He quickly continued sneaking out of the village, eager to get back to Arianna. It would be the last time he left her alone, he thought, even though he knew that might be a very hard vow to keep. Brian did not like leaving her behind with the horses, always too aware of how easily Lucette or one of his men could find her. Arianna was not completely helpless but she would be no match for a grown, armed man intent upon capturing her. Unfortunately, he could not take her with him on these small forays because she might be seen and her looks were the type people noticed and remembered.
Which made it so difficult to understand how she could have come to believe all the poisonous lies Claud had told her. Brian had to admit that he did not understand women very well. Arianna was beautiful yet saw nothing but faults when she looked at herself. It was similar to what his brother Ewan’s wife Fiona had suffered. With her honey-gold hair and violet eyes, Fiona was a beauty yet she had fretted endlessly over the small scars marking each cheek. Ignorant men were the reason for that for the same ones who had once wooed Fiona had quickly turned from her when she was no longer perfect. With Arianna it had been but one ignorant man who believed he had the right to punish her for his own weaknesses. There were a lot of men out there who would be better for a sound beating, he decided.
It would gall him to have to do so, but Brian wished there was someone who could give him some advice on a way he could make Arianna more confident in her worth. His cousin Liam came to mind as that man had been very skilled with women and with sweet words that left them smiling and flushed with pleasure. Unfortunately, Liam was now married, and to a Murray lass, worked his own lands, and probably had yet another child on the way. There was little chance that the man would be at Dubheidland.
So he would just have to keep making love to Arianna until she believed in her power to make a man desire her, he thought with a grin. She was hesitant, always awaiting that blow from harsh words, but she quickly grew passionate when he got her into his arms. Brian was more than willing to keep her there until she accepted that she was not only a desirable woman, but also a passionate one that any true man would be pleased to hold.
He reined in his mount at the very edge of the place where he had left her. A heartbeat later she stepped out from behind a tree and smiled at him. The welcome in that smile struck him hard. It was one of the things he ached for. He could almost see her greeting him with it as he entered their home, the scent of a good meal in the air, and laughing children clinging to her skirts.
It was not to be. He fought to smile back at her, hiding the stab of disappointment he felt like a sword wound to the chest. Lady Arianna Lucette could only be his for a little while. She was a titled lady, one who would undoubtedly be sought after by many men once they knew she was free. He was certain she would be dowered again, even if she did not get back what the Lucettes had taken, and the falsity of her marriage would be well hidden.
Brian walked toward her and told himself he would not weaken; he would not marry for the land he craved. Some of that refusal came from pure pride, but he now knew that there was a good chance it could prove impossible to make Arianna believe he wanted her for any other reason if she did gain a new dowry or regain the old one. He would just make sure that he completely sated his need for her before he had to let her go.
“Brian?” Arianna backed up as he walked straight at her, until her back was pressed up against the tree trunk. “Is something wrong?” she asked, despite the fact that the look on his face did not speak of anger.
“Nay.” He placed his hands on the tree trunk on either side of her face. “I just want you.”
Before she could respond to that, he kissed her. The hunger in his kiss quickly invaded her blood. She wrapped her arms around his neck, returning his kiss with all the passion he stirred within her, and welcomed the weight of his body as he pressed against her. It was not until she felt the cool of the air upon her breasts that some of the haze his kisses always clouded her mind with cleared away and she realized he had unlaced her gown. She was now bare-breasted before him, her bodice down to her waist, in the full light of day.
“’Tis the middle of the day,” she protested, the heat of a blush rapidly spreading over her face, but he held her arms back when she tried to cover her breasts with them.
“Nay, ’tis a wee bit later than that.” He teased the hard, rosy tip of her breast with his tongue, savoring the taste of her and the way she shuddered in his arms. “Sweet. Beautiful.” He accented each word with another lick of his tongue. “Enough to make a mon crazed with want just by looking at them.”