Page 16 of An English Rose for the Highlander
Despite the fact that the man was so enigmatic at all times, Rose felt so off. This was strange and not at all how she imagined it. He’d called her by her given name, and yet, she found herself missing the way it sounded when the word “lass” escaped his lips.
Rose’s chest ached from the strain her heart was putting on her, and then Dominik turned toward her, backlit by the small flames. He crossed the room, meeting her at the door once more, but this time, he stood inside the room, towering over her like a giant.
“It is the way of it, Rose.”
She was at a loss, unsure of what to say, so the worst thing imaginable was able to sneak out of her mouth.
“I had not thought you would come to my room at all. Certainly not now.” She shook herself, her gaze squeezing shut as she ducked her head toward the floor. “It’s only that…”
Rose was fumbling, frantically searching for the right words as the man in front of her, so strong and undeniably powerful, leaned over her, invading her space. She was flush against the door as Dominik’s hands found the wall on either side of her, boxing her in.
They were so close, so very,veryclose.
“…after what was said at dinner…”
Why was she still talking? Rose’s logical mind had clearly vacated the premises, and she shook herself, clenching her jaw. This was not the place she wanted to be. This was not the situation she wanted to find herself in.
Though as Dominik leaned closer, Rose caught the scent of his skin. Exertion clung to him, but there was leather and moss as well. Something warm mingled within those complex aromas, a spicy fragrance that made her think of hot autumn mulls and ciders.
“And why should I nae visit ye after dinner, Rose?” Dominik lowered his face toward her, his nose brushing her cheek as one hand dragged down the door.
“It…it is only that we were rather cross with each other. I should have thought that you?—”
“And does that affect our duty?”
Rose had no response to that. She had no response to anything the man did except to breathe increasingly hard and shallow. She could sense the blush flooding her cheeks, the undeniable pink that would soon consume her face and neck.
What was happening between them? She heard Dominik’s words, but his actions felt so different, unlike what he was saying. The sound of his hand on the door pulled her out of her thoughts, and Rose tracked the noise as he lowered it, finding her waist. His fingers dug into her sides, so hot above the thin shift that separated them.
Oh god, I am only in my shift.
The realization struck her. A tiny bit of fabric separated her from Dominik’s bare touch, and her body continued to heat, a steady warmth growing like a kettle on the stove. Instinctively, she pressed her thighs together, feeling something stir within her that she could not name.
In truth, Rose had never been aroused. The notion was not entirely alien, but it had never struck her. She had seen a handsome man before, but there had been no longing to do any of the things she knew couples raved about.
What apparently a great many people were willing to pay, live, and die for.
“I suppose it does not, my laird.”
“Daenae call me Laird, lass. It is Dominik.”
Her breath caught as her husband flicked his stare to her lips. This was the moment Rose should have said something, told him that she would not be doing her duty when he had made her feelso much like an outsider at dinner. But nothing came out. She could not find the words, though she searched for them.
All that she could focus on was the striking green of Dominik’s eyes, the way they bore into her very being. All Rose could feel was the warm, firm pressure of his fingertips along her side, the internal call to move toward him that she did not understand.
“Dominik.” The word escaped her, and Rose watched his eyes flare, an unreadable expression filling his features as her husband held her there against the door.
“When ye say me name like that, lass...” A groan left him, and Rose was shaken to her core. Was he intent on claiming her not solely for duty’s sake?
“Like what?” she pressed, needing understanding, clarity,more.
“With the breath escaping yer lungs.” Dominik’s other hand came to Rose’s neck, cradling her face with his thumb on her jaw. “With the sound of want ringing through it clear as day.”
Rose was sure that she would burst into flames and disappear into ash. The embarrassment fueled through her like oil to the fire, and she could not deny him. She could not tell Dominik that he was mistaken, that she thought nothing about the way it would feel for him to claim her right there against the door.
But she could not deny the nerves either.
“I…”
