Page 51 of Tempted By a Highland Beast
Her jaw tightened, and her hands curled into fists. “Ye are a threat,” she said quietly. “Just nae the kind ye think.”
Constantine felt a confusing fluttering in his stomach. “What’s that supposed tae mean?”
Rowena’s eyes flashed. “It means I’ve seen what happens when powerful men decide what’s best fer women without asking their opinions. I’ve lived it. And I’ll nae be trapped again, nae matter how gilded the cage.”
The comparison to her uncle hit him like a physical blow. He thought they had been building a rapport. That she was warming up to him, and things would end up with her by his side. This was a very unwelcome development. “I’m naethin’ like yer uncle, Rowena.”
“I think ye’re a man who’s used tae getting what he wants,” Rowena shot back, her voice rising. “I think ye’ve calculated exactly what marriage tae me would gain ye, and now ye’regrowing impatient because I havenae fallen intae line like a grateful little prize.”
“Prize?” Constantine’s voice was dangerously low. “Is that what ye think? That I see ye as some trophy tae be won?”
“Dinnae ye?”
Constantine wanted to shout in frustration. Couldn’t she see that he did not view her as some kind of trophy? Had he been fooling himself into imagining all the stolen glances, and touches they had shared?
“If I wanted a prize, lass, I could have taken one long before now. If I wanted a grateful little wife tae warm me bed and bear me heirs without protest, I could have found meself one anywhere. What I offered ye was a partnership, and what I’m asking fer now is an answer. Yet ye insult me by yer implications.”
“By when?” Rowena’s voice was sharp now, carrying across the hall. “Today? This hour? This moment? Because it sounds like yer patience has run out, Constantine. It sounds like the gentleman’s facade is finally slipping.”
Several guards had stopped their patrol to look in their direction. Constantine could see kitchen maids peering around doorways, their eyes wide with curiosity and alarm. Constantine felt as if the entire castle was waiting to witness their laird-to-be having a shouting match with his supposed bride.
“Aye,” he said, his voice cutting through the sudden quiet like a blade. “Me patience has run out. I want an answer, Rowena. Today. Before the sun sets on this castle, I want tae ken if ye’re staying or if I should have one of me men escort ye wherever it is ye’d rather be.”
Rowena went white, then red, her breath coming in sharp little gasps. “Ye want tae ken what this really is?” Rowena said, her voice growing stronger with each word. “It’s nae rescue, Constantine. It’s a calculated trap dressed up as chivalry. Ye saw an opportunity and ye took it, just like every other mercenary deal ye’ve ever made. The only difference is this time, the commodity ye’re bargaining fer happens tae be me.”
The accusation hung in the air between them like smoke from a fire, acrid and choking. Constantine stared at her, watching the way her chest rose and fell with agitation, the way her eyes blazed with righteous fury.
Rowena didn’t wait for his answer. She started moving, pushing past him with swift, angry strides that carried her across the hall and up the stairs. Her footsteps echoed like gunshots in the sudden silence, and then she was gone, leaving Constantine standing alone in the middle of his great hall with half his household staring at him in stunned silence.
Constantine closed his eyes and dragged in a deep breath. When he opened them again, the servants had scattered like leaves before a storm, leaving him truly alone with the wreckage of his pride and fury.
Rowena’s hands shook as she pressed them against her chamber door, her heart hammering against her ribs like a caged bird. The confrontation in the hall replayed in her mind with nauseating clarity, the way Constantine’s face had gone cold and shuttered, the way his voice had cut through her defenses like a blade.
She’d seen that look before. On her uncle’s face when she’d dared to question his decisions. The sight of it on Constantine’s features, however, had triggered something primal and panic had taken over her, something that had nothing to do with logic and everything to do with survival.
But even as her pulse began to slow, even as the immediate terror faded, a different kind of discomfort settled in her chest. Because the man she’d just accused of treating her like a commodity was the same man who’d risked his life to save her from strangers.
The same man who’d given her time and space and freedom to make her own choice, even when his father’s announcement had forced his hand.
The same man who’d looked genuinely offended when she’d compared him to her uncle.
Rowena sank into the chair by her window, burying her face in her hands.
Did I overreact?
Constantine’s frustration had been justified. Rowena knew she had been taking his hospitality while holding herself apart, refusing to commit to the arrangement that would secure it permanently.
The demand for an immediate answer, the barely leashed impatience in his voice, the way he’d cornered her in public had all felt too familiar. She’d run then, and she’d run now, lashing out with words designed to wound because she’d felt trapped and desperate and afraid.
The problem was, she wasn’t afraid of Constantine. Not really. Somewhere between his rescue at the loch and now, she’d begun to trust him. More than trust him. She’d begun to care what he thought of her, begun to want his approval and his attention.
And that terrified her more than any threat her uncle could pose.
Rowena stood abruptly, pacing to the window and back again. She couldn’t afford to let fear make her decisions. She’d learned that lesson when she’d run from her uncle. Sometimes the only way forward was to stand and fight.
But this wasn’t a fight, she realized. This was a choice. A real one, offered by a man who’d proven himself honorable even whenit cost him. Constantine might be calculating and strategic, but he wasn’t cruel. He might be demanding and impatient, but he wasn’t dismissive of her opinions or her worth.
He was nothing like her uncle, and she’d thrown that comparison at him like a weapon.
