Page 16 of Forbidden Desire

“Hey.” Elodie straightened, aware he was referring to her. “What are you calling me?”

“Hush.” I lifted my palm as I had seen Rasmie do many times, but frustratingly, the deed only seemed to rile her.

“Who do you think you’re talking to?” She pressed herself against me, her face reddening with rising anger.

“Gabh air do shocair,” I soothed, bizarrely aroused by her show of aggression. A display of this sort in Rasmie’s presence would see her in the pillories, but the thought stirred me more than was right. I imagined her secured there, her naked body bound in place as my palm laid down the lessons she needed to learn. Some of the old ways were definitely more satisfactory than others. “Calm down.”

“Don’t tell me to be calm.” She stomped her foot on the hard earth. “What was he saying about me?”

I turned from her vexed visage back to Aidan. Elodie’s performance was peculiarly rousing, but I had my duty to consider.

“I shall take Elodie to Rasmie myself.”

I smiled at Aidan’s leer. No doubt he knew what my brother would make of the wild woman at my side.

“An urrain dhut a laimhsearchadh?”

Sniggering at his question, I understood why he was using our native tongue. Elodie would not appreciate the inference she needed to be handled.

“Aye.” I met his eyes as the willful girl smacked my bicep.

“Hey!” Fury was radiating from her in waves. “I know you’re talking about me. What are you saying?”

“We’ll be fine.”

“Have fun then.” Aidan nodded, though I could see amusement still painted on his face. He turned, rounding up the others to finish with the stag.

“El-o-die.” Just as she planted a harder punch on my torso, I turned and captured her diminutive wrist in my grasp. “Stop this.”

“Get off me!” Her snarl was loud but reeked more of fear than wrath now that I had a grip on her. “Let me go.”

“We have a long walk,” I reminded her, pressing flush against her body, and for the first time, I got a sense of just how fragile she was. Strong perhaps, hot-headed definitely, but physically, the woman was like a child compared to me, though the things I wanted to do with her were far from immature. “Stop this behavior.” My voice was even, never once conveying my rising excitement.

“I don’t like this,” she protested as I steered her in the right direction. “Please, I’ve changed my mind. Let me go back to my boat, let me—”

Cocooning her body, my powerful arms swept around her, one hand rising to her face and silencing her with a single digit. Flustered, she spat around my finger, looking for a way out of the prison of my embrace, but there was none. My arms were an impenetrable fortress.

“Silence,” I whispered, conscious of my men working around me. “You must be calm and settle before you meet with your sister.” Relaxing my grip a little, I permitted her to spin in my arms.

“Why?” she gasped, her blue eyes as wide as large, ripened fruit. “What happens then?”

Gazing down at her pretty face, I considered claiming her lips, but it was too soon—too early in our courtship. There was little doubt, though—her inquiring face sealed the deal for me. Rasmie had wanted me to find a bride, and just as the gods had sent him Desiree, I now had a wayward woman of my own.

“Because Elodie,”—I towered over her, aware of her delicious body heat—“that is when you meet our maighstir.”

Chapter Nine

Rasmie

DESIREE HAD FINALLY settled. She had been quiet since her spanking, reluctant to speak when she was offered the chance, and sullen while we ate, but cradling her against my chest, she seemed content. Planting a kiss on her crown, nagging paranoia rose to goad me.

She’s probably only compliant because she’s plotting her escape. She’s not content. She shall never be happy.

Glancing into the fire, I pushed those thoughts away. Their anxious whispers would only serve to cause more friction between us, and more than ever, I sought harmony. I understood her concerns and was more than aware of the fragility of our union. We barely knew each other, Desiree did not know my isle at all, and we both had a lot to learn to make the marriage joyful, but the reality need not worry me. She had been sent by the gods, recompense for my loss and woe, and I recognized with absolute certainty, the same divine intervention would guide us. Desiree and I would work through these early issues and discover our own happiness. The children she would bear me would help to build that intimacy.

“Maighstir.” Her croaky tone roused me from my thought process.

Drawing away an inch, I gazed down at her face.

---