Page 11 of An English Rose for the Highlander
“Ugh, never mind.”
Rose turned away, staring out the window at the town streets below them as Dominik took off his jacket and scabbard. The noise startled her, and she flicked her stare at him, noticing how he put his sword on the top of the dresser. She looked away in a hurry, but not without muttering under her breath, not realizing that he had quite a keen ear.
“There is one bed. You will have to…Easy, Rose. Breathe.”
Bloody hell. That is why she is upset?Dominik scoffed quietly. “Och, of course.”
But there was no way that he’d be making good on his claim for his wife in some inn. He had considered that eventuality before, and Dominik would under no circumstances be indulging in that until he was back home in his castle, in his own bed.
“Lass.” She snapped her gaze to him, brows raised. “I willnae be claiming ye tonight. So ye can rest assured that only sleep will find ye this evening.”
Dominik watched her relax, Rose’s shoulders slumping, and warmth smoothed through his chest.
At once, however, the image of her beneath him rammed to the forefront of his mind. He could not deny the beauty of his new English bride, something Miss Wood had not spoken highly enough of by his account.
She was a tiny slip of a thing, standing at least a head shorter than he did, but she was bold, and her bright blue eyes seemed knowing and curious at once. Her long hair, always styled up on top of her head, was the color of early sunlight, a pale yellow that was nearly white in spots.
And all that said nothing of the pronounced curves of her body.
Curves that, when revealed, would like—Nay. Ye willnae think such things.
Rose crossed the room to the bed, sitting down on the soft surface, which sank beneath her touch. Dominik curiously tracked the way she removed her shoes and then the gloves covering her hands. She set them on the small table near the bed, taking off the thin necklace she wore before reaching up to her hair.
Numerous, seemingly unending pins dropped to that same table as she pulled them free of her hair. The yellow waves tumbled to her shoulders, and Dominik found himself thinking of what it might feel like to run his fingers through them.
“I will admit,” her lilting English tone cut through his thoughts, and Dominik glanced over at Rose, watching how she tilted her head as she regarded him, “I was not certain if you had intendedto…claim me at all. Our marriage is a business arrangement, a deal for both of us to acquire something we desired.”
Dominik chuckled low, stepping up to the bed and sitting down on the other side. He mirrored her dressing down, removing his shoes and waistcoat so that he remained in his shirt, loosening the fabric around his neck as well. As he lay back in the bed, putting his arms behind his head, Dominik looked up at the ceiling, dimly noting how Rose was still sitting next to him, pin straight and refusing to recline back against the pillows.
“Surely you dinnae expect me to nay consummate the marriage? Ye are me wife.” He locked eyes with Rose, unable to keep the next word from escaping his lips. “Mine.”
At once, they eyed each other, stares meeting, and there was no missing the pink flush of Rose’s cheeks, giving her skin the same glow as her namesake. The look sent his mind into a tumultuous spin, swirling over thoughts that he had been doing his level best to avoid since he’d met the woman.
“Will ye nae lie down? I cannae imagine yer comfortable sleeping as if there’s a rod affixed to yer spine.”
“I…”
But Rose didn’t finish her words. She merely leaned back onto the pillows, still as stiff as ever, even as she was now lying next to him. Dominik rolled his eyes before closing them, trying to calm his thoughts and allow himself to fall asleep. Discomfort naggedat him, however, and he tossed about onto his side without thinking about it overmuch.
A handful of minutes later, he switched to the other side, unaware that Rose had done the same. In the fading light, he came face to face with her in the bed, their bodies scarcely more than a few inches apart. Her breath mingled with his own, the heat of her skin palpable.
Rose’s wide eyes and parted lips caught too much of his attention. She was nearly irresistible like this, and Dominik felt himself stir beneath his kilt. His mind was not behaving as it ought to, nor his mouth.
“How is it that ye can be so brave, even going so far as to say reckless, and yet still so…innocent?”
That haunting blue stare of hers widened all the more, and a tiny gasp escaped her, drawing his gaze down to her lips as they remained parted.
“I assure you,” Rose’s whisper was feather-light, her eyes unable to meet his now, “I have no notion of what you speak.”
As if a fire had started in his center, Dominik clenched his jaw, thinking wicked things. How easy it would be to pull her against him, take her lips with his,claimher. He’d never felt anything as strongly as he did now. All moments of passion and desire in the past, though they certainly were not numerous, were all put to shame by the intensity of his feelings now.
Which is a bloody problem, Dominik.
He breathed hard, their proximity so very close. Rose’s stare flicked down when she looked at him again, and Dominik wasn’t sure if he wanted to believe that she admired his mouth or not. This wasn’t what he had planned on. Still, it was hardly inappropriate to look at his wife like this.
“It will be our duty to consummate the marriage, lass.”
Rose stiffened, a look of dread filling the deep blues of her eyes. She was terrified of that, and immediately, her fear beat back any fire growing between them and doused it with water. Dominik rolled over onto his other side, putting his back to her.
