Page 28 of The Icy Highlander's Virgin
She walked to the door with careful, measured steps, refusing to let him see how his sudden dismissal had affected her. But just before she left, she couldn't help looking back. He was still hunched over his paints, his shoulders tense with some internal battle she didn't understand.
What did I do wrong?
The question followed her down the corridor as she made her way toward the kitchens. One moment, he'd been warm and patient, the next cold and distant. The sudden shift reminded her of...
Leo.
The thought stopped her in her tracks. Her brother had been the same way—charming one moment, cruel the next. Neverletting anyone predict which version of him they'd encounter. It had been part of his power, keeping everyone around him off-balance and afraid.
Is that what Lachlan is doin'? Keepin' me confused so I cannae see his true nature?
For years, she'd been unable to feel safe with any man except Ewan, who was more father than friend.
Now with Lachlan, her body had started to forget its caution. When he'd guided her hands during the painting lesson, she hadn't flinched. She'd leaned into his touch instead of away from it.
Why? What is it about him that makes me feel...
Safe. The word whispered through her mind before she could stop it. That's what she'd felt in his arms—safe. Protected. Cherished, even.
But Leo made me feel safe too, in the beginnin’. Before I was old enough to understand what he really was.
The memory was like a splash of cold water. She'd trusted her brother once, had even loved him, despite his cruelties to others. She'd told herself that he was different with her, that she was special, that his violence was reserved for everyone else.
Right up until the night he'd tried to kill her.
I cannae make the same mistake again. I willnae.
She needed to be more careful. She needed to remember why she was here and that she couldn’t trust him.
She could hear the sounds of the kitchen ahead—voices and laughter and the clatter of pots and pans. Normal, domestic sounds that promised warmth and companionship. Things that had nothing to do with the dangerous game of trust she was playing with a man who might destroy her just as thoroughly as her brother had tried to do.
The warm sounds of the kitchen grew louder as Erica approached, and when she pushed open the heavy wooden door, she was greeted by a scene that made her stop in surprise.
Mairi, the plump cook, was standing with her hands on her hips, directing a man nearly twice her size with the authority of a general commanding troops.
"Frederick Mackenzie, if ye think ye can sneak into me kitchen and steal me bannock, ye've got another think comin'," Mairi was saying, waving a wooden spoon at the tall, bulky man who was backing away with his hands raised in surrender.
"I was just checkin' if it was ready," Frederick protested, though his eyes were twinkling with mischief. "A man needs to ken these things."
"A man needs to keep his great paws off me bakin', that is what a man needs to do," Mairi retorted, then noticed Erica standing in the doorway. "Oh! M'lady, forgive me. I dinnae hear ye come in."
Both Mairi and Frederick turned to look at her, and Erica felt heat rise in her cheeks at the sudden attention. She'd interrupted something—a moment of easy familiarity that spoke of long friendship and comfortable teasing.
"I'm sorry to disturb ye," she said quickly. "I was just hopin' for a small snack, if ye have somethin' available."
"Of course, of course!" Mairi immediately bustled over, her round face beaming with welcome. "Come, sit yerself down right here." She guided Erica to a stool near the massive hearth, where the warmth from the fire felt wonderful after the chill of the corridors.
Frederick cleared his throat. "I should be gettin' back to?—"
"Ye should indeed," Mairi said firmly, but her tone was fond rather than sharp. "And next time ye want to sample me cookin', ye can wait like everyone else."
"Aye, Mairi," Frederick said with exaggerated meekness, though he winked at Erica as he headed for the door. "It was a pleasure seein' ye again, m'lady."
When he was gone, Mairi shook her head with obvious affection. "That man would eat everythin' in sight if I let him. Been tryin' to charm his way into me good graces for months now."
"Months?" Erica asked, settling more comfortably on her stool.
"Aye, ever since his wife passed, God rest her soul. Poor man's been lost without her cookin'." Mairi moved around the kitchen with practiced efficiency, gathering bread, cheese, and dried fruit. "He keeps findin' excuses to visit the kitchens, though I suspect it's nae just the food he's after."
