“I dinnae think ye beneath me.”
The man took one more step towards Ailith, and his hand trailed over her scar with a featherlight touch.
“Is it because of this, ye think so?”
The silence that followed was heavy.Ailith felt bolts of lightning go through her and a heat that made her dizzy.She had been countless times the recipient of stares, comments, and unsolicited consolation.Pity.Somehow, this felt different.
Tension lingered between them, and her turmoil took on a new meaning.This man was making her nervous.
He’s bad news.
Ailith took a step back from him.His smile returned as fast as it had vanished.She found her breath again and turned to the left side of the room, before taking another look at him.
The man’s dark eyes followed her as if sworn to observe her.
Ailith had to admit that the man was a treat.The faint candlelight flickered across his muscular build, casting shadows that played along the contours of his arms and chest, visible even beneath his finely tailored jacket.
His hair was dark, almost blending into the shadows that filled the room, but it was his eyes that captured her attention the most—a sharp, intelligent green that seemed to dance as he observed her.
It was at that moment that recognition dawned on her and sent a shiver down her spine.The pieces fell into place.He introduced himself as Hamish’s cousin, and she had heard tales of a laird feared amongst most of the highlanders for killin’ his father.
Hamish had once told her that tale.Ailith recalled he said the laird had eyes like the shade of leaves.She recalled the name Hamish had mentioned now, and her jaw dropped from her shock.
“Ye’re Finlay Douglas,” she said, her voice steady despite the tumult inside her.“Laird McMorran.”
The man’s expression changed subtly, the corner of his lips quirking upward into a smirk.“Aye, that I am.Me reputation always precedes me.”
Ailith felt a mix of wariness and curiosity as she continued, “I’ve heard tales… They say ye’re a cruel man and a rake.If half the rumors are to be believed, ye’re as dangerous as ye are charming.”
His laugh was low, a rich sound that filled the silence.“Rumors have a way of growing in the telling.Aye, ye’ve finally figured it out.I am indeed that same Finlay Douglas.”
She really was in the presence of a feared man.Here was a man cloaked in a shady reputation.Ailith frowned, trying to recall exactly what she’d heard about him.
Her mind was reeling as she tried to reconcile the man before her with the notorious tales that clung to his name.The mocking glint in Finn’s eyes seemed to challenge her, goading her into a confrontation she felt ill-prepared for.
“Ye really are nay better than yer cousin, then, if what is said about ye holds any truth,” she asserted, her voice strong despite her churning stomach.
The reaction from Finn was immediate and intense, a flash of something dark crossing his face before he masked it with cold composure.In a swift movement that caught Ailith completely off guard, he stepped closer, his hand reaching up to grasp her chin firmly.His touch was not painful, but it was commanding, forcing her to meet his eyes directly.
“Ye ken nothing about me,” Finn stated, his voice low and harsh.“Dinnae presume to judge me based on idle gossip and rumors whispered in dark corners.Did I nae say nae to compare me to Hamish?”
Their proximity was alarming, his face inches from hers, his grip insistent.Ailith’s heart pounded in her chest, her breath quickening.
Is it fear I’m feeling?
His eyes bored into hers, dark and intense, searching for something she wasn’t sure she could hide—her rising confusion, her fear, her unexpected attraction.
At that moment, the door to the chamber swung open with a force that startled Ailith.Hamish had stormed back into his chamber, his expression turning from surprise to dark amusement as he took in the scene before him.Finn and Ailith, so close, in such a private and compromising position.Ailith knew what it looked like.
“What have we here?”Hamish’s voice was laden with insinuation, his eyes flicking from Finn’s hand on Ailith’s chin to her flustered expression.“Am I interrupting something… intimate?”
Finn released her abruptly, stepping back as if suddenly aware of how this must look.Ailith, for her part, felt a flush rise in her cheeks, her heart racing for entirely new reasons now.She struggled to find words, to explain, but how could she?She wasn’t even sure that their interaction was completely innocent.
Hamish’s chuckle filled the room, a sound that sent shivers down her spine.The implications of this misunderstanding were dire, for her reputation and her future.For her father, most of all.
Her father, who had arranged all this to restore his image, to again become the respected Laird and not the fool who backed out of a duel.
Her mistake would be the final nail in his reputation’s coffin.
Ailith had been careless.Now, she was at the mercy of Hamish’s reaction and his next move.
