Page 36 of Highlander of Steel
The water might have been liquid, but it felt like a bucket of broken glass being poured over her skin. So much so that she hopped backward, out of the path of another emboldened rush of water.
“Are ye a queen or a coward?” Killian taunted, beckoning to her.
“Neither!”
He smirked. “Ye’re tellin’ me that a lass who played in the labyrinth of a dungeon as a bairn cannae put her whole foot in the water? Did ye lose yer courage when ye grew up?”
“I must have,” she replied curtly.
Do ye think I daenae ken what ye’re doin’? It willnae work on me.
She folded her arms across her chest, fuming.
It wasn’t just the water. She didn’t care at all for the rough sensation of cold, wet sand beneath her bare feet. As far as she was concerned, this beach, this cove, had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. The seagulls were too loud, the steep walls of rock all around looked like they might collapse at any moment, sand would be stuck in her new dress for days, and the water might as well have been a sheet of ice.
“I daenae believe that,” Killian said.
Hemighthave been the one redeeming quality. There was something indescribably enticing about a wet man. Particularly one as handsome and physically impressive as him. The sea seemed to admire his body as much as she did, the water highlighting the contours of his broad, muscular chest and the ridges of his abdomen, glossing the defined lines of his powerful arms like a Roman centurion bathed in oil.
As for what was below the water, his belted plaid floated like seaweed, though the reflection of the glaring sun denied her any view of what was under it.
“Do ye feel afraid when ye take a bath?” he asked, reminding her that she was supposed to focus on the water and not what was hidden beneath.
She huffed. “Of course nae.”
“Then come in as far as yer waist,” he urged. “It’s nae different.”
That earned him a withering look.
“Nae different?” she scoffed. “Forgive me, but ye must take horrendous baths if ye think the two are anythin’ alike. I daenae usually get out of the bath shiverin’ so hard that me teeth might crack. Besides, I daenae want to ruin me dress.”
“So take it off.”
She gulped and stared at him in disbelief. Hemustbe out of his mind if he thought she was going to wade through freezing cold water in nothing but her shift.
“Lass, I’m doin’ me best to be patient,” Killian said, his blue eyes glittering with the reflection of the sea. “But if ye daenae dip more than a toe into the water, I’m goin’ to have to come back to shore, strip ye to yer underthings, and carry ye into the sea meself.”
In a fantasy, perhaps daydreaming while alone in her old bedchamber at Castle Ainsley, that might have sounded terribly romantic. She might even have enjoyed the thought for a moment, imagining his strong arms scooping her up, her head resting against his broad shoulder as he ran into the sea with her.
But the reality was nothing short of a nightmare.
“Daenae ye dare!” she hissed, retreating from the shoreline.
Not that she could outrun him if he decided to chase her. She had barely managed to get down to the cove without his help; she stood no chance of getting back to the top of the cliff by herself, unless she wanted to increase the risk of falling and breaking her neck.
Then again, that might be preferable to gettin’ in the water. A quicker end to this, certainly.
“Then get in the water,” Killian replied.
Clenching her jaw and concentrating on his face, she didn’t know what to do. Not a single part of her wanted to get in the water, yet his beckoning hand and the words he had spoken earlier called to her.
He cannae have a bride that willnae even hear the sea without shakin’… and think of Skye. She’d be thrilled to see this cove. She’d want to come here every day.
As Killian took a few steps toward her, making her worry that he might actually carry her out there, she hurried to pull off her dress. It was one thing to take her time wading out, going at her own pace, but it was another to be forced out there, no longer having any control.
He stopped, and she could have sworn she saw a slight smile on his lips.
“I swear, I will kill ye when I get to ye,” she muttered, carefully folding her dress and setting it on a nearby rock.
