Page 32 of The Rogue’s Redemption

“Graeme mentioned that you had been sheltered—”

“Father would allow visits only to Kenshire, and my sister was permitted to go more often than I was. ‘Reivers,’ he would say. ‘Dangers everywhere.’”

“He is not wrong.”

“Were you able to leave Brockburg?”

She already knew the answer, but he gave one anyway. “We were actually raised at Dunmure Tower and only moved to Brockburg later. But aye, lass, I was able to leave. I also had been trained—”

“Nay, please do not,” she said. “I already know your arguments. I’ve heard them many times over the years.”

Reid tried to imagine what it would have been like growing up in one place and never leaving. The very thought pressed in on him. “Did you try?”

Her sigh was one of frustration, of longing, and of lost opportunities.

“I’m sorry,” he said, pulling her to a stop.

“You were not there. Why are you sorry for—”

“Not for your upbringing,” he said, knowing his next words would change everything. Somehow that knowledge didn’t stop him from speaking them. It was as if he were no longer in control of himself. “I’m sorry your sister dislikes me.”

Her perfectly arched brows lifted.

“I know I can be hard to . . . like.”

“Nay, you are not hard to like at all. Not this Reid.”

“Allie, there is only one Reid. Both are a part of me, and as such I could never be good enough to deserve you. I tried to tell you precisely that earlier today. This is why I’ve attempted to distance myself from you, why I should not have asked you to dance earlier, and why I should most definitely not be with you now.”

She should reject him. Hell, he would reject himself.

“What are you saying?”

If he were a clever man, he would not answer that question. He would do everything in his power to forget this conversation, forget Allie, and ignore her until the council was over.

But he could not.

She had enchanted him. He was drawn to her warmness and enthusiasm, drawn to her bravery and honesty, drawn to everything he was not. And as despicable as he might be, Reid would not dishonor his brothers or his clan, which left him with one choice.

A choice he’d never thought to make.

“I’m asking you if you will accept both sides of me.”

Either she was not as surprised as he would have expected, or his lessons on concealing emotion had been shockingly effective. “Accept?”

“I want to kiss you again,” he started. “But I’d like to do much more than that. I would feel your every curve beneath my hands, make you mine right here if such a thing were possible.”

Her eyes widened.

“I want to be the only man to train you. To dance with you. And I know we’ve only just met. But I—”

“Aye, Reid. I will marry you.”

* * *

Gillian was right. Allie was not thinking clearly. At least, she must not have been since there was no other explanation for the words that just escaped her lips.

Reid Kerr was the very last man she would have imagined as her husband. He was rude and arrogant, the kind of man who pretended not to care when his actions indicated otherwise. Oddly enough, it was Aidan who had helped her get to know him. The moment he’d agreed to allow Reid to take over her training, she’d been forced to see the man in a different light.