Elayne froze. Had he noticed that she had taken the keys? Was that it for her?
Slowly, she turned around to face him, her eyes finding his cold gaze. She parted her lips as if to speak, but what could she say to him? She couldn’t confess before he even accused her of something.
“I dinnae wish tae see ye again,” her father said, and the relief of remaining safe was overshadowed by the ache in her chest. Though Elayne had always known this day would come, it still felt as though a sword pierced her heart upon hearing those words. “Ye’re the greatest disappointment o’ me life. Take yer husband an’ leave.”
Elayne didn’t stay to hear another word, though she doubted her father had anything else to say to her. She fled the room, her shoes slapping against the floor with every rushed step, her vision blurred by the tears she refused to shed.
It was late when the door to the chambers opened and Dunn strolled in. Elayne had chosen to eat dinner with Isobel instead of joining her father and everyone else, since the last thing she wanted was to see him again after the conversation they had had that morning, but after talking to her friend, she felt much better. She had forgotten all about her father, all about the heartbreak he had caused her.
After all, he didn’t deserve her tears, her grief. He deserved nothing but her contempt and so Elayne was prepared to cast him out of her mind. By the time Dunn made it to their chambers, she had managed to do just that.
Besides, she had other plans for the night. It was time to put all the skills Isobel had taught her to the test.
“Are ye alright?” Dunn asked as he paused by the foot of the bed, looking at her with a small frown as if he could sense her hesitation. “What’s wrong?”
“Naething,” said Elayne as she stood and grabbed Dunn by the collar, making him sit on the edge of the bed. Dunn, surprised by the sudden gesture, almost lost his footing as he crashed onto the bed. The bemused expression lingered on his face, but Elayne was determined to show him she could be just as good as the more experienced women he had bedded.
With a deep, steeling breath, she straddled him and pulled him into a kiss. Dunn’s hands came to rest on her hips, his lips pliant against Elayne’s, soft sounds falling from them. Elayne couldn’t help the hesitation that made her falter every time she moved, but she fought against it. She knew what she had to do. She had to trust herself.
Slowly, she began to undress Dunn, her hands sliding under his shirt, fingers caressing the expanse of his chest. She felt the ridges of the scars that littered his skin, the warmth of his body, and then removed his shirt, tossing it to the side.
“Are ye certain ye’re alright?” Dunn asked, but Elayne only nodded as she slid off his lap and to the floor between his legs, looking up at him through her lashes. Her brow furrowed in concentration as she smoothed her hands over his thighs and fiddled with his trews to try and remove them, but the laugh that bubbled out of Dunn stopped her.
She didn’t even know why she was trying. There she was, doing her best to please him, and he found this funny—perhaps even foolish.
A blush spread over Elayne’s cheeks at the thought that Dunn viewed her as nothing but a silly noble girl who knew nothing about these things. With a sigh, she pulled back, sitting on the floor with her head between her shoulders.
“I would appreciate it if ye didnae ridicule me like this,” she said.
“I’m nae tryin’ tae ridicule ye,” Dunn assured her, grabbing her hand to pull her back to her feet and then in his lap. Though he was still laughing, he sounded sincere. “I’ve simply never seen anyone look so worried before. What is it, lass? Ye can tell me.”
Elayne didn’t know if she could. It was too embarrassing, especially now that she had failed at her task. At least Dunn had stopped laughing and was now simply looking at her with some concern of his own, as though he truly thought there was something wrong.
“It’s naething,” Elayne insisted, but she knew it wouldn’t be so easy to get out of this without explaining anything. “I simplythought… I wished tae please ye. I ken ye’ve been with lasses far more experienced than me an’ I wished tae be… better. Fer ye.”
With a heavy sigh and a soft smile, Dunn pulled Elayne into a kiss. “Ye are perfect the way ye are,” he said, as he scattered kisses on her cheeks, her jaw, her forehead. “I dinnae need anythin’ more from ye. I am yers only.”
Warmth spread over Elayne’s chest at Dunn’s words, the promise sweeter than anything Elayne had heard before. She could hardly believe her chance meeting with Dunn had brought her so much love, so much happiness.
Where would I be without him?
Had it not been for Dunn, she would be married to Laird McCoy now, spending her life drenched in misery and pain. Not only did she love him, but he was the only reason why she wasn’t rotting by Laird McCoy’s side, why she still had her freedom.
When they kissed again, Elayne gave in to the pleasure without trying to perform for Dunn. If he said she was perfect the way she was, then she was going to believe him. Still, she wasn’t going to let Isobel’s teachings go to waste. What she had told her had been useful, and now that she wasn’t so focused on trying to impress Dunn, she could take the time to touch and feel, to drag her lips over his neck until he shuddered, to trace that same path with the heat of her tongue.
A moan reverberated through Dunn’s chest, Elayne feeling the vibrations of it under her hands. Slowly, she pushed Dunn backonto the mattress, climbing off him for just long enough to remove her dress.
It turned out to be a far more difficult task than she had anticipated, and Dunn jumped up, laughing as she helped him out of her clothes. Once Elayne was finally naked, she worked on the rest of Dunn’s clothes, throwing them all hastily aside.
Within moments, Dunn was once again on his back on the bed, looking up at Elayne as she loomed over him, a devious smile on her lips. Just as Isobel had shown her, she reached for him, wrapping her hand around his manhood and giving him a few slow, gentle strokes, watching him carefully to gauge his reactions. The moment Dunn felt the first touch of her fingers, he sighed, letting his eyes fall shut as he relaxed onto the bed, one hand reaching for her thigh, fingers curling into her flesh.
With a twist of her wrist, Elayne drew a gasp out of Dunn, the hand around her thigh tightening. Emboldened by his reactions, she shifted lower and lower until she could finally wrap her lips around the tip, sucking gently.
Dunn shook with the effort it took him to stay still, the hand moving from Elayne’s thigh to her hair, fingers carding through the strands as she took him deeper. Soft groans tumbled out of his lips and upon hearing them, Elayne only doubled her efforts, eager to bring him pleasure. She relished every drag of velvety skin against her tongue, every small twitch of Dunn’s hips, every breathless sound he made as she bobbed her head in a slow rhythm, her hand stroking what she couldn’t reach with her lips. Dunn was impossibly hard in her mouth, his skin heated,his chest already heaving. Elayne had never seen him like this before, so entirely at her mercy, and the mere sight of him like this aroused her, wetness gathering between her legs.
“That’s it,” Dunn encouraged her. “Ye look so bonnie,mo ghraidh. Take it. Take it deeper.”
Elayne looked up at him as she tried her best to take him deeper. Her efforts were rewarded with a broken moan, Dunn’s gaze like a physical touch on her, just as hungry as it was adoring.
