Page 12 of Hunted By the Hard Highlander

“Aye,” he confirmed, his fingertips twitching with the desire to reach out and tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “We will consummate our marriage, and in time ye will bear me an heir.”

Aurora’s entire face flamed. She tore her gaze away from him, looking out over the grounds. “I will do nay such thing.”

“Is that so?” he asked, not bothering to hide his amusement as she squirmed under his gaze.

“It is,” she said, her voice taking on a squeaky quality. She cleared her throat, seeming to realize that she was bordering on sounding hysterical. “Ye told me ye only needed a wife to satisfy the edict and protect yer lands. I never agreed to share yer bed, I only agreed to satisfy the Managers.”

Hendry’s expression did not change. It was not as if he wished to force her into anything she was not willing to do, but she had agreed to being his wife. She was not dull. She must have known what this marriage would entail.

“Becomin’ me wife carries duties, Aurora,” he said slowly, taking in the delicate curve of her profile. “The same way becomin’ yer husband carries its own set of duties. An heir is expected of every Highland Laird. Ye kent that before this moment.”

He slid closer, leaving only a breath of space between them. No matter how badly he wanted to reach out and touch, he would not. Not until she was begging him for it.

She met his gaze once again, and her breathing seemed to stop. It was almost as if she were surprised that he had managed to get so close. Still, she did not yield. He watched, the corner of his mouth quirking upward, as she steadied her breathing and squared her shoulders.

“I desire this arrangement nay more than ye do,” he said, his voice nearly a whisper in the quiet room. “I sought a wife because duty demanded it of me, nae because I longed for one. So, I give ye me word that I willnae lay a hand upon ye until we are lawfully wed.”

“Ye willnae touch me even then,” she said, the words slipping between them and wrapping around them.

“Daenae test me, lass,” Hendry warned, narrowing his eyes as he watched her down the length of his nose. “Our duties daenae stop after the weddin’.”

She shivered as if the statement physically touched her, the thinly veiled threat caressing the length of her spine with a featherlight stroke. Seeing the way he affected her made his head swim with possibility. It was a foreign sensation, being drawn to another person like this. He blamed it on her brazenness, her bravery.

Aurora was so headstrong that he had to figure her out before she pried her way into the parts of his mind that he would rather keep private.

Just as she began to sway forward into his space, the little boy began to cough. The spell between Aurora and Hendry shattered; they both spun around toward the noise. He was stirring, sitting up as he cleared the fluid from his lungs.

Hendry took several steps away from her, clearing away the last vestiges of heat they had mistakenly kindled. Glancing around the room, he ensured that they would not need anything else for the rest of the morning. Then, before the boy could fully wake, Hendry headed for the door.

Aurora said nothing as he left, but part of him knew that she was still standing in place, listening to him retreat. It was not until he heard her brother’s small, weak voice calling out to her that Hendry was sure things were back to the way they should be.

I must watch meself around her. She is already testin’ me judgment and me control.

Chapter Seven

“Ithink I need to take a walk around the gardens,” Aurora said when she could no longer stomach sitting at Adair’s bedside and watching him sleep.

She knew the only thing she was able to do for him was wait as he recovered and keep him comfortable, but after being on the move for so long, sitting still for even a day was proving challenging. Besides, it was not as if her brother was not in good hands. Isabella was skilled.

“Take all the time ye need, Lady Aurora,” Bella said, looking up from the table she was working at. Her herbs were spread in front of her, and she was carefully grinding them and putting them into neatly labeled vials. “I will be sure to send for ye if we need anythin’ from ye.”

“I appreciate everythin’ ye are doin’ for us,” Aurora said gratefully as she stood. “I promise I will return shortly.”

Bella waved her away with a kind smile that told Aurora it did not matter when she returned. It was strange. She felt almost as if the healer were caring for her as though she were another patient.

Perhaps I am. When is the last time I took an inventory of me vital signs?

Deciding her designation in the healer’s mind was unimportant in relation to everything else she was handling, Aurora slipped into the corridor. The energy that had been buzzing in the air like a swarm of bees when she arrived had dissipated over the few days she had spent in her brother’s chambers. It seemed that on an average day, the castle was quiet.

She could get used to this kind of peace, but she would not let herself. Regardless of just how sure Hendry seemed to be of the absoluteness of his protection, Aurora could not stop looking over her shoulder for signs of her uncle. Too many people had underestimated the man before and paid the price for it.

“Lady Aurora,” a maid said as she passed by, the kindness surprising her. She did not know how to react to being recognized and asked after. “Are ye well? Is there anythin’ we can get for ye?”

“Nay, I’m quite all right, thank ye,” Aurora said politely. “Though perhaps I will take some tea when I return from me walk.”

“Of course, me Lady,” the maid said, giving her a little curtsey. “We will watch for yer return.”

Shaking off the dread that threatened to creep in at the prospect of being watched, Aurora stepped into the courtyard. She looked around, unwilling to admit to herself that she was hoping to see Laird Anderson. The chances of it were unlikely, anyway. After the Managers left, he had been occupied with something he had not shared with her.