“And when you kill this man, Madelyne, will you lose your food from your stomach again?”
She didn’t answer him. Duncan thought she might be realizing just how foolish her plan was. “And will you cry as well?” he asked her, repeating her reaction after killing the soldier who attacked Gilard.
“I’ll remember not to eat anything before I kill him, Duncan, so that I won’t become ill, and if I cry after I’ve done it, then I’ll just find a private place so that no one will see me. Is that explanation enough for you?”
Madelyne took a deep breath, trying desperately to keep her expression contained. Lord, she already felt like a sinner. “Death is not to be taken lightly,” she said then. “But justice shouldn’t be cheated either.”
Duncan started laughing again. That infuriated her. “I’d like to sleep now, so please leave.”
“Do you think to tell me to leave my own quarters?” Duncan asked.
He wasn’t laughing now, and Madelyne didn’t have the nerve to look at him.
“I was,” she admitted. “If I’m being disrespectful, I’m sorry for it. But you know I don’t lie. It’s kind of you to give up your bed for this one night. I really do appreciate it. And I’ll return to the tower tomorrow, after Adela’s room has been scrubbed.”
She was out of breath after she finished her explanation.
“Your honesty is refreshing.”
“It gets me into mischief.” Madelyne sighed. She continued to look down at her hands, wishing Duncan would hurry up and leave. Then she heard a soft thud. That noise did draw her attention, and when she glanced up, she was just in time to watch Duncan remove his second boot and drop it to the floor.
“’Tis indecent to stand before me without your shirt on,” Madelyne stated. “And now you’re taking off the rest of your garments before you leave? Do you parade around Lady Eleanor like this?”
Madelyne could feel herself blushing. She was determined to ignore Duncan. If he wanted to strut around half naked, then she’d just close her eyes. And he’d get no parting words from her either.
She was a bit slow to catch on to Duncan’s intentions. Madelyne continued to watch him out of the corner of her eye. Duncan knelt down in front of the fire, added another fat log. She almost thanked him for that courtesy, until she remembered she was bent on ignoring him. Lord, he did make her lose her train of thought, didn’t he?
Duncan stood up and walked over to the door. Before Madelyne knew what he was about to do, he pushed the thick slat of wood through the metal loops.
Her eyes widened in astonishment. She was locked inside the bedroom, but the true problem, as she viewed it, was that Duncan was on the wrong side of the door. And not even a sweet, gentle lady of breeding could misinterpret the meaning of that action.
Madelyne let out a gasp of outrage, bounded off the bed, and ran over to the door. Her intention was single-minded. She was going to get out of this room and away from Duncan.
He watched her struggle with the latch for a moment. When he was satisfied she’d never be able to figure out the unusual lock beneath the bar, he walked over to the bed. He decided to leave his pants on out of deference to Madelyne’s feelings. She looked close to the brink of losing her control again.
“Come to bed, Madelyne,” Duncan demanded as he stretched out on top of the covers.
“I’ll not sleep next to you,” Madelyne stammered.
“We’ve slept together …”
“Only once, in that tent, Duncan, and that was for necessity’s sake. We shared each other’s heat.”
“Nay, Madelyne, I’ve slept beside you every night since,” Duncan announced.
Madelyne turned to glare at Duncan. “You have not!”
“Aye, I have.”
He was smiling at her. “How can you lie so easily?” Madelyne demanded.
She didn’t give him time to answer but turned around again and began to work on the latch.
A sliver of wood under the tender skin on her thumb was her reward for her efforts. She yelped in anger. “And now I’ve most of this damn wood under my skin, thanks to you,” she muttered as she bent her head to look at the damage.
Duncan sighed. Madelyne heard the exaggerated sound all the way across the room, but she didn’t hear him move, and when he suddenly grabbed hold of her hand, she jumped back, clipping the top of her head against the bottom of his chin. “You move just like a wolf,” she announced as she allowed him to drag her toward the light of the fire. “’Tis no compliment I’m giving you, Duncan, so you can quit smiling.”
