Page 62 of Tempted
“Oh, he is, my lord,” Tina said blithely.
He washed his meat down with ale and said belligerently, “Whoever cooked this needs a few lessons in the culinary arts.”
She opened her mouth to agree, then closed it because she knew he did not want her to agree with him—he wanted an argument. So to oblige him she replied, “It’s not too bad. The parsnips are tasty.”
“Not bad? The damned stuff is hardly edible. He should be shot at dawn for ruining good food!” He was ready to sink his teeth into a good argument, if not the meat, so Tina took a perverse pleasure in thwarting him. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, Douglas, but your own chefs cooked this meal. Mr. Burque has spent the day loading his cooking equipment, utensils, and supplies for the journey to Castle Douglas.”
Ram’s eyes narrowed, and he chewed his lip for a minute. “Who the hell gave him permission tae come with us?”
“Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face, Douglas. You said yourself this stuff was inedible. Once you’ve tasted Mr. Burque’s cuisine, you’ll think you’ve died and gone to Heaven after this muck.”
She thought she was so damned clever, he wanted to slap her. When she moved, her gown rustled invitingly, and its blue-green color did glorious things to her flaming hair. She knew how beautiful she was, how alluring to a man. Well, madam, I won’t slaver after ye like a bloody hound, he assured himself. She bestowed a radiant look upon Colin, farther down the hall, and it wrenched Ram’s gut that the look was not meant for him.
The next time she looked at Ramsay, she caught the raw hungry look on his face and lowered her lashes to her cheeks in shy invitation. He radiated sexual hunger, and she knew if he touched her, it would feel as if she had been struck by lightning.
Ram, however, did not touch her He did not dare. She turned his blood to wine. He had tried to build a wall against her, but suddenly he felt the edge crumbling. He stood up and moved away from her. He would maintain an air of indifference at any cost.
Ada watched silently She knew Ramsay Douglas wouldn’t be able to resist Valentina much longer He had rights, and he would exercise those rights When he looked at Tina, he was like a predator giving his prey a very wide circle, but Ada knew the signs of a raptor, knew he had marked her as his and would soon close in for the kill
Ada wondered if Tina realized what a potent lure she was. Ada’s eyes traveled down the room again to Ramsay, and she sighed He was a magnificent male, like a beautiful, wily panther What must he be like in bed?
For all his indifference Douglas prowled the hall as warily as a wolf who has scented a doe He moved back down the hall toward Tina Though she did not look at him, she was completely aware of him. “We leave at dawn I’d better have a word with yer women so they understand I won’t be kept waiting”
“I give my women their orders,” she stated firmly
“Why?” he demanded
She shrugged a shapely shoulder. “For my own self-esteem.”
“Ye already have far too much of that,” he accused She looked pleased at his remark, and his mouth hardened. He turned on his heel and quit the hall Tina joined Ada “What a relief to be free of his high and mighty at last!”
Ada gave her a speaking look. “If I know aught of men, you are not free of him. He is not finished with you yet”
Valentina shuddered involuntarily. She went up to the chamber she imagined she shared with Damaris, and as soon as she opened the door, she glimpsed the cat before it jumped down from the bed and disappeared. She must remember to ask who fed it and who let it in and out of her room “Come, puss. Come to me,” she coaxed, but she knew the nature of felines and accepted that it would come to her only when it was good and ready.
Nell had done a wonderful job of repacking her ten trunks, and Tina summoned a Douglas servant to carry them down to the front entrance since his lordship did not wish to be kept waiting in the morning. She saw the cat slip out the door between the servant’s legs and sighed. She would have liked company tonight.
She bathed and readied herself for bed. The only nightgown she could find was the exquisite white silk that Ada had embroidered so painstakingly for her first night with Ram Douglas. She shrugged and slipped it on, enjoying the feel of it against her skin. She opened the wardrobe to hang up her turquoise gown and saw the gray and black riding dress hanging by itself except for a shell-pink night-robe that Nell had left unpacked. She closed the wardrobe door and fell into a reverie, wondering what the border country around Castle Douglas would be like.
Ram paced his chamber feeling caged. Everything was in readiness for the transition to Castle Douglas, and he knew his moss-troopers would welcome the ride and the wild borders as much as he would. He knew his temper had been short these last few days. His men had obeyed his curt orders immediately, not daring to glance at each other with raised eyebrows until after he had departed. He and Cameron had exchanged sharp words, and even Colin was avoiding him.
The lines about Ram’s mouth had become finely drawn, and his eyes were red-rimmed from lack of sleep. He hadn’t had a woman in weeks, and his body screamed its need. He spoke with such ferociousness to the maidservant who brought him fresh body linen that she was terrified, and she was almost incoherent when Cameron later asked her what was amiss. Cameron set his mouth in grim lines and tackled his brother. “Since Gavin isn’t here tae challenge ye, I’ll do it myself. Christ Almighty, ye are so evil-tempered, all who can, avoid ye like the plague. Yer face looks like a death-head. I know what ails ye, if ye don’t!”
“Oh?” Ram said silkily. “And what is that?”
“Ye need tae lie abed wi’ yer new wife ‘til she drains ye o’ yer lust and the evil humors of yer hot blood”
Ramsay’s look was so black, Cameron stepped back in fear; then, so he couldn’t accuse himself of cowardice, Cameron attacked further: “We know ye didn’t want tae be shackled—Christ, the whole bloody world knows that, but did ye stop tae consider she was forced tae it as well?”
“Get out!” Cameron was glad to leave with a whole skin.
Ramsay swore a foul oath. No woman was of that much import to him and never would be, praise God. He threw off his doublet and sat down on his bed to remove his boots. It was true, he admitted, that he would like to master her He licked dry lips It would be good sport to tame her. His sex began to harden, and he flung his boots across the room and knocked a dirk from his wall. The Boozer, in his wisdom, moved to the door, hoping to escape.
Ram decided that what he needed was sleep. Without removing more clothes, he swung his legs up on the bed and stretched out full length with his arms behind his head. His blood pounded. He knew he would never sleep until he had eased himself with a woman. He allowed his imagination to conjure her vision, and what he pictured fueled his temper. He saw himself enter her chamber, saw her look of triumph that he could not resist the temptation of her incomparable beauty. She was quite obviously doing her utmost to tempt him, and tempted he was, sorely tempted, he finally admitted. Christ, hadn’t that been Adam’s excuse in the Garden of Eden? The woman tempted me! Well, his willpower was easily strong enough to resist her temptation. He thumped his pillow savagely and felt his blood surge higher The more he tried to resist her, the more he wanted her. If he went to her, she would be triumphant If he gave in to her temptation, it would feed her vanity
She was vain enough. No, he’d never pander to her beauty He stood up, restless as a panther and every bit as dangerous. He’d go to her He’d pull the proud vixen from her pedestal. It was time she learned that her place in the Douglas hierarchy was not as elevated as she imagined. He would take her without love words, praise, or flattery. Up till now, she’d likely had besotted poetry from her lovers and promises of undying love and devotion. He’d not worship at the altar of her beauty. He’d never fuel her vanity. He’d take her in the dark, where she would be exactly like every other female. Then he would leave her. He’d not lie beside her all night, so she could tempt him to make love to her again and again.
He flung open his chamber door, and the Boozer stalked through it with a look of reproach and disappeared down the dim passageway. Ram made his way to Damaris’s old chamber with such resolution, the large, square quarions flickered alarmingly in their iron brackets upon the wall. His knuckles smote the wooden door only once before he threw it wide.
