frown on her husband's face.
She immediately became frightened. Had she failed him some way? She knew she'd been a little timid, awkward too. 'Do you have regrets now, Duncan?' she asked, her voice hesitant.
She couldn't look at him. Madelyne closed her eyes, letting her fear and shame build.
'None.'
He snapped out the denial. His voice was harsh. Madelyne wasn't the least comforted. She felt hurt and humiliated. The glow of their lovemaking was gone now, replaced by such a desolate, desperate feeling of failure. God help her, she started to cry.
Duncan wasn't paying Madelyne much attention, for he had only just accepted the full truth.
The admission staggered him. The disrespectful, unpredictable woman weeping loud enough to wake the dead had tripped her way right into his heart.
He suddenly felt as vulnerable as this Achilles warrior Madelyne told him about. Aye, Achilles couldn't have been too pleased to find out his heels were vulnerable. He'd probably been infuriated, as infuriated as Duncan suddenly was.
Duncan didn't have the faintest idea how he was going to protect himself from her. He decided he needed time to think through this situation. Aye, time, and distance, too, because it just wasn't possible to think about all the ramifications when Madelyne was near him. Hell, that infuriated him.
Duncan sighed, long and loud. He knew what Madelyne wanted, what she needed from him now. With a groan of frustration he jerked the covers away and pulled her into his arms. He told her to quit crying, but she blatantly disobeyed him and continued on until his neck was soaking wet from where her face rested.
Madelyne fully intended to tell him she despised him and that she was never going to speak to him again, that he was the most insensitive, overbearing man she'd ever encountered. She needed to quit crying first, else she'd just sound pitiful instead of angry.
'Do you have regrets now, Madelyne,' he asked her when he couldn't stand the sound of her weeping any longer.
She nodded, bumping his chin. 'I do,' she told him. 'I obviously didn't please you. I know that's true because you're frowning and snapping at me, but it was only because I didn't do what I was supposed to do, Duncan.'
Lord, she was unpredictable. She cried because she thought she hadn't satisfied him. The realization made him smile.
Madelyne suddenly pulled out of his arms, bumping him again. 'I don't want you to touch me ever again.'
In her anger she forgot all about her nakedness. Duncan 's body reacted swiftly to the lovely view. Madelyne faced him, her legs tucked beneath her, and her breasts, magnificent, full and rosy-tipped, were too irresistible to ignore. Duncan reached out and circled the nipple of one with his thumb. The nipple hardened before Madelyne could slap his hand away.
She tried to deny him then by pulling the covers over her bosom, but Duncan easily won the spontaneous tug-of-war when he ripped the blanket out of her grasp and flung it to the floor. She would have followed it if he hadn't grabbed hold of her arm and yanked her back on top of his chest.
Duncan trapped her hands with his and grinned. The grin left quite abruptly when her knee found a vulnerable target between his legs.
He groaned, captured her legs by locking his own around her ankles, effectively stopping her struggles. He let go of her hands and then slowly pulled her head down to him. He could feel her heart pounding against his chest, wanted nothing more than to kiss her anger away, but when she was just a breath away, he stopped. 'Listen well, wife. You weren't awkward, only innocent. And you have pleased me more than I had thought was possible.'
Madelyne stared at him a long moment. Tears flooded her eyes again. 'The truth, Duncan? I did please you?'
He nodded, exasperated. He vowed to lecture her first thing in the morning about questioning him, and then remembered he'd already made that vow.
She was appeased. 'You pleased me too,' she whispered.
'I know I did, Madelyne.' He wiped the tears away from her cheeks and sighed over the disgruntled look that came over her face. 'Don't frown at me,' he ordered.
'How do you know you pleased me?'
'Because you screamed my name and you begged me to-'
'I never beg, Duncan,' Madelyne interrupted. 'You exaggerate.'
He smiled most arrogantly. Madelyne opened her mouth to tell him just how arrogant she thought he was, but his mouth caught hers, effectively stopping her rebuke.
It was a hot kiss. Madelyne could feel his arousal pressed against her. She moved her hips against him restlessly, teasingly, too, arousing him all the more.
Duncan gently pulled away. 'Go to sleep now. It would be too painful a second time.'
She stopped his protest with another kiss. Madelyne decided she liked being on top of him, shyly whispered that fact to him.
He smiled, yet still insisted she sleep. 'I command it,' he told her.
'I don't want to sleep,' Madelyne said. She nibbled on the side of his neck, shivering with new awareness. 'You smell so good,' she told him. Her tongue played with his earlobe, driving him to distraction.
Duncan decided to put an end to her game now, before he was unable to stop himself from taking her again. He didn't want to hurt her, but he knew that she was too innocent to understand.
He'd have to show her how uncomfortable it would be for her.
With that intent in mind, his hand moved between them. When he thrust his finger inside, Madelyne moaned. Her fingernails dug into his shoulders. 'Now tell me you want me,' Duncan demanded, his voice harsh with his desire.
Madelyne slowly arched up. Pain and pleasure blended into confusion. She rubbed her breasts against his chest. 'I do want you, Duncan,' she whispered.
Duncan suddenly felt his control desert him. He felt strong enough to conquer the world. When Madelyne tried to roll onto her back, he shook his head.
'Do you really force me to beg you, Duncan?' she asked, though it sounded more of a demand to her husband. He thought her voice quavered because she ached with as much need as he did.
He kissed the frown away from her face while he slowly began to penetrate her.
Madelyne straddled his hips, moaning with contentment. Her last coherent thought was a revelation. She didn't have to be flat on her back.
Chapter Fifteen
'Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.'
Duncan had always believed himself to be a practical man. He knew he was stubborn, set in his ways, too, but didn't look at either of those as flaws in his character. He liked his days to follow the same rigid pattern, believing there was safety and comfort in predictability. As a leader of such vast numbers, it was imperative to maintain order and discipline. Why, without a well-constructed plan for each day, there'd be chaos.
Ha, chaos. The word reminded Duncan of his gentle little wife. Though he didn't voice his opinion, he thought Madelyne gave the word
Duncan truly believed he'd be able to continue his routine without' interruption. He also thought he'd be able to ignore Madelyne just as thoroughly as he had before they had exchanged those binding vows. And he had been
