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Charlotte brightened and sat up straighter, happy at the prospect that he would send Liam, easy-going, like a puppy, Liam. He wouldn’t dare interfere with her methods. “Yes, that would be a lovely compromise.”
She watched with delight as Angus grimaced briefly before returning to his stoic expression once again. “Fine. But if I see that there are any more potential occurrences like the last one, I will write tae yer father myself and have him take ye back.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” she cried, standing up again, confident that someone couldn’t possibly go against her in this manner. It would be so ultimately interfering. It would be so very Angus. She knew he meant it.
He moved towards her, whispering harshly, “I would. ‘Tis my duty tae protect the clan and its guests. Julia is now my sister, and therefore my family. She desires yer protection and safety above any other.” Charlotte watched as his face moved closer to hers. She could see his warm brown eyes and noticed for the first time the flecks of honey-gold in them. Her breath caught in her chest as she took in his face.
Undeniably handsome.
The phrase produced itself in her mind as she watched, frozen for a moment. She thought about his image asking her to dance at a ball in London, but she couldn’t see it. He was not that type of man, the type she had always desired. She had always pictured herself with a clean-shaven man with a tall, imposing figure and a royal nose. It was what she was bred to desire. But, instead, she felt, deep in her gut, a desire growing for this man who was nearly like a beast, his muscled bulk so large, it was impressive.
He was awakening things in her she did not know that she possessed, and she longed once again to touch the rough skin of his chest like she did that day she’d first met him as she cleaned his wounds. She nearly held her hand out to do so; they were so close, but she refrained. She suddenly hated this feeling that he gave her. She felt so helpless against it, and she was not a woman who lost her head. She could not be.
If she did that, then she would lose everything. She had to follow the plan of marrying well. She made a face of frustration. She recoiled slightly and responded in anger, “But, Julia would never desire my confinement, Angus. Keep that in mind before you scold me next.” Angus did not respond. Taking the book and the letter, she fled the room, grateful to be out of his presence.
* * *
Angus did not understand what was going on with him. One minute he was bursting with anger; the next, he was filled with desire. Charlotte Andrews was playing him like a well-practiced game. He knew it, and yet he was falling for it. He remembered when she’d first arrived, how she’d burst into his life like a flame, and then she had begun to use all of the tricks a woman possessed.
He’d noticed, but he didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of knowing that he had. She was a proud woman, and he could tell that she was used to getting what she wanted. For some reason, he didn’t want to give in to her charms. But he knew that many a man had and would. Lord knows, he’d done so before and ended up looking like a bloody fool. He got out all the frustration of his desire of her by his anger and attempts to control. That, in a small way, got some of the heat out of him, without giving in to what he really wanted.
And what he had really wanted at that moment in the library before she’d walked away was to crush her form to his and kiss her with everything he had. She was so infuriating, but she was like having a whole bottle of whiskey; she so bewitched his senses.
He had to admit, he respected her. It was the same way he respected Julia, who had fought against his brother and pushed to do what she wanted to do and thought was right. Both women were extremely intelligent and trusted the workings of their minds. He couldn’t bear women who were only focused on their appearance or finding ways to trap unsuspecting men into marriage. Many of the clan women were like that. Perhaps that was why he had known Julia was for his brother the moment he met her.
But he had never desired Julia, whereas Charlotte was becoming more and more of a distraction. Clearly, other men thought so as well. His whole body tensed at the thought of that Campbell bastard trying to rape her. If he had been a few minutes too late, it would have been over and done with. Why could she not understand that she needed protection? He would have to impart to Liam the great importance of his task of protecting her.
But, he thought with slight distaste, Liam’s eyes were already turned by the lass, and he would be more than happy to accompany her all over the island. Charlotte would be happy at least one man was giving in to her charms and allowing her to walk all over them. Then, maybe she would stop looking at him as if he was the devil.
Well, Liam is welcome tae the angry, arrogant lass who thinks that she knows what is best. He is welcome to her diatribes, her words, the look of her lips as she purses them in anger, and the way her beautiful golden-red hair flies around her as she rides, and...
Angus cleared his throat and started to leave the library. This train of thought was getting him nowhere.
