“Sham?” He sounded surprised.
She stared at him in disbelief. “Yes, this sham. Just because I was a green girl when I arrived, does not mean that I do not know how marriages are supposed to work. Even if my sisters and I spent hours discussing it, Betsy filled me in quite vividly on what to expect from a husband. And even your former healer is aware that you have not taken me!”
Kayden’s eyes went wider with every word she said. She could not understand how he could possibly be surprised.
“I…” He shook his head. “I thought I was giving ye time to get used to… all of this. Were ye nae the one who tried to run on the night afore our wedding?”
She huffed, shaking her head. “Well, I was not successful, was I?”
“And what? Did ye expect me to take a reluctant bride to me bed?”
Her brow furrowed. “So, you are punishing me for being blindsided by the turn of events?”
He sighed, shaking his head. “A man cannae win. If he gives ye time, he has rejected ye. If he forces ye, he is a brute.” He looked into her eyes, moving closer until he was standing over her.
She looked up at him, bosom heaving, and put down her teacup. The cup rattled in its saucer from her shaking hand.
“I could treat ye like me wife right now,” he said softly. “I dare say ye would enjoy it.”
He was too close. His scent overwhelmed her. Unconsciously, her hand rose to her breastbone. She regretted wearing a gown with a low neckline. His eyes felt like a brand on her exposed skin.
His eyes dropped, watching the rise and fall of her breasts, and it made her huff again. She could not forestall her reaction to him. He took another step closer, and she shot to her feet if only to stop him from looming over her.
“What…?”
She wanted to ask what he was doing, but her throat had gone inexplicably dry. Slowly, his hand lifted, running over her skirts before closing around her waist.
She gasped, holding her breath as she looked up at him with wide eyes. His other hand slowly rose higher, and she watched fascinated as it landed on her shoulder, fingers trailing only to cup the nape of her neck.
He continued to stare at her as if waiting for something, but she was frozen in place, braced for what he would do next. He pulled her flush against him, and she squealed in surprise. He was so dizzyingly close to her, she could hardly think.
“Wh—what are you doing?” she whispered, lips slightly parted.
“I am showing ye what it means to be me wife,” he said before swooping in and claiming her mouth with his.
His lips moved against hers, his tongue seeking entry into her mouth. Their tongues met, clashed, and then twisted together, tasting, licking, teeth clashing until they were not. It was like nothing she’d ever experienced before.
The sensations drove her mad with a want that she had never experienced before. Her hands did not know what to do, so they fluttered helplessly, hanging in the air on either side of his arms, wanting to touch, to feel, to know if he truly was as hard everywhere as he felt.
So different from me.
He was hard where she was soft. Demanding where she yielded. The only soft thing about him was his mouth, the plush lips pressing against hers. And his hair, softly brushing against her forehead.
She could feeleverything.
As she made a moan deep in her throat, he gentled the kiss, making it more tender and mind-melting.
Lord above!
Her hands trembled, and she placed them on his arms, using him as an anchor as he pulled away from her slightly. She lookedup at him, panting in awe and wonder. He looked back, his eyes dark, still burning with passion.
Tearing her hands away from his arms, she made a sound of despair and shot away, running out of the door as if the hounds of hell were at her heels.
12
“Will you be coming down for breakfast today, My Lady?” Betsy asked, watching Lilliana anxiously.
Lilliana shook her head, burrowing deeper into the blankets. “No, I will take a tray in here, please,” she said.
