to steal her than you think, but you are correct about her nature. If I caged Jemma, she would have strangled on the chain or found a way to escape. Allowing her to think she slips away from her escort is a compromise I make to her spirit. As such, I will not contract her to any man that she is not willing to wed.”
“Is that a fact?” Gordon’s fingers tightened around his goblet.
“It is also a fact that I would not be opposed to you courting Jemma.” Curan watched his words sink in. “Providing we were doing good business together. I think a match would be favorable to both of us. If you can charm your way into Jemma’s heart, that is.”
Barras flashed him a cocky grin at the challenge. Most men would have taken exception to that look, but Curan recognized that it was quite possibly exactly what his sister needed. Jemma would never behave meekly, thanks to his father’s reluctance to have her disciplined when she was a girl. He had lavished indulgence upon her, allowing her to grow into a woman who was firm in her opinions. Women who spoke their minds were not faring well in England, thanks to the king’s own pride. Any marriage to an English lord would most likely end with Jemma being broken when the man’s ego suffered. The Scot in front of him was a different matter. He found Jemma’s wildness attractive, giving Curan hope that she would be happy.
Curan stood. Men jerked to attention behind him, but he made no further moves toward his host except to extend his hand to the man.
“My hand and word upon the matter, Barras. You may court my sister.”
The Scot was on his own feet in a blink of the eye. He grinned while he grasped hands with him.
“Let me fill yer cup again, Ryppon. It seems ye have a wedding to celebrate.”
Curan felt his fingers tighten around the Scot’s hand. All amusement left his face.
“Show me to my bride.”
Bridget didn’t sleep well. She felt too many eyes upon her to relax. The bed in the solar was encased in heavy curtains to ensure privacy, but she awoke several times when she heard the guard near the arches changing. She heard only the brushing of leather against wooden floor, but her eyes opened and every muscle tightened. Darkness engulfed the room, but there was a single glow of light, as if someone had opened the shutters that covered the windows.
Pushing back one of the bed curtains, she stood and saw that the shutters were indeed opened wide. The night air blew in, ruffling her chemise and chilling her legs. Loneliness seemed to go hand in hand with the darkness. Nevertheless, the beckoning moonlight saw her striding to the window, the silver glint bathing her while the night breeze lifted her unbound hair.
Heat moved over her skin, licking across the sensitive flesh while Curan’s face filled her thoughts. She felt him so keenly, it was as though the man was in the room with her. Noise from beneath the window made her frown. Moving forward she looked down and gasped.
Horses and men were filling the inner yard. Many of them lying down next to their horses to sleep while they had the chance.
“I brought my entire army to fetch you back.”
Bridget didn’t gasp, she didn’t make any sound at all, because it felt as if Curan had materialized straight out of her longing for him.
“Does that please you, Bridget? To see that I will place my men in harm’s way to possess you?”
“No.”
He was half shadow, standing near the wall where only a spattering of moonlight touched him. She felt him more than saw him. Strength radiated from him, making her more aware of how chilly the night air was and how warm his skin would feel against her own.
He struck a flint stone, and the spark was brilliant. It gave birth to the flicker of a candle, the yellow flame bathing him in light. He lacked the mail shirt that he so often wore and stood only clothed in a shirt and pants. She sighed, too full of joy to hold the sound inside her. One of his dark eyebrows rose.
“Are you pleased to see me, Bridget? You will have to forgive me for doubting such.” His gaze slipped down her body, the candle flame turning her chemise transparent. Hunger drew his features tight.
“I am pleased to see you, yet that is not a good thing. It is a sign of how weak I am.” She moved away from the window and the candle, suddenly recalling the guards who had watched her most of the day. “I am far too happy to allow you to take the burden of obeying my father away.”
Curan made a low sound of frustration. “Do not begin trying to twist my thinking. We have received the church’s blessing three years past. It is done.”
“You know that is not so.” Bridget turned in the dark, her chemise flaring away from her body. “Do not think that because I am a woman raised in the country that I do not hear of the number of divorces. Women who knelt in front of the altar, too, yet find themselves cast out without a single silver piece. You shall suffer along with me if we celebrate this union. No one disobeys the chancellor. It is time for you to accept reason in this matter.”
The candle flame died in a quick pinch, robbing her of her sight. Bridget didn’t hear him, but she felt him closing the distance between them. In spite of every reason, she was still keenly aware of him, still yearning for one more touch to savor before she had to live without it.
His hand cupped the side of her face, and she heard a soft moan rise from her throat. She hardly recognized such a sound coming from her own lips; it was too husky, too passionate to be hers.
“If challenging a chancellor is the only way to have you, sweet Bridget, then I shall face him without faltering.” His thumb passed over her lower lip, sending little bolts of sensation down her spine. “But be very sure that I will never allow you to leave me again.”
He growled the last few words in a deep tone that raised gooseflesh along her arms. His hand slipped into her loose hair, threading through the silken strands to capture the back of her head. His mouth pressed against hers, a hard kiss claiming her lips while his hand held her in place. His lips demanded compliance, boldly pressing hers to open so that his tongue might plunge deeply into her mouth. Passion ignited inside her so hot the night air became a soothing thing. She twisted toward him, lifting her hands to touch the hard body that had so absorbed her thoughts. Her fingertips found his chest covered in only the shirt. The ties that secured the collar were simple to
