Page 29 of The Cursed Highland Bride

Katarina’s eyes widened as she looked at his face, now so close to hers. “Ye are many things, husband, but ye are nae evil.”

“I am glad tae hear it.” He smiled gently at her and gave her hand a squeeze in reassurance. “As long as ye are under my care, nae one will harm ye here.”

Her eyes met his, and something flickered within their depths. It was the briefest of moments, but he thought what he saw was a small ember of hope. “I am glad tae hear it,” she echoed his words in a way that made his heart warm. She was melting his iron heart, and no matter how hard he tried not to let her in, she always found a way. Clearing his throat, he released her hand and distracted himself with the task of eating.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of his grandmother glaring daggers at his wife. For some unfathomable reason, it made him feel as if he needed to come to her defense. Growling low in his throat, he attempted to ignore her. “Are ye well, brother?”

“I dinnae ken,” he muttered under his breath in frustration.

Tor arched his brow in question, then smiled. “I have promised nae tae speak o’ it again so I will nae. Ye ken my thoughts on the matter o’ yer wife.”

“The temptress,” Dunn growled.

Tor barked out a laugh, attracting everyone’s attention to which Dunn elbowed him in the ribs. “Och, away with ye.” Tor waved everyone back to their own business. Lowering his voice once more, he turned back to Dunn. “Can ye nae simply bed her? I ken that ye dinnae wish tae care for her, but she is yer wife. It is yer right before God tae enjoy each other’s bodies.”

Dunn fought the urge to punch his brother in the face. “After Brigid, I dinnae ken if she is willing.”

“Ye have nae lain together since that night?” Tor’s brows rose in surprise.

“We have nae.”

“It is nae wonder that ye are in a foul mood. If ye cannae have her, then what o’ the other women? Any one o’ them would be happy tae serve their laird.” He wriggled his eyebrows in a suggestive manner that made him look ridiculous.

“I dinnae want them.”

Tor’s mouth fell open and hung there for a full minute. “Ye dinnae want them? I have never heard ye speak thus about any woman other than yer wife before ye wed her. Now ye only want her and nae other lass? Some might name that love, brother.”

Dunn pierced Tor with a warning glare that would have melted most men, but his brother only grinned back at him. “Ye are playing with fire, little brother.”

Tor grinned even wider, then glanced at Katarina in her flame-red dress. “Nae, that would be ye, brother.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Katarina sat beside Dunn and watched in confusion as he went from affectionately warm to cold and distant in a matter of moments. It angered her that he could change so abruptly without seeming cause. How can I trust a man who appears to be so inconstant? How can I depend upon him to be won over to my side and not change his mind when the mood suits him? She fought back the tears that threatened to spill.

Adamina reached out and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. “He is a good man, even when he might appear tae be otherwise. I promise ye that he is.”

Katarina nodded to appease her but said nothing. What could she say? Her plan to seduce Dunn had started out well but had gone sour quickly. It was as if the moment he became interested in her, something within him faded and he turned cold. His indifference angered her, and she had to fight the urge to stomp on his foot under the table. Instead, she leaned over the table to grab a bannock and let her breasts graze his arm. She could feel herself flushing red as she did it and quickly withdrew her body in embarrassment at the attempt. When she found the bravery to look up at him, she found him staring at her with lust in his eyes.

He is not indifferent, or he would not look at me the way that he does. And yet, if I sit here long enough, he will turn cold again.

To her surprise, she felt his hand caress her leg under the table. Eyes widening, she stared up at him as his hand traveled inward to her most private place. He massaged her through the fabric of her dress, setting her body ablaze. Nervous that someone would see what he was doing, Katarina tried not to encourage him by closing her legs, but she could not help the moan that escaped her lips when he pressed his hand harder against her. “Dunn,” she gasped.

His eyes danced with mischievous laughter at her response to his advances. Her skin was flushed and tense. The more he moved his hand, she felt as if she would be torn apart by her desire for him. Just before she thought her body might explode with the pleasure he gave her, he withdrew his hand. When she looked up into his eyes, she saw a gleaming challenge. “If ye wish tae play the game o’ seduction, dear wife, ye will lose.” Standing, he left her sitting unfulfilled, wanting, and embarrassed. Her body cried out for his even as her heart cried out for vengeance.

* * *

Dunn left the hall, his manhood hard as the stones beneath his feet. She had attempted to seduce him albeit not skilled at it. Her attempts were obvious, unpracticed, but she had tried. The strange thing was, even though he knew what she was doing, he had still been drawn to her. When her breasts brushed his arm, his body reacted with immediate effect. And the fact she later on withdrew her body from him, made the act more alluring.

What does she want from me? It is nae tae bed me. She closed her legs tae me the moment I returned her efforts. She loathes me after seeing Brigid leaving my chamber. She is nae a wanton lass. She desires something more from me than my body, but what?

Angry at her for reasons even he did not understand, Dunn had taunted her with his hands, then left her to suffer unfulfilled. His own miserable state was a price he was willing to pay. I will nae be manipulated.

Dunn spent a restless night tossing and turning. His dreams were filled with his wife, naked beneath him. Her lips tasted of honey, and her hair smelled of flowers. In his dreams, it was just as he remembered it from their one night together. Only, in his dreams, he stayed with her and they slept in each other’s arms. By the time he awoke, his need for her had reached a painful state.

Rising, he splashed water over his face and dressed for the day. As distracted as he was, the world was lucky that he remembered to do that much before stepping out of his bedchamber. He had no desire to break his fast in the company of others, so he descended the back stairs to the kitchen, grabbed a bannock from the cook, then left through the kitchen garden gate. Hoping to work off some of his physical needs, he headed to the training field to pick a fight.

When he arrived, he found his men standing in a circle, cheering and shouting at someone in the center. Walking over to join them, he found his wife practicing hand-to-hand combat with one of his men. They were all over each other wrestling about like boys. Tor was nowhere to be found.