Mysty McPartland (9 page)

Shaking his head, he turned back to his clan. “My wife, Lady Dalla.” Was a
ll he said and he wasn’t shocked when not a sound could be heard. Letting out an irritated breath, he spoke to his bride. “Come along and I’ll show ye to our bedchamber. I’m sure ye will want a bath and to rest.”

Gently taking her arm, he led her inside, across the massive hall and upstairs to the chamber they would share. After opening the door, he gently nudged her inside. “I will grant ye the privacy to bath, but I warn ye, wench, dinna even think to leave this
room.” With a warning glare in her direction, he left the bedroom and closed the door sharply behind him.

* * * *

She snorted loudly over the command, but grateful to be finally alonean
d
relieved to be away from the speechless crowd. Dalla narrowed her eyes and wondered if he intended to keep her a prisoner. The blasted man had left so quickly she didn’t have a chance to ask him. She sniffed in annoyance and let her gaze drift around the enormous chamber.

Wariness crept up her spine realizing she would be sharing the room with her despicable husband. With a sigh
of defeat acceptance she took in her surroundings; it surprised her to see that it was a very large and very attractive room. It was flooded with light from the four large windows, two of them held deep padded seats, the cushions covered in a soft burgundy and the curtains were wine red.

Her eyes fell
once more on the bed that sat in the middle of the room between the windows, two each side. It must be the largest bed she had ever seen, its four posts nearly reached the tall ceiling and the hangings and the bedcover were crimson, white and gold. The floor was covered in rugs in various shades of ruby, crimson and black.

There was a large fireplace with two wing-back, deep red leather chairs. There were gold candleholders, tables and chests of mahogany, a mirror rimmed in gold. Never in her life would she have thought that the man she married would have such luxury or such an appealing bedchamber.

She realized then she knew very little about the man she married and wondered if she would ever know him at all. It was a saddening thought and she knew it was all her own fault. She resigned herself to the fact that she would just have to live with what she had foolishly done and hoped that perhaps one day in the future they could have some sort of peaceful understanding between them.

Sighing despondently, she jumped when there was a knock on the door, presuming it was a servant; she called out for them to enter. She lifted a brow when half a dozen came trooping in carrying buckets of water. She tried not to cringe when they kept gaping at her as if she was something frightful to look at.

She huffed out a breath of irritation when they finally all marched out again. Damn rude servants, for goodness sakes she wasn’t that horrible to look at was she? She frowned and shook her head; surely her father or one of her own clan would have told her she was hideous. Though she had never considered herself a beauty she thought she was at least passable pretty.

Perhaps they stared at her only because they didn’t know her and were worried about what sort of mistress she was. They might even dislike her because she married their laird. There could be a hundred reasons why they reacted the way they did and she was silly to worry about it until she knew the true reason for their unfriendly welcome and rude, silent stares.

Deciding to put the matter aside for now, she yawned and, wandering over to the tub, started to strip off clothing before she climbed in and sank beneath the warm water. She let out a sigh of contentment, rested her head against the wooden rim and closed her eyes. It felt wonderful to soak her aching muscles after days of riding.

Though she had no idea what would happen in the next few hours she was going to let herself enjoy these few minutes before she would have to face her husband’s wrath. This might be the last bit of pleasure she would experience in a very long time and she wasn’t about to let her own fear steal it away from her.

She’d been anxious enough the moment she saw those imposing walls that hid her new home, she had been nervous and frightened. She didn’t know what to expect when they arrived and her fear escalated she peeked beneath her lashes at her husband. It did not surprise her when she had seen the cold, hard expression on his face.

Terror had skittered up her spine and she had trembled wondering
how he intended to punish her for the heinous thing she did to him. Even though he had not been exactly kind to her since the first night they stopped to camp, he did take care of her. It puzzled her though that he would very rarely spare her glance and she wondered if he now found her so unattractive that he couldn’t bear the very sight of her.

Her stomach
sank in fear when they drew closer to her new home, she had flicked a quick peek at her husband saw his face swathed with a wide grin, no doubt he was happy to be home and he was most likely looking forward to making her pay for what she had done to him.

The unknown
terrified her and not knowing what was going to happen to her or what she would find behind the high walls had made her tremble in anxiety. It horrified her to wonder if his clan despises her, if they would welcome her. And what was she going to suffer now that they had arrived? Unease had made her heart nearly stop beating, every inch of her body trembled in apprehension.

It
had been nearly impossible to swallow past the terror clogging her throat, she knew the moment they arrived in the bailey her life would change forever. It was a horrific fact and she had only herself to blame what was about to befall her. If she hadn’t acted so vindictive and childish perhaps her marriage might have stood a chance.

Restlessly she shifted beneath the water, bringing herself back to the present she let out a huge sigh. It was all her own fault
she knew she had destroyed whatever happiness she might have been able to find in their union. Without trust between them that their lives together were doomed from the very start and shook her head in denial, nay she wasn’t altogether to blame for their ruined marriage.

He was partly responsible as
well; after all, he slept with Lisa and had hundreds of other lovers as well. Aye, he was as much accountable for it as she was; the complete disaster didn’t lay at her feet alone. However, it didn’t change the fact that she was the one who would be punished.

