Page 66 of Katherine the Vixen

None of them, however, would bemoan the fact that he was Welsh, or congratulate themselves on the fact they would never starve again. They would simply feel happy that she was allowed to marry the man she loved, formidable though he might be.

And love Siaspar she did.

“Rwy’n dy garu di,” she murmured, speaking with her mouth at his throat. She should have looked him in the eye while she spoke but she lacked the courage.

“Oh. Catrin. I love you too,” Siaspar said in a low growl, tightening his hold on her. “And you saying it in Welsh only makes me love you more. Say it again, sweetheart. It’s wonderful to hear you say it.”

“In my stumbling pronunciation you mean?”

“No. Wonderful because I have yearned to hear it for weeks.”

Weeks! Oh, how much time they had wasted!

“Well, I love you. I fear you will hear it more often than you care for in the days to come.”

“I’m not afraid. There is nothing I’d like to hear more. And I hope you mean years, not days.”

He brought his mouth to her ear and murmured something in a deep, sultry voice that sent shivers of delight all the way down her spine. Never had anything sounded so arousing.

“What does that mean? Master Owain never told me anything like this.”

“God, I hope not.” Siaspar gave a grunt. “Or I would have to take issue with him. It means, ‘I want you. I can’t wait to have you in my arms and make love to you properly, watch you come undone under my caresses and swallow your moans of pleasure’.”

Katherine laughed breathlessly, imagining the old, dignified Welsh tutor telling her such intimate things. It would never have sounded so enticing.

“I see. Indeed, I’m glad he never told me that.”

Siaspar gave a chuckle, remembering how Katherine and the tutor had often ridden alongside one another during the journey to Allerby Castle. He had guessed that she was furthering her knowledge of his language, but he had not suspected the kind of vocabulary she was learning.

Learning how to say I love you.

“Master Owain would be amazed to see what his Welsh lessons are being used for,” he said, brushing a finger along her cheek.

“Declaring my love to you, my master, you mean? Yes, I guess he would.” She reddened, the color delicious on her. “I… I think he must have assumed I had found myself a Welsh lover and wanted to declare myself to him.”

“And did you?”

“No. Once I got to know you, the other men lost their appeal.”

He stroked her bottom lip slowly. “It’s a wonder no one tried to seduce this beautiful foreigner.” Were the people at Castell y Ddraig mad or blind, or both?

“I don’t think it is very odd.” She sounded breathless after his caress. “The English are not exactly popular amongst your countrymen, you know.”

“I do know it, that is one of the reasons I tried to resist the attraction I felt for you at first.”

Yes, one of the reasons but not the main one.

His first impression of the little scullion had been that she was in league with Lady Malpas. That had been a hard obstacle to overcome but he had done it. Then there had been his guilt at his treatment of her, their differences in status, the fact that they could not be together in any honorable way. The list of reasons why he should never have allowed his feelings for her to bloom was endless but, in spite of all that, she had been brave enough not to allow anything to stand in her way.

It was a miracle he was not sure he deserved.

“What changed your mind? Why did you stop resisting the attraction?”

Siaspar loved how shy she sounded because he knew she was anything but. Under her sweet exterior, this woman was made of steel. Which was good, because she would need to be, to face the battle ahead. Ridding himself from Lady Malpas would require a lot of effort, and was not even guaranteed. But now that he was assured of his Catrin’s support, he felt ready.

“I was only fooling myself and one day realized that the truth could not be denied any longer.” It had really been as simple as that. “But at first I thought it was hopeless. Surely you would not feel too well disposed toward the man who took your maidenhead and treated you so appallingly, even accusing you of being in league with Lady Malpas.”

“I was angry that you would not believe me,” she admitted. “But how could it have been any different? How could you not have been suspicious of a woman you didn’t know who had, albeit reluctantly, played a part in her plans?”