"Whois she?" " he muttered to himself, unable to look away once more. He walked a little closer to her, but not too close. She didn't appear to be an ordinarygirl whose hand he could hold and dance with. There was something about her that made him feel alive, and he wondered what it would be like to touch her — kiss her.
She must have noticed him walking ahead because she turned away and smiled softly at him. He could see her face now that he was nearer. She was heavenly. Ronin noticed her soft face and realized he needed to get to know her. He needed any excuse to be close her. She was intoxicating, and her smile left him breathless. He finally gathered enough courage to talk to her. Just as he was about to walk towards her, the door of the pub opened and a young lass walked outside.
Ronin’s gaze shifted to her, and it was evident that she was searching for someone. He watched as she made her way to the girl he had been watching and called out her name from behind.
“Edna!” Ronin rehearsed the name in his heart, the syllables falling beautifully from his tongue. Her name was as beautiful as she herself was. “Come back inside. We found Bryce with his friends, and he is asking for you.”
Ronin couldn't help but wonder who Bryce was. Though he was certain that any man who came close to Edna would not be his favorite. Despite his desire to interrupt the conversation and ensure that Edna only went inside with him, he remained silent and stood by the wall.
"What is Bryce doing here?" Edna inquired softly of her friend. He'd never heard a more beautiful and melodious voice. Ronin stood there, wondering if there was anything about her that he might dislike or disagree with. She appeared to be flawless from head to toe, and he knew there was no one else in the world like her. He had never been so smitten with someone at first glance, but the attraction he felt towards her was nothing less than magical.
“He came with his friends and some of them are very handsome!” Edna’s friend squealed, and he watched as Edna rolled her eyes. The gesture made him glad, for it meant that she was not interested in meeting any of them. The two girls stepped inside. He followed after a couple seconds to make sure it did not look too suspicious. He watched as Edna proceeded to meet a few lads who were standing with some lasses. They all looked like they were familiar with one another.
Ronin's jaw tightened as one of the lads grabbed Edna's hand and began dragging her towards the dance floor. She was clearly resisting, but the lad was stronger, and she couldn't push him away. Ronin wished he could rush forward and help her at that moment, but he knew that doing so would spark a fight. He needed to control himselfand find an opening to take her hand and pull her away from the others. Then he'd truly understand what it was like to be close to her.
Edna could still feel the heat of his gaze on her skin. She did not know what it was about that stranger, but whatever it was, it had ignited a flame somewhere inside her, and that flame was burning on. She had wished for him to approach her and speak with her. She desired to know his name and to hold his hand. She might have done so if Jana hadn't summoned her inside; leaving herhopinghe would follow her back in the pub. She knew she still had time to find out who he was, and she was determined to do so.
“Edna, happy birthday, my favorite cousin,” Bryce said jovially, clearly drunk.
“Thank you,” Edna replied shortly. Bryce was her cousin and the closest male relative she had after her father’s death. He was like a brother to her, and they were clearly close. She despised going to the pub with him because he was overly protective, making it impossible for her to flirt with anyone. His own friends tried to flirt with her as well, and she loathed them completely. They were all loud and bossy, thinkingthey owned the entireworld.
“Edna, I haven’t seen ye in such a long time,” James, Bryce’s closest friend, said to her. She nodded with a small smile, not in the mood to reply. She did not want to give him any kind of encouragement because that would simply urge him to ask her to dance. “Ye look very beautiful today.”
“Thank you,” Edna replied, not wanting to sound or appear rude. Men like James had huge egos and were offended a little too quickly. She did not want to offendhim or make him feel bad because that would only encourage him to work harder to get her attention. Classic.
“Come, dance with me,” he said and took hold of her hand.
“I am not in the mood to dance,” Edna replied, trying to snatch her hand back, but he was holding it too tightly. She looked around for help but all her friends were busy flirting with men around them, and Bryce too was dancing with a lass.
“But it’s yer birthday!” James stated as if thatwere an excellent argument and Edna would be unable to refuse. Sheknew that dancingwith him was far easier than refusing him. She could simply leave him on the dance floor and disappear into the crowd after a few minutes. She eventually gave in and walked alongside him, her feet and body moving in time with the music. James took her hand in his, spun her around, and began dancing with her.
Just as she turned around, she once again felt the same searing heat reach her skin. His gaze. She quickly scanned the room and found him standing by the bar, his eyes trained on her. His jaw was no longer relaxed, but rather set in a grim line, and she wondered what was wrong. Outside in the dark, he had looked so calm and approachable, though his face had been obscured, and she was unable to see it clearly. She had judged that he was handsome, but now, after seeing him inside, she was finally able to see just how handsome he truly was. His blonde hair and blue eyes clearly made him one of the most beautiful men in the pub. His features were manly yet soft, and Edna couldn’t understand what it was about him that made her feel so attracted to him.
She smiled at him and watched as his hard jaw loosened up a bit as he smiled back at her. It was evident that he too was attracted to her. She got closer to James and noticed that his jaw tightened once again, so now she knew. He was jealous. The knowledge made Edna even bolder. She couldn’t believe that this stranger she knew nothing about, and who knew nothing about her, was jealous because she was dancing with another man. In that moment, she knew she wanted to be with him.
"James, I'll be right back," she said softly. She needed to get away from him, and she needed the stranger to notice that.
"Nae, wait a minute, Edna," James said as he tightened his grip on her. She turned to face him, irritation visible in her eyes.
"I need tae go, James," Edna said, making sure her words sounded concrete enough for him to finally understand.
“I was wondering if ye would like tae step out with me, ye ken. So we could be alone for a while,” James said suggestively, forcefully pulling her delicate body towards him. She could not believe his audacity. He was a close friend of her cousins and, despite this, was unsettlinglyforthcoming with her.
“Why would I want tae step out with ye, James?” Edna asked, no longer trying to conceal the anger in her words.
“Because I ken that ye have feelings for me,” James murmured, moving forward to whisper in her ear. She flinched at the nearness and tried once more to break free from his firm grasp. She had no idea hewould be so pushy with her when she joined him on the dance floor.
Her back collided with a solid mass behind her as she moved further back, jerking her body to get away. Both she and James turned their heads to look at the stranger who had crept up beside them, and Edna was both surprised and relieved to see the stranger. He was even more handsome up close, and he was several inches taller than her. He was even taller than James. Edna glanced at him and noticed that his eyes were steely and solely focused on her cousin’s friend.
“I believe she asked ye to move back and let her go,” he said, his voice low with concealed anger.
“Who do ye think ye are to tell me what tae do?” James thundered, his tone furious.
“Let go of her hand, right now,” he replied, stressing every syllable while staring fixedly at him. Edna noticed a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes, and a sheen of sweat was shining on James’s forehead as he glanced at her hand. Just then, the stranger advanced and took James' hand in his. Edna stood there dazed as he easily removed James's fingers from her arm and pushed him away. "Next time, stay away."
Edna was aware that James was enraged, but he was probably too afraid to confront him. The stranger took her hand gently and turned away from the dance floor. She was perplexed by what had just occurred and quietly followed behind him as he led her. She was grateful to him for saving herand admired his gallantry. He was not only attractive, but strong and brave also. Even so, she was puzzled as to why he had saved her.
She couldn’t help but wonder who he was. She had never seen him before, and he definitely did not look like a local. Edna scanned her brain for any bits of information regarding him and tried to place his face or link him with someone from the area but returned empty. There was no one at all. “Who are ye?”she thought as she followed in his wake without a single word of protest.