Page 40 of The Cursed Highland Bride

“She did that tae herself. I did nothing tae encourage her.”

“Ye should have said so earlier. And why did ye leave me? Why did ye nae sleep with me? Am I nae but a beast o’ burden for ye tae slake yer lust upon, then leave tae graze in other pastures?”

“Ye are my wife. I would nae do such a thing tae ye. I did nae remain in bed with ye as I did nae wish tae form an attachment tae ye. It has always been my way.”

“It is wrong, Dunn. It is hurtful and wrong.”

“I am sorry. Can ye find it in yer heart tae forgive me? I have nae meant ye harm, nae matter how it may have seemed. I did nae want this marriage and have had difficulty in seeing past the sins o’ yer faither.”

“Alistair Morgan is nae faither tae me.”

Dunn’s heart felt for her as he realized that her life at the hands of Morgan had been no better than his own. “I am sorry, lass. I did nae ken the struggle betwixt ye. I had heard that ye were a loyal daughter who saw nae fault in her faither.” Suddenly, he remembered the missive that had been delivered earlier that day. He had forgotten about it when he had been in the throes of his worry for her safety. “I have received a missive from yer faither tae visit, but if ye dinnae care for him, perhaps I should refuse his invitation.”

A strangled sound came from her throat, and he realized that she was sobbing. Hot tears coursed down her cheeks to soak the fabric of his shirt. She gripped the fabric in both of her hands and turned her face up to hold his eyes with her own. “We must go.”

Dunn’s heart broke at the pain in her eyes. “As ye wish.”

“I wish tae leave as soon as possible.”

Dunn studied her face for signs that she might still plan to run away from him, but he could not tell for certain. He simply had to trust that she would not. “I will make arrangements forthwith.”

“I thank ye for this kindness,” she whispered. Her face was a study in desperate relief.

“I dinnae understand, lass, but I will give ye what it is that ye ask.”

“Ye need nae understand as long as ye take me there.”

Dunn brushed the hair back from her cheek and traced the silvery line of an errant tear. He stared into her eyes and felt as if he could lay there with her for the rest of eternity and never get tired of their emerald-green depths. “Ye have unmanned me,” he whispered. Unable to hold himself back, Dunn lowered his head and brushed his lips ever so gently against hers. “I am lost, defeated by a Morgan lassie.”

“There are nae Morgans here,” she assured him emphatically as he lowered his head once more and surrendered his soul into her hands.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Katarina knew that she was playing with fire, but she no longer cared. She had been fighting for too long to hide her true self from everyone, and her visit with Esmerelda had unleashed something within her that she could not restrain. Hiding herself had been slowly eating away at her soul until she was in danger of disappearing completely. She had been drowning in more pain than mere mortal minds could ever begin to comprehend. She had felt many times as if she might go mad from it all. Now, as she lay in Dunn’s arms, exhausted, defeated, and exposed, she stepped out over the ledge of her pain and let herself fall.

Dunn’s lips upon hers felt as if they had always been meant to be there. He was still a stranger to her in many ways, and yet when his lips met hers, it was as if she were coming home. It felt as if a piece of her had always been missing and had suddenly fallen into place. Rage and desperation had fueled her every decision since the death of her parents, but she had hidden it behind a carefully constructed veil. Now, as Dunn ran his hands down the length of her body, caressing every part of her as if she were the most precious thing in the world, she at long last let the veil slip away.

Grabbing the front of his shirt, she ripped it down the front in one giant tear. Startled, Dunn looked up at her to make certain that she wanted what he was doing or if she was trying to stop him. Once Katarina had let herself really feel, she could not stop. Leaning forward, she sank her teeth into the muscles of his chest, rasping a nipple with her tongue. Dunn gasped in surprised pleasure, then entwined his hands in her hair, pulling her head back to expose her neck to his attentions. Returning bite for bite, he nipped the sensitive skin behind her ear.

“Dunn,” she gasped, digging her nails into his shoulder with one hand while her other hand grabbed a handful of his hair.

A low growl rumbled in his chest and throat, causing his lips to vibrate against her skin. Shivers of delight passed over her entire body at the sensation. “Swear ye will nae leave me,” he demanded, the desperate anger in his voice matching that of her own heart.

“I cannae.”

“Swear it!”

“I cannae!”

The growl turned feral as he leaned up and ripped the front of his trews away to reveal the hardened length of his desire. “I will make ye beg tae stay.” With one swift motion, he entered her, filling her completely. Her body reacted to his with rabid delight that only served to fuel her anger.

“I dinnae want tae want ye,” she breathed as she raked her nails across his back. He arched against the pressure, burying himself even deeper inside of her. “I never wanted ye,” she gasped, “yet even now, I ken that I will never want another man but ye.”

Dunn looked deep into her eyes as if he could see every hidden place within her soul and no longer feared what he found there. “Nae man shall ever touch ye but me. Ye are mine, now and forever.”

“Swear that ye will nae take another tae yer bed as long as ye share mine,” she demanded, panting with the intensity of her need for him. The feelings he was creating within her had become frenzied, intense, desperate. She needed to know that he was hers and hers alone before she gave herself over to him in her entirety. “Swear it tae me now!”

“I swear it,” he whispered against her skin, his breath warm and comforting. “There is nae other woman but ye.”