Page 53 of A Wife for the Highland Villain
Her cheeks burned. This playful side of him always made her heart beat faster; that hadn’t changed. Not that she’d ever admit it.
“Ye are insufferable.”
“If ye came for something else.” He moved closer still, until she was forced back a step. “I am afraid ye will have to beg for it.”
Lily swallowed and narrowed her eyes at him. “Ye are quite insufferable, do ye ken that?”
“Ye keep tellin’ me. And yet,” Alasdair purred, “ye’re still here.”
“Aye. Because I came for answers.”
He closed the gap between them, and her back hit the wall behind her. He raised his arms and pressed his palms flatagainst the stone on either side of her head. She was caged beneath him, and the heat of his body seared her skin.
“Then ask,” he said, his face so near that she could see the fire dancing in his eyes.
Her heart pounded. “Why hide it? Why wait?”
“I told ye,” he said softly. “I thought ye wouldnae want to stay.”
“Is that really why?”
He leaned closer, his lips brushing her ear. “Do ye want there to be another reason, Lily?”
Her chest rose and fell, each breath sharp. “I daenae ken what ye’re talkin’ about.”
He smirked. “Oh, I am certain ye do. And if I’m to agree, ye have to say the magic word.”
She glared at him. “What magic word?”
His eyes searched hers as he took a brief pause before responding. “Please.”
Her lips parted. She wanted to tell him to step back, to let her go, yet her body betrayed her. She remembered the kiss they hadshared the night before, the feel of his hands on her body. The memory tore through her, raw and all-consuming.
He lowered his head a little, so close that she could feel the brush of his breath. “What about now? Are ye still angry?”
Her body screamed to answer him not with words, but with touch. She almost rose to meet him, almost placed her hands on his chest, almost let herself be lost again.
But thunder cracked outside, deep and sudden. The sound shook the glass windowpane and snapped her back to herself.
She gasped, pushing hard against his arms. He let her slip past, though he lingered too close for too long.
Her skirts swayed as she straightened, her breathing ragged. “Since I will be here, perhaps longer than I first thought, it may serve me to get to ken the people who work in this place.” She lifted her chin. “I assume ye agree to that,husband?”
For a long moment, he only watched her. His jaw was set, his eyes darker than the storm outside.
At last, he spoke, his voice clear. “Of course.”
She turned and made for the door, though her legs felt weak beneath her. She could feel his gaze on her back, hot and heavy. She did not look back, but she knew he was still standing there, bare-chested and unshaken.
The thunder rolled again as she walked down the passageway, her pulse still wild. She pressed her hand to her chest, willing herself to calm down, but the fire in her would not die down.
Her self-control was slipping, and a part of her hoped—no,feared.A part of her feared that she might not be able to stop herself next time.
CHAPTER 17
Alasdair stoodat the very edge of the tower wall, one hand resting on the cold stone as the afternoon wind tugged at his shirt. From this height, he could see everything.
He could see the darkened skies at the edge of the horizon, the full length of the courtyard, the dark trail that led to the forest outside the castle, and the hall that held a shrinking number of wounded soldiers.
