Page 19 of The Cursed Highland Bride

“I will nae harm ye. Ye will enjoy it. I promise ye that.”

“How can ye make such a promise when I dinnae love ye? I did nae wish for this marriage. None o’ this was o’ my choosing.”

“Love is nae required tae find pleasure.” He reached his hand out to her. “Come, let me show ye.”

Katarina’s mouth dropped open, but she snapped it shut as quickly as it fell. Her jaw tightened into an almost painful firmness. “I…” She could not speak.

“Come,” he urged once more, his eyes and voice gentle as if he were soothing a panicked animal.

Katarina stood and walked slowly over to the side of the tub to take his hand. She sank to the floor beside him as he brought her hand to his lips. Kissing each fingertip in turn, he let his hand glide along her forearm to her elbow where his thumb stroked the tender underside of her flesh. Reaching out with his tongue, he flicked the inside of her wrist, and she gasped.

Dunn smiled knowingly and let his hands and mouth travel further up her arm to caress and kiss every piece of sensitive flesh that she did not even realize that she had. “How?” she whispered in almost a whimper. It had never occurred to her that her very arm could be the cause of anything other than manual labor.

“Just wait,” he promised, moving his lips up to her neck. His tongue flicked out once more, sending a jolt of pleasure through her body. He rasped his teeth across the skin under her ear, biting gently in a line down to the hollow of her collarbone.

Katarina leaned into him as his lips parted the drying cloth around her shoulders, exposing the curved upper line of her breasts. His tongue traced the cleavage between as his hands pulled the fabric free from her grasp to fall upon the floor. Her breasts stood out in the fire’s light, glimmering round and pale, their buds growing outward with desire. He smiled at the sight and brought his lips down to kiss and tease each one with his tongue. Katarina gasped, grasping him by his hair. She thrust her breasts into his mouth, unable to stop herself from responding to his attentions.

Standing up in all of his naked glory, Dunn lifted her into his arms and carried her over to the bed, dripping water across the floor. He laid her out beneath him, coming up to claim her lips in a kiss that promised passion fulfilled. Katarina’s head swam with the intensity of feelings that her body was experiencing. She had never felt anything like it before. His mouth traveled from her lips back down to her breasts where he explored every inch, then moved down her belly to the little patch of black curls at the juncture of her legs.

Katarina’s eyes widened in panic as what he planned to do registered in her fog-addled mind. “Nae,” she whispered, attempting to pull his head back up.

“Aye,” he murmured, nuzzling her lower belly. “Just wait,” he whispered in promise, then dipped his tongue beneath the curls to lathe at the hidden bud within.

Katarina’s back arched in ecstasy as she came nearly completely up off of the bed. “What…” she began but could not finish the thought.

Dunn’s tongue was like nothing she had ever felt before as it massaged her nether bud into an absolute frenzy. Something was building inside of her body, something completely out of her control, and she did not know whether to fear it or succumb to its intensity. In the end, her body gave her no choice as she fell over the edge of bliss into oblivion. She heard herself scream an unearthly sound that seemed to hover somewhere between manic delight and deadly earnestness, then she fell back to earth with stars still bursting behind her eyes.

“What did ye do tae me?” she whispered breathlessly.

Dunn smiled the self-satisfied smile of a man who was not remotely done yet. “Just wait,” he whispered, then arose to position himself above her. “This may hurt for a brief moment, but it will pass. Then, ye will feel as ye just did.”

Katarina looked into his eyes and nodded her consent. If he could make her feel like that again, she would not argue. She could feel his hardened member poised between her legs and braced herself for impact. He smiled down at her, his eyes filled with lust and something else she could not quite identify. “I am ready,” she whispered, then he thrust himself deep inside of her in one swift movement.

Katarina cried out, this time in pain. Dunn held himself still, not moving until her body had a chance to get used to him. The pain began to subside, and she relaxed slightly. Feeling this, he slowly began to move inside of her. His eyes held hers as he buried himself deep in her warm wet shaft, then withdrew in equally slow strokes. Katarina began to feel the same pleasant urgency that had overcome her before. Wrapping her arms around his naked body, she pressed her breasts to his chest and pulled him closer. Groaning, his thrusts became quicker and harder. Katarina moaned, wrapping her legs around his hips and buttocks in an attempt to take him deeper within her. Their bodies were as close as any two bodies could be, but it was as if she could not get close enough. It was as if her soul was reaching out to absorb his and to be absorbed by him.

“More,” she breathed against his neck as she clung to his muscular form.

Groaning, Dunn sat up with her on his lap, their bodies completely entwined as he thrust into her deeper and harder. She met him thrust for thrust. He took her nipple into his mouth and sucked on it, nipping with his teeth. A bright light flashed behind Katarina’s eyes as waves of pleasure began to crash over her once more, this time even more intense than the last.

“Katarina!” Dunn’s voice roared out as his cock throbbed inside of her, spilling forth his seed into her. “Katarina,” he whispered, resting his forehead against her breast. Katarina could feel him still throbbing between her legs, causing further jolts of pleasure to travel along her skin like lightning. They sat there, bodies still entwined, for some time, each allowing their hearts and breathing to settle. When they had calmed, Dunn lifted his head and looked into her eyes. “Are ye well, lass?” he asked softly.

Katarina smiled shyly. “I am.”

He smiled back and lifted his hand to brush the hair from her face. “Bonnie,” he whispered, letting the silken tresses tumble from his fingers to whisper along the tops of her breasts.

Katarina traced his scar with her fingertips from brow to jaw. “How did ye get this?” she asked.

“Battle,” he answered. “Nae all men were pleased tae see a lad so young take the lairdship o’ our clan.”

Katarina nodded in understanding. Some men would have perceived him to be an easy target. “A knife?”

“An ax,” he answered shrugging as if in indifference. “It missed my skull.”

“I am glad,” she murmured and found herself surprised to mean it. She had not intended to like her new husband. It was a complication that she did not need, but he had made her feel things that she had not known were ever possible for a woman to feel. He had opened up an entirely new world to her, and she was having a hard time controlling her feelings about it all.

“Are ye?” he asked in sincerity, then looked as if he was surprised himself that he had even asked.

“I am.” She affirmed her words with a kiss to his jaw where the scar ended before it reached his throat. “We were nae wed o’ our own choice, but I dinnae wish ye dead.”