Highlander The Cursed Lord (Highland Intrigue Trilogy 3)

His arm suddenly snagged her around the middle and yanked her back against him. “Now keep still.”

She heard the anger in his voice and froze, at least she tried to. The itch was too much, and his hard body was perfect to rub against and bring her some relief.

His shaft stiffened with every shift of her backside. Did it truly irritate her or was she trying to get him to couple with her?

He settled his lips near her ear, and with a growl he ordered, “Take the damn thing off before I rip it off you.”

Bliss moved away from him, struggling to get out of the garment as she did.

His hand was suddenly at the neck of the nightdress and with one powerful yank he ripped it down the middle almost to the hem, pulling what was left of it off her and tossing it away.

“You will have no need for it anyway,” he said and snagged her around the waist to yank her back against him once again.

She stiffened when his hard shaft poked at her bottom.

His lips settled by her ear once again. “If that was your attempt to seduce me, you succeeded in arousing me, but you will not feel me inside you until I am sure you will not grow heavy with my bairn. Now stay still and go to sleep.”

“It itched,” she said, wanting him to know the truth.

“Sleep,” he ordered in her ear.

There was no point in arguing with him. She closed her eyes, finally feeling comfortable, warm, and protected in his arms, and sleep came easily to her.

Not so, Rannick. He laid awake wondering how he was going to keep his hands off his wife for a week.

CHAPTER 13

Bliss was tired of the silence between them the next day. The rain had forced them to remain in the cottage together since shortly after mid-day. He had spoken not a word to her, keeping himself busy with cleaning his sword that needed no cleaning. That he purposely ignored her was obvious.

Her husband might be accustomed to silence, but she wasn’t. She and her two sisters would talk non-stop, sharing news, concerns, or recent gossip that usually had them laughing. She missed those times together, the pleasant memories being the reason for her finally speaking up.

“Tell me about your search for the witch in the hills,” she said.

“Why? Nothing came of it,” he said without looking at her.

She cared not about that, only that she could get him talking. “I am curious why you even tried if you believe the witch does not exist.”

“When you are desperate, you try anything,” he said, his focus remaining steady on cleaning his sword.

She was not ready to cease conversation with him. “When did this rumor about the witch in the hills begin?”

He stopped cleaning his sword and his brow crinkled. “I believe it was shortly after Lord Brochan and Lady Aila died. I was young, but I do recall my father telling me about it and how it was nonsense. That there was not a bit of truth to it. But through the years, I discovered that many thought differently than he did. After hearing endless tales, I decided to find out for myself.” He shrugged. “I found nothing. My father was right. It was nothing but nonsense.”

“But Lady Aila had to have gotten the curse from someone,” Bliss said, curious as to how the curse actually came to be.

“There is always a peasant somewhere offering spells, amulets, and more. It was one of the reasons he and others had warned Lord Brochan not to get involved with Aila, that she was a peasant and not worthy of being his wife.” He turned silent for a moment; his eyes fixed on Bliss. “I wonder how he feels now having been forced to marry his son to a peasant since no noble family would have him.”

Bliss’s chin went up. “I will remind you again. I chose to wed you.”

“You bargained to wed me,” he corrected.

“Of my own choosing,” she said. “No one coerced me. It was my choice and my choice alone.”

“You bargained from your heart instead of your head and sound reason. My father was desperate to get me wed. You could have struck a better bargain for yourself since you were willing to wed me.”

“I was not thinking of myself. I was thinking of protecting my sisters.” She smiled. “Finally, you accept that I wed you willingly.”

“Foolishly,” he corrected.

“Out of love,” she said and realizing it made it sound as if it was out of love for him quickly added, “for my sisters.” She caught the spark of anger in his eyes before he spoke.

“I am not looking for love from you or for you to even like me. You will provide me with what I need, and I will provide you with what you need.”