Page 61 of When a Highlander Loses His Heart
Her eyes widened, but she slowly closed the door and then came to sit by him. He looked at her, and her beauty struck him speechless for a moment. He cleared his throat, then asked, “Why did ye interfere in my discipline of Broch?”
She sucked her lower lip between her teeth. “I was concerned that he would harm ye,” she said.
Her honesty—and the knowledge that she would willingly place herself in harm’s way for him—was like a battering ram into the wall he must make invincible. It felt as if his body shook with her innocent hit. The urge to pull her close to him, bury his head against her soft neck, and inhale the smell of her fragrant hair was so strong that he had to lace his hands behind his head to keep from acting on his yearning. “I dunnae need yer concern.” Her lips parted, and her fingers twisted in her lap. He clenched his teeth against the fast-building desire to comfort her. He had to make her understand. “I’m a skilled fighter,” he added, hoping it would lessen her hurt.
“I ken, but I was fearful all the same. Ye have my concern whether ye wish for it or nae.” She scowled. “Truly, I wish ye did nae have it, but ye do. Ye stole it like a thief, right along with my heart!”
Her words froze him. He had her heart?
Warmth that could not be denied filled him.He had her heart.It was a precious gift, indeed, yet he could not return it. He forced a coldness into his head, chest, and heart. “Isobel, as I explained before,” he said slowly, “it is yer duty as my wife to care for me, so dunnae fash yerself that ye do.”
“Dunnae fash myself?” she repeated, her words ringing with astonishment. “I dunnae ken ye, Graham. Ye act jealous, which makes me believe ye might care for me, but then ye act so cold as if ye dunnae care at all.”
“I told ye,” he said, hearing the resignation in his own tone, “I care for ye. I will keep ye safe from harm, and I will treat ye well, but I kinnae give ye more than that.”
The raw hurt that glittered in her eyes made him nearly choke with disgust in himself. He had vowed not to hurt her, yet he was hurting her right then. But he could see no other path safe enough to take. He thought about how her father had crushed her hopes, and he could not let her believe there was anything wrong with her. “It’s nae something lacking in ye, Isobel,” he said. “It’s me.”
Doubt filled her entire body. He said it was not her, but mayhap it was. Her father had not loved her, either.No.She shoved back at the burgeoning doubt. Graham’s words made her more certain than ever that she had to understand his past to understand the man he now was and whether they could ever have a chance for love. Yet, she suspected, if he thought she harbored any hope, he would withdraw further. Possibly to a place she could never reach him, and then they would live a lonely existence as man and wife.
“I believe I ken ye,” she said, picking her words with care as she thought about what Graham had said and what she should say. “If it is as ye say, then I must content myself with that.” The lie burned on her tongue, but she would not retract it.
His eyes narrowed, and she almost sighed with relief. Graham clearly did not like that she had so willingly agreed to be content without his love. That had to be a good sign.
“Was there a reason ye came to the training ground?” he asked.
Oh, she’d forgotten all about that. “Aye. I’d like ye to call back my guards.”
“Nay,” he said without hesitation. “I kinnae be with ye to watch over ye every minute of the day.”
More likely he didn’t want to be, but she tried not to let her hurt take hold of her. “Yer having me guarded makes it look as if ye dunnae trust me and dunnae really wish to be married to me. Yer clan will nae ever accept me that way.”
“I have ye guarded for yer safety,” he rebutted.
“I ken that, but do ye honestly believe yer sister, or any of yer clan, would strike at me now that I am yer wife? It would be like striking at ye. Surely they would nae do such a thing.” She could see him considering her argument so she rushed to say more. “I’ll nae leave the castle without asking, and I vow I’ll tell ye if I encounter any trouble.” That did not include trouble already brewing, she decided. Father Murdock would take care of that before it took hold.
Graham scrubbed a hand across his whiskers, and her fingers twitched to run them down the prickly hairs that she could vividly recall against her inner thighs last night. Her gut twisted into a knot as she repressed the desire. She did not think he would welcome her touch, and it made her sad.
“I’ll need yer vow,” he finally said.
She was so excited that she forgot herself and kissed him. When her lips touched his, she froze and quickly pulled away. “I’m sorry. I was overcome with happiness.”
A low growl emanated from Graham as he pulled her to him and slanted his mouth over hers, causing heat to immediately fill her. Just as her thoughts began to spin out of control, he broke the kiss. “Dunnae ever apologize for kissing me, Isobel.”
The look of yearning he gave her put renewed hope in her heart, but then his eyes almost shuttered and became remote. “It is yer duty as my wife to give me yer body, and it pleases me ye do so willingly.”
She clenched her teeth in a pang of anger. He wanted her, devil take the man! She could see clearly that he did, but he was now trying to make it about duty and not desire. He was attempting to make everything between them cold, including the passion that burned so hot.
“I detest the wordduty,” she snapped, unable to hold back any longer. “All my life the nuns told me it was my duty not to complain to my father about being separated or of their horrid treatment, and now ye talk of duty every time we speak! Is that all last night was to ye?” she demanded. “Yer duty to bed me to seal our marriage? Will every time ye touch me be because ye feel ye have adutyto get me with bairn? I dunnae want yer touch if I’m such a duty to ye!”
She shoved off the bed, intending to storm out of the bedchamber, but she did not get a step away before he clamped his hand around her wrist and she found herself propelled backward until she was flat on her back on the bed. In a flash he was looming over her, his hands braced on either side of her shoulders, his legs on either side of her hips. She was caged in by him, and instead of it scaring her, she found it excited her.
His scalding gaze raked her boldly. “Damn ye, Isobel,” he swore, looking half-crazed. “Ye can be certain that touching ye is nae a duty to me. Last night was about desire.” His mouth covered hers hungrily, and he kissed her until she was panting. “This moment is about desire,” he added in a low, seductive voice that she thought would make the devil himself blush. “When I touch ye it is about passion that burns so hot it sears me from the inside. Dunnae mistake that ever. Whatever is nae between us, thereispassion. But I will master it,” he vowed and then covered her mouth with his once more.
His lips roved hungrily from hers to her neck, and then he slipped his fingers inside her gown and tugged it down gently. Her breasts sprang free, and his mouth took her in fully. As he teased and tormented one bud and then the other, she thrashed and moaned as the pleasure became almost painful.
She felt the slide of her gown up her legs and then a few tugs as Graham divested her of her undergarments. His fingers expertly found the spot he had awoken her to the prior night, and he showed the same mercy here as he had shown to her sensitive buds—none.
Heat rushed between her legs and then to her cheeks when he gently slid his fingers into her. “A Dia, mo maise.Ye are so wet, so ready,” he growled.
