“You’ll not distract me with kisses; I’ll have my answer.”
He was determined to have his way; she heard it in the strength of his tone and Cree always got his way. Unless she could distract him with…
Slowly her hand crept down along his chest, over taut muscles, and images of him naked sprang into her mind. She loved tracing her fingers over every inch of him, the teasing not only would grow him hard but would turn her wet.
A tingle settled between her legs and turned quickly to a soft pulse. She was ready to take him inside her now and that was what she wanted to do… make love with him and forget the pain her true mother had caused her.
She slipped her hand beneath his tunic and then down past the waistband of his leggings, her fingertips just grazing along his hairline. A short distance more and her fingers would wrap eagerly around his—
She startled when he grabbed tight hold of her wandering hand and yanked it out of his leggings.
“You’ll not be distracting me. I want my answer.”
She didn’t want to talk about it right now; she wanted to make love and forget. And so she locked her lips firmly shut showing him that she had no intentions of telling him anything, at least until they made love.
“Going to be stubborn?” he asked, though didn’t give her a chance to respond. He whispered near her ear, “I think not.” And with that his hand disappeared beneath her skirt.
Chapter Twenty-seven
Dawn had no doubt that he intended to tease her unmercifully until she gave him what he wanted and while she expected her stubbornness to burst forward and deter his plan, she was shocked at her response. She burst into silent tears again.
“Damn,” Cree mumbled and with haste he eased her down on the bed while keeping her cradled in his arms.
She turned her face into his chest and wept. She didn’t know why she wept again. She had thought all her tears had been spent and her sadness washed away, but she had been wrong.
“I’m sorry, Dawn, I’m so sorry. Don’t cry. Please don’t cry,” Cree whispered in her ear.
She cried even harder upon hearing the mighty and infamous Cree apologizing to her. She would have never expected it of him and yet he had said he was sorry and from the anguish in his voice, he meant it. And she cried some more.
He didn’t know what to do; how to stop her tears. He only knew that he hated to see her cry. It was heart-wrenching to feel her body wracked with sobs while not a sound spewed past her lips. His anger grew as she continued to weep.
“I’m going to kill that bitch,” he mumbled feeling more helpless than he had in a long time. When he finally felt her tearful heaving subside, he eased her away from him to wipe at her wet cheeks as he asked, “I would take your pain if I could. I hate seeing tears in your beautiful eyes. Talk to me, tell me what has brought you so much sorrow.”
Dawn stared at him, her eyes round with astonishment. She felt as if he had just told her that he loved her. Why else would he offer to suffer in her steed if he didn’t love her? And that he thought she had beautiful eyes? Beautiful wasn’t a word that had ever been used in conjunction with her. Only someone who loved her dearly would think her beautiful and the only other person who had ever thought her beautiful had been her mother.
She sniffled back more tears, though a few escaped and his fingers quickly swiped them away.
“No more tears, I insist,” he ordered curtly and she had to smile hearing the commanding Cree she was used to. “A smile—much better—now talk to me; I‘m here for you.”
He had been there for her since they had first met under odd circumstances. And this man that once caused her to shiver with fear now made her quiver with passion. And where once she trusted him not a whit; she now trusted him with her life.
She eased out of his arms and sat up. He did the same, shoving pillows behind his back to lean against, as if settling in and preparing to listen.
Dawn wasn’t sure where to start; she wasn’t even sure what was driving her sorrow. So she decided to start with her visit to Old Mary and finding Ann Gerwan there.
Her gestures were like words to Cree. He could hear them in his mind and he loved the sound of her soft yet strong voice. “Lady Ann was at Old Mary’s waiting for you?”
Dawn nodded and continued, though the pangs in her heart made her realize that the meeting with Lady Ann had left her with more pain than she had anticipated. And the more she related the incident to Cree, the deeper the pangs to her heart. But the part that gave her pause, that made it difficult for her to tell Cree, gripped at her heart and she grew silent, unable to go on.