Page 65 of Tempted
His mood was lifting. He was more than pleased that she had known no other men. Christ, he’d even suspected she might be carrying his enemy’s child, which had been the reason for his inexcusable behavior toward her after the ceremony. He had a foul and filthy mind, and his temper was no better. “We will begin anew.”
She drew the delicate bedrobe about her and shook her head sadly. “Everything is ruined between us. Our personalities clash, and even our bodies are unsuited,” she said with a blush.
Her words, though said gently enough, challenged his very manhood. “That is untrue! Give me another chance, and I swear to use ye gently, my lady. Even kissing has its own foreplay.”
Her cheeks were rosy although not by intent. When he saw her almost imperceptible hesitation, he pressed his advantage. “In good faith, neither of us can dissolve the union at this early stage. We would both be accused of not even trying.”
They heard a loud scuffle outside the door, and Ram threw it open to see who dared disturb them. Tina watched the Boozer tear into the room after the cat. “Oh, he’ll kill it!” she cried.
“What?” he asked blankly.
“The cat—oh, where did it go?”
Ram looked into her eyes to observe her reaction to his words. “He cannot kill the cat. It is a ghost.”
She gave him a startled look, then something seemed to dawn upon her. He knew she did not reject his explanation out of hand and think him a madman. “The cat belongs to Damaris. … Its name is Folly.”
The lady they spoke of stood in the corner with Folly in her arms. She was delighted that their minds were open enough to accept the possibility of her existence, yet she felt totally frustrated that she could not communicate with Valentina and protect her against Ram Douglas.
The Boozer, now realizing where he was, slunk to the door and whined pitifully to be let out.
“Please go,” Tina asked. “I must bathe.”
“I’ll send a maid with hot water immediately,” he said gently, knowing he had received no answer from her but hoping against hope that she would not go running back to Doon.
Damaris went looking for Alexander. She found him in Ram’s chamber. “Alex, he raped her!”
“The son of a whore!” Alex swore angrily. “If I were alive, I’d beat him senseless!” He crashed his fist into his cousin’s skull. “Bloody Black Ram!”
“Oh Alex, it’s happening all over again. One of them will kill the other.”
“Damn it, woman—once and for all time: I didn’t kill ye!”
“Don’t start with me. Oh, how I wish they weren’t off to Castle Douglas! If she were here, where I could watch over her, I just might be able to keep her safe. I think she is aware that I’m here.”
“We may be able to go to Castle Douglas with them. I think it’s possible to move to another place. All ye have tae do is bond with a living entity, and they will take ye with them. Ye try tae bond wi’ Valentina, and I’ll bond wi’ Ramsay, just for the journey.”
“You really believe I’d ever trust you again? And I would never leave Folly,” Damaris said to cover her nervousness at moving from the castle where she’d spent fifteen years.
“Take yer cat wi’ ye.”
“No—I’d be afraid she might get lost. She’ll be safer here, I think, and so will I.”
“Sweetheart …”
“Don’t sweetheart me. You’re a bloody Douglas, and nothing can ever change that.” She faded from the chamber instantly.
Chapter 20
Tina lay in her pretty bathtub a long time. The warm water soothed her battered body but not her thoughts. Ram Douglas was a force to be reckoned with, not unlike a violent thunderstorm. She would need to be extremely clever and resourceful to keep abreast of him, let alone one step ahead of him. No wonder the name Douglas inspired fear; she had more reason than the rest of the population to know why.
She finally climbed into bed, but sleep was as far away as the man in the moon. If she lay perfectly still, she didn’t hurt, but she was so restless she tossed and turned the night away. Black Ram Douglas was so … what? Not coarse exactly, like Angus. So male, so masculine, it made her shudder involuntarily.
She tried not to think of his naked body touching her, covering her, entering her, but it was such an unseen mystery to her, she could not free her mind of it. She had seen his naked chest, so wide, so darkly furred, but the rest of him, the male core of him, remained a frightening unknown.
As the lavender dawn spread its fingers up the sky, Tina had not slept at all through the long night. She felt drained, exhausted before the day had even begun. Ada cast her a worried look as she helped her fasten the gray riding dress and handed her her gloves and riding crop.
Nell staggered in with a tray holding enough breakfast for the three of them, but Tina could not face the food. Ada gave her a warmed cup of ale, and Tina flashed a grateful look and sipped it slowly. When she emerged into the bailey and saw her groom holding Indigo, she knew a moment of panic. My god, she was too sore to ride any distance. But Ram Douglas and his hard-bitten mosstroopers were already in the saddle waiting for her.
