‘You are bonnie, too, Rowenna. Every day that passes, there is greater beauty for me to fathom – the colour in your cheeks, the bloom to your skin. It puzzles me. Could it be that life at Kransmuir agrees with you?’
‘You see what is not there, Jasper.’
‘There must be something about this place that is appealing.’
‘I eat well,’ she said.
He grabbed her bottom in his hand. ‘Well, you have filled out nicely since I got hold of you,’ he said with a laugh.
‘I suppose it suits you to have me fat with child, too.’
‘It does, but it also suits me to not see you starving and shivering at Fallstairs. And yet, you still think me a monster.’
‘I don’t think of you at all.’
‘Do you not, lass? His tone hardened. ‘I have shown restraint, you know. I have not laid a finger on you since our wedding night.’
‘And am I to be grateful for that?’
‘You are to understand that there is a limit to any man’s patience.’ It was a steely warning.
‘Why not take your pleasure elsewhere, Jasper?’
‘How can I do that, when I am consumed with thoughts of you? You banish my sleep, Rowenna. And now that I have had a little taste, I want to gorge on you until I am sated.’
‘Then our appetites do not match.’
He heaved a big sigh. ‘You never give any ground, do you? Tell me, Rowenna. Why do you wish to be a mother to my bairn, but not a wife to me?’
How could she explain to him or even to herself? ‘Caitrin is innocent and motherless. You are not.’
‘I am motherless at present since I banished my family to my aunt’s to make way for you, and I have refused her pleas to return.’
That had been as unexpected as it was welcome. How could she ever understand a man as changeable as Jasper? ‘Why did you do that?’ she asked.
‘I wanted them gone so that we could have a chance to get used to one another. It was meant as a kindness on my part. Many husbands would not be so forbearing.’
‘Am I to believe you were doing that for my sake?’
‘I was.’ He shrugged as if he was uncomfortable being caught in an act of kindness. Then he smiled. ‘Maybe I wanted them out of the way so that I could throw you into my bed and not let you out of it for a few weeks.’
‘Ah, there he is - the real Jasper Glendenning.’
‘In all my glory, aye. Now, why don’t we go to your chamber and relieve your boredom, wife?’
Jasper could be very seductive, with his deep, slow way of talking, saying one thing but suggesting something far more sinful. Gold stubble was just coming through on his chin, and his blue eyes were bright with mischief. And his sensual mouth was close enough to kiss. The remembered warmth and invasion of it meeting her own sent heat to Rowenna’s belly. It was nice to be kissed, touched and conquered by Jasper Glendenning. The caress of his warm, rough fingers had made Rowenna feel beautiful, powerful, and wanted, if only for a moment.
His hand came to her cheek, sending a shiver down her spine. It would be so easy to surrender to a scrap of affection and flattery. She teetered on the brink of wanting him.
She pushed his hand away. ‘No. I have better things to do than succumb to your urges, Jasper.’
‘Fair enough, lass,’ he said, as if it did not matter at all.
Rowenna hurried away, smiling a little at the triumph of denying Jasper what he wanted but worried that he might come after her and take it. What a villain he was, and what a ruinouseffect he had on her restraint. She wanted to know what was beyond the touch of his fingers, the hunger of his mouth and the weight of his big, hard body. What if she let him go inside her again and…?
Rowenna squealed as a meaty hand reached out and pulled her into an empty room. Osla shut the door and barred it with her body.
‘What are you doing?’ cried Rowenna.
