“So give him time to get to know ye again,” Alex said. “That’s all I’m saying. Don’t decide against him so quick.”
“Why are ye trying to convince me?”
“Because I know ye will make Ian happy,” Alex said, his expression serious for once. “He’s a good man, Sileas. That’s why ye waited for him so long.”
“Hmmph.” She was more confused than ever.
Alex narrowed his eyes at the clouds on the horizon. “We’d best head back. A storm is coming.”
The waves grew wild on the way back, bouncing them like an egg in a kettle at full boil. Sileas held tight to the sides of the boat, enjoying the rush of the water and the sting of the sea on her skin.
“ ’Tis grand, isn’t it?” Alex shouted, and they grinned at each other.
The rain was pelting the sea not far behind them as Alex rowed hard for the beach.
“Is that Ian?” Sileas shouted over the wind, though she knew that was him pacing up and down the beach.
“Ahh, perfect,” Alex said. “Even from here, I can see he’s in a state.”
Ian had seen them now and was standing with his hands on his hips, glaring out to sea in their direction.
“Shall we stay out a bit longer?” Alex said. “The man deserves to suffer, wouldn’t ye say?”
“What are ye about, Alex?”
“ ’Tis all part of my plan to make Ian appreciate ye.”
“Appreciate me? Ian looks as if he’d like to murder us both.”
“What fills the eye fills the heart,” Alex said. “Trust me, ’tis a good sign.”
She crawled closer to Alex so she could hear him better over the wind. “Ye said ye had a scheme, but ye never told me what it was.”
“Well, one part is to make him jealous,” Alex said.
“Jealous? Of you?”
Alex laughed. “Believe it or not, most women find me irresistible.”
Though Alex wasn’t for her, it was easy to see the appeal of the sea-green eyes and Viking warrior looks combined with all that charm.
She turned to see Ian striding through the surf to meet them. He had that dangerous look about him that made her heart beat fast.
“Are ye sure this is a wise idea, Alex?” she asked.
“I’ll make a wager with ye,” Alex said. “If I’m right and ye have Ian groveling at your feet within a fortnight, ye must give me a big kiss on the mouth in front of him.”
“Ye are a devil,” she said, unable to keep from laughing, despite the tension she felt with Ian bearing down on them. “And if ye are wrong?”
A slow smile spread across Alex’s face. “Why, the same, lass. The very same.”
Ian must have been bewitched by faeries to let his cousin take Sileas out in the boat alone.
Ian knew precisely how persuasive his handsome cousin could be. Women fell over each other to make fools of themselves with Alex.
The sea was rough, and heavy, black rain clouds were rolling in as Ian paced the beach. Where in the hell were they? What was Alex doing keeping her out with this storm coming? The weather was getting worse by the moment.
He reminded himself that Alex had a second sense on the water, as if a Viking ancestor was whispering guidance in his ear. All the same, Alex shouldn’t be taking chances with Sileas in the boat.
Ian glanced again at the old, leaky boat resting high on the shore. He was almost desperate enough to take it out to look for them, when he caught sight of their boat as it appeared and disappeared between the troughs. By the saints, he was going to kill Alex.
As they neared shore, Ian waded out into the rough surf to help haul the boat in. Neither the icy water nor the cold, wet wind on his face cooled his temper. It burned hotter still when Sileas moved to Alex’s end of the boat and her laugh traveled across the water.
He caught hold of the side and steadied it as Alex dropped into the water. Instead of taking his side of the boat, Alex lifted Sileas out. Alex headed for the shore, carrying her in his arms above the reach of the waves—and leaving Ian to drag the boat alone as if he were a damned servant.
“Mind the boat!” Alex shouted over his shoulder. “We don’t want to lose her.”
When Alex reached the sandy beach, he turned with Sileas still in his arms to watch Ian do his work for him. For God’s sake, why did the man not set her on her own two feet now? And there she was, smiling up at Alex, as if she were enjoying herself.
As soon as he had secured the boat, Ian stomped across the beach to join them. “Is my wife injured?”
“I wouldn’t let harm come to my favorite lass, now would I?” Alex said with a broad wink at Sileas. “But I couldn’t risk letting her get tossed about in the surf. ’Tis a stormy day, if ye hadn’t noticed.”
