"You are nay a dog or a sheep! I ken it," he blurted. "But a man has a right to protect what is his."
Her narrow-eyed glower speared him. "You don't own me."
"You are my wife. Do you deny it?"
"No, but that doesn't make me a piece of property."
"I never said you were property. You're far more valuable than any land or castle."
"Yeah, I'm valuable because I'm a curse-breaker, or at least that's the rumor." She stomped away toward the fireplace.
He followed, spun her to face him, and lifted her against the wall, urging her to look into his eyes. He hated the churning emotions inside him. Why couldn't she understand? "Listen to me, lass. I never wanted anyone for a wife before I met you. You are nay like anyone else. When I say you're valuable, I mean you're a treasure to me. Nay like silver and gold, nor because of destroying the spell. You're precious to me.M'eudail, why can you nay understand?"
She kissed him hard, and all reasoning left his mind. Mouths fused together, they struggled amidst the tangled clothes. He stumbled with her toward the bed, and they fell upon it, shoving clothing aside.
Seconds later, he again knew bliss as he embedded himself inside her. He could not think while he took her. This sublime peak of all his experiences required his entire focus. He wished he could make love to her all night without stopping. He wished he could show her what she meant to him, how he couldn't breathe without her now.
"Dani. You are mine, and I am yours." Damn her for forcing him to depend upon her. If she left, he had naught—no life, no purpose, no existence.
"Yes. You are mine," she whispered.
Gavin touched her face, and, in that instant, none of it mattered. Dani wanted to wipe the pained look from his eyes. She wanted the dark blue flame of his gaze flickering over her skin. She wanted him hot, hard, and bringing her to bliss. Making her feel things she'd never felt before him. Her pulse drummed in her ears. He inspired excitement in her, apart from sexual arousal. She wanted to gaze into his wicked eyes forever and never look away.
Stroking his lips across hers, he kissed her tenderly but with rising intensity. Her insides felt like warm, melting caramel. She craved him. She loved him.
No! No, I don't.
He paused, breathing hard, and pressed his forehead to hers. "Never leave me, Dani. Promise me." His gaze delved into hers with a new fierceness.
The aching, thrilling sensation in her chest urged her to do anything he wanted—to please him, to make him happy. She stroked her hand over his face, his scratchy beard stubble, then smoothed her fingers over the scar, wishing she could soothe his troubled soul.
"I need you, lass," he whispered. "I need you here with me, even if the curse stays with us all of our days. I cannot offer you much, not the things you had in the future, but I'll share with you all I have. This castle is yours. Do with it what you will. These lands, though barren, they're yours. Me, my body, my heart, all yours if you'll have them. I've never given a woman these things before."
Her throat closed, her eyes burned, and she couldn't speak. What could she say to that?
His solemn gaze proclaimed his words were true. "Every night, I'll come back here and be with you. I'll stay awake all night, giving you pleasure, if 'tis what you want. I have the heart, soul, and mind of a man, even when I'm a hawk. I would never hurt you, so there's no reason to fear me. Promise me you will stay here."
She swallowed hard and nodded. "I promise I'll stay with you," she whispered. Yes, she meant it. A tiny misgiving lingered at the back of her mind, making her question her own sanity, but those were the only words she could speak at that moment.
"Never lie to me, lass. Never change your mind again." Gavin fused his lips to hers and devoured her mouth with sensual sweeps of his tongue. She flung the sliver of doubt out the window and fisted her hands in his thick, dark hair, relishing the hardness of his chest pressing against her.
His face fierce and hard with passion, he made love to her. Each moment, she thought she might die with the intensity and the electrical pleasure. Before she knew it, her head hung off the far edge of the bed. Her upper body slid down, and she stared at the floor, her hands over her head to catch her if she fell.
"Gavin!"
His forearms under her knees, he held her up while her skirt drifted toward her face. He didn't let up for long seconds.
A screaming wave of tingles swept through her and twisted into an orgasm. She got lost in the insane ecstasy. No thoughts… only sizzling sensations and Gavin.
He stopped and pulled her upward onto his lap, facing him. "Och! You turn me into a rutting beast when you're in my bed. I want to do naught but take you hard and fast and never stop."
"Mmmm." Dizzy for a moment, she held onto his broad shoulders and buried her hands in his long dark hair. Looking into his eyes at close range renewed her hunger. "Sounds like a plan."
"Are you going to threaten leaving me again?" he breathed against her mouth.
"Is this the punishment for it?" She grinned.
"Nay. I shall whip your sweet arse." He smacked one cheek of her butt gently, then caressed it.
