Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
The cool night air did nothing to quell Theo’s ire. He paced the length of the balcony, debating how to handle his wife.
It was one thing to have people shy away from him because of his parents, but to be labeled a murderer? It was as if she had plunged a dagger straight into his chest and twisted it.
“Go back inside,” he barked when he heard the soft moan of the balcony door.
He was in no mood to be bothered. His wife had already done enough damage.
The door clicked shut behind him, but the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. He wasn’t alone. Her presence lingered like a storm cloud, heavy with rain.
“Nae until ye tell me what the blue room is,” Lavina said flatly.
She stepped into the moonlight, her arms folded over her chest, blocking the way to their chambers.
Theo arched an eyebrow, fighting the admiration that stirred within him. It took guts to stand up to him, especially now.
He let the silence hang between them until a clap of thunder cracked the sky. Lavina flinched, panic flashing in her eyes. For a moment, it wasn’t he who held her attention—it was the storm brewing behind them.
“’Tis me old room,” he finally answered, his voice low. “I had yer sister taken to me childhood chambers. Ye’ll also find Amber’s room next to it. I thought she’d like it better than the guest room.” He paused. “But if ye want me to move yer sister outside the keep—”
“Nay,” Lavina cut him off quickly. She refused to look at him.
Theo kept his gaze on the moon as it played peekaboo with the clouds. He didn’t trust himself to steal a glimpse at her, too afraid her beauty might cool his anger.
A heavy hush lingered between them like tar, thick and clingy, refusing to let go.
Dropping his shoulders, he let out a long breath.
“Yer sister will be safe,” he assured, his voice softer now. “As will ye. I suggest ye go to bed… before ye tempt me to turn around. And if I do, I may nae have control over what happens next.”
“Ye should ken,” Lavina said, her voice steady, “that I’d do anything for me sister.”
“Clearly,” Theo huffed, shaking his head. “But I have to admire yer gumption. Yer courage.” His eyes met hers. “If it comes down to it, where ye have to pick between—”
“I’d pick her every time, nay hesitation,” Lavina answered, rolling her shoulders back, looking as fierce as ever.
There was that spark of boldness that ignited his longing, his desires. It was as if his wife could read him so well and already knew which button to press.
“Well, at least ye’re bein’ honest. Cannae fault ye for doin’ that. But ye, dear wife, should ken something as well…”
Theo turned. His breath caught in his throat as her beauty stunned him.
How could someone be so beautiful? It was as if she were an angel come down from heaven to grace him with her presence.
She stood under the silvery kiss of the moonlight, looking celestial, magnificent. She drew him in like fire to wood. He wanted to consume her, devour every inch of her. It took every ounce of his strength not to hoist her over his shoulder again and carry her back to their bed.
Images of her tangled in his thick sheets flashed through his mind, thrilling him. The fantasy stirred his desires until he ached with restraint.
This was torture.
She was his wife—by all rights, he could do with her as he pleased. Yet he stood still, fighting against the darker temptations festering within.
“I should ken what?” Lavina asked, her voice barely a whisper as her eyes held his.
“I will always pick ye,” Theo replied. “I promised to ensure that ye had nothing to worry about. I’ve given ye a roof over yer head, food in yer belly…” He paused, his eyes narrowing. “And if I give in to yer whims—”
“I dinnae recall mentioning an ‘if,’” Lavina snapped.
Theo leaned against the railing, folding his arms across his chest. His eyes bored into hers, cool and unflinching, and she shuffled her feet.
“It would be nice,” he said dryly, “if me wife would touch me once in a while. Ye may think I’m a monster, Lavina, but even monsters have needs.”
She recoiled. Not at the words, but at the truth in them.
It wasn’t her retreat that stung him most; it was the raw, startled look on her face, as if she hadn’t expected honesty.
He dropped his arms and pushed off the railing. Without another word, he turned and strode toward the door.
The mood—whatever fragile tension had hung between them—vanished like smoke in the wind.
“And where are ye goin’?” Lavina asked, her voice strained.
“Nowhere. Ye’re leavin’.” Theo held the door open behind him. “I doubt ye’ve spent a single night outside. Yer nails are too polished. They give ye away. Now, it’s been a long day, and I’m only human. Ye stay any longer, and there’s nay tellin’ what I’ll do to ye.”
He glanced back, his face hard.
“Now, go, before I change me mind and lock ye out here. I doubt ye’ll be too keen in the next few minutes… when that storm rolls through.”
