Stealing the Selkie’s Heart by Ella Rose

She frowned, thinking. “It’s late. Why don’t we start first thing in the morning?”
Ronan bit back a surge of frustration. “Why wait? Let’s get started now.”
Una shook her head. “I’m exhausted. And you said you’d had a rough day,” she shot him a rueful, apologetic glance, “so we start tomorrow at first light.”
Ronan growled and rose in a fluid movement. He strode over to her, appreciating the way she recoiled from his closeness as his chest bumped hers. “We start now,” he said in a seductively soft tone. Her lips were inches from his. He could kiss her right now if he chose to. The thought was tantalizing. He found himself staring at her lips as she licked them nervously.
She put her hands on his chest and pushed. It wasn’t enough to unbalance him, but he did rock back a step. She glared up at him. “Stop trying to intimidate me. It won’t work. I get that you’re powerful and used to being in charge. But around here, I call the shots, not you. And right now, I’m too tired to think, so We. Start. Tomorrow.” She poked his chest with each word. She put her hands on her hips and glared up at him, daring him to contradict her.
He stared down at her, eyes blazing. How long had it been since a female fired back at him? One who didn’t obey without question? He felt a surge of appreciation that dampened his irritation at the defiance. He knew he could intimidate—it was a tool he employed often when needed—so for her to stand up to him spoke of courage. Or extreme desperation.
He forced himself to back up and put up his hands. “Fine.” He spat the word. “Tomorrow then.” He glanced around the house until his eyes settled on the bed. He strode over to it and tossed himself down on it. It was surprisingly soft, and the way the cushion underneath sank under his weight was like a full-body hug. It was a pleasant sensation that reminded him of the way strong currents felt against his fur when he was swimming.
“Oh no,” Una said, moving over to tug on the hem of his pants leg. “You’re not sleeping in my bed. You’re on the couch.”
“That lumpy thing?” Ronan complained, not moving. “I won’t sleep a bit. I’m not staying on that.” He turned a glare on her. “You wanted me, you got me. And this is where I’m sleeping.” He bounced his head on her pillow for emphasis.
With a growl, she leaned over and tugged the pillow out from under his head, then hit him over the face with it. “There’s no way you’re kicking me out of my own bed! Now get up!”
He swung his legs over the side so that his knees brushed against her dress. He grinned up at her. “There’s no need for you to be kicked out. It’s a big bed. We can share.”
She stared at him in shock. He saw the flush creep up her neck, blazing into her cheeks like beacons in the dim light. “There is no way in hell you are sharing my bed this night or any. You are no selkie husband. Now get. Up.”
He liked the way she growled the words at him. He stood, once again uncomfortably close to her, but liking the way she had to crane her neck up to meet his gaze with her own fiery one. Letting all his pent-up desire leak into his eyes, he felt the burn all the way down into his stomach, curling around his skin like fire, until he felt she would all but combust from the heat of it.
“Fine.” He let the word slide out of his mouth, savoring the feel. He noticed the way her eyes flicked to his lips. He smirked. “But I’m not sleeping on that sad excuse of a couch. I’d rather sleep on the floor.”
Una cocked her head, then smiled in a way he didn’t quite care for. “Fine,” she said, drawling the word out the salacious way he had.
Ten minutes later, she lay on the bed, still in her dress but without her boots, which she’d placed by the front door. She stared at the ceiling, wide awake. At the foot of her bed, Ronan lay on a pile of blankets she’d layered on top of each other to form a pallet, with one rolled up underneath his head as a pillow.
Ronan watched her feet twitch as they hung over the edge of the bed. She had rather small, dainty feet, he thought as he admired them. He wondered what she’d do if he reached up and massaged them. Probably slap me, he thought. The idea made him smile in the dark. He liked how feisty she was, how quick to anger. His fellow Anchors would like her.
If I ever get to see them again, he thought. No, that was the wrong way to look at it. When he saw them again. It was just a matter of time. He would seduce the lady, get his sealskin back, and be gone before she could say his name. It was just a matter of time.
***
© Ella Rose
I hope you enjoyed the playful banter between Ronan and Una. And spoiler alert: that bed is, in fact, big enough for the two of them. You can read more about them in Stealing the Selkie’s Heart, Book 1 in the Selkie Seas series by Ella Rose.
Best,
Ella Rose