Page 22 of The Highlander's Inconvenient Wife
Her breath caught in her chest as Joan suddenly felt flustered; she hadn’t expected him to answer her back like that in front of his mother. Her pulse suddenly began to race as he held her gaze. The dark passion from earlier was suddenly back, creating an intense and uncomfortable atmosphere that wasn’t entirely appropriate with his mother sitting across from her at the table.
“Goodness me,” Martha suddenly broke the tension between them as she wiped her hands and stood. “I completely forgot that there was something I needed to do,” she explained as she pushed in her chair. “Please excuse me. I promised the cook that I’d relieve her before lunch was over. She needs to go an’ see the healer about her feet.”
Noticing a way of escape, Joan began to stand.
“Daenae hurry dear.” Martha quickly gestured for her to sit back down. “Ye can ask someone to show ye the way to the gardens when yer done. I daenae wish to rush ye. There are a few matters that I need to see to first.”
Joan reluctantly sat back down and took a deep breath as Martha hurried from the room. Her anger was bubbling right at the surface as she thought of the way that Jasper had attempted to challenge her in front of his mother. The audacity of the man made her irrationally angry and frustrated.
He sat silently eating his stew with a smug look on his face that only served to anger her even further. She wanted nothing more than to use the cloth in his hand to wipe his face and change his expression.
“I hope you don’t mind if I spend the afternoon with your mother, my laird,” she said bitterly as she glared at him, unable to keep her silence any longer.
“Ye are nae a prisoner,” he replied and continued to eat without even looking in her direction.
“Good, I’m glad we have established that then,” she said pointedly as she sat by, watching him eat. She’d lost her appetite entirely at the way he was treating her.
“I already said that ye were nae a prisoner,” he said cooly over his bowl. “If ye recall, I apologized for the way ye were treated.”
“I’m sorry, my laird; I’m not sure how to perceive anything you say. You seem to change your behavior faster than the weather in Scotland,” she snapped. “There are also quite a few things I recall from that conversation in particular, so you will have to excuse me if I forgot one or two details.”
Tossing his fork in the bowl, he sat back in his chair with a scowl of displeasure on his face. “What does that mean?”
“I’m not sure, my laird.” She used her knees to push herself up. “Maybe it means that I don’t know what to expect from you from one minute to the next.” She gave him a final glare before pushing past the table. “Or perhaps it doesn’t mean anything at all.”
Joan hadn’t even noticed him move as his hand shot out and gripped her wrist, keeping her from leaving the room.
Pushing back his chair, Jasper stood and towered above her as his eye darkened.
Her heart began to race as her breaths came in quick succession, making her chest rise and fall beneath the confines of her dress while she wondered what would happen next.
“Ye want to be careful, lass,” he growled in a low voice as his face came closer.
“Or what?” Her eyes fell to his lips again as the heat between them grew.
“Or I’ll have to remind ye who is in charge around here,” he whispered in a dangerously low tone that sent shivers of pleasure down her spine.
Turning away from him, she removed her wrist from his grip, attempting to leave before anything happened that they’d both regret once again.
His movements were much faster than hers as he placed his strong hands on her hips and guided her body back to his. Bringing himself up to his full height, he continued to tower above her with an ominous look that made her tremble with desire despite the small amount of animosity she felt toward the man.
“Was there something that you still needed, my laird?” she asked in a husky tone that surprised even her as she stood on her toes in an attempt to look him in the eye.
“Aye, I need ye to stop challenging me an’ obey what I say,” he repeated his order from earlier.
“I’m not afraid of you, my laird,” she breathed as she allowed her glance to fall to his lips and slowly move back to his eye. “I know you want me to be, but I am not.”
A wolfish grin spread across his lips as he pulled her even closer to him. “I said we would talk later.” He came so close to her face that she could hardly breathe without thinking about his lips on hers. “An’ we shall, but ye better remember yer place an’ stay out of trouble until we do.”
“I’ll try my best, my laird, but I can’t help it if I say what’s on my mind.” She placed the palms of her hands on his chest in an attempt to push him away.
Her actions only proved to spur him on as he gripped her hips even tighter and placed his lips against hers, teasing her mouth with his own while abstaining from the kiss. She suddenly felt his hands moving from her hips to her back where he held her tenderly in a warm embrace.
“I knew ye were trouble when I laid me eye on ye,” he breathed. “I can see that I’ll have to keep a very close watch over ye.”
“That you will, my laird.”
Joan was about to give in and kiss him when Jasper suddenly drew back, leaving her to fall back on her feet as she felt the confusion setting in.
