“Of course.”

She did not care that she was repeating herself. The fortress standing so coldly in front of her resembled more of a prison, not an unusual thought considering that an army surrounded her, and the choice to enter was not resting in her hands. She might have been a stolen heiress instead of a negotiated bride. Someone watching would never know the difference.

She wasn’t sure if she wasn’t both, considering that her father had made the match.

She sighed, chastising herself for her thoughts. Railing against the way the world was would bring her no gain. Besides, she liked Curan well and good, and that was a solid truth. He was no old man who wanted young flesh, and he was no coward who paid others to fight in his place. He was absolutely everything that she should be thankful for in a husband. This acknowledgment made it doubly hard to recall why she had to stick to her course and deny him.

Synclair gave her the briefest of nods to accept her response before he mounted his horse and rode toward his commander. They made quite a pair, both men embodying the image of strength.

Her mood turned surly. It was not the rain or the fact that her toes felt swollen from being wet for two days. What needled her was the way the sight of Curan instantly revived the memory of what he had done to her last night. Her cheeks turned hot with a blush and her nipples began to tighten just from the thought of it. But what truly turned her mood dark was the fact that she recalled just how much she had wanted everything he had carried out.

There was no choice, not even control, Marie’s example seeming so impossible to reproduce within herself. The courtesan had always appeared in command, but Curan reduced Bridget to a weak and needy creature after nothing more than a few kisses.

But such hot kisses …

A soft growl made it past her lips. Amber Hill rose higher in front of her, darkening her mood further. She was torn between duty to her father and desire for Curan. Never once had she thought to be in such a dilemma. Only daughters who were foolish enough to get carried away in romantic verses full of love found themselves struggling to follow their fathers’ dictates when the time to become a wife was at hand.

Resentment boiled inside her for the position in which she found herself. She had been obedient. Even if the church would berate her for thinking harshly against her father, she still did. She desired Curan only because her father had made it possible for her to.

That is not so. You would have desired him no matter what …

She snorted again, annoyed by her own thoughts.

“I assure you, in spite of its exterior, Amber Hill is a modern building.”

Bridget jumped, startled by Curan’s deep voice. The man seemed to have materialized directly out of her musings.

“I do not doubt such.”

He frowned at her tone. “You would prefer a crumbling castle complete with a moat half full of century-old sewage?”

“What I would prefer—” Something gleamed in his eyes, and she shut her mouth. The man was baiting her.

One dark eyebrow rose. “Yes, my lady?”

He rolled the word “my,” giving the word more emphasis, and that pushed her demeanor over the edge into angry. It had been so long since she had allowed herself to be so unpolished that the burning emotions stunned her.

“Finish what you began saying, Bridget.”

Now he turned her name into a warning that further agitated her.

“I shall not.” She lifted her chin and shot him a full look of fury. It took him by surprise, his expression breaking the unreadable mask he so often wore when verbally sparring with her. She gained a glimpse at his true thoughts and the frustration lurking there. She found a measure of calm in the sight of that frustration because she felt just as unsure.

He reached down and plucked her right off the road like some Scottish marauder. A sound of rage got past her lips before she smothered it, drawing the attention of the men around them, and the guards jerked their eyes to Bridget and Curan while reaching for their swords, proving that the two days of rain had not stolen any of their sharpness.

They looked away even faster once they saw her lying across their lord’s thighs.

“Let me up!”

Bridget didn’t soften her words and did not care if Curan took offense. The man was insufferable. Since his saddle didn’t allow for her to roll toward the neck of the stallion, she ended up curled around his body with her legs flopping on one side of the horse and her head and arms on the other. Her wet skirts stuck to her ankles and calves, snapping with the motion of the animal.

She heard him make a sound that resembled a chuckle too closely for her comfort. She was past behaving the way everyone expected of her. Far past it. Planting her hands on his thigh she pushed her body up without concern for the fact that she just might end up in a heap for her efforts.

Curan did not take exception to her actions. Instead the man hooked her about the waist and lifted her up above the saddle, so that he might lower her bottom onto the saddle in front of him. She ended up sitting upright and riding sidesaddle with his hard body flush against hers. Her cheeks heated again, and that heat licked down her skin, touching all the places his hands and lips had the previous night.

“Are you more pleased now, Bridget?”

His tone was disgruntled, but it suited her mood well enough.

“Pleased that you haul me off the ground in front of your men like a whore?”

“More like a reluctant bride.” One of his arms was holding her in place against him, and it tightened with his words. “I treat you as your surly behavior deserves. Yet I wonder why you want to avoid my touch by using such comparisons. It sounds as though you wish to keep yourself from my touch completely.”

His eyes flickered with frustration, but shame made her lower her eyes. He was correct. She was using barbed words to attempt to place distance between them. Obedience to her father did not make her behavior less disgraceful. She heard him sigh.

“You are my wife. Your father has given his blessing to our match. Be at ease.”

“Not according to my father’s last letter home. Can you not see that I must question our union?”

