Page 15 of A Highland Bride Forgotten
“Alas, it is me castle and I shall do as I please,” Archer reminded her, and River could do little more than curse softly under her breath.
What is he plannin’? Why did he move here all of a sudden?
He said it was all because of her. River could only assume that he wanted to be close to her, but she couldn’t figure out the reason behind it. Was it because he thought they were like any other married couple? Was it because he thought she loved him and that he, too, had loved her once, before the injury?
Or was it because he suspected her now, too?
What if Keir convinced him I had somethin’ to do with this? What if he’s tryin’ to keep me under watch?
That would almost be preferable to the alternative. At least suspicion was something River could understand, and no matter how much Archer tried, he would find nothing to incriminate her, as she was innocent. What she didn’t understand was the possibility that he was trying to pull the two of them closer.
She had no desire of ever giving in.
Before she knew it, Archer was right in front of her, his hand cupping her cheek. It was just as unexpected this third time, and River heard her breath hitch—which could only mean that in the quiet of the room, Archer had heard it, too.
“Ye’re me wife,” he said. “Ye can stare if ye like.”
“I daenae like!” River exclaimed, and then cursed herself for losing all eloquence. Then, she cleared her throat and tried again. “I daenae wish to stare.”
“But ye are starin’.”
“I’m lookin’ at yer face.”
Archer flexed, his pec jumping and drawing River’s gaze to it, before she snapped it back up to his face. When she did, she almost wished she had simply stared at his chest instead. It was unbearable, seeing him so pleased with himself.
“Ye looked.”
“Ye tricked me.”
“I didnae ken that ye would be so eager after I proposed to spend seven nights with ye.”
Rolling her eyes, River tried to pull back from Archer, but his hand quickly found her waist, keeping her still. “I’m nae. Let go of me.”
She had been anything but eager, going so far as to hide from him all night, just so that she wouldn’t have to spend any time with him. It had been far from an easy task, as she had to gofrom room to room, following the same path he did by asking the servants if they had seen him. And yet, in the end, she had managed to avoid him all night.
“Hush,” Archer said, pressing a finger to her lips when River tried to speak again. As she listened, she heard footsteps approaching—footsteps that she knew very well.
“Ye’re playin’ hide and seek with them, are ye nae?” he asked. “We cannae have the Lady of the Clan lose.”
As he spoke, he grabbed River and practically hauled her over to the other side of the room, behind a screen that separated the main part from the washbasin. River didn’t even have time to protest before she found herself pressed between Archer and the wall, his bare chest brushing against her with every breath he took.
They were so close. River could feel him everywhere around her—his touch, his scent, even his gaze that seemed to bore holes right through her. There was no escaping him, and the longer they stayed there, hidden, the more she came to realize she didn’t want to escape him at all.
What am I thinkin’! Of course I want to escape him!
He had used their silly game as an excuse to trap her like this, to keep her close. The proximity was more maddening than River could have ever imagined, and though she could push past him and reveal herself, her feet were rooted to the spot. Her legs were heavy, as if they were made of lead, and her heart thuddedso fast, so hard in her chest that she was certain she would be discovered just by the sound.
Above her, Archer grinned, his teeth flashing white in the dim light of the room. There, behind the screen, in the narrow space and the darkness, their proximity felt even more intimate, even more scandalous.
This man had touched her more in two days than he had in an entire year.
At the far end of the room, the door opened timidly, and River heard Arya’s voice.
“River?” she called quietly, but River could only assume the shock of seeing this room suddenly filled with things was enough to scare her away quickly.
Suddenly, she and Archer were once again alone. The only truly foreign thing in the room was that sensation that coiled in River’s stomach—a strange excitement that she didn’t like at all. She wasn’t familiar with such things.
She didn’t think she ever wanted to be.
