him! Damn him! She?had been betrayed. They had all been right. The great lord’s heir?had only been amusing himself with her, and his lust for her in-?nocence was no less foul than Dom’s lust to subdue her. A hand?dropped on her shoulder, and she started, looking up with dread.
“I woke, and you were gone,” he said plaintively. “You’re weep-?ing! Still sad I’m not Niall, eh?” She wiped at the tears guiltily,?quickly shaking her head, and his tone softened a bit. “I probably?hurt you,” he said matter-of- factly. “Well, don’t worry, Skye. It’ll?get easier with use, and you’ll soon stretch to take my bulk. Come?on, lovey. Let’s fuck a bit more, for if you can’t sleep then I’ve not?used you enough. Besides,” he chuckled lasciviously, “you’re a far?sweeter piece than I thought you would be.”
All the rest of the night, while she endured her husband’s em-?braces, she hated Niall Burke with a growing fury, and considered?how she would revenge herself on him one day. Oh, yes, he would?pay for her broken dreams.
And a similar scene was being enacted miles away, at the strong-hold of the
MacWilliam.
Darragh O’Neill Burke had been destined for the Church since?her birth. Her eldest sister had been betrothed and eventually wed?to an O’Connell. Her middle sister had been betrothed to Niall Burke.?But Ceit had died suddenly last winter, and Darragh, who had been in her beloved St. Mary’s convent since the age of five, was brought?home to take her middle sister’s place in the marriage bed.
It was a particularly tragic choice, for Darragh O’Neill had a true?religious vocation. When it was decided that she would replace her?sister, Darragh was two days from taking her final vows. Her father?and his troupe of men had arrived with much noise and shouting,?just in time to prevent Darragh’s blond hair from being shorn. O’Neill? had waived the return of Darragh’s dowry from the religious order,?knowing that mis would make Darragh’s mother superior more easily?amenable to his change of plan. He lost nothing by it, as the money?had been paid in full eight years prior, just as Ceit’s dowry had been?paid to the MacWilliams at the time of her betrothal.
The mother superior explained the change to the horrified young?nun, saying smoothly that God and Our Lady had quite obviously?made other plans for Darragh. Darragh must accept God’s will with?good grace. She would leave the convent immediately and wed Lord?Burke. Weeping bitterly, the girl obeyed.
Thus Niall Burke was greeted on his wedding day by a pale girl?whose red-rimmed eyes gave evidence of much weeping. As he had?not been fully informed of her religious commitment, he was annoyed?that she should face the marriage with so little enthusiasm.
Later that evening, when the bride and groom went to bed, Dar-?ragh fainted at the sight of her naked husband. Niall gently elicited?an explanation from Darragh. Touched, he gently stroked the pale?blond hair. “I think that, under the circumstances, there’s no need?for us to hurry the physical side of our marriage,” he said quietly.? ”Let us take time to know one another better.”
The truth of the matter was that Niall had no taste for raping?unwilling virgins. And he cursed both their fathers for their blind?stupidity. The girl had a deep religious commitment, and he ques-?tioned whether she would ever get over that. He laughed bitterly.?They had torn him from the woman he loved, who would gladly?have given him sons, because his father didn’t think her highborn?enough! And in her place they had given him a dedicated nun! It?was too funny, and he would have laughed again had he not become?aware that his new wife still seemed troubled.
“What will people say if the sheets have no bloody stain tomor-?row?”
He chuckled. “Ah, Darragh Burke, ‘tis truly innocent you are.?Many a lass has played at carnal games before marriage, yet flown?the bloody sheet the morning after her wedding. Move over, lass,?and I’ll show you.”
Wide-eyed, she watched with amazement as he took the fruit knife from the bowl by the bed and pricked the inside of his thigh.?A small trickle of blood flowed forth, staining the sheets. Darragh’s?virtue was thus proved while her husband’s honor was saved and?his prowess attested to.
