Page 15 of Tempting the Highland Devil
Yvaine’s smile was brief, and as she looked around the hall, she already noticed the expectant gazes bouncing over to her face.
“May I have the first dance?” Duncan asked her after he lowered his quaich to the table next to him. Yvaine only nodded then he took her hand and swayed with her to the rhythm of the drummer’s music.
Others joined in the dance. Yvaine caught Arran dancing with Killian’s sister, Niamh, and he was ever charming to her. His hair seemed shorter, and if she did not know him better, she would think that his wide grin at Niamh proved that he was interested in her.
He is the kind of man that can make a woman feel swoony without trying.Yvaine certainly saw how the other ladies in the hall gawked at him most of the night.
“Dinnae detest me, Yvaine,” Duncan said to gain her attention, and she looked to her brother again. “I ken ye think I am takin’ away yer right to choose, but that isnae my intention. This way I am givin’ ye options to choose from. Ye will choose the men ye want to compete for yer hand, and whoever wins I will allow ye time to get to know before the weddin’.”
“I choose who competes?” Yvaine asked, and Duncan nodded.
“That way every man there is an option ye already prefer to the rest.” Yvaine twirled when he led them into another phase of the dance. Her eyes briefly landed on Arran as he switched dance partners to another lady from one of the Highland clans.
This one wore a low-cut earasaid that showed off most of her cleavage, and seeing Arran smile at her made Yvaine roll her eyes.
“Thank ye, braither,” she said and focused on Duncan, ignoring the flames of envy that burst through her. The shroud of jealousy that was scorching her heart made her glare at Arran again.
“I dinnae detest ye…I ken that ye only want the best for me.” Her eyes softened on his, and she leaned closer to rest her head on his chest. “I just wish that ye all would let me decide my own fate.”
“And ye have the chance to do that, Yvaine.”
Yvaine could not stop herself from looking at Arran again as the dance slowly came to an end. This time, Duncan caught her looking because he did not release her hand.
“Make the right choice, Yvaine,” Duncan said as his eyes seared hers. “I dinnae want to see ye get hurt.”
With that, he walked away and joined his wife at the grand table. Yvaine felt heat scorch her cheeks, so she snuck out of the hall, grateful that no one noticed her till she was in the garden.
Alone and away from the booming vibrations of music from the hall, she lifted her head to the skies and closed her eyes, allowing the cool breeze wash over her skin and offer a little comfort. She stood there for a long time, enjoying the silence and hearing her own thoughts.
“I love the night’s sky too,” Arran’s familiar baritone said behind her some moments later, interrupting the silence. Yvaine hesitated in turning to him because she suspected she would see a smile on his face, and that would melt her heart further.
Why is he always around? Tormenting me? Making it difficult to stop thinking about him?
“The feast only began,” he continued and walked to her side. “Why did ye run out here on yer own?”
“There are a million thin’s I’d rather be doin’ than feastin’,” she answered him as she stared at the grass beneath her feet. The crispiness in the night’s air offered her a little comfort too. Yvaine smelled musk now that he was close, and she finally looked sideways at him. “But ye seem to be enjoyin’ yerself, so ye should go back.”
His eyes flickered over hers before he shook his head and smiled. “I find that I dinnae enjoy it as much these days,” he answered.
When Yvaine arched brow in doubt, he chuckled. “I am tellin’ the truth.”
Yvaine only hummed. “I sincerely doubt that. Ye are the one person the ladies want to see at a feast.”
“How do ye mean?”
She faced him fully and mimicked the last lady she saw him dance with. “I shall do anythin’ that pleases ye, me laird,” she said in a fake squeaky voice before lifting her head while in a bow. “But please, I beseech ye to dance with me.” She batted her eyelashes.
Arran tossed his head back and blessed the skies with his laughter.
“They dinnae talk like that,” he said and shook his head before extending a hand to help her stand. Yvaine forgot all about her earlier annoyance at him and laughed with him.
It took a second before she could catch her breath again. Her smile remained as they were lost in each other’s eyes. Her pulse slowed, and she felt heat creep to her cheeks while she drew close to him.
They came together slowly as the tides of their mingling desire swept them up—like neither of them could control the magnetic pull that drew them close.
“Arran,” Yvaine whispered as she drew closer to him instinctively and tried reaching for him.
He backed away from her, and her lower lip quivered as his distance sent an ache through her. “Ye feel this too,” Yvaine said when she saw the struggle in his eyes. “Arran.”
