“I appreciate yer willingness to judge my character for yerself,” he said, meaning it.
Her gaze meandered slowly down him, and he got the feeling again that there was more to Kinsey Kincaide than she was revealing. She brought her eyes to his. “I ask that ye do the same for me.”
It felt as if she somehow knew he’d had an almost immediate wariness of her. He didn’t like being read; he preferred to be the one doing the reading. “Of course,” he replied. “I dunnae ever decide upon a person’s character without learning them.”
This time, a look came to her eyes that he did recognize: desire. It was gone so fast, he could almost believe he’d imagined it, except her hand, still curled on his bicep, now gripped him tighter. He knew many married men took lemans, but he wanted no part of that. If he’d been certain that was what she was thinking, he would have made it clear right then that it was not something that would ever happen, yet he was not sure so he kept his silence.
Instead, he stood abruptly to put distance between them and to find Patience, who should have already appeared for dinner. The door swung open, and as if conjured by his thoughts, his bride stood on the threshold dressed in—He blinked, and then his lips parted in shock. His new ghost-talking, supposedly cracked wife was dressed in her very transparent léine with her hair unbound and her feet bare. Positioned strategically across her chest was a Blackswell plaid, tied in the strangest knot he’d ever seen. Lust mingled with humor. He was hard as a stone and grinning, he was certain, like a fool. The effort she’d gone to in order to continue her ruse of being mad was quite impressive, except a person truly not in touch with the real world would not have given a damn if her breasts could be seen underneath the thin material of her léine.
He swept his gaze lower and he groaned. The outline of her slender legs was just as clear as her breasts, and an image of those legs wrapped around him as he took her filled his head. And if that image was filling his head, what was in the thoughts of the other men in this room? A primal possession gripped him and sent him flying down the stairs and striding down the center of the great hall toward Patience. But as he stalked toward her and he noted all the lust-filled gazes of both the Blackswell and Kincaide warriors clinging to his new wife’s sin-evoking body, irritation gave way to anger.
He jerked to a halt in front of Ulric Kincaide, who had been captain of the Kincaide guards and looked to be undressing Patience with his eyes. Brodee reached out and yanked the man toward him. “If ye wish to live, ye will quit gaping at my wife as if she is a morsel ye intend to eat.”
The man’s eyes widened in surprise. “Are we to respect her, then?”
“Are ye to respect her?” Brodee repeated, frowning. The implication that this man, who should have given his life to protect her, may not have even given her the respect she deserved had him curling his hands into fists. And he sent his fists right into the man’s nose. Bone crunched, which was satisfying, but not satisfying enough. He aimed another punch straight into the man’s stomach, and the Kincaide warrior fell to his knees.
“What are ye doing?” Patience cried out from beside him.
He flicked his gaze to her, noting her bloodless lips and colorless face. “What a husband should—protecting his wife.” He kneeled down as the man swiped a hand across his bloody nose and looked at him. The great hall was once again silent as Brodee brought his face a hairsbreadth from the warrior’s. “Ye will nae want to see how angry I become if ye ever fail to show my wife respect again. Do ye ken me?”
The man nodded, his angry gaze locking with Brodee’s. “I ken ye,laird.”
It was obvious the man was not pleased to have Brodee as his new laird, but he’d be a lot less pleased in a breath. “Hear me now,” he said to the people gathered in the great hall, as well as Ulric. “Whatever positions ye held in the previous guard, ye dunnae hold them any longer.”
Angry words filled the great hall, but Brodee held up his hands for silence. He’d been thinking about how to appoint the warriors to different leadership positions, and he thought he knew the best way to be fair. “In a fortnight, we will have a small, informal tourney amongst ourselves. Any man who wishes for a leadership position in my guard may compete. Until then, ye will all train with me. We will train upon the rocks by the shore after the nooning meal and finish before supper every day.”
Brodee met Ulric’s gaze as the man stood, then refocused on the men in the great hall. “I am the only leader of ye men now, and the only way to earn and keep a position in my guard is to be the best at what ye do and to give respect to yer comrades, to me, and to the women.” Brodee turned his head and bore his gaze into Ulric. “Disrespect will nae be tolerated from this moment forward.” He shoved his finger into Ulric’s chest, even as the man openly glared at him. “Consider this a warning—and the only second chance I will ever give ye.”
The man jerked his head in a nod.
Brodee turned to Patience, and took her by the elbow, careful not to hold her too tightly. “Come with me.”
“Why?” she asked. “I only just arrived.”
He clenched his teeth. He would not chastise her in front of the others for questioning him. He did not want to embarrass her. He leaned close and whispered in her ear. “Ye will come with me because I told ye to do so.”
Her head turned toward him, so close that their lips almost brushed. She let out a little gasp, and damned if his lust did not grow even stronger. When she licked her rosy lips, it was all he could do not to press his mouth to hers and taste her once more. Her upper teeth sunk into her lower lip for a moment, and then she whispered, “And do I, too, nae wish to see how angry ye can become?” She lifted her chin in an impressive show of defiance, but the wobble in her voice revealed her uncertainty about doing so.
He sighed. He was caught in a trap. If he told her she did not need to be afraid of him, even if she defied him, then perhaps she’d do just that. He could not have her refusing to obey his orders. “I suppose ye dunnae, but nae because I would ever hurt ye.” The disbelief was apparent on her face. “I vow it to ye,” he added.
She blew out a long breath, her mouth quirking.As if I have a choice.
“There is always a choice, Patience.” Before she could respond, he turned her toward the door, glad she let him, and guided her out of the great hall. When the door closed behind them, the noise resumed almost instantaneously.
Anger and confusion swirled within him as he faced her and raked his gaze over her thin léine and his clan’s plaid.
Mine.The word rang in his head.
He had not wanted a wife, but now he had one. And she was interesting. And tempting. He suspected there was a great deal to this woman that she was trying to hide. He’d planned not to get involved with her. He nearly laughed at that as he drew his gaze back up to her face and to her eyes, dark, unfathomable, and locked on him.
Impossible. It would be impossible not to be entangled with her somewhat. He’d been a fool. She was his to protect. The surety of that thought squeezed his chest, hard. Things he’d not felt for a woman in years, things he’d never wanted to suffer again clamored inside him, demanding freedom. He gritted his teeth, determined to keep that part of him trapped within the cage he’d put it in.
He noted the rapid pulse at her neck, trying to decide the best way to start this conversation. “Why were ye late to our wedding celebration?”
“I was talking to Silas,” she said, her cheeks coloring with her attempt to lie.
“Oh aye?” he said, and she nodded, her lashes lowering. For a moment, Brodee considered how to proceed. “He’s quite an attentive ghost,” he started. “Was he verra attentive as a husband?”
