Page 45 of Tempting the Highland Devil
He lifted his eyes to hers, and she encouraged him with a smile. Yvaine felt as if she understood him better now. Arran’s deepest fear was that he would turn out like his father, and everything he did was to protect her.
Even though Yvaine loved that, she still needed him to express himself freely. She needed to him to want her just as much as she wanted him and let himself show those emotions.
“I wish ye would talk to me, Arran. Ever since that night in yer chamber, ye will barely stay in the same room with me.”
He combed his fingers through his hair. “That night shouldnae have happened.” His tone was gruff and hoarser than she had ever heard it. “It willnae happen again.”
Yvaine chuckled a bit, interpreting his words as a joke. “I am yer wife, Arran. It is expected that ye perform yer duties to me, and I shall do the same. How are we truly married if we dinnae even share a bed?”
Arran’s lips formed a wry smile. “Are ye suggestin’ that I make love to ye? That I must perform me duties as a husband?”
Even though Yvaine’s cheeks flushed at his bold words, she nodded. “Aye, that is exactly what I mean.”
He tossed his head back as an easy laugh left his lips. Yvaine liked the sound, and she wished she could hear him more often.
“Do ye even ken what those words mean?” His eyes gained a gleam.
“I have read books, and I have…”
Arran took a steady step towards her, and she instinctively backed away. His eyes darkened dangerously, and she felt the sizzle of tension snap in the air around them.
“I can assure ye, me lady, it is naythin’ like what ye have read in the books. If I make love to ye, it will utterly consume ye and me both. It will mean that I willnae be able to keep me promise to ye and myself…It will mean that I have given everythin’…”
He paused and stroked his knuckles down her cheek. His raspy breath fell over her face and heated her pulse.
“It means I have given everythin’ to be with ye, and I cannae risk that.” She saw the flame of desire in his eyes as he stared at her lips and drew in a shuddering breath.
“Is wantin’ me such a bad thin’?”
Arran was about to walk away when she grabbed his hand and pressed it to her chest. “I have given everythin’ to be with ye too, Arran. Do ye nay see that?”
His torn gaze settled on hers before he shook his head. “And what happens if I disappoint ye? If I turn out to be nay better than the man yer braither killed to protect his family? To protect ye?”
He dropped his hand from her chest. “We are better off the way we are. Hopefully, with time we can find a way to be friends also.”
She scoffed and released a short laugh at the mention of friends.
“Is friends what ye want to be? Do friends kiss each other? And burn for each other? Because I burn for ye, Arran…Passionately and with everythin’ in me.”
His jaw hardened, and he looked as if he would say something to her when the sudden clanging of war bells cut into the atmosphere from a distance.
Yvaine had not heard such sounds in a long time. It echoed around them as Arran grabbed her hand and began running with her towards the castle.
The cold fingerlike tremors of fear crawled its way through her as they saw the chaos of servants running around the castle, all trying to find a place to hide.
Guards marched out of every corner, their weapons drawn, and shields poised for protection.
“Head for me chamber and lock the doors. Dinnae move or step foot outside until I return,” Arran said as he paved a path past the scrambling bodies, breezing through every corner to get her to the stairway. “Do ye understand me? Dinnae step a foot outside until I come for ye. The castle is under siege, and I must keep ye safe.”
24
Arran was prepared to protect his castle, no matter the costs. James led the frontlines as they fought to keep their attackers at bay. Something did not feel right as he wound his way through the horses and men.
The skies had darkened considerably, and the first strike of a rumbling thunder roared around them. The shrieks of men and clangs of steel against steel mingled into that sound, leaving them all enveloped in the riots of sounds.
He had fought wars before, and he knew when there was a direct attack or a ploy to distract and penetrate a castle’s defenses. This seemed like a ploy to him.
MacGregor men protected the castle from siege. “I dinnae spot their leader,” Arran said to James when he got a second to speak. Another man ran towards him with a dirk, and he dodged that blow before slicing him down with his sword.
