‘Osla says weeks, but I don’t rightly know what to believe with that one.’
‘Damn those MacCreadie rats. The brother is in league with the Warden, the Gunns, and, no doubt, others who wish me dead. And that lout of a father is desperate for coin. He will do anything to survive. As for the sister, no one knows what she is up to since she disappeared. And now, I have been played for a fool, dancing to Rowenna’s tune.’
Jasper paced, his hands fisted. He could not be still.
‘What will you do?’ said Randel.
‘Nothing, for now. Keep watching Rowenna.’
‘You want me to spy on your wife?’
‘Aye, and don’t let her out of your sight. And keep tupping that slut of a wet nurse so that you get to know all her secrets.’
‘Well, I’m not that partial to Osla, to be honest. She clings a bit, and I would rather not.’
‘We all have to make sacrifices, Randel,’ hissed Jasper.
He shrugged. ‘Alright. I will grit my teeth and surrender my virtue for the sake of the clan. But, Jasper, do not judge Rowenna too harshly. It’s not as if you told her you had her brother thrown into a dungeon, is it?’
‘The worm has been well fed, and if he had spilt his secrets, I would have freed him eventually, for her sake. But not now.’
Jasper scrunched up his mother’s letter and threw it in the flames. He gripped the mantel to stem the anger flooding his heart. So, another woman had played him for a fool. These last weeks, when Rowenna had panted and squirmed under his hands, his mouth, his cock, it had all been an act to get on his good side and free her brother. One moment, he was basking inhis happiness. The next, his heart was an open wound. But was it not always the way with women? They either used or rejected him, never loving him or wanting his affection. He had been falling into a sweet oblivion, but now he had to drag himself out of it and face the truth.
‘Randel, go and fetch my mother and sisters back.’
‘Aye, that might be punishment enough for Rowenna, having those harpies around,’ he said, placating him, trying to laugh it all away.
‘Just do it, will you,’ snapped Jasper. ‘And say nothing of this discovery to anyone, least of all my lying wife.’
Chapter Twenty
Rowenna’s body rocked against the cold stone with delicious violence. She wrapped her legs around Jasper’s waist, and they hung together by their mouths. His fingers dug into her bottom under her skirts, sending shoots of desire up into her belly, and Rowenna pulled him in, grasping him with her thighs. The pleasure grew too intense and she had to stifle her cries by biting his shoulder lest anyone hear them.
As a lover, Jasper was insatiable, and she wondered if all men were like that. Being an innocent to her marriage bed, she had nothing to compare him to. But Rowenna was sure of one thing. Her heart beat faster when Jasper walked into a room. Her cheeks heated at the memory of what his body did to hers. She craved his touch, his company, and she needed him, in and out of bed.
Ever since succumbing to his charms to save her brother, Rowenna discovered that Jasper Glendenning was changeable. His lovemaking could be leisurely, teasing her to the edge of passion and holding her there until she begged him to go on. He was gentle, tender and quiet, rousing her with the lightest of touches, taking his time to bring her to ecstasy. At those times, it was as if he could not bear to give voice to his need.
Lately, she was taken aback by Jasper’s virility in all its fury. Once she proved willing, he seemed to crave her endlessly. If he came upon her around Kransmuir, be it night or day, he would drag her into his bed or simply have her wherever he happenedto find her. Sometimes, it was the cellars, hay loft, and even out in the woods up against a tree.
A look would come upon him as if a mask had dropped, and then he would unleash his need upon her. There would be no stopping him, not that she wanted him to stop, far from it. At those times, making love to Jasper was like being devoured by a hungry lion – ripping at her clothes, furious, unbridled, as if he would die to have her. And now was such a time. He had barely stopped to lock the door and pull down her bodice before having her up against the wall.
He stopped moving. ‘Are you close?’ he panted. His voice excited Rowenna - deep, smooth, and with darkness behind it.
‘Aye. Very. Why are you stopping?’
He gave her a wicked grin. ‘Just catching my breath,’ he said, and heaved her over to the bed, and threw himself down on top of her. What followed was a frantic coupling, fierce and pleasurable almost beyond bearing. By the time the sun began to lower, Rowenna’s face glowed from Jasper’s endless rough kisses, and she was a little sore from taking him inside her repeatedly.
She glanced at him, lying naked beside her, a sheen of their mutual sweat drying on his skin. A red mark had appeared where her teeth had sunk into his shoulder. Suddenly, she felt fortunate in her husband. She had begun to think of him like that now. Jasper was golden, muscular and wonderful to look at. He had a vigorous, hard body that crushed while it protected. Rowenna loved the heaviness of him, his power, his broad hands. She loved what his fingers and mouth could do to her, and she was in awe of his manhood to the point where she would wake him at night to have it deep inside her.
Sometimes, she would giggle to herself, scarcely believing that she had tamed such a fierce man. Happiness had crept slowly upon Rowenna, but a cloud remained in her blue sky. It was getting harder to find time to slip away to the dungeon and Bran. She had to find a way out of her predicament, and now was as good a time as any, though guilt made blood rush to her cheeks.
Jasper marvelled at Rowenna’s beauty. It seemed to swell beyond bearing just after they had coupled. Looking at her made his throat ache. He stroked her breast. Must he be forever touching her? Aye, for the witch had cast her spell all too well.
‘You are so soft, lass. Your skin is like silk,’ he said.
He had not bothered to get under the blankets, even though it was growing cold. His manhood lay soft against his belly, but it would stiffen soon, and it would serve her all night long.
‘Did I please you, Jasper?’ she said.
