Page 37 of Claimed By a Ruthless Scot
“Why?”
“Because,” Duncan said casually, “I suspect the real trouble is that ye cannae swim.”
Elaina went perfectly still. The silence stretched. Duncan could practically see the moment his words struck home.
Her eyes narrowed slowly. “Icanswim.”
He lifted a shoulder in an exaggerated shrug. “If ye say so.”
“I dae say so.”
“Aye,” he said easily. “And I can fly with the wee birds.” Duncan pushed lightly away from the stone, treading water now. Hisexpression seemed far too innocent. “Then again,” he added thoughtfully, “if ye truly could swim, ye would likely have jumped in already just tae prove me wrong.”
Elaina’s mouth opened, closed, then opened again. “Ye are attempting tae provoke me.”
“Am I?”
“Aye.”
“And is it working?”
Her eyes flashed in a way he liked more than he was willing to admit. “Nay.”
“Good,” Duncan said mildly. “Because I would hate tae think ye were that easily manipulated.”
She stared at him as though contemplating several forms of violence. Duncan found himself enjoying the sight far more than he ought.
“Ye are insufferable,” she informed him.
“Aye.”
“And arrogant.”
“Also true.”
“And very cold, I imagine,” she added pointedly, glancing at the water.
Duncan grinned again. “The water is fine.”
“Ye are lying.”
“Am I?”
“Aye.”
“Well,” he said, spreading his arms slightly across the surface of the loch, “there’s only one way tae find out.”
Elaina could not remember ever encountering a man so thoroughly insufferable.
It was not merely that Duncan Grant enjoyed provoking her, though he clearly did. It was the calm satisfaction with which he did so, as if he had already predicted precisely how she would respond, and what she would do next. Which, she realized with growing irritation, he very likely had.
“Ye truly are impossible,” she muttered under her breath.
Duncan, several yards away in the loch, appeared entirely unconcerned with this revelation. The water rippled lazily around him as he watched her from where he floated with infuriating ease. He looked entirely at home there, and also, entirely amused.
That, more than anything else, decided for her.
“Oh, fer heaven’s sake,” Elaina snapped softly.
