Chapter 25 #2
Ian’s eyes drifted toward the scattered parchments before returning to her face. “Ye are,” he said slowly.
Her stomach tightened. Ian stepped farther into the room.
The space between them felt suddenly far too small.
Arianna resisted the urge to step back as he approached the table.
He placed his hand on her chin and lifted her gaze to him.
Arianna felt her knees go weak. His touch always did that to her, no matter her frustrations toward him.
“And what sort of readin' caught yer interest tonight, lass?” he asked.
Arianna stepped back from his grip. She could feel the blush rising in her cheeks, the heat taking hold of her. She lifted one of the books casually, pretending to study it. “Somethin' to pass the time.”
It pains me to lie to him, but what choice do I have in this moment?
Ian’s gaze moved over to the pages on the table.
“That,” he said dryly, “is a map of the western hills.”
Arianna’s pulse hammered violently. She laid the book back upon the table with deliberate calm.
“Is it? Those were there when I entered.”
Another lie. I daenae want a bond based on deceit, but he has done the same with the contract. I must think of me family at this time.
Ian studied her closely. His expression remained composed, yet suspicion flickered faintly behind his eyes. He leaned one hand against the edge of the table, effectively blocking her path away from it. He placed his hand on her waist and pulled her to him.
“What are ye doin'?” she gasped.
“Tell me truthfully, Arianna,” he said. “Why are ye here at this hour?”
The question struck like a blade. Her anger rose instantly to meet the desire twisting inside her chest. She could feel his hard chest against her bosom. She wanted nothing more than to lose herself to him in this moment.
I want him to kiss me… but I cannae stray from me mission. Not when I am so close.
“I was lookin' for something to read,” she said sharply. “Since ye have rendered me rather useless elsewhere in this castle.”
Ian’s jaw flinched. “Useless?” he repeated.
“Aye.” Her voice carried more bitterness than she intended. “I am a wife who cannae trust her own husband and a lady who is clearly unwelcome in council matters. That leaves precious little for me to occupy me time.”
Ian straightened slowly. “Ye think I’ve done this to spite ye?”
“I think ye’ve done many things without tellin' me the truth.”
His eyes darkened. “I told ye the truth.”
“And I told ye I didnae believe it,” she said.
Ian removed his hand from her waist. Arianna stepped back. She released a breath she didn’t know she held.
Silence fell heavily between them. The candlelight flickered against the stone walls as tension coiled thickly in the air. Ian paced a little, then stepped closer, his presence filling the space with quiet intensity.
“Ye avoid me for days,” he said quietly. “Then I find ye alone in the library in the middle of the night studyin' maps.”
Arianna forced herself to meet his gaze. “Books. I am reading books. Ye make it sound scandalous.”
“It feels suspicious,” he said.
Her breath caught. “Must everythin' I do now be questioned? Ye are the one that held a secret from me, nae I.”
Ian leaned slightly closer, lowering his voice. “When me wife behaves like a stranger in our own home… aye, I will have questions.”
The closeness of him unsettled her more than she wished to admit. Heat radiated from his body, stirring memories of the quiet moments they had once shared before distrust poisoned everything between them.
Arianna hated that part of her still noticed.
“Perhaps if me husband had been honest from the beginnin',” she said quietly, “I wouldnae feel like a stranger.”
Ian exhaled slowly. “I was honest.”
“A convenient honesty,” she said, stepping closer.
His eyes flashed. “I’ve fought battles for this clan since I was a lad,” he said firmly. “I’ve defended these lands with blood and steel. Yet somehow ye believe I’d stoop to trickery to gain a few fields from yer brother.”
“Perhaps nae fields,” Arianna replied softly. “But power.”
The words lingered heavily between them.
“Ye truly believe that of me?” Ian's voice was lower.
Arianna did not answer. Her silence spoke loudly enough. Ian’s hand tightened against the table.
“God’s bones,” he muttered. He turned away briefly, dragging a frustrated hand through his hair. When he faced her again, the anger in his eyes had been joined by something deeper.
He seems wounded. Is it true or a lie?
“I thought ye knew me better than that,” he said quietly.
The words struck harder than any shouted accusation. Arianna felt the painful pull of doubt twist again in her chest. For one fragile moment, she almost spoke the truth about her fears. Almost.
But the memory of the council chamber returned like cold water. The sealed agreement. The whisper that the truth must remain hidden. She could not risk trusting him again. Not yet.
“I ken what I heard,” she said firmly.
Ian studied her face for a long moment before shaking his head. “And ye’d rather cling to suspicion than listen to the man standin' before ye.”
Arianna lifted her chin stubbornly. “I would rather protect me family.”
The words landed like a challenge. Ian’s expression hardened once more.
“Then I suppose there is nothin' left to say tonight.”
He stepped away from the table, giving her space at last. Arianna forced her hands to remain steady, though her heart still pounded violently in her chest. If he had arrived only moments earlier, he might have seen her searching far more carefully through those maps.
The thought made her stomach tighten. Ian paused near the door and glanced back at her.
“If ye truly seek somethin' to read,” he said coolly, “I’m certain the shelves hold better choices than dusty maps.”
Without waiting for her reply, he opened the door and stepped into the corridor.
The library fell silent once again. Arianna stood motionless for several long seconds before releasing the breath she had been holding.
Slowly, she turned back toward the table and stared down at the scattered parchments.
Me secret remains safe, for now. But the danger of being found out has never felt so close… and so hurtful. I wished I could believe him, but I am too scared to risk such a thing.