Calantha fanned herself with her fingers as she entered the cubicle of a room. The weather was exceptionally hot that day, and her hair wasn't making the situation any easier. Holding it up with one hand, she dashed to her drawer in search of a hairband. She lifted the first one—and gritted her teeth as she stared at the broken elastic.
She didn't need to ask who had done it. She knew the first son of the devil far too well.
She rummaged through the rest of the drawer for another one, but it was nowhere to be found.
Oh, heaven help her! It seemed the man wasn't just the devil's first son—he was the devil himself. She had clearly warned him not to touch her things, but it appeared his ears were made of rock.
She stormed out of the room with the vengeance of a woman scorned, promising to kill and bury the man if she found him with her hairband. The last time she'd seen him, he'd been working on Elara's garden—and luckily for her, the scamp was still there, digging up flowers and herbs and who-knew-what-else.
Upon hearing the swoosh of a long skirt, Ryder looked up from what he was doing. Calantha wasn't sure if she had imagined it, but something akin to fear flashed in his eyes.
Good, she thought to herself, and finally closed the distance between them—close enough for him to hear her, but not close enough to reach out and strangle him… yet.
She was stunned for the tenth time that day.
Gone were the bushy hairs that had once concealed the fine structure of his face. His beard was gone, revealing defined cheekbones, a square jaw, and a mouth that looked far too kissable for someone so aggravating. His skin was golden with the sun, lightly smudged with dirt, and his eyes—stormy gray with hints of blue—were watchful, unreadable. He looked rugged in the way a man should look rugged: all strong lines and quiet mischief.
How had she not known the man would be annoyingly stunning? Too bad he didn't look as nasty as his character. Whoever had advised him to get rid of his ridiculous beard deserved a pat on the back—she wouldn't put it past Elara. The woman had a large dose of motherly affection for the scoundrel.
Ah, what a waste of love!
Ryder snapped his fingers in front of her face, making her jump back. "I appreciate that you're here to admire my beauty, but I would advise you to do it from a distance so you don't interrupt my work. As you can see, I'm a busy man."
Ignoring the heat of embarrassment creeping up her neck, she straightened her back. She would rather shoot herself in the eye than give the man the impression that she found him even the slightest bit attractive… okay, maybe more than a little bit.
Her eyes blazed with irritation. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Then she remembered why she'd come. "Where is it?"
At her question, Ryder's brows drew together in confusion before a slow, treacherous grin spread across his face, revealing, unfortunately, pearly white teeth.
Christ, the man was gorgeous… and heavily annoying. A blaggard, a little voice in her head chimed. Right, she agreed.
In a poor attempt at innocence, Ryder asked, "Where is what?"
"My hairband. The one I clearly told you not to touch."
"Oh, that…" he drawled lazily. He lifted a hand to brush back a few strands of hair that clung to his sweaty face.
Calantha's eyes involuntarily followed the motion—and froze when she spotted her hairband holding his hair back in a messy low bun.
She extended her hand. "Give it back. Now."Even though it looked ridiculously good on him, she still wanted it back.
Ryder's smile deepened, mischief dancing in his sea-glass eyes. "No. It's mine now."
"No, it is not yours. You took it without my permission, which you had no right to do." She barked at him, but her irritation only seemed to amuse him further.
"You're my wife. Don't husbands and wives share their belongings?" he teased.
Calantha glared. "Yes, they do. But what they don't do is steal from each other—which is exactly what you did."
Ryder chuckled. "I didn't steal it. I just… borrowed it. It's not my fault you weren't around when I needed it."
Lies. He had taken it on purpose. He knew it would irk her, and he was clearly enjoying every second of it.
"You'll break a couple of teeth if you keep clenching them like that," he added, smugly.
Calantha took a deep breath and schooled her temper. "Give the hairband back. This is your final warning."
"Or what?" Ryder let go of the shovel and straightened up, taking a bold stance.
Calantha took one step forward, eyes narrowed. "Don't tempt me."
Ryder shouldn't have felt excited by the threat—but he did. Not when the high and mighty Calantha looked like she was about to tackle him to the ground. "What will you do, Lady Calantha?"
Without warning, Calantha lunged at Ryder, knocking the breath out of him as they both tumbled to the ground. She quickly climbed on top of him, straddling his waist and pinning him down with her palms pressed firmly against his chest. She absolutely refused to acknowledge how muscular that chest felt under her hands.
"I warned you."
When Ryder recovered from the shock, laughter tumbled out of him. He hadn't known his calm, elegant wife could be so… aggressive. And why the hell was that turning him on?
"Wow," he said, grinning. "I'm impressed. I didn't know you had it in you to be violent."
Calantha almost smiled. "There's a lot you don't know about me. How do you think I gained Theo's respect?"
Ryder raised a brow. "You used to fight with your brother?"
"Ha! Half my childhood was spent tumbling with Theodore," she said, frowning at the bittersweet memory. Those were good days… days that now felt like a distant lifetime.
Ryder chuckled. "And now you've added me to the list."
She glared down at him—but the longer she remained in that position, the more aware she became of exactly how close they were. Her glares slowly turned into awkward discomfort. This is not Theodore, she reminded herself as her cheeks heated up. She had never been that close to a man before. Not even her fiancé, Lord Harold.
She had to give it to Ryder—the man knew how to get a rise out of her without even trying.
The hairband, a voice in her head reminded her, snapping her back to reality.
She adjusted her body slightly, reaching for it with a determined look in her eyes. But just as her fingers were about to snag the band, Ryder moved— too fast.
All she could do was squeal at the sudden motion.