Her lashes lowered
she would cross that bridge when it happened she prayed that whatever she was about to suffer that she survived it and did it with dignity. If nothing else she would keep her pride and her self-respect. It might not be much, but it was all she had left and she wouldn’t let it be taken from her no matter what punishment she suffered.

At the moment
though, she had more important things to occupy her fearful mind and that was the bedding. She just hoped it would not be too painful or last too long. She shivered in apprehension just thinking about it. Her hands gripped the rim of the bath tub, she squeezed her eyes tightly shut and shook in dread.

It was all she could do to tell herself there was nothing she could to do to prevent it from taking place and that it didn’t really matter. Neither of them cared for each other and as far as she knew men didn’t have to feel anything or even find a woman attractive to bed her. As long as their needs were satisfied that was all they thought was important. Her lips turned up in scorn, men were such rutting pigs. But oh Lord, she was scared to death just the same.

Chapter Ten

After leaving his wife in their chamber, Tarrel stepped outside and wasn’t surprised to see his clan still gathered. At least they were talking, he thought and smirked. He arched a brow when his friend came to join him.

Duncan walked up the
steps and shook his head. “’Tis going to take some time for everyone to get used to ye, wife.”

A snort of disgust,
he shook his head. “Aye but it better be quick. I canna have them gaping and losing their wits every time they see her.”

Laughing heartily
, Duncan clapped Tarrel on the back. “Maybe if they dinna look at her as you dinna it might work.”

T
he heat crawled into his face, he cursed under his breath.
So his friend had noticed, well he wasn’t surprise.
“Organize a bath for my wife. Have our suppers prepared and her things sent up to our chamber. I want to talk to David and find out if everything was all right while I was away.”

Duncan chuckled as he watched Tarrel walk
away before he did as he was ordered.

Quick irritating strides, he snarled
his friend was right he was no different from everyone else. It was definitely going be problem though and he wondered how he was going to handle his wife now that they were home. He very much doubted he was going to find the lass easy to ignore and taming her, no doubt was going to be probably impossible.

F
rom what he gathered from her clan that she was soft hearted and kind, everyone loved her. They said she was a compassionate and gentle lass, but became a ferocious, spitting kitten when she came to protecting anyone who needed it. He snorted and shook his head in disbelief. The wench was a malicious little witch.

If he could only find a way to stop himself going daft every time he gazed at her, he was certain he could control her. He would turn her into a biddable and
compassionate spouse if it was the last thing he did.

His jaw clenched, he could still feel Duncan’s eyes boring into his back. It was damn annoying that nothing was ever hidden from the close knit clan. It probably wouldn’t be long before everyone else knew about his infliction. He silently swore to himself that he would make damn certain it wasn’t going to affect him for long.

Satisfied that all was well with the clan, he headed back inside and
, collecting the tray of food he requested, went upstairs. Easily balancing it with one hand, he opened the door to his chamber and stepped inside. He found his wife seated on one of the window seats brushing her hair. The dimming sunset turned her ash blonde hair to living flames of fire, mesmerized and filled with burning lust, reaching behind him, he slammed the door shut.

Slowly m
oving across the room, placing the tray on the table in front of the fire without taking his eyes from her, he was so consumed with desire and every ounce of control he thought he had wafted away on the breeze coming through the window.

In an instant he swept her up out of the chair, wrapping one arm around her waist, the other clasp the back of her head. He ignored her squeal of surprise. For a moment he let his gaze wander slowly over her exquisite face, when started to lose himself in her beauty he dragged it away.

H
is mouth claimed hers in a kiss that stole her breath away. From a distance he heard the brush fell from her fingers and he grunted in satisfaction when her arms came up and curled around his neck. He drank long and deep of her sweet nectar and unable to help himself he plundered and stole the honey essence.

Still holding her and kissing her with a hunger that nearly buckled his knees, he moved a few feet to the bed and in one fluid movement, he laid her down and his body covered hers. His hand came up to cup her breast through her thin nightgown and he growled into her mouth.

G
ently he massaged it and felt the soft flesh swell in his palm, taking his mouth from hers, he lifted himself off her and with trembling hands, he swept the hem of her gown up and every delectable inch of her womanly curves that skimmed his fingers only increased his lust more. With every bit of silken skin he bared, his heartbeat increased, he was already rock hard and with every touch his cock throbbed until he could no longer control the aching and overwhelming need to be inside of her.

Once
the garment past her hips, he lifted her up and drew it over her head; he tossed it over his shoulder as his eyes gazed at every exquisite morsel of pure perfection. Gently he laid her back down and his hands went to the buttons on his shirt, his eyes devoured her nakedness as she lay sprawled upon the mattress. Her hair spread out over the crimson bedcover, even though her beauty stole his thoughts away, her body had him so consumed with desire he was ready to burst with it.

Now
free of his clothing, naked and unashamed, he turned his gaze to his wife’s, there was no missing the fear in her beautiful eyes, and knew what she was frightened of. Moving back over her, he kissed her tenderly and taking his mouth from hers felt her hot sweet breath burn through him. “Don’t be afraid. I promise ye it will only hurt for a moment.”

He whispered softly as his mouth once again claimed hers
, this time he could not hold himself back. Her soft, silken flesh scorched every inch of him. It was taking every bit of strength he possessed not to thrust himself inside of her. He forced himself to hold back, as his fingers skimmed over her body from her knee to her shoulder, then bringing it back down to her breast.