Page 17 of The Icy Highlander's Bride
He had tried to push the fantasies away. After all, he was marrying this woman so he could strengthen his clan's alliances and she could care for his daughter. That was the important thing. But now she was here, standing in front of him, talking about having children. His mind conjured up images of her laid out beneath him, her mouth parted, her eyes begging…
He forced his attention back to her, trying to contain his desire.
"Are ye alright, lass?" he asked.
Lana met his gaze again, but her timid expression quickly turned suspicious. She sized him up, as if seeing him for the first time.
"Is this why ye daenae believe in love?" she asked, and Daniel found himself confused by the sudden turn of the conversation. "Ye lost yer wife, the maither of yer child. Ye lost one love, so ye willnae allow yerself to love another?"
"Nay," Daniel said quickly. "I wasnae in love with her. Marriage was a duty I had to perform. That is the way of things with lairds."
"So ye only act on duty?" Lana asked. "Ye daenae believe that people should follow their hearts? That ye deserve to find happiness in yer life?"
"There is nay place for happiness when I have a clan to protect," Daniel answered. "I do what is required of me. I do what I need to, to ensure the success of me people."
"I see," Lana uttered. He watched the curious excitement fade from her eyes and darkness settle there. "So ye will lie with me out of duty?"
Her boldness surprised him, and Daniel found himself speechless. This was a different Lana in front of him, one filled with hurt and anger that was suddenly directed at him.
"I understand," she continued as she rose from the table. "Ye will do what ye must to make bairns. And it doesnae matter who ye make them with."
8
Lana wanted to get away from him. She finally understood that this man did not carewhohe wed, only that he had someone to warm his bed and take care of his motherless child.
She was breathless at the realization. She knew he would not love her. He had made that very clear. But she thought, at least, that there had been a reason he chose her.
Pain radiated from her chest as she realized she was simply a woman who found herself in his crosshairs. Daniel didn't care who she was. He just cared about fulfilling his duty, and he didn't care who he hurt in the process.
Lana tried to walk away. She didn't know where she was headed, but she knew she needed to leave. But as soon as she turned around, his hand was on her wrist. He spun her back as he stood up, and suddenly her body was trapped against the table, his eye staring down at her.
"And did ye treat me any better?" he asked. He was so close that she could feel the warmth of his breath on her face. "Ye needed a man to save ye last night. Anyone would have served ye."
Lana felt drunk on his proximity. The table pressed into the backs of her thighs as he edged ever closer to her, his solid form only inches away from her. Her chest heaved as her breaths came faster. One hand firmly gripped her wrist, and though she should have pulled away, she didn't. Instead, she reveled in the feel of his skin against her own.
"Nothin' to say?" Daniel teased. His mouth was close to her ear, his voice little more than a whisper.
Lana's brain raced with rebuttals, but she couldn't form the words—she could only focus on the feel of his breath fanning her neck, the way his thigh pressed ever so gently against her own. She heard the smallest sigh, a soft moan that was foreign to her ears, and all at once, she realized it had come from her own throat.
Daniel saw this as a victory, she could tell from the smile that spread across his face and the glint of excitement in his eye. Lana was a mix of embarrassment and excitement, unmoored in a moment of passion that she had never found herself in before.
And then Daniel spoke again, his voice deep and velvety.
"Would ye deny me?" he asked. Lana found herself transfixed by his soft pink lips. "If I come to yer bed, will ye turn me away?"
She knew the answer he expected. She knew that he thought she was his to command. But these words woke something up inside of her.
She pushed her way through the desire and the warmth that felt so new and exciting and reminded herself who she was and what she wanted.
"Aye," Lana said, finding her voice.
She stood up taller, letting the movement push Daniel back ever so slightly. He blinked at her, clearly uncertain if he had heard correctly.
"Excuse me?" he asked.
Lana pulled her wrist out of his grip and slid along the edge of the table so she was no longer trapped by his body.
"I willnae lie with ye," she stated, feeling a wave of terror wash over her. "And I willnae give ye bairns. It's me only rule."
