Page 44 of Kilted Hate

Domhnall gave her a piercing look. “Och, is he now?”

“It appears me braither is a little possessive o’ his wife-tae-be,” Magnus chuckled.

The brother’s shared a look that confused Katherine, and she could only stand there, looking from one to the other as a light-hearted argument began.

“If possessive means I’m trying tae keep me betrothed alive until I can marry her, then, aye, maybe I am,” Domhnall growled.

Magnus was still grinning when he said, “I think ye’ll find yer betrothed is quite adept at looking after hersel’. In fact, maybe when we next go intae battle, I’ll tak’ her instead o’ ye.”

Katherine couldn’t help but start laughing at the brothers, for as grown as they both were, they got on like a couple of competitive boys. When they realized they had become her entertainment, Domhnall brought the banter to an end.

Turning toward Katherine, he said, “Shall we go inside fer some of the spiced wine Cook has specially prepared fer the holiday season?”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Later that day, Domhnall bathed in his copper bathtub. Ordinarily, he would use the bathing room for such an endeavor, but there was a reason he had chosen his bedchamber on this occasion.

The water was still warm when he heard the adjacent door to Katherine’s bedchamber creaking open, but he concentrated on raking the cloth over his skin, pretending he was unaware of her presence. They had now knocked two items off the list she kept in her little notebook. The day of their wedding was creeping ever closer, and there were still five more to go. He had promised she would fulfill them all, and he had every intention of keeping that promise.

Today, he was going to give her the opportunity tospy on a gentleman bathing.

Once they had returned from outside, Katherine had told him she had arranged to take a walk with Thora and Enya later on inthe afternoon. This had given him time to make arrangements for his bath.

After it was filled, he sent a note with a servant, telling her that he wanted to see her in her bedchamber. Of course, he wasn’t going to be there to meet her. He needed to be in the bath when she entered, and thus, he had left another note on her bedside table, telling her to use the adjoining door to come and speak to him in his own room.

Clearly, she had received both messages, for she now stood in his bedchamber, somewhere behind him. Even the idea of her being in the same room as him under these circumstances had him aroused. In fact, he hadn’t stopped thinking about her since he had hurriedly left her bedchamber the previous night. As much as he wanted to stay, his rising emotions had scared him, but that had not prevented him from fantasizing about her when he had climbed into his own bed.

Like then, he could feel himself harden even more under the water because she was watching him. But he didn’t want her just to watch him bathe. He wanted to tease her, he wanted to know how far she would go. Things had been better between them, but he still could not know for sure if her resentment for him and his clan was as strong as it had been at the beginning. If that was the case, he deduced she would leave pretty quickly. If not…

Taking long slow movements, he dragged the cloth over his muscular chest, reaching up and over to his shoulders. Being a man, this action would highlight the bulging muscles on his arms, and from experience, he knew the lasses liked that kind ofthing. Domhnall was wondering if Katherine was even still in the room, when, to his surprise, he caught her from the corner of his eye.

Not satisfied with being so far away, she had boldly moved closer so she was now in full view. Without moving his head, so as not to scare her away, he shifted his eyes to gaze at her. While he watched her, she seemed to be completely mesmerized by his body.

Domhnall could not recall a time before now, where he had been this aroused, and feeling the heavy ache between his legs, he adjusted his position in the bath, the movement revealing his thick manhood. Beside him, he heard Katherine gasp, and imagined he had inadvertently shown himself to her. He wished for much more in that moment, and seeing her flushing face, he realized that she too, was hot, bothered and feeling more than a little frustrated as the sexual tension built between them.

If he didn’t think it would terrify the living daylights out of her, he’d step out of the bath in that very moment and take her to his bed. But he had to be careful. She wasn’t like other lasses he had been with. He had already deduced that, but her question last night had confirmed it fully. Whether it was going to drive him crazy or not, he would have to take things slowly with her.

With that in mind, a thought came to him, and, wondering how far he could push the boundaries between them, he took his manhood in his hand. With his eyes on hers, he slowly gripped his throbbing shaft and began moving his hand up and down. It was both torturous and pleasurable in equal measures, but as helay there and pleasured himself, he was more than surprised that Katherine, so mesmerized by what he was doing, didn’t move an inch.

His hand moved faster and faster, and as her mouth fell open at his panting breath, Domhnall wondered how long he could keep this going. Minutes passed, and the ache was becoming unbearable. He would much prefer to be inside her, feeling this same sensation as their bodies entwined around each other.

And then, he could stand it no longer. He wanted her. He wanted her so very badly. Surely, as she looked at him with such lust, she wanted him too. Just as he was about to stand and make a move towards her, a knock on the door cut through the tension.

As though a spell had been broken, Katherine seemed to come to, and with a final wide-eyed glance, she turned on her heels and hurried back to her own bedchamber.

An hour later, Domhnall was once more dressed and standing at the window of his study. He gazed out onto the gardens with his mind wandering.

“Did ye hear what I said?” Magnus remarked.

“What?” Domhnall spun to look at him.

His brother moved from his seat by the fire and came to join Domhnall at the window. Gazing out, he said, “Och. Well, that explains a lot.”

Domhnall turned away and moved to his desk. Once sat behind it, he pretended to look through the documents that sat neatly in a pile to his left.

“I dinnae ken what ye’re talking about,” he lied.

“Right,” Magnus said, his tone heavy with sarcasm. “So, yer werenae just standing here mesmerized by the sight in the garden then?”

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