Page 14 of The Dragon Laird’s Obsession

“Ye should check on her and make sure she is all right,” Marion continued, urging him.

His jaw tightened as he finally rose, knowing he could not escape this. Then he pushed back from his chair and headed out of the hall without a backward glance.

The passage beyond the hall was cooler, lit by torches that smoked against the stone. As he walked, the noise of supper faded behind him, replaced by the deeper sounds of the keep. Boots overhead and a laugh from the kitchens. He descended the side stair, and with each step, displeasure sharpened in him though he could not tell whether it was aimed at her or himself.

I cannae decide what to do with her.

Ailis was clearly defiant, and he did not know whether to admire it or ignore it.

He finally stopped outside her door and noticed a light glowing beneath it. Gordon heard movement inside… soft movement like the scrape of wood and the rustle of fabric.

Then he knocked hard and waited. A second later, the door opened, and a maid curtsied by the threshold.

“Me Laird… we were nae expectin’ ye,” she rambled, her eyes wide and face ashen like she had seen a ghost.

Gordon ignored her and looked past the doorway inside the chamber.

“Where is Miss Ailis?”

He heard whistling from inside as Jane, the maid, stepped aside to let him into the chamber. The chamber did not look like it had when he first showed it to her.

Fresh rushes had been laid around the room, and a small bundle of heather sat in a clay cup on the table. Someone had filled the pitcher and set a basin beside it. A bright blue cloak hung against the dull stone wall, and two candles burned near the bed, their small gold light softening the low beams overhead.

Ailis stood near the table, holding a length of embroidered cloth, frowning down at it as if deciding whether the miserable thing deserved to live.

She looked up, and Gordon forgot, for a breath, why he had come. Her hair had loosened, and the soft brown strands fell near her cheek and along her neck, catching the candlelight in threads of gold. She had taken off her traveling cloak, but she was not dressed for supper. Her gown was plain, deep-green wool, fitted close enough at the bodice to make him aware of the line of her waist before he forced his gaze back to her face.

Too late.

Her lips parted before he could look away, and heaven help him, those lips. They looked full and soft, still faintly pink from where she had likely bitten them in thought. Staring at them left him with another surge of heat. This one stirred fierce and hot, burning through him like whisky down an empty throat.

He set his jaw, but the damage was done. The image of her lips stayed in his mind, and the frightening ease of the warmth that broke through him was all he could dwell on.

“Me Laird,” Ailis greeted and curtsied, dismissed the maid with a nod, and moved away from where she stood to come closer to him. “What brings ye here?”

Her eyes danced. He knew she asked the question to taunt him.

“I was explicit that ye ought join us for supper on time. Me aunt has been expectin’ ye.”

Ailis tilted her head. “Is that why ye have come here?” When Gordon said nothing, she immediately added. “Because I fear ye have wasted yer time, Me Laird. I daenae wish to dine tonight.”

“Is it that ye daenae wish to eat, or do ye simply mean to defy me?”

A rough chuckle escaped Ailis at that. “Defy ye? Why would I do that?”

That teasing in her tone made his face tighten into an even deeper scowl.

“We eat supper together in this keep,” he said, gesturing with a hand and stepping closer to her.

“And if I daenae wish to, will ye drag me down there and force me?”

Her eyes held his steady as her chin hiked a notch higher. Gordon suspected she enjoyed watching out for his reaction.

And I willnae give her the satisfaction.

“I willnae force ye,” he answered, and this time when he gestured, his hand brushed against her skirts and toyed with the soft fabric.

Her gaze dropped down to his fingers grazing gently over the embroidered garment, and he quickly withdrew when he realized how long she stared at the hand.