Page 18 of The Laird's Wicked Game
But then she reminded herself that she had no alternative plan for what she’d do if she left Dounarwyse, other than returning to Meggernie.
Mastering herself, she clenched her jaw.Ye aren’t going anywhere! Don’t be such a coward!Then, before she changed her mind, she raised her fist and knocked briskly.
A gruff voice answered, “Aye?”
“Maclean … it’s Lady Grant … can I come in?”
A pause followed. “Aye.”
Kylie pushed open the door and stepped inside. The laird was seated at the table to her right, a large ledger open before him. Bright sunlight streamed through the open window, bringing out the red in his thick hair and gilding his proud bone structure. He’d rolled up the sleeves of his lèine, and his strong forearms were dusted with auburn hair.
Storm, who’d been asleep by the window, roused himself. Long hairy tail wagging, the collie rushed across the solar, greeting Kylie with a cold, wet nose. Distracted, she ruffled his ears before turning her attention back to the laird.
Putting aside the quill he’d been using, Rae straightened up. “Are my sons still giving ye trouble, Lady Grant?”
“No,” she replied, her tone clipped. “I dismissed them from their lessons early.”
His brow furrowed. “Why did ye do that?”
“Because, after having ye roar at us, I’d had enough.” Her answer, delivered with force, carried across the solar.
He jolted at the fierceness of her reply, his lips parting slightly. “Excuse me?”
Kylie drew herself up, even as her pulse went wild. She couldn’t believe she was saying such things. She wasn’t impulsive like Mackenna. In all her years wedded to Errol, she’d leashed her temper. Even when she’d learned of his dalliances with local lasses, she’d bitten her tongue. But today, she wouldn’t. “If I need yer assistance with Ailean and Lyle, I shall ask for it,” she plowed on, her voice rising now. “But ye mustneverburst in on us like that again.”
Rae stared back at her. His frown then deepened. “They were misbehaving,” he said roughly. “I couldn’t let it continue.”
“And I was about to deal with the situation,” she shot back, even as heat surged up her spine. That was a lie. She’d lost control of the lesson, but she wasn’t about to admit such. “But ye undermined me.”
Rae shut his mouth, pressing his lips firmly together. He then pushed back his chair and rose to his feet. “That wasn’t my intention.”
“Maybe not, but the result was the same.” Her heart was pounding now, a lifetime of frustration on the verge of gushing forth. The force of it made her tremble.
To her consternation, he moved then, skirting the edge of the table and approaching her. She wished he wouldn’t. It was easier to speak her mind when they were standing far apart. His proximity flustered her, even though he’d halted so that over three feet of space lay between them.
Storm, thinking there was a game afoot, gave an excited bark and started to bound in a circle around them, forcing his master to take a step closer still.
“Ye didn’t tell me the lads were playing up,” Maclean said, his voice surly now.
“That’s because I knew ye’d snarl at them.” Lord, she wished her voice didn’t sound so raw.
“Aye, and they clearly needed—”
“Respect isn’t demanded,” she cut him off, clenching her hands at her sides. “It’searned. Yer sons need time to get used to me. Having ye barge in and tear into them doesn’t help things at all.”
His brows knitted together at this, even as Storm, frustrated that they weren’t playing his game, nudged the laird hard in the back of the knees. Cursing his dog, the laird lurched forward, closing the gap between him and Kylie.
Suddenly, he was looming over her, and she became aware of the heat of his body. The man was a furnace. He smelt delicious too—of cedar and leather. Unbidden, her nostrils flared before panic erupted.
Focus!
“I thought ye were made of sterner stuff, Lady Grant,” he rumbled, a challenge in his voice now. He grabbed Storm by the scruff then, stilling his antics. “The lads were running rings around ye, as they did Esme.”
Kylie flushed hot. Her pulse now thumped in her ears. How dare he? Drawing herself up and lifting her chin to eyeball him, she stepped in as well. They were now standing so close there was barely a handspan between them, but the fury in her blood pushed aside all embarrassment. She forgot to be afraid of confrontation now. For the first time in her life, she’d truly stand up to a man. “They were testing their limits,” she growled. “That’s not the same thing.”
“Really? Is that what ye call it?” There was scorn in his voice now. “It was bad behavior … and it won’t be tolerated.”
Their gazes held then, and something inside Kylie gave way. Enough. She couldn’t take this anymore. Suddenly, every frustration, every humiliation she’d suffered at Errol’s hands rushed in. The wound had barely scabbed over, but Maclean had just ripped it off. She wouldn’t go on letting men make her feel small. She couldn’t. Even if it cost Kylie her job, she’d put an end to this. “Overbearing bastard,” she snarled, poking a finger into the hard wall of his chest. “Is that how ye get what ye want … ye plow over everyone … crush their spirits?”