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“Why? Because I never said anything?” He shook his head. “You were always one to make your own decisions and you’ll do it in this case too. Take me or not, Izzy. But please don’t pretend you knew what it was like for me to have feelings for you when I knew you never thought of me that way. No matter when I said something, it would’ve come to this.” The muscles feathered in his strong jaw. “It wouldn’t have mattered.”

We’d stopped dancing. Around us, couples circled and laughed, but we were in our own bubble.

His hands fell away from me. He stepped back once, twice, then bowed his head before turning on his heel and walking away.

“Alexei,” I called out after him.

He didn’t turn.

That was so like him. To get mad just because I was mad. If we weren’t in the middle of this all-important evening, I would’ve chased him down and tackled him. Pinned him to the ground and made him listen to me just as he would do to me if the situation was reversed. He knew I couldn’t do that now. He knew there was no way I could act out like that in the middle of all this.

My temper flared.

“Careful,” an accented voice said. “I believe your gaze of fury may start a fire.”

I turned and stared into Calen MacDougall’s eyes. They sparked in the low light, and I couldn’t help but feel the nerves of tonight as I looked up at him. He was taller than myself, much taller. His muscles were about as big as my head which made me think dancing with him would be cumbersome, but that’s what he wanted.

He bowed, and I bowed right back. “May I?”

I smiled in agreement and he took me in his arms. Even though I felt towered over and engulfed, I also felt safe. Calen talked easily, making me forget the tension with Alexei.

“I was impressed with your match with Dumont,” he said, his accent dripping over me like warm butterscotch. “I admit that I have not seen many young women fight as you do.”

“Really?” I asked.

“You’re surprised. In my clan, we still have old ways of thinking. The women are shown the basics, but it is the men who are called upon by duty and honor to keep the clan safe if need be.”

I bit my lip. I’d wondered at Calen’s strength, and obviously not going to lie, his kilt, but I didn’t like this new information. I wasn’t going to be the type of mate that stayed home and baked cookies while the men went out to train and even fight one day. I would need to be there right beside them that much was evident from my sight.

“You’re giving me the same look you just gave your friend. I don’t have much experience with women, Princess, but I feel as if that’s not a good thing. If I angered you, I apologize.”

I stared up at him. His features were less refined than the others, a little more callous though it just added to his rugged good looks. His red-tinted brown hair fell in waves about his face. He looked as if he could’ve just stepped out of the pages of history. It was not his fault that his clan believed that way. I could do what my mother did before me, change the ways of the people. And not just of those around us, but as far reaching as Scotland and other European countries. “Will you tell me more about your clan, Calen?”

His eyes blazed, sending a heat flowing through me. His stare retreated inside himself before looking down at me again. “We are a simple people. We live amongst the fields, moors, and lakes. We haven’t a lot to do with the city and we keep to ourselves.”

“It sounds beautiful. Peaceful.”

“Perhaps I can show it to you one day, Princess.”

I smiled at that, imagining myself in a plain frock, running through the thick fields and turning in circles. The great blue sky above me. “Do you have horses?”

He cocked his head. “Horses?”

Heat swamped my cheeks. “Yes. Where you live, do you have horses? I’ve always wanted to ride a horse.”

He smiled. “Then you’re in luck. Our horses have been born and bred with us. As you can imagine, they sense our predatory nature, but our horses have been with us for so long that they are tame. I ride most days at home. It’s the easiest way to get around with our landscape.”

Not only a kilt, but a kilt on a horse. Could this really be a thing? “You’d have to teach me, and not laugh if I do something wrong.”

He laughed heartily at this. “I cannot promise to keep my amusement to myself, but I would try for you, Princess.”

We swayed together in silence for a little while. It was nice to dream like this. Maybe we could have a little time before the premonition proved true. A time to get to know one another, to be carefree. “What else can you tell me?”

He looked away. His eyes taking on a dreaminess like he was caught in a waking daydream. “We are a clan steeped in our culture. Our ancestors were once Highlanders and we hold that tradition still.”

I ran my hands up his arms and placed them on his shoulders. “What kind of house do you live in?”

A teasing smile pulled at his lips. “Are you wanting to know if I live in a castle?”