Chapter 10
Aaron's chest tightened as her touch resonated throughout his being. It was as if she had touched every inch of his body all at once. He tried to keep his breath steady. If he was going to prove to her that she could trust him, he was going to have to ignore the yearn and lust festering within him.
"I daenae think that's such a good idea," he answered hoping his voice didn't break with frustration.
How he wanted to go against his better judgment and stay.
She was far too intoxicating to just walk away from, and now that he was in her chambers, seeing her so vulnerable, it would take God's hand to pull him away.
Yet, he had to if he was going to keep her innocence intact.
He would have to pry her hot little fingers from his wrist and step back.
"Please," she pleaded. Her voice bent, causing Aaron's heart to bend with pity. She batted her long eyelashes as the corners of her lips curled down. "I'm far too rattled to be alone right now."
"Then I'll fetch ye a servant to come and sit with ye," he suggested.
"And why won't you stay with me? Are you not to be my husband? Is it not your duty to comfort me in my time of need?"
"Aye, I'm to be yer husband, but need I remind ye, we're nae wed yet," he answered as her grip loosened. Her pout was tragic to witness as tears pooled in her eyes. Seeing her so distraught and on the verge of tears shattered his desires and wants. "And what of yer convictions, Me Lady?"
She looked up. Confusion flickered through her gaze as she tilted her head. "And what do you know about my convictions?"
"Did ye nae tell me that only a priest, a doctor, or yer husband could stay in yer chambers?" he arched his eyebrow, challenging her.
She shifted as her gaze steeled. "And here I thought you were to be my husband. Is that not why you've brought me here to Scotland?"
"Aye, but we've nae stood before God and country declarin' ourselves," he teased as the tension in his shoulders eased.
He only now realized just how tense his body was since saving her from the bandits.
It felt as if a great weight had dropped off him the moment he sat with her on the edge of the bed.
Izzy's eyes widened as she stared at him with the most befuddled expression on her face.
It was a mix of confusion and wonder sprinkled with a bit of realization and awe.
"Well, as your future bride, I'm asking you to grant me this concession."
"Ye ken ye're givin' the staff fodder for gossip."
"And here I thought you didn't care what people said about you. Are you not the same man that stormed into the Baron's birthday party claiming me as your bride? So, why should you care what your staff say?"
Aaron's eyes narrowed as he pursed his lips into a tight line. "There's a difference between carin' what the English think and what me own clan thinks. But nay matter which way ye look at it, the only person I care what they think of me is ye."
Izzy's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Why would you put so much stock in what I think about you?"
"Ye're to be me wife," Aaron answered. "I'd rather prefer ye to at least tolerate me. Of course, likin' is far better. But daenae think for a second I expect ye to fall in love with me. It took me parents a lifetime for such a notion. And even now, I wonder if they really truly did."
"That's so sad."
"Is it? And why is that? Are ye certain yer parents werenae thrown together in the same manner we have been?"
"For starters," Izzy said as she scooted to the edge of the bed. "My parents never received a decree to be forced to marry. They fell in love at first sight."
"Ye never took me for someone so naive. I thought ye'd have a better head on yer shoulders than to believe in such things."
Izzy dropped her hand and recoiled from Aaron. He noticed the ice in her glare. She turned her head to hide her lips quivering and the tears streaking down her cheeks. Aaron dropped his shoulders. Guilt raked against his back like a whip of cat tails.
"Izzy, I'm sorry, truly; I shouldnae have said ye were naive."
"Just go. It's what you wanted to do anyway." She pulled away from him, keeping her head turned from him. Frustration ran deep. Aaron flexed his jaw as he observed his no win situation. He knew leaving would only infuriate her further, but if he stayed, he'd face her ire.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Aaron shook his head. "I'll nae be manipulated. And I'm nae goin' to leave ye in the state ye're in."
"You don't care how I feel," she mumbled and raked the back of her hand across her nose. "So let's do ourselves both a favor here and stop pretending that you do."
"Pretend? Is that what ye really think I'm doin'?
Listen here," Aaron said, his anger brewing within him.
He'd gone through hell for her, and now, she was saying he didn't care?
"I understand ye think that I'm some monster.
Ye're nae the first, and ye willnae be the last. But all I've ever done since ye came here is keep ye safe.
So, when ye tell me that I daenae care about ye, ye, Me Lady, are sorely mistaken. "
Aaron didn't want to stay and argue. He'd heard enough. With a shake of his head, he turned for the door.
"Wait," Izzy said, her voice bending with guilt. "I'm sorry. I don't think you're a monster. If anyone has shown themselves to be one, it would be me. I've been nothing but rude, and… you're right. All you've ever shown me is kindness. It was wrong of me to say such a thing."
Pausing at the door, Aaron glanced over his shoulder. Izzy sprang to her feet and rushed to him. She stepped in front of the door with her head down and eyes on the floor.
"What I said before was uncalled for and rude. I shouldn't have said it. Please forgive me. I would say that my mother has worn off on me a bit, but the truth of the matter is, I'm the one who hasn't been very accommodating."
Aaron arched an eyebrow as he watched her start to fiddle with the tips of her fingernails. Remaining silent, he stepped back from the door and dropped his shoulders.
"Do ye ken how to play chess?"
"No, my father said chess was a man's game."
"Would ye care to learn?"
