Page 40 of A Sinful Night with a Scot
Swiftly, Keane jerked his head at Kenna, who nodded, smiled, and slipped away as sultrily as she had approached. He then turned to Elsie, while trying to define what he felt. He was riled that she had spoken for him. No one did that. Not ever. They were not that brave or that stupid. But while his jaw pulsed, his teeth clenching and unclenching, her evident jealousy also aroused him, and he couldn’t help but feel satisfied at that.
“Ye are jealous,” he snarled.
“Indeed, I am nae,” she turned toward him. “I am appalled. How can ye let this woman approach ye in front o’ me on this night, especially?” she ranted. “How dare she be so disrespectful, and how dare ye allow it? It is humiliating.”
She had a point, but it was lost as his anger grew by her tone, and the way in which she had railed him. No one else would dare even consider it. She was playing a dangerous game, whether she knew it or not. Taking a firm grip on her arm, he pulled her in close while hearing the gasp flying from her mouth.
With his lips at her ear, he growled, “Dae ye remember what ye told me on the night I decided nae tae kill ye? The night I told ye I’d spare yer life, but marry ye instead?”
Elsie’s breaths were rapid, a light panting escaping from her lips, making those soft breasts rise and fall at a great pace.
“Ye told me ye had one condition fer our marriage,” he hissed. “Dae ye remember?”
Elsie nodded quickly, a high-pitched sound caught in her throat.
“Good. Then, if I cannae bed ye, I need tae get me relief somewhere else. I am a man with needs, and I will fulfill them. With or without ye.”
When he released his grip, Elsie took a quick step back, her brow furrowed, her eyes looking anywhere but at him. Evidently, there were words she wanted to say, but she was struggling tofind them. Finally, she looked at him and, with great effort, lifted her chin.
“Fine. I understand yer needs,” she said, her voice unsteady. “But if ye must…, at least have the decency nae tae speak tae yer mistresses in front o’ me.”
She then turned and made her way back to the table, leaving him standing there in the wake of her words. While he ought to have been satisfied, he felt something very different. Something that, in fact, jolted his very being. Instead of feeling victorious that he had lauded it over her, her words had stabbed him like a knife to the heart.
He had played his hand, determined, in his own way, to let her know that if she wanted him, she only needed to say. The intention was to tease her, to feed off her jealousy, and show her what he was certain she wanted. But Elsie had called his bluff. Instead of eliciting arousal and drawing her closer to him, he had angered her and pushed her even further away.
Michael now engaged her in conversation at the high table, and with her perfect smile pinned back in place, one might imagine their conversation had never occurred. Innocent she might be, but Elsie was also intuitively clever and resourceful, with the ability to maintain her dignity.
Their time in the cave reignited his thoughts, and Keane recalled her expression when speaking about her father. That same humiliation had danced in her eyes only moments before.
Ye are a fool, Keane. What about the sacred vow? What the hell are ye doing?
I’m protecting mesel’.
Ye made an oath. An oath in a sacred place tae treat her better. Is this ye keeping yer word?
As rational as his mind was, it was also logical, and seemed to have no reply for his heart. Because there was no reply that justified his actions. He had to do better, as difficult as that might be. He had been a good man once.
But can I be that man again?
Apparently, neither his mind nor his heart had the answer to that question.
Eventually, he joined Elsie and Michael at the table. Once he had settled beside her, he gazed down at her hand, sitting lightly on her lap. Reaching over, he took hold of it, wrapping his large fingers around hers.
Elsie spun her head to look at him, her eyes searching his face. She didn’t speak, but then, she didn’t need to.
What is he doing? I should pull away.
Nae. Let him hold ye. Look at his eyes. Surely, he is trying tae ask fer forgiveness. He’s just too proud tae put it intae words.
But does he deserve me forgiveness?
Her mind went quiet for a few seconds, clearly considering that question.
Perhaps nae, but how will ye tolerate being here if ye dinnae give it? Maybe if he hadnae have been right, if yer werenae jealous, forgiving him would be easier. But he was right, wasnae he? It wasnae just that woman’s brazen approach. It was the fact that ye dinnae want tae share him with another.
A slow smile crept to Keane’s lips as he listened to her thoughts. All the things she dared not say out loud. Nevertheless, he had already deduced that she was attracted to him. He didn’t need to read her mind to tell him that.
It had been evident in the soft moments they had shared, the fleeting, yet lingering glances, her breathlessness, the throbbing pulse in that beautiful slender throat. All the signs, in her innocence, that she wasn’t even aware she was giving him. It was that knowledge that had driven him to tease her earlier, but not only had he failed, he had clearly taken it a step too far.