Duncan ignored her mutterings. He reached up on the mantel and took hold of a sharp, almost needle-pointed dagger. Madelyne closed her eyes until she felt the first prick. She had to open her eyes then, for if she didn’t watch him, he’d probably cut her thumb clean off. Madelyne leaned down until she inadvertently blocked Duncan’s view of her thumb.
He pulled her hand upward to get it in a better light. He bent his head to finish his task. Madelyne’s forehead touched Duncan’s. She didn’t move away, and neither did he.
He smelled nice.
She smelled like roses again.
The splinter was removed. Madelyne didn’t say a word to him, but she was looking up at him with such a trusting expression on her face. Duncan frowned in frustration. When she looked at him like that, all he could think about was taking her into his arms and kissing her. Hell, he admitted with disgust, all she had to do was look at him and he wanted to bed her.
Duncan threw the dagger back on the mantel and then went back to bed. He hadn’t let go of Madelyne’s hand and now dragged her behind him. “Can’t even get a splinter out and you think to kill a man,” he muttered.
“I am not sleeping with you,” Madelyne stated most emphatically. She stood beside the bed, determined to win. “You’re the most arrogant, the most stubborn man. My patience is running as thin as water. I’ll not put up with much more.”
Madelyne realized her error was in getting too close to Duncan when she shouted her threat. He reached up and literally lifted her on top of him. She landed with a thud. Duncan shrugged her to his side, his hand still locked on her wrist.
He closed his eyes, obviously trying to dismiss her. Madelyne faced him.
“You hate me too much to sleep next to me. You lied, didn’t you, Duncan? We haven’t been sleeping together. I’d remember it.”
“You can sleep through a battle,” Duncan remarked. His eyes were still closed but he was smiling. “And I don’t hate you, Madelyne.”
“You most certainly do hate me,” Madelyne retorted. “Don’t you dare change your mind now.”
She waited a long while for Duncan to answer her. When he didn’t say a word, she started in again. “It was a sorry deed that brought us together. I saved your life. And how am I repaid? Why, you drag me to this godforsaken place, constantly abusing my good nature, I might add. I imagine you’ve conveniently forgotten all about my saving Gilard’s life too.”
Lord, she wished he’d open his eyes so she could see his reaction. “Now I’ve taken on caring for Adela. I’m wondering, though, if you hadn’t planned that all along.”
Madelyne frowned over that thought and then continued. “You should admit by now that I’m the innocent in this scheme of yours. I’m the one who is being wronged. Why, when I think of all I’ve been through—”
Duncan’s snore stopped her cold. Madelyne was suddenly so furious, she wished she had the courage to scream right into his ear.
“I’m the one who should hate you,” she muttered to herself. She adjusted her gown and settled herself on her back. “If I didn’t have satisfactory plans of my own, I’d be angry over what you’ve done to ruin my good name, Duncan. I can’t ever make a suitable marriage now. That’s a certainty, but I’ll admit Louddon will be the loser, not me. He was going to sell me to the highest bidder. At least that’s what he told me he was going to do. Now he’ll only kill me if he gets near enough,” she muttered. “And all because of you,” she a
dded with gusto.
She was exhausted when she finished her complaints. “How am I ever going to get you to promise me anything? And I’ve already given my word to poor Adela,” she added with a weary yawn.
Duncan moved then. Madelyne was caught unprepared. She only had time to open her eyes before Duncan was leaning over her. His face was close to hers, his breath warm and sweet against her cheeks. One of his heavy thighs trapped her.
Good God, she was flat on her back.
“I’ll find a way to tell your Lady Eleanor if you take advantage of me,” Madelyne blurted out.
Duncan rolled his eyes heavenward. “Madelyne, your mind is consumed with my taking …”
She slapped her hand over his mouth and held it there. “Don’t dare say it,” she returned. “And why else would you be draped over me like a blanket if you didn’t want to …”
Madelyne matched his sigh with one of her own. “You try to make me daft,” she accused him.
“You already are,” Duncan announced.
