded in his chest as he waited for her response. He needed her answer, needed to know if what was happening between them was real.
“I like bein’ on a mission. It’s what I dae, Finley. The same way ye want tae find yer sister,” she said, her words quiet but firm.
His heart dropped. It was exactly what he had anticipated, yet there was something in her eyes that made him wonder. Perhaps she wasn’t being fully honest with him.
Saving his sister was the reason he was there, but in that moment, everything about it felt so far away. The only thing that consumed him was Edin — he wanted her; craved her in a way he had never craved anything before.
“That’s nae the only thing I want,” he muttered, the words slipping out before he could even try to stop them.
His breath caught in his chest. He couldn’t hide the way his pulse quickened, couldn’t stop the heat rising in his body at the way she was looking at him. She was so wild, so unpredictable, and everything he wanted.
Edin’s stomach clenched, a slow, burning heat winding its way through her chest. She swallowed. “What else?”
He tilted his head, his gaze dropping to her neck, to the places his hands had touched, to the bruises he himself had rubbed with such tenderness. His fingers brushed over her skin again, softer this time, trailing over the mark just beneath her jaw.
“I’d like tae kiss these bruises,” he murmured. “Until they dinnae hurt anymore.”
Edin’s breath caught. She should move. She should push him away, say something sharp and deflective, something that would shatter whatever was thickening the air between them. But she didn’t, she couldn’t. Because her body betrayed her, leaning into his touch before she could think better of it.
“Finley—”
“Tell me nay, and I’ll stop.” His voice was low, steady. “Tell me nay, and we’ll pretend I never said it.”
She opened her mouth, ready to tell him just that. But the word did not come.
Because she didn’t want him to stop.
His eyes burned into hers, the fire in them matching the one unfurling in her chest. Edin knew she should step away, say something — anything — to break the charged silence between them. But instead, she gave the smallest nod, barely a breath of movement.
“Dinnae stop.”
