Page 104 of Midnight Conquest

Broderick lifted his head, brushing a damp strand of hair from her flushed face, his fingers lingering over her fevered skin. Even now, buried inside her, his shaft hardened once more, lengthening with impossible desire.What in blazes is this woman doing tae me?

For the briefest moment, he glimpsed something vulnerable in her eyes—something soft, almost tender, like a hidden ember beneath the ashes of her pride. But then her gaze cooled, like a winter wind snuffing a flame. She shifted beneath him, sliding away, and the fragile moment between them vanished.

She rolled to the edge of the bed, scooting away from him. “The marriage is consummated,” she said quietly. “I’m going back to my chamber.”

Broderick snatched her wrist, stopping her. “Nay,” he said, his voice firm. Propping himself upon his elbow, his gaze pinned her in place. “I can still feel yer walls up, thicker than ever. Ye gaveme yer body, but not the rest of ye.”

Her gaze hardened, and she pulled her arm from his grasp. “That wasn’t part of the bargain. I gave you what you needed. What we both needed. That’s enough.”

A grunt scuffed his throat. “No’ even close, Blossom.”

She bent and grabbed her torn chemise, then draped it over her breasts, the thin material cascading over her lush thighs. “You’ll be gone soon anyway,” she said, her voice clipped. “Why does it matter? We’ve met our obligations. You’re free to go.”

Her words were a knife, cutting deep, but he forced his expression to remain neutral. “I’ll be back t’morrow eve.” His deep voice calm but solid. “We’ll talk about trust.”

“Why at night?” She narrowed her eyes, suspicion darkening their sapphire hue. “Where are you during the day? Not a single person is able to answer that question for me.”

Broderick clenched his jaw, frowning. “Checkin’ intae my business, are ye?”

“You’re my husband now. Don’t you think I have a right to know?”

The corner of his mouth curled into a devious grin. “Interesting how ye use this marriage when it suits ye.”

Her chin jutted forward in that relentless defiance.

“Where I go durin’ the day is nay yer business.” He didn’t like shutting her out when he was trying to coax her trust, but Broderick wasn’t ready to reveal his true nature…yet. Or maybe he never would if he were leaving anyway.

Defiance burned in her sapphire eyes. “Then you’ll be greeted by my locked doors.”

His chest bounced with a huff. “Ye think a locked door’ll keep me out?”

She inhaled sharply, and she hugged her torn garment tighterto her throat. Pivoting on the ball of her foot, she showed him her delicious teardrop ass and slammed the door to the nursery behind her. Broderick listened to the whoosh of her rapid heartbeat, her shallow breaths just on the other side. Then her retreating footsteps and the soft closing of her chamber door.

He sighed and fell back onto the mattress, staring up at the canopy. She’d left his bed again, and he still wasn’t satisfied. She was sweeter than anything he’d imagined, more intoxicating than the first time. But he didn’t just want her body. He wanted hercompletesurrender.

Saints be damned, he would have it.

Chapter Nineteen

Crouching against the rough bark of the ancient tree, Veronique perched on a high limb several yards from the castle, her heart aching. She slid her hand from beneath her skirts and inhaled the musky scent lingering on her fingers. Her swollen quim pulsed with need, longing for Broderick. She clenched her jaw and slammed her fist against the trunk, the cutting pain doing little to quell her rising frustration.

“Merde,” she hissed under her breath, glaring as that Davina slipped back into her chamber.Damn her! Damn him!Why would Broderickmarryher? Why? The plain Scot had done nothing but fight him at every turn!

Veronique’s heart twisted like a dagger in her chest. She squeezed her eyes shut, fists trembling as she battled back tears of rage and longing. Even as he rutted with Davina, the womanfoughthim! Veronique spat a curse into the cold night air. It should have beenherbeneath Broderick, her back arching to meet his thrusts, her voice crying his name in the darkness. Shewould never have resisted him. She would have given him all he desired—willing, eager, desperate to please. He would have been screaminghername instead of that accursed woman’s.

From her perch, Veronique’s breath caught as Broderick rose from his bed. She leaned forward, peering through the latticed window, the pale wash of moonlight gilding his naked form in silver fire. Her core clenched at the sight of him—powerful, virile, breathtaking. His cock hung heavy between his muscular thighs, still thick and glistening from his passion. The carved lines of his abdomen, the broad sweep of his chest dusted with dark auburn hair…Dieu,how she longed to trail kisses down that sculpted path, to worship every inch of him with her mouth until he hardened forheralone.

Biting her lower lip hard enough to draw blood, Veronique tasted copper on her tongue. Her gaze devoured him as he dressed, every motion graceful yet exuding raw masculine power. When he turned and slipped out of the chamber’s opposite door—away from Davina’s path—she smirked coldly. Dawn crept closer. He would return to his hidden sanctuary soon, and she dared not be caught spying from her perch.

With practiced ease, she climbed down the gnarled trunk, landing softly on the leaf-strewn forest floor with a muffledoomph.

Damn him,she thought bitterly. He still saw her as a sister, a childhood companion to be protected, not desired. But she wassomuch more than that. She could give him everything he craved—fire, passion, understanding of the thirst that gnawed at his soul. That Davina, with her prim airs and noble walls, knew nothing of the hunger Broderick carried inside him.

Veronique’s lips curled into a sly, dangerous smile. She had waited long enough, watched from the shadows for too manyrestless nights. No longer. The time to act had come. But not while Broderick lingered within the castle walls. No, she would bide her moment carefully. And when the time was right, she would claim him.

Forever.

∞∞∞

---