Page 66 of Tempted
He felt an overwhelming relief that she intended to accompany him to Castle Douglas, yet his hooded eyes gave no hint of it. He missed nothing. He saw her wince as she mounted, saw her head lift and her back straighten with pride. The gray riding habit made her glorious hair blaze in contrast, but it emphasized the delicate pallor of her skin and the blue marks of fatigue beneath her eyes.
His conscience pricked him, but he vowed he’d make it up to her. He couldn’t believe his good fortune. Valentina could never be described as innocent—she was far too beautiful and had received the randy attentions of a score of men—but she was inexperienced, thank God, and if he taught her skillfully all the mysteries of sex, she would be a ravishing woman indeed. Granted, he had made a bad start, but if he put all his efforts into pleasing her, he knew there wasn’t a woman alive who could resist his Douglas charm.
One thing was certain: He had hurt her, and she could not ride all the way to the borders. Fifty miles was no great distance to his men, but with the wild horses and the supply wagons, they would be in the saddle hours longer than usual. She was almost as stubborn and blood-proud as himself, and he knew that if he offered to take her up before him, she would reject that offer. He must think of something subtler.
Ramsay seemingly ignored her while they rode through the Southern Uplands and the Leadhills, but when they passed from Lanark County into Dumfries, he rode up beside her. His shrewd eyes saw her drawn face and her weariness. “Perhaps I’m mistaken, but yer mare seems tae have a slight limp.”
She had not noticed but felt too tired to argue
“I’ll take a look,” he decided. They drew rein, and he dismounted and lifted Indigo’s hoof. “Mm, just as I thought. Her shoe is loose.”
Tina felt resentful that he cared more for the horse’s discomfort than her own, but she also felt guilt that she had ridden Indigo in such condition. Ram remounted, came alongside her mare, and lifted her before him. She protested, “I have my other mount,” and stared up at him defiantly.
He grinned down at her. “Yer precious Mr. Burque rides yer other animal. Do ye want me tae take him up in my arms before all these rough men?”
She couldn’t suppress her laughter at the picture he painted, and she had to admit to herself it was a relief not to have to ride astride any longer.
At first she held herself stiffly aloof, but once they stopped to water the horses at the River Nith, Ramsay settled his mount into an even, rhythmic, slow gallop Her body started to relax, then her eyelids began to droop
He was acutely aware of her. The delicate scent from her warm body made him become instantly aroused. He shifted in the saddle to ease the pressure of his swollen manhood as it bulged the leather of his breeches, and his movements made Tina open her eyes and sit up straighter Before long, however, she was again lulled to sway back against him, and he slipped an ironlike arm about her to prevent her from falling.
As she slumped against his body he became aware of how small she was Desire pulsed at his groin with a sweet, almost unendurable ache. She was full asleep now, and he half-turned her so that she almost faced him. She lay heavily between his thighs, the heat from her body mingling with his He was marble hard now in an agony of need, and he doubted he’d ever grow soft again in her presence
Her breasts swelled against him, filling his arms and his lap with her loveliness. God, he wanted her in the bed like this, both of them naked He’d never take her in the dark again!
Valentina missed all the beauty of the wild, rugged, often inaccessible land through which they rode As they cut through the range of mountains bordering Kirkcudbright, there were precipices of rock, caverns, and morasses full of deep ruts Then they passed one of Ramsay’s favorite spots on earth It was a waterfall that cascaded in three tiers He had seldom passed it in his life without stripping and bathing there, diving from the second tier into the deep pool at the bottom. Today, however, he realized he would rather be right here in the saddle with his woman asleep between his thighs.
As Ram’s eyes surveyed his beloved borders, he knew them to be a perfect hiding place where thousands of men could remain in safe concealment The men and the horses picked up speed as they neared Castle Douglas. Ram would have known he was near home even if he’d been blindfolded, for the tang of the sea swept up the River Dee almost up to the very foundations of the ancient fortalice.
As Ruffian came to an abrupt halt in the bailey, Tina opened her eyes and gazed upward at the forbidding gray stones of Castle Douglas. Realization dawned that they had arrived and that she must have slept most of the way. She gave Ram a look of disbelief that he had held her between his thighs all the way. As he slowly grinned down at her, her cheeks flamed at the intimacy. He made no effort to hide that he was pleased with himself, and she learned a valuable lesson. If she let him play the dominant, masterful male and she fulfilled the role of helpless female, his mood was almost pleasant.
Ram was amazed that on the ride his young brother and cousins had looked to the horses and his men had smoothed the way for the supply wagons, mending wheels and pushing the carts out of endless ruts and foxholes so that he could get on with the serious business of wooing his woman. Now that they had arrived at their destination, all was taken care of, so that he was free to show her his favorite castle and tend to her needs.
Ram dismounted and held up his arms. Tina looked down at him with hesitation in her eyes. Then she made a decision: She would take the first tentative steps to bind him to her irrevocably. She went down into his arms softly, sweetly, in a flurry of petticoats, and he lifted her to the ground. They stood with their bodies almost touching, and she made no effort to draw away from him.
Then he swung her into his arms again and carried her into Castle Douglas. Her face was warmed by the hard flesh beneath his leather jack. He set her on her feet and offered her his cast-iron arm—but not before he caught her with an intimate look. He found her golden eyes intrigued him. They invited him to wickedness, yet at the same time they held him at a distance. He captured her hand, and she allowed him to keep it. “This time ye won’t be able to accuse me of not showing ye my chamber—our chamber,” he amended boldly, gauging her reaction.
She remained silent at his invitation, yet did not say him no. A protective hand went to the small of her back as he guided her up the winding staircase designed in the ancient style to free the sword arm against invaders.
Tina expected a replica of his other rooms, but she was most pleasantly surprised. The chamber was magnificent. One whole wall consisted of a huge fireplace. From floor to ceiling was polished-pink granite, almost as beautiful as pink marble. The floor was carpeted with black sheepskins, and the massive bed was covered by a luxurious lynx fur that was so large, it spilled to the floor.
He bestowed his first compliment upon her. “This pink and black chamber enhances yer own lovely coloring.”
“You silver-tongued devil,” she bantered. “Have you been taking lessons from Angus?” His laughter rolled about the chamber, and they said in unison, “At least you have a sense of humor.” Because they said the same thing at the same moment, they both went off into peals of laughter.
He took her through a door that led out onto the ramparts of Castle Douglas, where they stood together looking out toward the mouth of the River Dee and the sea beyond. As black and white terns glided and screamed above their heads, he said low, “Will ye share this chamber wi’ me if I promise not tae ravish ye again?”
She did not ignore him, but she made him wait a few minutes before she answered: “Are you truly promising to be civilized?”
He grinned. “Never that, but next time I’ll try tae seduce ye.”
“Seduction sounds most wicked and inviting, yet I’ve never succumbed to it before.”
“That’s because ye weren’t seduced by Black Ram Douglas,” he promised arrogantly.
She turned to him and said quite frankly, “This first night I want only to sleep, my lord.”
He looked into her eyes. “So be it,” he said solemnly, then his pewter eyes crinkled in amusement. “That will give ye a fighting chance against me tomorrow night.”