“Get off me. You weigh more than the doors to your home.”
Duncan shifted his weight until his bulk was cushioned by his elbows. His pelvis rested against Madelyne’s. He could feel the heat in her.
“What promise do you want from me?”
Madelyne looked confused by the question. “Adela,” Duncan reminded her.
“Oh,” Madelyne said, sounding breathless. “I had thought to wait until tomorrow to speak to you about Adela. I didn’t realize you’d make me sleep with you though. And I’d hoped to catch you in a better mood….”
“Madelyne.” The last of her name was drawn out in a long, controlled groan and she knew from the way he clenched his jaw that his patience was gone.
“I wish you to give me your word Adela may live here with you for as long as she wants, and that you’ll not force a marriage on her, no matter what the circumstances. There, is that specific enough for you?”
Duncan frowned. “I’ll speak to Adela tomorrow,” he stated.
“Your sister is too frightened to speak freely to you, but if I may tell her you’ve given your word, then I believe you’ll see a remarkable change in her. She’s so worried, Duncan, and if we can ease her burden, she’ll feel much better.”
He felt like smiling. Madelyne had taken on the role of mother to Adela, just as he suspected she would. He was enormously pleased his plan had worked. “Very well. Tell Adela I’ve given my word. I’ll have to speak to Gerald,” he added, almost as an afterthought.
“Gerald will just have to find someone else to marry. Adela believes the contract isn’t binding now, anyway. Besides, Gerald will want an unblemished woman, and that makes me dislike him immensely.”
“You never even met the man,” Duncan said with exasperation. “How can you judge him so easily?”
Madelyne frowned. Duncan was right though it was almost painful to give him that admission. “Does Gerald know all of what happened to Adela?”
“By now all of England knows. Louddon would have made certain.”
“My brother is an evil man.”
“Does your uncle Berton feel the same way about Louddon?” Duncan asked.
“How did you know my uncle’s name?” Madelyne asked.
“You told me,” Duncan supplied, smiling over the way her eyes widened.
“When? I’ve an excellent memory and I don’t recall mentioning it.”
“When you were sick, you told me all about your uncle.”
“If I spoke to you, I don’t remember. It was rude of you to listen to anything I said.”
“It wasn’t possible to block out your voice,” Duncan told her, grinning over the memory. “You shouted everything you said.”
He exaggerated, just to increase her reaction. When Madelyne wasn’t guarded, her expressions were so innocently refreshing to see. “Tell me what else I said,” Madelyne demanded. Her tone sounded with suspicion.
“The list is too long. Suffice it to say that you told me everything.”
“Everything?” She looked horrified now.
Lord, she was embarrassed. What if she’d told him how much she liked him kissing her?
There was a sparkle in Duncan’s eyes. Perhaps he was only teasing her. That didn’t sit well. Madelyne decided to remove that smile. “Then I gave you all the names of the men I’ve taken to my bed, didn’t I? The game is up, I suppose,” she ended with a sigh.
“Your game was up the moment we met,” Duncan told her. His voice was soft.
Madelyne felt as though she’d just been caressed. She didn’t know how to react. “And just what does that mean?”
Duncan smiled. “You talk too much,” he told her. “’Tis yet another flaw you should work on.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Madelyne returned. “I’ve said little enough to you all week and you’ve ignored me altogether. How can you suggest I talk too much?” she asked, daring to poke his shoulder.
“I don’t suggest anything, I state facts,” Duncan answered. He watched her closely, saw the flash of fire in her blue eyes.
Baiting her was easy work. He knew he should stop but he was actually enjoying the way she responded. He could find little harm in it. She was suddenly as feisty as a hellcat.
“It displeases you when I speak what’s on my mind?”
Duncan nodded.
She thought he looked every bit the rascal now. A lock of dark hair had fallen forward to rest against his forehead. He was grinning too. Why, it was enough to rattle a saint into cursing. “Then I’ll just quit talking to you. I vow I’ll never speak to you again. Does that please you?”
