His expression didn’t exactly change at the sight of her, but something in his eyes did. The warmth that bloomed in them as he looked at her eased the tension in her shoulders. It made it easier to ignore all the stares and the whispers as she made her way to the high table and curtsied to him.
Kaden gestured to the seat beside him, and she slowly walked around the table so that she could take it.
It was the first time they were truly going to be seen as a couple. She had to make it count.
How exactly was Kaden meant to focus in a room full of people when his betrothed looked likethat?
Emily was a vision.
So much so that he was sorely tempted to tear out the eyes of anyone who was presently looking at her in the way he was. He wanted to march across the hall and throw her over his shoulder, carry her away so that no one else might enjoy the sight of her but himself.
And now he was going to have to sit beside her as if his mind was not running wild with all the things that he wished she would ask of him.
One word, and he would happily clear out the entire hall. Supper be damned.
He could feel the warmth of her.
He reached for his wine and took a long sip to steady himself. He knew that he ought to strike up a conversation with her, but his mouth was oddly dry, and it was impossible to think when he kept stealing glances at her out of the corner of his eye.
He didn’t wish to appear too eager. But even the way her chest rose and fell with each breath, her soft skin, the pretty plum shade of the dress that she had chosen for the evening…
People spoke to him, and he knew that he remained rudely stoic during most of the conversations that his sisters and clansmen attempted to pull him into.
But he did not much care either way. He wished that it were the two of them alone, as she was the only one he really wanted to speak with.
By the end of dinner, Emily had most of them eating out of the palm of her hand.
It was easier when the years of training finally kicked in, and she remembered that she was charming. Well, if she was beinghonest with herself, it was easier to be that version of herself when she pretended that Kaden didn’t exist.
She had no choice but to tune him out entirely. The hunger in his eyes had absolutely nothing to do with food, and she knew it.
As the hall started to empty, Kaden lingered in his chair. One by one, the clansfolk bid them goodnight, and soon the servants started to clear the tables and leftover food to go to the livestock and repurpose everything else that they could.
Emily thought that she ought to excuse herself, but when she tried to leave, Kaden’s hand clamped around hers.
Her skin prickled even from the slight touch. She needed to calm herself. Honestly, she was going to make a fool of herself.
When the two of them were finally left alone, he withdrew his hand slowly.
“Did ye need something, me Laird?”
Silence stretched out as Kaden very obviously struggled to come up with a reason for keeping her there. When he spoke, the words were poorly chosen, but she couldn’t help but indulge him.
“Did ye enjoy the tour of the grounds?”
“Aye, me Laird.” Emily pressed her lips together to keep herself from giggling.
“Are ye in need of anything else?”
Emily shook her head. “Nay, everyone has been more than accommodating.”
“So ye think that ye will be able to keep up yer end of the bargain?”
Emily couldn’t help herself; she laughed. “Is that really what ye wish to say to me?”
Kaden tilted his head toward hers, but he didn’t move otherwise. “And what else am I supposed to say to ye, exactly?”
“Hm. Well, it seemed as if ye were itching to tell me how bonnie ye found me,” she teased, watching a flush creep up the sides of his neck all the way to his ears. “Oh, come now, me Laird?—”
