Page 13 of A Celtic Vow
“Ye may want to look at that more closely,”Liam said.“After all, thanks to Siobhán’s influence over us, Shannon all too recently thought the same of me. And I wasn’t all that much fonder of her despite my attraction.”
Though tempted to reject the notion, his brother was right. There was no way to know how much Siobhán had affected him and Constance. Assuming there was a ‘him and Constance.’ That there ever had been.
Yet as he watched her out the corner of his eye when he was tempted to stare, he knew therewassomething between them. It simmered beneath the surface, hard to see clearly, but he felt it. Sensed she did too. A tether that allowed him to save her.
A connection between their inner beasts that was hard to ignore.
Outside of Siobhán, he had made very little effort to talk to and get to know lasses in general. Did he enjoy their flesh on occasion to see his needs met? Yes. Simply conversing? Nay. But he would try now. He had to if for no other reason than the celebration this eve was in Constance’s honor and he was king. He knew she had already eaten, so perhaps she’d like a break from the crowd before greeting them any further?
“Might I show you around my castle, lass?” He held the crook of his elbow out to her as he’d seen Liam do with countless women over the years. “’Twould be my honor.” Based on her hesitation and the trepidation in her eyes, he feared that hadn’t sounded cordial enough. So he tried to make his demeanor less intimidating and his invitation more appealing. “I have been told you deal much in charity. Mayhap you could help me figure out how to help those in need as I show you around?”
Even though she swallowed hard and glanced nervously at Shannon, he sensed rather than saw her frustration with herself because she wasn’t usually this timid. He also sensed that appealing to her love for helping those in need was the right move.
So she stood up a little straighter, rallied her courage, and slipped her arm through his, only for him to sense the last thing he expected. Something he hadn’t sensed when he touched her before.
Not just what she vowed to do to him but where she intended to do it.
Chapter Five
SINCE THE MOMENT Constanceallowed Bea and Shannon to convince her to wear the red gown from her nightmare, she had felt different. Off. Sort of outside herself. As though she were looking down on someone she once was or would be.
Detached in a way that made her edgy.
The gown was more sumptuous against her skin than it had felt in her nightmare. Honestly, though, she suspected any fabric would feel that way when fleeing from a monster. A monster she would eventually face off with. Confront if only in a nightmare.
Now here she was slipping her arm into his.
It turned out Aodh wasn’t what she expected. Not at all. He wasn’t a monster but a flesh and blood man. One she felt before she saw when walking downstairs to the great hall with Shannon. It wasn’t just his fierceness that came across so strongly but his concern for her.
Then how he felt the moment he laid eyes on her.
Moreover, howshefelt.
The room faded away at the impact of his stare. At the way his pale brown, near golden eyes made her feel despite the distance between them. They weren’t lethal but piercing. Powerful like the rest of him. Outside of Ulrik, he was the tallest in the room, his broad-shouldered build imposing. Impossible to look away from.
She had assumed his human features would be as grotesque as his dragon’s, but they were the opposite. Rather, he was handsome.Reallyhandsome. From his chiseled features and strong jaw to his thick ebony hair. Like Ulrik, he had tattoos, but they were Celtic in design and not as numerous.