His nostrils actually flared with anger, his gaze becoming so sharp it felt as if it might cut straight into her mind. But his lips curved in a sensual fashion, sending a pleasant shiver over her born from the memory of how they felt latched onto her nipple.

“And what of last night, sweet Bridget? Are you not my wife because of the way you let me taste your tender breasts and stroke your slit?”

His voice deepened until it was brassy and husky such as it had been in the dark. He leaned down close to her ear, and she felt his warm breath against her skin.

“You clung to me, and I felt you shiver when my hand gave you pleasure.”

I have …

Her body shivered, and he chuckled as he felt it. Along the side of her body that was flush against his, she felt the unmistakable rise of his erection.

“Only after you pressed your suit. It was not your bed I snuck into.”

He frowned but took a moment to raise his gaze to scan the horizon. His attention lingered on the fortress growing larger and more impressive with each jolt of the horse’s hooves. The hand resting over her belly tightened.

“It shall be my bed you lay in tonight.”

Hard certainty coated each word. Her temper resumed its fury as she became bone-weary of being considered his property. May the rest of the world be cursed, she did not care if it was the way her entire life was structured, she was sick of being a man’s chattel. Her mother’s lessons on poise and being clever suddenly became quite useful. Men did not know as much as they thought … at least not about women.

“I must disappoint you, my lord.” Her voice was smooth and devoid of anything that might be considered anger. “My monthly courses are due. I cannot possibly assume my position in your bed tonight.”

He growled at her, the arm lying around her contracting. Bridget raised an innocent look to him and actually enjoyed the appearance of frustration in his eyes. Let the man taste what it was like to be told what would be instead of informing her what he desired. A taste of humility would do him good.

“And why did you wait until now to tell me this?”

“You have given me little enough time to share conversation with you that allowed for personal topics.”

He ground his teeth. She could see the muscles along his jawline drawing tight. “You have had ample opportunity to mention something of that importance, madam.”

Bridget lowered her eyelids. She suddenly understood exactly what Marie had meant about her power over a man only being effective while he hungered for her. The hard cock pressing against her hip transmitted exactly how much appetite Curan had for her at that moment. Confidence filled her, and she lifted one shoulder in a delicate shrug.

“I am not accustomed to sharing intimate details with anyone. It has even been years since I told my own mother when my courses were upon me. It is a private thing.”

“Not between husband and wife, it is not.”

He sucked in a hard breath, and she heard it whistle through his clenched teeth. “It is not something that I choose the time of. Why do you think that it is the duty of the mother of the bride to set the date of wedding celebrations? An experienced woman knows what details to confirm with her daughter.”

She raised her eyelids and stared him straight in the eye. Indecision flickered in his, but she did not lower her lashes and give him the opportunity to question her honesty.

“Are you positive, madam?”

She shoved her guilt down deep so that it couldn’t reach her expression and foil her plan. “It is not something any woman mistakes.”

He muttered something under his breath that sounded like a curse. His body jerked, and he dug his heels into the side of the stallion. The horse quickened his speed, eagerly trying to cover the remaining distance to Amber Hill.

“You should place me back on my feet.”

His arm remained firmly in place around her.

“I believe I have heard enough of what you would have me do with you this day, my lady.” He gestured at his fortress. “I intend to have you seen sitting on my saddle when we ride beneath the gate.” Rich possessiveness coated his words. “At least that will leave no doubt as to whom you belong to among the inhabitants of my holding.”

She smothered a snort. But not quite enough. A chuckle rumbled through his wide chest, raising her ire.

“Still so determined to avoid taking your place, Bridget?” He leaned close to her ear once more. “I thought I proved my worth quite well last night. However, I shall be most happy to persevere and apply my full attention to the task of keeping you satisfied.”

She did not doubt him, and that sent another chill down her back, but it was followed by a flood of heat that touched off a yearning that chewed on her thoughts.

Staying sounded more enticing than ever. Her mental debate took far too much of her energy, leaving her almost relieved to see the gate growing closer. It was so tempting to simply surrender and allow Curan his way.

She still heard the warning in her mother’s voice, however, echoing inside her head and refusing to allow her to relinquish her misgivings.

Time was something she needed. Time in which to flee to her cousin Alice before she consummated a union that might just enrage her father. There was also the growing concern that Chancellor Wriothesley might seek retaliation against Curan for taking her. If the king truly was dying, Curan’s friendship with him would not protect him or her if she chose to celebrate their union.

So she would not, even if he could not see the wisdom in agreeing with her.

Disappointment raked its sharp claws across her heart. The pain was shocking, drawing a shudder from her. The arm around her tightened, the hard muscles securing her tighter against Curan. The first of his men reached the arched opening in the curtain wall.

“Welcome to Amber Hill, my lady.”

There was no missing the deadly edge to his words. Coupled with the imposing stone walls, despair closed around her like the thick clouds pressing down on them. But there was something else. A longing to have fate simply lift the burden from her by making it impossible to avoid being claimed completely by the lord holding her so securely against him.

That surely would bring disaster to them both, and her heart protested. Casting a last look at the hills rising up behind the thick stone walls, she set her thoughts on her cousin Alice.