Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Claricia paced her chambers like a caged animal, fury and confusion warring in her chest. The nerve of him. The absolute gall. Grabbing her from the shadows, hauling her through the castle like a sack of grain, ordering her about as if she had no will of her own.
And yet there’d been something beneath his anger. Something that looked almost like fear.
The wedding was tomorrow. Tomorrow she’d stand before witnesses and bind herself to the Wolf of Skye. To the man who’d killed her brother. To the savage who grabbed her from dark corridors and made her heart race with equal parts terror and… something she refused to name.
A knock at the door made her jump.
“Who is it?”
“Open the door, Claricia.” Erik’s voice came through the door, rough and low.
She should refuse. Should tell him to go away and take his commands with him. Instead, she found herself crossing the room, turning the lock, pulling the door open.
He stood in the corridor, torchlight playing across his features. He’d changed his tunic, she noticed. And his hands were damp, as if he’d just washed them.
“What dae ye want?” She kept her voice cold, proud.
“Tae apologize.” The words came grudgingly, but they came. “I shouldnae have grabbed ye like that. Shouldnae have… frightened ye.”
Claricia blinked.
An apology? From Erik Thorsen?
She hadn’t thought him capable of it.
“Ye didnae frighten me,” she lied.
“Aye, I did.” He stepped closer, and she was suddenly aware of how small the doorway felt with his body filling it. “I saw it in yer eyes. And I’m… sorry. Fer that.”
The apology should have mollified her. Should have made her feel vindicated, victorious. Instead, it only confused her further. “Why?” The question slipped out before she could stop it. “Why are ye so angry about the North Wing? What are ye hidin’ there?”
His expression shuttered immediately. “That’s nae yer concern.”
“I’m tae be yer wife tomorrow.” She threw his own words back at him. “Doasnae that make everythin’ here me concern?”
“Some things are mine alone, Claricia. And ye need tae respect that.”
“Or what?”
“Or…” He trailed off, his gaze dropping to her mouth. The air between them suddenly felt charged, dangerous. “Or ye’ll make me forget tae be a gentleman.”
Heat flooded through her at the seductive promise in his voice. This was dangerous territory. She should step back, put distance between them. Should remember that he was her enemy, her brother’s killer.
Erik moved forward, backing her into the room. The door closed behind him with a soft click that sounded deafening in the sudden silence.
“What are ye daein’?” Her voice came out breathier than she intended.
“I dinnae ken.” He kept moving, slow and deliberate, until her back hit the wall and there was nowhere left to retreat. “I came tae apologize. Tae make sure ye were safe. But now I’m here, and ye’re lookin’ at me like that, and I—”
“Like what?”
“Like ye dinnae ken whether ye want tae slap me or kiss me.”
The brutal honesty stole her breath.
“I dinnae want tae kiss ye,” she managed. “Ever.”
“Liar.” His hand came up, fingers ghosting along her jaw with devastating gentleness. “Yer heart’s racin’. I can see yer pulse right here…” His thumb brushed the base of her throat, “…beatin’ like a trapped bird fer me.”
“’Tis because I’m angry at ye.”
“Aye.” His voice dropped lower, rougher. “So am I. Furious, actually. But that’s nae what’s makin’ yer breath come fast. That’s nae what’s got ye pressin’ against the wall like ye’re tryin’ tae melt intae it, is it?”
Claricia’s hands came up, flattening against his chest. She told herself it was to push him away. But her fingers curled into his tunic instead, holding him there.
“Tomorrow,” Erik whispered, his face so close she could feel his breath against her lips. “Tomorrow ye’ll be mine. But taenight...”
“Taenight what?”
“Tonight, I should leave.” But he didn’t move. Didn’t step back. His eyes were locked on her mouth with an intensity that made her knees weak. “Before I dae somethin’ we’ll both regret.”
The words hung between them, a dare and a plea all at once. Claricia’s heart hammered against her ribs. This was madness. Tomorrow they’d be bound by duty, by crown, by contract.
But taenight… taenight we’re still enemies… Still strangers. Still…
Erik’s mouth was a breath away from hers when footsteps echoed in the corridor outside.
He pulled back immediately, the spell shattering. His expression went carefully blank, though his chest rose and fell like he’d been running.
“Lock the door after me,” he said roughly. “Dinnae open it fer anyone. Understood?”
She nodded, not trusting her voice.
He crossed to the door in three long strides, yanked it open, then paused. “The wedding’s at midday tomorrow. Liv will come tae help ye dress.”
“Erik—”
But he was gone before she could finish, the door closing behind him with finality.
Claricia stood frozen for a long moment, her hand pressed to her thundering heart. Then, with shaking fingers, she moved to the door and turned the lock.
The sound echoed in the empty chamber, somehow final and irrevocable.
She leaned her forehead against the wood, trying to catch her breath, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Erik had been furious when he’d found her in the North Wing. Furious and… afraid? The way he’d grabbed her, the panic beneath his anger—it hadn’t felt like rage at being disobeyed.
No, this had felt like terror at finding her in danger.
What are ye hidin’, Erik Thorsen? And why daes it scare ye so much that I might discover it?
Whatever secrets the North Wing held, whatever threats lurked in the shadows of this castle—Erik wasn’t trying to keep her out to exert control.
He was trying to keep her safe.
And tomorrow, she would become his wife.
Claricia pressed a hand to her lips, still able to feel the ghost of his almost-kiss. Her pulse raced. Her skin felt too hot, too tight.
Tomorrow everything would change. But tonight, locked safely in her chambers with her heart still pounding and her lips still tingling from what hadn’t quite happened—Claricia finally understood.
She wasn’t afraid of Erik Thorsen. She was afraid of how much she wanted him.
And that terrified her far more than any secret locked away in the North Wing ever could.