Page 18 of The Cursed Highland Bride

Sighing, he sat on the floor beside the tub and propped his arms up on his knees. “Ours will never be a marriage o’ love or perhaps even trust, but all we can do is our best tae nae harm one another.”

“Agreed,” Katarina replied, more out of hope than anything else.

“I swear tae ye that I will never lay a hand on ye in anger. Ye will never have cause tae fear me as long as ye dinnae bring harm tae me or mine.”

Katarina swallowed hard. Her mouth had suddenly gone dry at seeing the intensity in his eyes. “I cannae make any such promises where my faither is concerned. I have nae control over his misdeeds.”

Dunn nodded in acceptance of this. “If ye kenned something that would put my family in danger, would ye tell me?”

“I would,” she answered. She could see no way that her current lie could put anyone in danger but herself and her sisters.

“Then that is enough. Do we have an accord?”

“We do.”

He smiled at her agreement and reached out to trace her cheek with the back of his fingers. “Our marriage could prove tae be an enjoyable one, if ye will allow it. I could teach ye many things.”

Katarina’s throat constricted, and she nearly choked. An image of him intertwined in bed with the women that she had seen downstairs appeared in her mind, and she moved her face away from his touch. “Ye have much experience.”

“I do. Most men do.”

“Ye have more than most.”

“Women find me pleasing. I will nae apologize for my past lovers.”

Katarina noted the word past and felt her agitation settle. She could not bring herself to ask anything more on the subject, but if they were well and truly in his past, then she would let it go. “I will nae ask ye tae. What is done cannae be undone, nor in some ways should it be.”

He nodded at her offering of peace on the subject and settled back to caressing her cheek and neck. The motion reminded her of what she had seen him do when settling their horses on the journey north. Oddly enough, she found it to be as soothing as the horses clearly had. Closing her eyes, she allowed the feeling to wash over her. “Do ye feel clean now?” he asked, breaking the moment of contentment.

She opened her eyes. “Aye.” She nodded. “If ye will turn around, I will step out of the water.”

Instead of turning away, he reached for a length of cloth that was laying on the back of a nearby chair and held it suspended above her in the air. “Come,” he instructed.

Unable to do anything else, Katarina stood and allowed him to envelop her in the drying cloth. Wrapping her snuggly, he led her over to the chair and let her sit by the fire to dry. “I am nae a bairn tae be led about,” she reminded him, feeling as if she were being herded like a sheep or an errant child.

“I am well aware.” He gave her a look of amused chastisement before he turned away.

He walked over to the door and called for the servants to bring fresh warm water to replace the old. As the servants scurried to obey, Dunn shielded Katarina from sight with his large muscular form. She felt protected at a time when normally she would have felt exposed and vulnerable. Under normal circumstances, she would have been enraged over such a cavalier attitude and disregard for her own sense of privacy, but there was something about Dunn that made her more open to him, more forgiving of his trespasses upon her person.

“It is good tae see that yer large frame is good for something other than violence,” she remarked in an attempt to hide her feelings of uncertainty.

He laughed. “Just wait.” His tone was filled with the promise of seductive delights.

Katarina could feel herself blushing, and he chuckled at her attempts to hide it. The servants worked diligently to fulfill the wishes of their laird and acted as if they had not heard a word. I would make a terrible servant. I can never hide my true emotions from my face. When at last the servants had gone, Dunn moved from her side and began to disrobe.

“What are ye doing?” she asked, nearly choking once more at the sight of his naked chest.

“I wish tae bathe as well, and ye have my tub.” Without any evidence of shame or reserve, he bared his entire body for her to see, then stepped into the tub and sank beneath the newly warmed waters. Sighing, he laid his head on the back of the wood and closed his eyes.

“My apologies. I did nae ken that I had deprived ye o’ yer bath.”

“Dinnae worry. All is well. I simply did nae wish tae bed ye without the courtesy o’ washing away the dust o’ our journey.” He graciously did not mention the blood that they had all been covered in as well.

Katarina’s mouth went dry once more. She was going to have to bed this man. Her people had not been as concerned with virginity as some, but Katarina had always believed in waiting until she had found a man she loved and who truly loved her. She had not been interested in the business contracts of so many marriages, where a woman’s worth was measured in her ability to bear heirs. Her parents had believed that all members of their family were valuable for who they were, not what they could do to advance the family name. Now, she found herself being a pawn in the very marriage market that she had spent her life attempting to avoid. She had been traded for peace and her sisters’ lives.

“Ye are frightened,” he observed, his eyes now open and staring at her in curiosity.

“I am,” she admitted. There was no point in lying to him about any more than she had to.