He was yelling?Why was he yelling?
“Why are ye angry?We moved past it.Ye even said I should learn how to use a sword!”
Grabbing her arm harder than she expected, he dragged her near the wardrobe where his long mirror leaned against the wall.
“That ‘tis of no accord!I said to fight only for your defense and look at ye!”He shoved her in front of the mirror.“Look at ye!Bruises, stained clothing, bloodied kirtle!For someone else, no’ to save yourself, and this was when ye won!Christ’s blood, Ailith!What if ye had lost?”
“But I did win!I beat him –”
“Because he was a fat, slow-moving man with a poor weapon!‘Twill no’ be that way all the time.And no matter how prepared ye are, a stronger man can still beat ye.Why do ye risk your life?Why do ye do such senseless things?”
She whirled on him, her own fury a ball burning in her stomach.What was wrong with him?They had talked it out on the ride home!Why was he turning on her now?
“I told ye why!And ye risk your life all the time!If I can fight –”
“I’m a man!A trained warrior!And even then, have ye seen the scores of scars marking my body!It kills me to see even one mark on ye!One bruise!Do ye know how much it took for me to bring ye home and no’ kill Alistair Keith where he stood?Do ye know how badly that would have gone for all of us if Ihadkilled him?And God above save me, Ailith, it took every ounce of my willpower to walk away and let that bastard live!”
Wait.He wanted to kill Alistair Keith?He was mad becauseherlife was threatened?And mad that she defended it?He hadn’t seemed that angry at all while they were in Stonehaven.
My God!He has an amazing poker face if that’s the case!
“Ye aren’t making any sense, William.Your anger is making ye see red,” she tried to reason with him.
He grabbed her upper arms, again hard enough to leave his own bruises on her flesh.
“Aye!I’m still angry!Ye canna do what ye want!Do ye know how dangerous this all is?And every time someone threatens ye or harms ye, I have to kill him!‘Tis my right as your husband!Do ye ken how dangerous ‘tis for ye to fight as ye did today?Alone?”
She was done with this.Ailith lifted up on her toes until her nose reached his chin, and she narrowed her eyes at his icy blue ones.
“Everything is dangerous!”she shouted back, ignoring his iron grip on her arms.“Even ye are dangerous!”
A shadow crossed over his face.“Dinna tempt me, lass.Ye dinna know how dangerous I can be.Ye have my heart, so ‘tis all I show ye.But ye’ve seen me act on violence.Dinna make this worse.”
If William expected her to cower, to be frightened, he was sorely mistaken.He had no idea she could give as good as she got.Did he really believe her a whimpering wife who stood by while her husband took care of everything?Nay.That was not her.Instead, she lifted her chin higher, and the corners of her eyes pulled.
William stiffened at her reaction.
Her lips curled into a sly smile.“Oh, tempt ye I will.Show me how dangerous ye can be.”
His inhale and exhale growl of breath was hard enough to blow her hair off her face.Then he crushed her against him, ravaging her lips hard enough to leave bruises there, too.
Ailith did not pull away.Her hand curved around the back of his head, and threading her fingers into his lush hair at the base of his neck, she pulled hard.
He paused his aggressive kisses to look into her eyes, and his gaze was no longer blue – it was stone, it was iron, and it was raw.
“Ye want dangerous?”he rasped, dropping his face to the curve of her neck and biting at her tender skin as one hand grasped her breast hard enough to leave welts.She gasped but gripped his head more tightly against her.“Ye want violence?”
She slid her hand down to his cock bulging under his braies.He might be angry, but oh, he was filled with as much lust as he was rage.His fullness in her hand caused an electric thrill to course through her entire body.
“Aye, William.Show me how dangerous ye can be.”
His response was immediate and forceful.He shoved her to the bed, and when her legs lifted, he grabbed her thighs above her woolen tights.He took her knife from its place against her pale skin and shifted his eyes from her to that slender scabbard before he tossed it onto the table.
Her skirts fell to her hips as he moved, exposing her darkly crimson sex to him, and the intensity in his blue eyes flared.Every part of her body was crafted perfectly, made to fit him, and she realized his fury came from knowing he could have lost her this day.
Ailith rose on her elbows and leveled her gaze at him, green intensity meeting blue in a challenge.But her devious smile egged him on, demanding that he show her his dangerous side, to use the sword between his legs instead of the one strapped to his belt.
His engorged cock throbbed under her gaze.
