didn’t speak for a long time. When she did, she asked, ‘Do my clothes bother you?’
Jesu, he wasn’t intending to criticise her. ‘It doesn’t matter to me what you wear. But you used to wear colours and I thought you might like it. That’s all.’
She sat up, as if considering it. When she looked back at him, her face was crimson. ‘I have no ladies’ maid to help me dress. But if you’ll help me, I’ll … try it on.’
Nairna turned her back, reaching for the silk gown. The fabric felt smooth, and the weave was so fine she knew instantly how costly it was.
She loosened the laces of her gown, only to feel Bram’s hands upon her. He stood behind her, and when she lifted her outer woollen gown away there was nothing but a thin shift to cover her bare skin. His fingers stroked over her shoulders, down her bared arms.
The length of his manhood pressed against her backside, as he kissed her neck. His arm slid around her, then he brought it higher to rest over the mounds of her breasts. Her nipples tightened against his forearm and the needs rose up inside, clouding her mind.
Bram turned her to face him. The hunger on his face was undeniable, as if he were holding back by a mere thread. Upon his face she saw the strained control and it bothered her, knowing she was the cause of it.
Hotheaded, Grizel had called Bram. Undisciplined and rebellious, ruled by his temper.
But that wasn’t Bram at all, she realised. Not anymore. If anything, he’d reined in his emotions, locking them away. He wouldn’t release anything and the tension was taking its pound of flesh from him.
He’d imprisoned his spirit, as surely as the chains had imprisoned his body. A dark loneliness seemed to dwell inside him, after his own family had abandoned him.
Grizel’s accusations infuriated Nairna, that she would blame her son for the unfortunate turn of fate. Bram wasn’t responsible for Tavin’s death, or Callum’s imprisonment. And until he could accept the truth of it, he would be caught in shackles of his own making.
His hands moved back up to her shoulders, while his mouth explored the skin of her neck. Nairna held herself motionless, unsure of what her husband had started.
He turned her to face him and his eyes were heated with need. She stood on her tiptoes, wondering if she dared to kiss him. When she did, his reaction was immediate, his mouth claiming hers in a frenzy, as though he wanted to absorb her into his skin.
The more she tried to satiate the desire, the worse it grew. He caressed her bottom, and as his tongue delved inside her mouth, she felt the heat building inside her.
He seized the hem of her shift, pulling it up until he bared her womanhood. Embarrassment pooled inside her, but it dissipated a moment later when his hands moved to part her legs. He cupped her intimately, as if learning the shape of her body.
With his fingers, he traced the seam that led to her entrance, and she moaned as his finger passed over a sensitive spot.
She tried to move his hand away, but he explored further, dipping his fingers against her opening. With his thumb, he pressed inside, and she felt the gentle invasion.
‘I want you, Nairna,’ he murmured against her mouth. ‘I want to claim you. As your husband.’
She shuddered as he withdrew his thumb and pressed it inside again in silent imitation of the way he would join their bodies together, if she yielded to him.
Though her body was ready to accept him, her mind tangled up with apprehension. Bram was so different from Iver, and she was afraid of the feelings he’d stirred within her. To grant herself a little more time, she whispered, ‘Tonight.’
His dark eyes grew heated and he stroked her one more time before withdrawing his hand. ‘Tonight,’ he agreed.
Nairna eased her shift down to cover her nakedness. Her body ached with frustration while Bram helped her to don the purple gown. The soft fabric felt good against her skin, just as Bram’s hands had felt sensual upon her body.
With every touch as he dressed her, she felt herself falling a little deeper into the spell of his arousal. Her breathing was unsteady when he laced the gown and she tried to calm her heartbeat.
She found herself thinking about the man Bram had become. Though his exterior was guarded against any emotions, there were traces of the boy he’d been. The flower he’d left inside her glove … the way he’d held her so tightly upon his return. She believed that there was more he felt for her, though he wouldn’t say it.
Nerves skittered within her stomach as she considered what would happen later, when they shared a bed. Beneath his façade of control, did any of their past feelings remain? Or was it merely wishful imaginings?
As they joined Lord Locharr and the other women for a light evening meal, Nairna wished she’d ignored her fears and succumbed to his touch. For now, she couldn’t stop thinking of it.
The night blurred with a sea of faces. Bram would have preferred to take his meal alone, in his room, but Nairna had wanted to speak with the women and children.
He watched her talk to them, moving from one person to the next. She listened to each of them, asking questions that he couldn’t hear from his position. When it was clear that she intended to speak with everyone, he excused himself from the table and retreated outside.
Noises and sounds overwhelmed him and he needed the calm silence of the night. Overhead, the sky brewed heavy clouds that threatened to spill out with rain. He found Dougal curled up asleep in the stables, as if he were trying to guard the horses.
Grizel had hardly spared her youngest son a glance. It was as if all of them were dead to her. He didn’t understand why she would turn her back on Dougal. Though the lad was hot-tempered, it was only immaturity. He could see Dougal’s fierce craving for attention, even if Grizel couldn’t.
Bram continued past the inner curtain wall, walking without thought. The minutes dragged on and he settled back, sitting against the wall to stare at the moonlight.
He couldn’t stop thinking about Nairna. He wanted to strip away her clothing and lay her upon their bed, learning every part of her body.
Earlier, when he’d touched her intimately, he’d been heavily aroused by her wetness. To know that she desired him, that her body was ready for him to sink deep within her moist depths, was a startling discovery.
His mind had filled up with images of penetrating her, feeling the wetness enclosing him like a smooth sheath. Nothing in his life could have prepared him for the instinctive needs that were claiming control of his mind. And then, as if to torment his mind further, he saw her walking towards him.
‘There you are,’ she said, reaching down a hand to him. He supposed she’d come to lead him back to their chamber.
But instead of taking her hand and rising, he didn’t move. If he touched her at all, he’d pull her into his lap and kiss her with all the pent-up savagery that lurked beneath.
Nairna lowered her hand, her face growing concerned. He took a deep breath. First one, then another, until he steadied his racing heart. The cold stone wall pressed against his spine, and with his eyes closed his senses grew calmer.
‘Bram?’
