Page 24 of The Laird's Dark Obsession

Irritation prickled under her skin as the meal was served. He had a point; arguing with him over their betrothal would be talking themselves in circles. If Hunter said they were still betrothed, then it was so. But that didn’t mean she was simply going to submit to him.

“Be that as it may,” she mused. “Ye still expect me to play the part, do ye nae? Or would ye like me to go kicking and screaming down the aisle to the altar?”

“Matters nae to me,” he huffed.

“Hunter,” Edine chastised. “While nae a soul would expect fondness from ye for Kira, I do believe that it would be in the best interest of this entire ordeal if she wasnaeresisting the marriage at the actual wedding. Could Fairbairn’s people nae see that as a call for action?”

Hunter glared at his sister and then back at Kira. “Very well. What is it exactly ye’re wanting to behave yerself?” He pointed a speared piece of meat in her direction as his eyes narrowed. “And let it be within reason. For I dinnae care that much about the impression we make on our wedding day.”

How romantic,she mused internally.

“A horse,” she spat out without thought.

“Excuse me?” Hunter said, his voice edged with warning. “Did ye nae just hear me say it needs to be within reason?”

“How is it nae?” Kira countered. “Ye act as if ye’d give me the fastest horse in the stable, and I’m certain that one of the guards ye have following me at all times is skilled enough in horseback riding to capture me if I were so bold as to try tae escape.”

The air in the room shifted as though rain were about to come as their eyes locked in battle. For a moment, it didn’t look as though he wanted to defeat her—but instead,devour.It made her feel a strange tightness in her belly, a sensation that seemed to belong to Hunter and Hunter alone. Kira’s heart pattered and she bit the inside of her cheek as her mind clouded with indecent thoughts; like Hunter at the training grounds, shirtless and sweat shimmering on his sun-kissed skin.

“Very well,” he said, breaking her from her reverie. “We shall go after breakfast to select ye a horse.”

We?Kira wasn’t exactly aiming for more time with him. And as excited as she was to finally have something her way, she wasn’t ready to rejoice in light of that news.

“I want Campion.”

“No.”

The quickness of his answer irritated her. “Why? He’s an old horse and one that I already have a bond with.”

Hunter flashed her a wicked smirk. “It’s simple. The answer is nay, merely because I say so.” He took a bite of food and waved a hand as if dismissing her. “We will go after breakfast, as I said. Eat yer food. I will nae be seen with a corpse as a wife.”

Kira’s insides twisted into knots from having to hold back the urge to scream. He wasn’t doing anything more than making ashow of his power. That because he said no, it meant no, and there was nothing more to it. Her stubbornness that only really existed around Hunter flared, wanting to skip the meal just to spite him, but when her gaze met Edine, she softened. Edine was nodding encouragingly and had something about her eyes that was screamingthis is good progress, don’t mess it up.

So Kira ate her meal in silence, refusing to look back in Hunter’s direction to witness what she was certain had to be a smug expression on his face. And when the meal was cleared, Edine excused herself in a hurry, making Kira feel a little abandoned. Without her, there was no buffer between her and Hunter, and they needed all the help they could get not to be at one another’s throats.

The two walked out of the Keep and to the stables in complete silence with enough space between them that even if she took a misstep, her arm wouldn’t so much as brush against his. It might be childish, but anger was never all that logical. On paper, he was doing what was best, but it didn’t mean she had to be happy about it. Not when she was reduced to a sacrificial pawn yet again. To avoid bloodshed, she had to submit to being his wife, even if he hated her and even if there would never be anything more for her in life beyond loneliness and self-pity. Even if she was the true martyr that everyone was expecting her to be, she would still have the right to be angry.

Kira was a ball of stress, resentment, and anguish by the time they reached the stables. But as soon as she passed through its doors and approached the first horse, it started to melt away. She petted its snout and offered it a weak smile as she admired its jet-black coat and white diamond mark between its eyes. It looked to be a young stallion, not long since fully grown.

“Nae that one,” Hunter snapped behind her.

Her mood faltered, but she kept petting the horse and appreciating the way it leaned into her touch.

“Did ye hear what I said?”

“I heard ye. Just because I cannae have this one does nae mean that I cannae pet him. Or are ye putting a rule in place for that as well?” she questioned, her voice gentle and sweet in the presence of the horses. Horses were keen enough on people’s feelings and she didn’t need to stress the horses with more than she already carried inside.

Hunter huffed but didn’t say anything. As much as she knew she should be the bigger person in all instances of life to be a true, remarkable lady, she was beneath that at the moment. Hunter had demanded to come along to oversee her selection of a horse, one that wasn’t Campion, so she would take her sweet time in getting to know every horse. Petty revenge was all she had, so she would savor it.

Stall by stall, she went along, petting the horses, speaking to them delightfully, feeding them sugar cubes, and getting information on each from the stableboys. If she spoke too long to the stableboys, she noticed that Hunter would interrupt to let her know that horse wasn’t one she could have. And on the process went for over ten horses.

When she began to pet the next in line, a gray speckled female horse that was well into her prime, Hunter stepped next to her. “This is the one. Let’s go.”

Kira shook her head. “I’m nae done. I want to see all the horses.”

“Ye’ve seen plenty. This one is suitable,” he countered.

“Ye saidwewould select the horse. Are ye nae a man of yer word?”