Chapter 8 #2
He stifled a laugh, thinking how adorable she looked with her pink nose and flushed cheeks when she was mad at him.
Biting his lips, he allowed her to continue her tirade, knowing full well that she was right about a few things she had said.
Not all, but a few. He’d kept to his moral code in life, even when it meant that others around him didn’t always get treated as they should.
“Hey look.” She turned and spotted a few people walking in the distance beyond the confines of the tower.
“It’s people from our wedding. We should call them over and have them join us, I’m sure they would be able to tell you more about how stuffy you are.
” She leaned out the window and waved before he had a chance to stop her.
“Ladies and gentlemen” she called. “Come up here and join us.”
“Will ye get away from the window ‘afore ye fall to yer death?” Daniel gripped her arm and pulled her inside, thankful that they were far too high for anyone to hear her calling from afar.
“You see?” she said accusingly. “Right there. Why can’t I call more people up here to join our little hideout? I am your wife, aren’t I? I should have the right to do as I please,” she said defiantly and glared at him.
“Ye will have the right to fall from the window if ye carry on as ye are right now. I think we should sober ye up ‘afore we join the feast.” He tried to guide her back to the chair but stopped and turned around when she pulled her arm away and took a step back toward the window.
“I’m not ready to go down.” She pouted. “In fact, I think I may stay up here, talking all night.”
“Good God, I cannae handle that,” he said while trying his best not to laugh, placing his hand over her mouth after closing the distance between them again. He suddenly drew back when she bit the inside of his palm. “Ye little minx.” He shook his hand a few times from the pain.
“That will teach you to try and silence me.” Melissa came a little closer, sticking her nose in his face. “I shall not be silenced, Daniel Forrester. Not even now that I am your wife.”
He stared at her for a second before suddenly drawing her into his arms and kissing her full lips. His hands held her waist in place as she struggled in surprise for a second before relenting and returning his kiss.
Her body suddenly softened against his as she melted into him, her round breasts pressed against his chest. A soft moan escaped her throat as he used his tongue to part her lips, pressing her against the wall beside the window and giving into the desire that burned in his loins.
Moving his hands from her hips to her ribs, he used the tips of his thumbs to caress her skin through the fabric of her dress, searching the depths of her warm mouth.
He growled in pleasure when she nibbled on his lower lip and lifted her leg over his hip.
Even through the fabric of her dress, he could feel how shapely her long legs were.
A fact that made his arousal grow and his passions deepen.
Bringing her hands to the back of his neck, she drew him a little closer, molding her body to his. She moaned a little louder as he dipped his head and trailed kisses from the tender flesh of her neck down to the base of her throat.
His hands cupped and massaged her breasts, making her sigh in pleasure.
Then, he pulled the neckline of her dress down until the top of her chest was exposed and his fingers felt naked flesh.
Drawing a path with his tongue, he kissed his way to the top of her breasts, before stopping.
Taking note of her altered state of mind, he realized how inappropriate it would be for him to continue with the situation at present, while not being entirely intoxicated at present, she was more than slightly tipsy.
There was also the matter of his promise.
I will never sire an heir, yer line dies with me…
The vow he had made to his father came back to him as he stopped the kiss and took a step back, leaving her looking hurt and confused.
“I think ye should go back to the feast,” he said through labored breaths. He could see the hurt in her eyes, but he held to the vow he had made. “I’ll be down to join ye in a short while.” He nodded toward the door. “They will be wondering where we are ‘afore too long.”
Melissa searched his face with her lips slightly parted. “If that’s another one of your rules,” she glared at him with a hurt look before pushing herself away from the wall and leaving the room.
He watched her go before pouring himself another glass of ale and chugging it back. Her veil still lay on the floor, reminding him of how he had almost taken off her dress.
He had come so close to undressing her before realizing what he was doing. She had cast a spell on him that made him want to break his oath. Yet, he knew deep inside that he’d never forgive himself if his father’s line continued with him.
An’ how will I treat that child if we were to consummate the marriage?
It wasn’t just that he feared getting her pregnant, there were many ways that a man could prevent that from happening.
There was something about Melissa and the vulnerability in her eyes that made him hold back, she’d been through enough in a short space of time.
The last thing she needed was a man preying on her emotions.
He looked at the setting sun over the horizon. Would he not treat any children in the same manner that his father had treated him? His vow to his father wasn’t just to spite the man he despised. It was there to keep him from ruining an innocent child’s life as his father had ruined his.
He thought of Melissa and how beautiful she had looked right before they had kissed. He’d been so overcome by lust that his body had moved as if it possessed a mind of its own. He’d have to be more careful around her in the future if he was to keep his word and never lie with her.
He walked back over to his chair, then sunk into the cushions and stroked his chin.
They hadn’t even been married for an hour and he’d already tried to take off her clothes.
He’d have to think of a plan to keep his distance from her to avoid making the same mistake again, but it was hard now that he’d realized just how beautiful and alluring, she was.
It wasn’t just her looks that made him see her in a different light, but the way she had spoken to him. He saw a kind of freedom in her that he longed to possess, a freedom that his own system of rules had never allowed him to have.
What are ye thinking?
He scowled at himself as he lowered his face into his hands and shook his head.
His mind was wandering to places that he knew he could never go, tormenting him with thoughts of freedom and passion.
The truth was that he’d wanted to join her when she’d leaned out of the window with her hair hanging in the wind.
She’d looked so free with her eyes closed, it had kept him back from reaching for her at once and bringing her back.
“Ye cannae dwell on these thoughts,” he said to himself before placing his hands on the arms of the chair and pushing himself up.
He needed to make an appearance downstairs before anyone came looking for him. He made a mental note to slip away before he had another chance to be alone with Melissa again.