Page 11 of A Highland Bride Disciplined

And yet he stood there like a man frozen, hand on the door but mind elsewhere.

He had every intention of claiming her.

But now he wasn’t so sure.

She was beautiful, aye. Far more than any painting could capture. But it wasn’t just her face or her form. It was the way she looked at him and challenged him. Unafraid. Even trembling, she stood her ground. Most men wouldn’t.

Kian dragged a hand through his dark hair and exhaled. He was in control.Hemade the decisions.

And he’d decided. He turned and crossed the hall, pushing open the door to the antechamber, then knocking once at the inner door that led to his wife’s new chambers.

A muffled voice called from within. “It’s open.”

He opened the door.

Scarlett sat in a chair by the fire, a book forgotten in her lap. Her hair had been let down, tumbling in loose strawberry-gold waves to her shoulders. The fire caught the green of her eyes and the soft sheen of her skin.

She looked up at him without rising. “Come to claim yer bride, then?”

His brow twitched. “Checkin’ to see if the accommodations meet yer standards.”

She gave a low, unimpressed laugh and stood, closing the book. “Aye, well. The bed’s soft, the fire warm, and Morag’s already made it plain that I’m to stay put like a well-fed cat. What more could I ask?”

He stepped further in, letting the door fall shut behind him. “Ye’re nae exactly making this easy.”

Scarlett arched a brow. “Easy for who? Ye or me?”

Kian tilted his head, watching her. “For either of us. For anyone.”

They stood a moment in silence, firelight flickering between them.

“Why did ye marry me?” she asked suddenly.

He blinked. “Ye ken why.”

“Do I?” she challenged. “Was it me charm? Me winning smile? Or was it the promise of sheep and barley and three hundred men with MacLennan blood?”

He didn’t answer. He didn’t have to.

Her expression softened just a touch. “I’m nay fool, Kian. I ken it was duty. Politics. A bargain struck between men.”

“Ye were willing,” he said evenly.

“I was obedient,” she corrected.

His brow knit together. “Ye were many things, lass. Charming and far more beautiful than any painting, but obedient? Come now, daenae make me laugh.”

She stepped forward, arms crossed loosely, her chin lifted. “But ye never told me what yeexpect, husband. Before the wedding,after, it’s been nothin’ but orders and silence. So, I’m askin’ now, plainly. What do ye want from me?”

Kian studied her, the firelight dancing across her features. There was strength in her. Not the loud kind. The kind that stood its ground, even when the wind tried to strip it bare.

“I expect what any husband would,” he said finally. “Respect. Obedience. Heirs.”

Scarlett’s mouth thinned. “That so?”

“Aye.”

She held his gaze for a moment longer, then exhaled slowly. “Well, I’ve nothin’ but questions about the first two.. which ye nay doubt will dodge. But the third…” She turned, walking toward the bed. “We may as well get that out of the way.”