Chapter 10
Whatever Kaden had expected her to state as her condition, that wasn’t one of them.
That mongrel in her arms was coming nowhere near him.
His mother had protested when he had forced all the dogs out of the keep when he had returned. It wasn’t their fault, and he knew that. He had tried to explain it, tried to be kind, but if they hadn’t gotten rid of them, he was going to set them loose in the forest, or worse.
They weren’t something that he could look at ever again.
He had absolutely no desire to ever be around another dog in his life.
He couldn’t have them for hunting, no matter how helpful the others had been.
He couldn’t look at one without the vivid memory of feeling sharp teeth digging into his flesh, snarling and frothing at the mouth.
The barking that would keep him up all night until he was delusional and then some.
Even the puppy. It was nothing like the other dogs, the hounds that had snapped and torn at him. This one was small, couldn’t even wrap her mouth around his entire pinky, but it was all the same. It didn’t make sense, but even the little pup in Emily’s arms was making his skin crawl.
His hand dropped to his thigh, pressing and rubbing at the scarred, torn tissue.
“I wouldnae ever force ye to do something that ye daenae want to do,” he said, addressing both Emily and the puppy in her arms. “We will have to produce an heir sooner or later, that’s the whole point.”
Emily’s face flushed red at the insinuation, and she looked down at the reins in her hand. She wrapped them tightly around her palm and nodded. “Of course, I understand. I wouldnae… deny ye.”
Though he could tell that the notion made her deeply uncomfortable, he was going to go by her reactions.
“But nae before the year has passed,” she repeated.
He wanted to ask her why a year? What was so important about that span of time that she was insisting upon?
Curiosity got the better of him, and he couldn’t stop himself from asking.
Emily’s blush deepened. “That’s how long I need.”
“For what?”
Was she being vague on purpose? He couldn’t imagine a single reason why she might do that. Did she think that she needed a year to make him fall in love with her? To spend with a lover that he didn’t think she had?
If that was what she was hoping for, she would be disappointed. He might like her, might even grow to be fond of her, but he had his own missions to accomplish. It suited him far better than it would suit her if they were allowed to live separate lives.
He would need to keep traveling a great deal. He would keep conquering, keep going to battle as many times as he needed until he found the man he had vowed to get revenge upon. He didn’t have time for something as frivolous as love.
“If ye are hoping for certain… affections to grow between us…”
Emily’s eyes rolled theatrically. “Give me a break. Nae everything revolves around ye! Women do have other things to think about, whether or nae a man loves them.”
“Then what is it?” Kaden probed.
Emily shifted in her saddle, looking at the trail ahead of them, and shrugged one shoulder. “I have something to finish first. That’s all.”
“Ye are making me curious on purpose,” Kaden stated, waiting to be proven wrong.
Emily shook her head. “Nay, it’s just that it’s a personal matter. If we are to live wholly separate lives, I daenae see why I should have to tell ye anything about me personal affairs.”
“Ye are the most intriguing lass that I have ever encountered.” Kaden heaved a sigh.
“And I take it that ye have spent a lot of time conversing with ladies? I would imagine so.”
Aside from his sisters? No, he supposed that he was right about that part. He hadn’t spent much time with more than a handful of women in his life, in or outside the bedroom. Though it was good to know that she thought so little of him.
“Agree to me conditions, or we daenae have a deal,” Emily repeated. “And I might decide to tell ye a little bit about me dream.”
There was no denying that he was more than a little curious.
“Fine, I willnae touch ye unless ye ask me to.”
Emily scoffed. Clearly, she didn’t believe him.
“I willnae,” Kaden insisted. He started to lean closer to her, but with that thing in her arms, he couldn’t do it.
“Unless ye are saying that all men are just beasts with nay ability to control themselves? For a lass who doesnae want to be stereotyped…” he trailed off, relishing the flash of indignation across her face.
“I willnae be asking ye anything of the sort!” she huffed.
He could get addicted to the way her skin flushed so prettily.
“We shall see about that.”
Stubbornly, Emily stuck out her hand in his direction to shake, as if that was the only way she could think of to seal the deal, but he saw her eyes stray to his lips.
“Unless ye want a kiss for it?” Kaden reached out his hand to hers, just teasing her with his words.
She huffed. “Incorrigible!”
He shrugged. “Perhaps I am.”
Emily grabbed his hand and shook it a touch too firmly to prove her point. Then she spurred her horse faster, taking off down the trail and very easily leaving him behind.
Kaden chuckled to himself.
Just what am I getting meself into?
He couldn’t believe that he had just agreed to do what he had never planned on doing: seducing his own bride!
Yet, when she was around, it was almost simple, like the time before his captivity. Speaking with her made it feel like the past years had never happened. But of course they had, and he needed to stay focused as she did.
If nothing else, now his council and his mother and sisters were going to leave him alone. They could stop bothering him about everything. It was over and done with. They didn’t need to know anything more about him and Emily’s arrangement, aside from the fact that he had found a woman to marry him.
His end of the bargain was fulfilled, and in a year or so’s time, they would have a bairn, and nobody would be able to say anything to him anymore.
When Kaden exited the forest, Emily was nowhere to be seen. Though her father was still standing there, waiting for him with Peter.
As soon as Kaden stopped his horse and dismounted, the older man invaded his personal space.
“Well? What happened? Who won?” Hamish asked, curling his fingers around the reins as they were thrust into his hand.
“I will have me carriage sent here within the week to collect Emily’s things for the wedding.
I shall have me maither and sisters make all of the arrangements to host the event on me lands,” Kaden informed him, and even Peter seemed surprised by the outcome of the race. “We will get married next week.”