He nodded again, though much slower this time. Madelyne took a deep breath, preparing to tell him what she thought about his rudeness, but Duncan silenced her. He lowered his head and brushed his mouth against hers, startling her into temporary submission.
With barely any coaching, she opened her mouth to his insistent tongue. Duncan began to make slow love to her with his tongue. Lord, he could feel the fire in her. His hands spread wide against the sides of her face, his fingers tangling in her glorious hair.
God how he wanted her. The kiss quickly changed from gentle caress to wild passion. Their tongues mated again and again until Duncan was almost mindless with wanting more. He knew he should stop and was about to pull away, when he felt Madelyne’s hands touch his back. A soft, hesitant caress it was and at first as skittish as a butterfly, but when Duncan growled and delved again into the sweetness of her mouth, the caress gained in pressure. Their mouths were hot, wet, clinging.
He felt a shudder pass through her, heard her ragged moan escape when he reluctantly eased himself away from her.
Madelyne’s eyes were misty with passion and her lips, red and swollen, beckoned him to taste her again. Duncan knew he shouldn’t have started what he couldn’t finish. His loins throbbed with want and it took a supreme act of will to move away from her.
With another groan of frustration Duncan rolled to his side. He wrapped his arm around Madelyne’s waist and pulled her up against him.
Madelyne wanted to weep. She couldn’t understand why she kept letting him kiss her. More important, she couldn’t seem to stop herself from kissing him. She was as wanton as a wench.
All Duncan had to do was touch her and she went to pieces. Her heart raced, her palms turned hot, and she was filled with a restless yearning for more.
She heard Duncan yawn and concluded then that the kiss hadn’t meant much to him at all.
The man irritated her just like a rash. Madelyne determined to keep her distance from him even as she contradicted the decision by adjusting herself into the curve of Duncan. When she was almost settled to her satisfaction, Duncan let out a harsh groan. His hands moved to her hips and he held her firmly.
What a contrary man he was! Didn’t he realize how awkward it was to sleep in her walking gown? She moved again, felt him shudder, and thought then that he might be getting ready to snap at her.
M
adelyne was too weary to worry about his temper. With a yawn of her own, she fell asleep.
It was, without a doubt, Duncan’s most difficult challenge. And if she moved her backside just one more time, he knew he’d fail this test.
Duncan had never wanted a woman the way he wanted Madelyne. He closed his eyes and took a deep, ragged breath. Madelyne wiggled against him again, and he began to count to ten, promising himself that when he reached that magic number, he’d be more controlled.
The innocent cuddled up against him had absolutely no idea of her jeopardy. Her derriere had driven him to distraction all week long. He pictured the way she walked, saw again the gentle sway of her hips as she strolled around his fortress.
Did she affect others the way she affected him? Duncan frowned over that question, admitting that she most certainly did. Aye, he’d seen the looks his men had given her when her attention was directed elsewhere. Even faithful Anthony, his most trusted vassal and closest friend, had changed his attitude toward Madelyne. At the beginning of the week Anthony had been silent and taken to frowning, but by week’s end Duncan noticed his vassal was usually the one speaking. And he didn’t trail behind Madelyne any longer either. Nay, he was always right by her side.
Just where Duncan wanted to be.
He couldn’t fault Anthony for his weakness in falling under Madelyne’s charms.
Gilard, however, was of a different cloth altogether. It appeared that the youngest brother was taken with Madelyne. That could present a problem.
She started squirming again. Duncan felt as though he’d just been branded. A painful longing claimed his full attention. With a growl of frustration he threw off the covers and got out of bed. Though Madelyne was jarred by the sudden movement, she didn’t wake up. “Sleeps like an innocent babe,” Duncan muttered to himself as he walked over to the door.
He was going back to his lake and realized with a hefty shake of his head that he’d find true pleasure in this second swim.
Duncan wasn’t a patient man. He wanted the issues resolved before he claimed Madelyne for his own though. He resigned himself to the fact that he’d probably be swimming in his lake more often. It wasn’t a challenge that sent him outside now, but a release from the fire burning in his loins.
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