Page 17 of The Rogue’s Redemption

“Why do you laugh at me?”

“Laugh? I merely smiled. If that is a grave offense against your person, I do apologize.”

She ignored that. “What do you find so amusing? And what did Graeme say to you?”

“Give me a boon, and I will answer both questions.”

Had she known how to best him with the weapon in her hands, she’d have lifted it against him. He very much looked forward to their training sessions.

“Has anyone ever told you that you are a complete arse?”

He raised his brows. “Many times.”

“You enjoy being told so. Why? Why would anyone revel in a reputation such as yours?”

“That, my lady, is a question not so easily answered. But if you permit me to use your given name, the answers to your first two questions are yours.”

“You are—”

“I know it well,” he finished for her. “May I call you Allie?”

It was forward of him, though no more so than taking over her training or being here, and she knew it well.

“Very well, Reid.” Though she tried to make his name sound like poison on her lips, it was the sweetest sound he’d heard all day.

Reid took a step toward her, willing her not to move. When she did not, he halted his advance. “Graeme advised me to avoid you, though I believe he was simply following your sister’s orders. Or perhaps not, since he knows me well. As to your second question, I smiled because you reminded me of my sister. She wears something similar”—he indicated her leggings—“courtesy of my sister-in-law, Lady Sara, who defies convention nearly as often as Catrina. When you gaze at me like that—as if you’d like to boil my bollocks for supper—you remind me of her.”

He thought she might be shocked by his language, but she was not. Instead, she threw back her head and laughed so hard Reid could not help but smile alongside her.

“You forget my sister is Sara’s oldest and dearest friend. I’ve heard of Catrina from her. Thank you for the compliment. As for Gillian . . .” Allie took a deep breath. “She can be . . . protective.”

Reid resisted the urge to toss back a glib comment and said instead, “I know the sentiment well.”

She thought about that for a moment. “Your brothers?”

A topic he did not wish to explore at that moment. “As for your first lesson . . .” He took another step forward, and this time she did move back, if only slightly. “You will need to do better than that.”

“What lesson? You—”

“When I taunted you, you allowed me to discern your emotions.”

“But I didn’t realize—”

“Your opponent must never know you are scared, even if you are terrified. You must never back away unless there is a purpose for the movement.” He indicated her feet. “As you just did from me.”

Though she listed toward him, Allie wasn’t ready for the lesson.

“I am not afraid of you,” she said as confidently as she was able.

He took another step toward her, and this time it had nothing to do with her training.

“You should be.”

* * *

She’d failed.

He could see through her bravado. Allie had lost control the moment she’d agreed to train with him, and she had no idea how to get it back. She certainly couldn’t ask her sister. She would just have to pretend he didn’t affect her. That the idea of him taking one step closer, so close he could reach out and touch her . . .