Izzy looked up at him through her long lashes.
The red in her eyes caused Aaron's chest to tighten.
He didn't like seeing her in such distress, but there was something stunning about her.
She had an allure about her that mesmerized Aaron.
Maybe it was the way her green eyes shown brighter against the red of her eyes.
Or perhaps seeing her so vulnerable and open with him after he'd been trying so hard to crack her hard shell.
"Not really," she answered. "My father's games would last hours. A battle of wits is what he'd say, and I don't have the patience at the moment. Do you know how to play thirty-one?"
"Aye. I may have played a time or two. Ye'll find the cards in the small drawer in the table.
" Aaron nudged his head to the small table next to the fireplace.
Izzy's eyes sparkled with excitement as she darted for the table.
Aaron moved swiftly to join her and took his place across from her at the table.
Izzy pulled the cards out and slipped into the chair across from him.
Her lips curled at the corners into a timid smile as she shuffled the deck.
"So," she said as she dealt the cards. The tension between them seemed to crackle like water in hot oil.
"Mmm," Aaron answered as he sorted his hand before settling in his seat. "Ye're up."
"I dealt; you're first."
Aaron made his play before shifting his attention to the way Izzy chewed her lower lip.
Despite the questions flickering through his head at breakneck speed, Aaron's gaze was on Izzy's bosom.
Her perfect breasts rose and fell with each ragged breath she took.
And within two rounds, Izzy dropped her cards on the table indicating her victory.
"Ha," she said. "Point to me."
"Aye, ye may have won this battle, but the war is far from over."
"Is that so? I hate to break it to you, Highlander, but I think you should give up now. The cards clearly favor me."
Aaron let out a little snort as he tried to mask the smile tugging at his mouth. Her smile radiated throughout the room, shattering the tension between them in an instant. Aaron collected the cards and dealt again. The hand was over before he even picked his cards up from the table.
"See?" Izzy said with an even lighter laugh than before. "What did I tell you?"
"Beginner's luck," Aaron counter as she grabbed the cards. "I doubt ye'd have the same sort of luck with a harder game."
"What exactly are you proposing?" Izzy asked as she tilted her head.
Her hair cascaded over her shoulder, hiding half her face.
Aaron reached across the table to brush it away.
Before he pulled away, Izzy grabbed him by the hand.
Her touch was warm and inviting. Aaron's breath hitched as Izzy drew his hand to her face.
She leaned her face into the palm of his hand.
All evidence of her crying had vanished, and still she looked as lovely as ever.
"Marriage," he whispered. "The proposal is for yer hand."
Rouge kissed her cheeks as her gaze shifted.
There came a spark in her gaze that kindle his longing.
Without another word, Izzy slipped from her seat and into Aaron's lap.
His body tensed. Whatever was going through her mind, Aaron wasn't going to stop it.
Every fiber of his being craved her attention, and now that he had it, there was no way he was going to ruin the moment.
"I know that we have to marry," she whispered in his ear. "And it doesn't scare me like it once did."
"It's amazin' what a course of a day can do," he answered back.
Izzy arched her eyebrow and curled her arms around his neck.
Aaron didn't have time to protest, nor would he.
He'd be insane to turn down such an enchanting and stunning woman.
Izzy's chest rose and fell as her lips inched closer to his.
Aaron didn't hesitate and seized the moment.
He crushed his lips to hers, curling his arms around her small frame.
Her body pressed against his as Izzy's fingers snared the hair at the nape of his neck.
There was a hunger to her kiss that made him want to pick her up and toss her to the bed.
With his needs and wants mixing and mingling into a wild fray of cardinal lusts, Aaron pulled away.
"If ye want me to ruin ye," Aaron mumbled, trying desperately to keep his wits about him when Izzy was making it impossible with her micro kisses on his neck, "keep at it."
"You wouldn't ruin me," she answered, her lips brushing ever so slightly over his earlobe.
"Oh, but I would," he said as he ran his fingers through her silky hair. He pulled in a long deep breath to steady himself as bending her over the table, throwing her skirts up, and claiming her became his only thought. "In ways that ye couldnae believe."
"And what would you do?" she asked in such a sultry voice that she was clearly pushing the boundaries of his resolve. "If you could do anything without remorse or consequence, what would you do?"
Aaron arched his eyebrow. "I'd have ye experience utter bliss. The kind that would make even God jealous for the things I'd get to come out of yer mouth. Would ye like me to show ye?"
Without waiting for her reply, Aaron's lips ran down the length of her neck as his hands roamed freely over her body. Her breast was firm in his hand. Izzy's hand rested on his and gave his hand a squeeze.
"I can't," she whimpered. "As much as I want to, we can't do it like this."
Frustration rumbled through him. He should have known better than to let it go so far between them, but the desire to have her want him was all consuming.
"Aye," he said as he dropped his eyes. "We should wait. But I need to go before ye make me lose me wits, and I end up…"
"What?" she asked as Aaron helped her off him. "What were you going to say?"
"It matters nae," he said despite the yearning in his loins. "All that matters to me is that ye at least ken somethin' about the man ye're about to marry come mornin'. Despite what ye may hear, remember what ye've seen today. That's all I'm askin' of ye."
"Morning?" Izzy gasped as Aaron stacked the cards. Her voice rattled with uncertainty. "So soon?"