Page 58 of Taken By the Ruthless Highlander

“My Laird, I’m nae a nurse, nor do I have experience in such things,” Cohen said, trying to keep panic out of his voice. But Ryder could hear it in every word he said. “Let them go back to their nanny.”

“Do ye have wax in yer ears? I gave ye an order, ye carry it out,” Ryder growled. “Ye’ll tend to them and see that their needs are met—better than how ye treated yer own kin.”

He rolled his shoulders back as he watched Morgana herd her siblings toward Cohen. The expression on her face pained him. The last thing he wanted was to see her hurt, but watching Cohen encroach on what was his… nowthathe couldn’t tolerate any longer.

“Was that really necessary?” Morgana scolded.

Ryder turned his attention to her. There was a beauty to her ire. Oh, how he wanted to quell the flames that flickered and burned deep within her gaze.

“Aye,” he answered, his hands itching to touch her silky hair. “Sometimes the only way to make someone understand is to assert authority.”

“Ye realize that I’m tryin’ to get the clan to like ye, right? If ye throw people in the dungeons for the slightest offense…” she trailed off.

Ryder could not resist the urge any longer. He lifted his hand and ran his fingers through the smooth, silky strands.

But Morgana stepped back from him too soon.

“Ryder, are ye listenin’ to me? That’s nae goin’ to help our cause!”

18

“And when should I draw the line for people disrespectin’ me?” Ryder sighed in frustration. “There are consequences for every action that happens under the heavens. The Almighty has rules, and so have I. Rules that everyone thinks aresuggestions.”

“Nay one is disrespectin’ ye. If ye would just give yer people a chance and maybe warm up to them a bit, they might nae find ye so intimidating.”

“Comin’ from the lass everyone thinks killed the previous Laird. And how is yer dance card? Full?”

Morgana huffed a breath. For the life of her, she could not fathom the tension between the two men. It wasn’t like Cohen would do anything with her. He was married to Orella, for crying out loud.

“I just dinnae understand what ye have against Cohen,” she said. “He came out to get some fresh air and saw us. There’s nay harm in bein’ friendly.”

“The man isoverlyfriendly,” Ryder pointed out, his eyes flashing.

Morgana rolled her eyes and shook her head. He just could not see that he was being overlycontrolling.

She couldn’t help but smirk at his logic.

“And I’m sure there are some who would say that ye are overly controlling,” she countered.

Ryder took a step closer, towering over her.

She gasped. How could she have forgotten how tall he was?

Tingles raced down her spine and limbs as the tension between them sparked like flint.

“Ye can be a bit of a menace when ye want to be.”

“If I get under that man’s skin in any way, then I consider it a victory,” Ryder said with a smirk that she couldn’t quite understand.

While his tone was playful, a hint of bitterness still tainted his words.

“Is that seriously what this is all about? We’re married, he is married. Or has that fact slipped yer mind? Cohen is a loyal friend. He was there when I needed him the most. He stood up for me and was the only person in the whole clan who believed I was innocent.”

“As brave and as tough as ye are, ye couldnae have killed my faither,” Ryder said as he reached up and brushed a twig from her hair. “The man may have been frail, but I doubt ye’ve ever had to move a body. Once death takes them, they harden like granite.”

Confusion rippled through Morgana as her heart skipped a beat. Although the tension in the room was like a mist coming off the ocean, it was still there, lingering in the back of her mind.

“How… how do ye ken such a thing?” she whispered.