Page 16 of Tempting the Highland Devil
“I only came to make sure ye were all right. I should head back to the feast.”
“I think ye want me, Arran, and that terrifies ye,” Yvaine spoke when he turned to walk away from her. She summoned the courage to voice the words that ate at her and took his wrist.
Arran turned to face her when she continued. “I see it in the way ye look at me, and I think…I think that maybe if ye let yerself go, then we might be able to find common ground and…”
“There is nay common ground,” he said, his eyes darkening as they bored into hers.
“But…”
“There is nay common ground, Yvaine. Ye want a life I cannae possibly give ye. Ye want to fall in love and marry a man that ye love. Ye want bairns one day…Ye want a happy home. I cannae give ye that. I can never give ye any of that, so whatever this is…Whatever ye think this is, it cannae mean anythin’.”
“So, ye will just let me wed someone else?”
He winced like her words hurt, and his eyes narrowed into tiny slits like he was angry. “That is the right thin’ to do. It is me duty to make sure ye are safe nay matter what. Other than our lessons, don’t expect anything else. I will prepare ye to defend yerself because yer braither, Lily, or me will nay always be there to do it, but that is all.”
Yvaine pressed her lips together as the weight of his words sank in. It crushed on her chest and made it harder for her to breathe.
“I cannae give ye the life ye want,” he continued in a hoarse tone before he stared at her lips again. “I am sorry.”
He backed away from her, and she let him even though a million questions burned through her mind. Yvaine wished he would open up to her and explain why he was so scared to let himself feel anything.
Why does he deny this? Why fight it so much?
9
They had another training session the next morning and thankfully Lily was present. Being alone with Yvaine was too dangerous at the moment.
Every part of him screamed with the urge to go to her and kiss her senseless while she trained with all her might. She was irresistible when she laughed and celebrated her triumph after knocking the sword out of his hands.
“I was distracted,” he said to her gruffly and bent to pick his sword.
“Accept defeat, Arran,” Lily called out to him with a proud smile. “Ye always hide behind distractions.”
He chose not to answer both women as they laughed. “Brace yerself,” he announced as he battled the tingles coming alive inside him then sparred with them again.
They stayed in the courtyard for a long time till Yvaine claimed exhaustion and dropped to a squat.
“We will take this to another level tomorrow,” he told her. “We use a bow and arrow next.”
Arran sheathed his sword before he offered her a hand to help her to her feet. Yvaine’s eyes drifted from his hand to his eyes then she opted for bracing her hands on the ground and standing on her own.
He was impressed by the move because it meant she was getting stronger. As she turned her back to him, he allowed himself to admire her back side for a moment. Yvaine and Lily spoke in hushed tones as they walked away from him, and Arran was left to struggle with his cravings.
By mid-day, he found a little comfort with himself. All of that vanished again when he wandered into the grand hall and found Yvaine laughing with a gentleman.
Arran paused at the doorway and watched as she covered her mouth with one hand and laughed lightly to the man’s words.
The laird seemed eager to please her, so he continued talking and even dared to touch her shoulder and shift the strands of hair there. Arran reddened and clutched the sheath of his sword tight.
He took a step forward involuntarily, but a steady voice behind him halted his progression. “Dinnae even think of about goin’ into that room.”
Arran spun around when Elspeth spoke to him in a commanding tone. Her expression remained stern as she stared him in the eye.
“Walk away, Arran. This doesnae concern ye.”
His hand tightened into a fist as he looked at her then glanced towards Yvaine and found her laughing again. She touched the man’s shoulder, and her eyes crinkled at the corners like they always did when she was excited.
His throat tightened, and the pounding in his chest took another form.
