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“Thora didn’t see it,” Katherine concluded.

Domhnall shook his head. “It was too late. By the time she understood what the vision meant, the English were already over the wall.”

Katherine leaned forward and held his head in her hands. “It wasn’t your fault, Domhnall,” she said softly.

“I wish I could believe that?—”

“It wasn’t your fault,” she repeated, her voice a little firmer this time.

Domhnall lifted his eyes to look at her, and as she gazed back, her heart seemed to flip in her chest. Everything she thought she knew about this man had slowly slipped away; dissolved like sugar in warm water. Instead, she now saw him for who he really was. More than that, Katherine knew how much her heart now yearned for him.

You’ve fallen for him.

Yes, she had. With the resentment and the anger gone, all that was left was love and affection.

Not taking his eyes from hers, Domhnall leaned slowly forward, inch by inch, until she could feel his breath dancing upon her cheek. He stopped short of kissing her, as though waiting for her to object. But Katherine had no objections at all. In fact, quite the opposite, for she was aching for his touch.

When his lips pressed against hers, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and subtly, he shifted forward. Slipping his arms around her waist, he pulled her closer to him, his tongue breaking her lips apart and roving around her mouth.

At first, the kiss was tender. Soft, sensual, teasing. But as the passion between them grew, Katherine felt his desire as his mouth moved against hers with a sense of desperation. Their tongues clashed as they panted, their hands roving over each other’s bodies, the huge muscles of his back rippling beneath his clothes. An ache at the apex of her thighs seemed to burn like a raging fire, and losing herself in his embrace, she discovered her own desperation.

Swiftly pulling away from her, Domhnall began tearing clothes from his body, not caring where they landed. Katherine could only watch in anticipation, eager for him to be close to her again.

With each discarded item, he revealed more of himself to her. Those strong, square shoulders, his rippled torso, the thickness of his thighs, and then finally, he stood there proudly, watching her reaction. Katherine’s eyes had grown wide, but she could not help the sharp intake of her breath upon seeing his huge and erect manhood that stood proudly between his legs.

Slowly, he crawled back onto the bed, and wrapping his arm around her body, he lifted her and lay her on her back.

“I want ye, Katherine. I’ve wanted ye fer a while now,” he growled, nuzzling her ear with his lips.

As he whispered in her ear, he tugged at the strings of her nightgown. Pulling the knot loose, his hand slipped under the thin clothing. Katherine let out a small moan as he caressed her breast. She let out a louder gasp when his thumb brushed across her aching nipple, for she had never felt a sensation like it.

But just as she arched her back, trying to press herself into his touch even further, he moved his hand away. A wave of disappointment washed over her, but it was short lived as she felt Domhnall roughly tugging at her nightdress. Clearly, he was eager, for before Katherine knew what was happening, he had yanked it up her body and pulled it over her head, soon to be discarded in the same carefree way his own clothes had been earlier.

“Och, Katherine,” he growled, his voice as thick as treacle, his eyes raking over her nakedness, now she lay there so vulnerable before him.

The cold made her nipples peak, yet her cheeks bloomed red, for she had never been or felt so exposed in her entire life. Automatically, she crossed her arm over her body to cover herself.

“Nay,” he said, taking her by the wrist and moving her arm away. “Dinnae cover yersel’. Such beauty shouldnae be hidden away, Katherine.”

“I… I am just ashamed.”

“O’ what?” he said, his eyes now piercing hers. “Ye have naething tae be ashamed o’. Ye’re perfection personified. Yer skin is like silk, yer body is a creation carved by the gods.”

His gaze raked over her nakedness once more, and then, he growled, “And had I kent what I was missing, I would have done this much sooner.”

Quickly shifting from beside her, his lips plunged down onto her breast, suckling on her nipple. Without thinking about it, a light moan left her lips, as pleasure flowered across her body. At the same time, his hand trailed down her flat stomach, creeping lower and lower, his slow movements only heightening her anticipation for his touch.

Her legs fell open, like a flower, beckoning the honey bee in. As his fingers slipped past the apex of her thighs, she suddenly sucked in a breath as a pleasure she had never known possible travelled through her body.

“Och, ye are so ready fer me, Katherine,” Domhnall growled against her skin. “Ye’re so soft, and warm, and wet. I cannae wait tae be inside ye.”

His fingers continued, moving back and forth, perfectly positioned in a place that elicited a sensation beyond anything she could ever have imagined.

“Dae ye remember the question ye asked me a few nights back?” he growled, his lips tickling the soft skin of her breast.

At that moment, she could hardly remember her own name, never mind something that had happened several nights before, and moaning, she shook her head. “No.”

“Ye asked me what a nub o’ pleasure was,” he continued, his fingers still moving even as he spoke.