Lavina’s eyes widened. “Ye wouldnae dare.”
Theo’s grin was cold as he looked up at the heavy clouds gathering overhead. Thunder rolled again, low and menacing.
“Are ye sure ye want to test me?”
He watched as his wife stubbornly crossed her arms over her chest, before another clap of thunder shattered the air.
“Fine!” she spat, hurrying back into the room.
The moment she crossed the threshold, Theo slammed the door shut.
Frustration mingled with longing inside him like oil and flame. How he wanted to be a brute—to force her to see him, to respect him. To bend her over the bed and pound sense into her until her gasps turned into cries of pleasure.
The desire was sharp, dangerous, and intoxicating. There was no doubt in his mind about how to handle her. She only needed to be shown.
He dragged a hand down his face as the first drops of rain pelted his skin. He shook his head.
Nay. Nae like this.
Lifting his eyes to the sky, he pulled his collar up and searched for the driest place on the balcony to settle. He’d rather brave the storm than sleep under the same roof as someone who thought him a murderer.
The thought made his jaw tighten.
It was strange the way Lavina could stir both pleasure and pain inside him with such ease. She was a temptress through and through. And she would never see him as someone worthy of respect.
If that was the case, he’d have to find a way to live with it.
A clap of thunder rolled overhead and reverberated through his bones.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Lavina peeking through the narrow crack in the balcony door before she quickly pulled it back.
“Come inside,” she called. Her voice drifted on the breeze like a secret.
“Nay, thank ye,” he muttered, nestling himself deeper into his chosen spot.
He had found a cozy little nook beside the railing. In the morning light, it was hardly more than a sliver of space, but it was just enough to keep the worst of the rain from pelting his head.
“Ye cannae stay out here in the rain,” Lavina protested.
Theo shook his head and folded his arms above his head like a makeshift roof. “Nay, thank ye. If it pleases ye, I’d rather be comfortable. Besides…” His voice hardened. “I’d rather be soaked to the bone under the clouds than spend one night in a room with an accuser.”
“Accuser?” Lavina snapped, as if she were the one who had been insulted.
She pursed her lips, her temper flaring, and slammed the door shut once more.
But within seconds, it swung open again.
“Are ye seriously callin’ me a liar here?”
“Well, a bee to a bonnet, lass. I’m sure the whole keep heard what ye said to me,” Theo shot back, his voice rising with frustration. “And now I’m goin’ to have to appease the council in the morning. If only ye’d just stay put…”
He dropped his arms and leaned back against the wall as the night’s events played in his mind. Lightning forked across the sky, illuminating the rolling hills in stark flashes. Rain lashed the window panes, the sound a dull roar that filled the silence.
His frustration reignited the moment his gaze fell on her again. How could she just stand there, looking the way she did—irresistible and infuriating—and not know what she was doing to him?
It wasn’t just her face or her presence. It was her scent—lavender and wildflowers, mingled with the earthiness of rain. It clung to her like a second skin and left him dizzy. Foggy. Like he’d spent the entire night drinking something far stronger than ale.
The consequences of entering that chamber now, of being alone with her, would be devastating.
He could barely contain himself as it was. If he went in there, he’d bed her within the hour. He was certain of it.
The thought sent a fresh wave of longing through him.
Lavina’s cheeks flushed red as she stepped back from the door. “And here I was,” she huffed, “feelin’ sorry for ye—havin’ to stay out in this foul weather. But ye ken what? Fine. Go on and get soaked to the bone.”
“I dinnae care. Let the storm come. I’ll nae be called a liar.”
She continued muttering under her breath as she closed the doors on him once more.
Theo glared at the barrier separating him from the warmth of his chambers. From her. If he wasn’t already stewing in desire, he might’ve been furious about being locked out. But the truth was, the rain was soothing. Cooling the fire raging within him.
That door? It was nothing. He could barge through it if he wanted to.
But he didn’t.
He needed the space. The fresh air. The wide open dark to clear his mind.
“Get married, they said,” he gritted out. “The lass needs a maither figure, they said.”
He scoffed bitterly. A horse would’ve made for better company.
“Would’ve been better nae to have married at all.”
Rain poured from the sky in sheets. He pulled up his collar against the cold, trying to preserve what little warmth he had left. He glared at the door, shaking his head slowly as his mind spiraled back to that fateful decision.
“Good Lord,” he murmured to the night. “What have I gotten meself into this time?”