“You might be right.” She crept out of the tent, still kneeling on the ground. “Edmon used to accuse me of stealing the coverlet. Often I would roll up in it, leaving him with naught.”
The memory made her face soften, but it had a very different effect upon him. Jealousy roared through him, at the thought of her lying with another man. He imagined Celeste naked, wearing nothing except a coverlet. “If you’d been my wife, I’d have stolen it back.”
“You’d have to fight me for it,” she teased, her eyes bright. “I like to be kept warm at night.”
Oh, he’d have kept her warm all right. His groin tightened at the thought.
Around her neck, Celeste still wore the glass pendant Nairna had loaned her. It had slipped beneath the neckline of her gown, between her breasts. His attention rested upon her, and he wondered why she persisted in asking him to join her.
Her hair was still undone from the night before, a curled lock sliding over one shoulder. Strands of molten gold mingled with darker brown hair.
“Did you love him?” he demanded, even though he didn’t want to know the true answer.
“He was good to me. And we were friends.”
And there was the unspoken answer. No, she hadn’t loved Lord Eiloch. A primitive side to his mood was satisfied to hear it, for he wanted to know that her heart belonged to him.
The way she was watching him now made his body respond in ways he didn’t want it to. “Go back to the tent without me,” he ordered.
“But—”
“Now. Or you’ll find yourself on your back and I’ll be touching you in ways your husband never did.”
She stood with her mouth parted, shocked at his words. For a moment, she didn’t move, as if questioning whether he was serious. To underscore his words, Dougal moved in and touched the shoulders of her gown. “Right now, I’m wanting to slide this off your skin.” He loosened the laces, watching her flush as he did just that. When her shoulder was bared, he brought his mouth to her bare flesh. He nipped at it, meaning to frighten her.
“If you invite me into that shelter, I’ll take this gown off you, and use my mouth upon every part of your body.” He kissed her throat, feeling the tension in her. “Don’t fool yourself into believing I have honor. If you invite me back, I’ll take what you’re offering. And far more than you want to give.”
Her heart was slamming against her ribs as Celeste retreated into the shelter. His words had taken apart her courage, reminding her of exactly what happened between a man and a woman. And although she’d accepted her husband’s lovemaking, it had never been anything but lying there and enduring his attention. It had done nothing to arouse her.
But Dougal’s threats had slid beneath her skin, awakening her in a way she didn’t understand. Between her legs she was wet and aching. And although this was what she’d wanted, she found herself unable to speak the words of invitation. In the end, she was a coward, afraid of the way he made her feel.
She didn’t recognize this woman she was transforming into. And instinctively she knew, at the very deepest level, that it would be impossible to lie with a man like Dougal and walk away. It would change her.
For beneath it all, she hadn’t forgotten the way he made her feel. He’d stolen her heart once before. And now, he’d warned her that if she dared to pursue this, he wouldn’t stop.
God help her, she didn’t want him to.
Her gown was bunched between her legs, and the pressure was a sweet torment. Her breathing had gone faster, and in the darkness she watched him. He was sharpening one of his blades upon a stone, seated on a log as he worked. His dark hair hung below his shoulders, his eyes intent upon his task.
As his hands moved, she tightened her legs together, and something began to quicken inside her. The sweet pressure was rising, and she reached up to touch one of her breasts. The sensation sent the echo of desire between her legs, and she tried to remember what it had been like to have her husband inside her.
Except it was Dougal she imagined now. She closed her eyes, wondering what it would feel like to have this man penetrating her, his hard length filling her deeply. She could hardly breathe, hardly think. The feeling swelled inside, and she brought her hand beneath her skirts, startled at how wet the thoughts had made her. The release came so fast, she arched against her own hand, her body shuddering.
And when it was over, she felt ashamed at herself. She was throwing herself at him, knowing that they still could not be together. It was wrong, and if he knew why she had come to him, he’d never forgive her.
In the darkness, she closed her eyes, wondering how she would ever unravel herself from this knotted fate.
Chapter Five
“Dougal!” Lady Marguerite hurried forward to greet them. “What a wonderful surprise!” A genuine smile spread over the woman’s face. She had married his brother Callum years ago, and Dougal still viewed her as an angel. After Callum had been freed from prison, he’d lost his voice. Only Marguerite had been able to bring him back out of the years of torture.
Within moments, his brother appeared, holding the hand of his eldest son, Ailric. The lad gripped a bow in his hand, and at the sight of the boy, Dougal smiled. He’d carved that bow himself, out of an ash tree. The boy had spent three years at Glen Arrin but visited his parents often. Marguerite had insisted that she did not want her children forgetting who their mother and father were during their fostering.
Dougal helped Celeste dismount and led her forward. “This is Celeste de Laurent, Lady of Eiloch. Her escorts were killed on her way to Glen Arrin. I’ve promised her my protection until she can return to her sister.”
Celeste greeted Marguerite, and while the two women spoke, his older brother sent him a silent question. Dougal didn’t know how to answer for he hadn’t decided what would become of them. Celeste’s revelation had explained a great deal about why she’d refused to wed him, though he wished she’d given him the truth long ago.
She hadn’t trusted him to take care of her then. But would she trust him now? Did he want her to stay? His thoughts stood upon shifting ground, for he didn’t have the answers. For now, he would keep her safe. Beyond that, he didn’t know.
