“Good Lord,” he murmured to the night. “What have I gotten meself into this time?”
CHAPTER TEN
The gall of that man! How dare he call me a liar!
Lavina paced the length of her room, her ire flaring and popping in sync with the fire crackling in the hearth. She cast a glare at the balcony door and folded her arms tightly over her chest.
Lightning flashed violently, followed by a thunderclap so loud that it rattled the windowpanes.
Lavina flinched and shot to her feet, panic rising in her chest.
She hated storms. They made her feel small, helpless. But worse still were the memories they dredged up. Dark, terrifying echoes of a past she had tried desperately to forget.
She moved to the bed and pulled back the covers, but her eyes drifted toward the balcony once again. Rain battered the door in steady sheets, and beneath it, the faint outline of a dark figure remained—Theo. Still outside. Still suffering in the storm.
Lavina bit her lip, torn.
Could she really allow a man she believed might have killed her family sanctuary in her room?
On the one hand, she didn’t want to be alone. On the other hand, she wasn’t willing to share her room. But was she willing to share it withhim?
A fierce crack of thunder answered her. She yelped and rushed to the door, yanking it open as the wind howled in.
“Are ye comin’ in?” she called, hoping her voice would carry above the tempest.
Theo looked up. His hair was soaked, falling in heavy locks down his face, but it did little to hide the glare in his eyes.
“I told ye, I’d rather take me chances with the storm,” he grunted. “Now, close the door beforeyecatch yer death. The last thing I need is the clan thinkin’ I murdered me wife on our wedding night.”
Just then, lightning struck the flowerpot beside him, shattering it into a thousand jagged shards.
Lavina gasped.
Theo jolted upright as the brilliant flash lit her face and bathed the room in a sharp, ethereal glow.
“Then again,” he said, brushing dirt from his coat, “who am I to refuse the lady’s request?”
Without another word, he made a beeline for the chamber.
Lavina’s heart fluttered as she stepped aside and shut the door, locking the storm outside.
She eased back, trying to calm her racing pulse. That strike had been too close. Far too close.
“Are ye all right?” she asked before she could second-guess the concern in her voice.
Theo arched an eyebrow as he moved toward the fire, brushing the water from his shoulders. “If I’m bein’ honest,” he said with a wry smile, “I’d say that was closer than I would’ve preferred.”
Her nerves felt as though they were on fire, and nothing she did could extinguish the heat.
“Sorry,” Lavina murmured, her voice shaking.
“‘Tis nae as if it were yer fault,” Theo replied. “Ye’ve nay say over the weather.”
Lavina rubbed her hands together, her gaze fixed on the balcony door as lightning streaked across the window. Thunder followed immediately, a bone-rattling crack that seemed to shake the very walls.
“Ye’re scared of the storm, are ye nae?” Theo asked.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught him taking off his soaked shirt.