It had been now two weeks since their wedding night. Darragh?reasoned that her virginity had been saved forever, and as she had?long ago dedicated that precious gift to God, she had no intention?of giving it to Niall. She would keep his house, but that was all.?Niall’s kindness on their wedding night seemed a weakness she could? continue to exploit.
Once again, as he had every night since their wedding, Niall?gently tried to make love to his wife. Darragh’s inexperience pre-?vented her knowing how patient her husband really was. She was?determined that he would not succeed, but he was equally determined?he would. If he must be married to this girl then she would mother?his children. Now Darragh informed him that she would be his bride?in name only. Her virginity belonged to God.
“You cannot force me as you did poor Skye O’Malley, my lord.?I can but imagine the poor woman’s shame!” she finished right-?eously.
At the mention of Skye’s name Niall’s head whirled, and he?stared with revulsion at the cold, pious, feelingless creature they had?wedded him to. A tiny, fair-skinned, flat-chested girl with watery?blue eyes, white-blond hair, and a prim mouth was his wife. The?comparison between her and Skye with her gardenia skin, flowing?blue-black hair, and blue-green eyes was ludicrous! Skye, with her?sweetly rounded small breasts, rosebud mouth, and innocently eager?passion. Skye! Dom O’Flaherty’s willing wife… who had given?Niall a night of bliss only to destroy his happiness almost imme-?diately with a cold letter. He groaned. Skye would soon give Dom?sons! And so, he decided with growing anger, would Darragh?O’Neill Burke give her husband sons.
Seeing the grim purpose in his silvery eyes, Darragh fell to her?knees clutching her rosary beads, her lips moving silently in prayer.?Niall angrily snatched away the beads and, pulling Darragh to her?feet, ripped the white linen nightgown from her. Catching her in his?arms, he kissed her deeply, forcing the narrow lips open. She fought?him, clawing at him with surprisingly sharp nails, squirming wildly.?Darragh truly believed that God would strike her husband with a?bolt of lightning for his impudence, and she prayed it would kill?him. As they fell back onto the bed and she felt his great manhood?penetrate her maidenhead, Darragh called on every saint in the cal-? endar to avenge her. But soon she was moaning at him to continue, her skinny legs wrapping around him, her lean hips finding the?rhythm and moving with it.
Afterward he felt disgusted with himself, and with her as well.?He had never in his life forced a woman, but she had driven him?to it with her denial of him, and the mention of his beloved, treach-?erous Skye.
Women! They were all alike. They said one thing, meant another.?Beside him, his wife sniveled and complained, “You hurt me! You?hurt me!”
“It always hurts the first time, Darragh. It’ll get better now.”
“You’re never going to do
“There’ll be no immaculate conceptions in this family,
“Never!” she spat at him as he pulled her back into his arms. His?big hand stroked her tense body soothingly. “I’ll endure it, for it is?obviously God’s will, but I’ll hate it every time you stick that awful?thing inside me.”
“Have it your own way, my dear,” he said. “Just remember that?I was no more anxious for this marriage than you were. I would just?as soon you stayed in your convent.” And he thrust into her again,?making her cry out. “Give me a couple of sons, Darragh, and I’ll?leave you in peace forever.”
And down the coast, across the water on Innishturk Island, Dom?O’Flaherty bent over his beautiful wife, pumping smoothly. Skye?was too sensuous a woman to deny her body its release. She let?herself begin to fall away into a lovely world of sweet sensations,?and then she heard her husband moan. He collapsed atop her. She?had not reached her own heaven, but he didn’t care. Niall had cared.?She turned her head away from Dom, a tear sliding unchecked down?her cheek. Damn Niall. Would he never stop haunting her?
Chapters 5
The MacWilliam had commanded that his vassals keep the?twelve days of Christmas with him. They came from all over?Mid-Connaught, including Dom O’Flaherty and his bride of?several months.
The hospitality was lavish, for unlike his less powerful neighbors,?the MacWilliam’s tower house had sprouted three additional inter-?connected towers over the years. Consequently he now owned a fine?stone castle, built along Norman lines around a gardened and cobbled?quadrangle. His guests were housed quite comfortably.
