Page 12 of The Highlander's Accidental Wife
A small thrill ran through Helena as his arms dropped to his sides and he took a step forward, his posture screaming,it is bloody not,even as he said, “I dinnae believe so, lady. I owe ye a debt—nay, a dance, I think.”
Helena sucked in a breath, and his grin became wolfish. “No, no,” she said even as he drew closer. “That is not—don’t you dare.”
“I do, though, sweetheart,” he said in a murmur. “Ye cannae ken how much Iloveto dance, and it had been a long, long time since I’d stepped with a lass. Dinnae back down now.”
“That is not what I am doing,” Helena scoffed. “I do not fear you, even if you want folk to.”
“Nae ye—never ye,” he said.
Before she could make sense of that, he’d caught her with ease and spun her onto the dance floor even as she futilely tried to drag her feet—or kick him.
“Stop, I’m already enjoyin’ meself too much without yer attempts topretendye’re fightin’ back.”
“I assure you,” Helena hissed. “I amnotpretending.”
“Lass, lass.” He tsked into her hair. “I ken ye are smart enough to ken that the way to stop a man is to knee him straight in the balls. And since mine arenae injured—” He laughed as she tried to do that. “Cheeky bird. What did I just warn ye of?”
Helena sucked in a breath and tried to calm herself. She did not want to take down a laird in the middle of Emma’s wedding with such a move. Or rather, she knew that she shouldn’t want to do such a thing.
Instead, she let him lead her around, hating that part of her heart soared as they spun together. He was so strong and tall, thebest partner she’d ever stepped with, and she’d always loved to dance—yet so few had asked, and not one had danced with her like this.
Still, this was dangerous.
Unwed laird.
“What do you want?” Helena demanded and leaned back to look into his face. Her heart jolted when his gaze focused on her, intent and singular, as though he saw nothing else. “From me, I mean.”
“I ken what ye meant,” he murmured. “And to dance.”
Helena rolled her eyes. “There are plenty of young women?—”
“And they are all afraid of me, of course.” She stared at him, and he offered a crooked grin. “With good reason.”
Helena couldn’t help it—she snorted and muttered, “Afraid of what? Your enormous ego or your foolish quips?”
At that, Laird MacCabe stared at her, and then a rough burst of sound that was almost a laugh escaped him.
Helena bit back a grin, trying to glare at him, but as they whirled, she saw more than one wide-eyed expression and heads bending together in the crowd.
That sent a surge of frustration through her and an ache around her heart. He made light of it, but it was lonely, sometimes, to choose to be yourself and thumb your nose at the world.
For that reason, Helena fell silent and decided she would continue to dance with him. Perhaps, then, some other lass might grow a bit of courage to dance with him too. And that was clearly why, when Laird MacCabe bowed at the end of a dance, she held out her hand to another. Not seeing him grin or obliging her or keeping him to herself.
They danced and danced, even as the stars began to shift overhead, and Helena knew she should’ve left long, long ago. She was not sure how much time had passed, only that she was waiting for him to break the silence, and yet he had not.
Not thinking, yet feeling she should, because such a man should be dancing with all the pretty lasses, Helena broke the silence. “Perhaps you simply need to…” she trailed off, thinking of all the times that someone had told her to doless of thisormore of that.
“God, no. Never mind.”
“Glad ye caught yerself.” He executed a sharp turn that made her breath catch, and a laugh bubbled up her throat. “Canny thing. And mayhap even if I’d been asked—for I ken I’m nae a bad-lookin’ fellow, despite the beard and patch, just a scary blighter—I would have only danced with ye.”
At that, the song ended, and applause rang out.
Helena took the chance to give Laird MacCabe the slip, her entire body seething again, her hands shaking with rage. That asinine brute. How dare he toy with her so? Had he just danced with her to toy with her emotions?
Clearly, the answer is yes. Since he knows that he could get another woman to dance.
Now, it was easy to sneak out of the crowd and begin the trek back to Banrose Castle. However, as she drew even with the walls of the garden, she heard steps behind her and whirled.
