Page 39 of The Cruel Highlander's Bride
She cursed the man. Did he have to look so good when he was avoiding her? It was really his fault that she stuttered and blushed in his presence. Really, who wouldn’t?
So she was inexperienced, but even the most experienced woman would be a puddle around this man.
Look at him.
Ciara cursed Magnus again and threw in one for Susanna this time also. She turned on her heel and headed back to the castle. Her peaceful, Magnus-free, walk was thoroughly ruined…
* * *
Magnus stormed back to his study that afternoon after a particularly irritating council meeting. He wished he was back outside with the horses, but alas, he’d been forced to listen to his councilmen’s complaints about Ciara. They were wary of her presence here and her involvement in the plans for the village.
He was forced to remind them that his betrothed was the only reason they were no longer at war and the best damn thing that had happened to that village. The whole thing had him on edge, to say the least.
Quickly, he rounded the corner and was abruptly met by the sight of his betrothed, her nose buried in a book. She hadn’t seen him yet, and it gave him a few uninterrupted seconds to study her. The few freckles across her cheeks looked like they had multiplied since he last saw her. Had she spent some time outside? He hoped she was taking full advantage of the castle and the grounds.
When they were nearly about to collide with each other, he cleared his throat.
Her head snapped up at the sound, and she skidded to a stop, inches away from him. She stumbled a little with the sudden movement, and he reached out to steady her.
He grabbed her by the arms, and she looked up at him from beneath her eyelashes. When their eyes met, her breath hitched. Her cheeks pinkened in the way he loved, and he admired that extra dusting of freckles on them.
For several long seconds, he studied her, his gaze roving over everything, from her eyes to her cheeks to that cute, little, button nose. He could spend hours studying her face, memorizing all of it. His hands started moving of their own accord, traveling over her exposed arms, leaving goosebumps in his wake.
He was affecting her, he could tell. Between the shivers and the way her chest heaved, it was obvious, but it wasn’t enough.
Ciara seemed to realize the position they were in all of a sudden, and the look in her eyes turned from lust into something resembling fear.
Shaking her head, she stuttered and quickly pulled away from his grasp. In her haste to back away from him, she dropped the book she’d been holding, the sound snapping them out of their trance even further.
Her scurrying away from him was what finally knocked enough sense into Magnus. He took a few hurried steps back as well.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, cursing himself for getting so wrapped up in her that he’d already broken his promise to her.
Ciara might be affected by his presence, but when the lust cleared, she didn’t want his hands on her. That much was painfully obvious.
He quickly scooped up her book and thrust it into her hands, careful not to let his hands touch her again. There was no need to stick around after that, lest he make things any worse than he already had.
Quickly sidestepping Ciara, Magnus retreated down the hall to his study.
He really needed to keep his distance.
* * *
A few nights later, Ciara was sitting in the library with her sister. The library had become a bit of an escape for Ciara since she’d arrived, especially on nights like this, when a storm was raging outside.
The library had grand windows, spanning the whole length of the wall, and Ciara loved to watch storms. Tonight, the wind howled outside the castle, and water streamed down the windows. Lana sat across from her with a matching mug of hot tea in her hands.
Ciara was watching the weather, but Lana was watching Ciara. She was far more adept at reading people than everyone gave her credit for, and Ciara knew Lana could sense her unease.
“How have ye been settlin’ in?” Lana asked.
“Aye, good,” Ciara mumbled, not meeting her sister’s eyes. “What did ye do today?”
It was a blatant attempt to change the topic, but she hoped Lana would let it go.
Ciara kept her head turned towards the window, or else she knew her face would give her thoughts away. It was getting harder and harder to remain unaffected by the Laird’s continued distance.
They lived in the same castle, but she had gone days without seeing him, neither at meals nor in the gardens. He must have been spending all his time in his study or away from the castle because they hadn’t even run into each other in the hallway again.
