Chapter 6

Elayne could hardly believe that she was agreeing to this, but she supposed Dunn was right. If she wanted to convince her father and Laird McCoy what she was saying was true, then she had to have evidence. The two of them would do anything in their power to ruin her plan, and so she had to do anything in hers to salvage it.

Still, her heart fluttered like the wings of a hummingbird in her chest as she waited to hear what Dunn had to say, her teeth biting restlessly on her bottom lip.

To his credit, Dunn seemed just as embarrassed as she was. Elayne didn”t think she had ever seen him blush before, and though the color on his cheeks was faint, it was certainly there, tinting his skin a light pink. It suited him, she thought; it made him look more boyish, giving him a different kind of charm from his usual, more confident self.

When Elayne sat on the bed, Dunn joined her, though he kept some distance between them, much to her relief. She didn’t think she could get through this if he sat too close, if she could see every shade of blue in his pale eyes and feel the ghost of his breath on her skin.

Dunn hesitated for a moment, lips parting, but no sound came out of them. When he spoke, his voice was meant to sound casual, Elayne knew, but there was a strain to it, as though he chose every word with great care.

“Well, I suppose I should start from the… the beginnin’,” said Dunn, stammering over his words. Elayne gave him her unwavering attention, making sure to listen closely and remember everything she would have to recount later. “Ye should tell yer friend this. Tell her I started with kissin’ ye, yer lips, yer neck. Tell her I brushed me lips over yer skin here,” he said, reaching over and sliding his fingers along the point where her neck met her shoulder, the touch making Elayne shiver, “an’ then I bit ye, just gently, right over here.”

It was only words but they had a physical effect on Elayne. She could imagine it vividly, the ghost of Dunn’s lips like a real touch, tangible and just as arousing. Her gaze drifted to Dunn’s lips, to his throat as he swallowed drily, then back up to his eyes, the blue of them almost entirely swallowed by the black of his irises.

Was he as affected by this as she was? Surely, it couldn’t be, Elayne thought. Even if Dunn hadn’t outright admitted to having many conquests, he hadn’t denied it either and Elayne was certain he was far more experienced than she was.

“An’ then?” asked Elayne, her voice barely a whisper.

“An’ then I took off yer dress,” Dunn said. The more he spoke, the bolder he became and the hungrier his gaze turned, looking at Elayne as though he wanted to devour her. “I kissed yer shoulders, yer breasts… ye moaned softly, trying to hold back, but I told ye I wished tae hear ye. I wished tae hear yer moans, yer pleas, the way ye say me name.”

Heat coursed through Elayne’s body, settling deep in her core. There was a strange tingling at the base of her, a slight tremor of flesh, and her breath turned quick and shallow, affected as she was by Dunn’s words.

“Then I pushed ye down onto the bed and crawled between yer legs, kissin’ up yer thighs. Ye couldnae help but spread them fer me, lettin’ me kiss an’ lick between them.”

Elayne’s eyes widened and it was in that moment that she realized just how close the two of them had come, leaning into each other’s space. They were so close that all it would take for Dunn to kiss her would be a slight leaning of his head, but his words made her pull back in surprise, mouth hanging open.

“Ye mean… there?” she asked, dropping her gaze to her lap.

The grin Dunn gave her was teasing and awfully satisfied. “Aye,” he said. “Right there.”

“People dae that?”

“Och aye,” said Dunn with a laugh. “It feels very good.”

The thought of it had another wave of heat washing over Elayne, but it was mostly overshadowed by a deep curiosity. She couldn’t understand how it would feel anything other than embarrassing, being exposed like that to another person and having them touch such a place on her body with their mouth, of all things.

Is it truly as pleasurable as he claims?

She supposed that if people could get over the embarrassment of it long enough for them to do the act, then it had to be pleasurable.

“Is it… does it happen… the other way around too?” Elayne asked, only barely managing to get the words out. Her entire face was on fire, from her cheeks to the tips of her ears, and though she was certain she looked and sounded foolish and naive, she had to know.

“Aye,” said Dunn, his voice dropping low, full of desire. Elayne could imagine him using that voice in bed or even to seduce, speaking quietly in her ear. “Ye could tell her that, too, if ye wish. Ye could tell her I put meself in yer mouth. An’ perhaps ye didnae ken what tae dae at first, but I told ye… I told ye tae close yer bonnie lips an’ suck, tae use yer hand an’ stroke me.”

As he spoke, Dunn reached down and pressed the heel of his palm against his groin for a moment, the movement so quick that Elayne was certain she wasn’t meant to see it. She couldn’t think about anything else now but the desire to be touched by Dunn, to feel his mouth and his hands on her so strong that she was close to begging him for it.

But how could she do that? It would hardly be proper. The two of them weren’t actually married, and Elayne wasn’t going to suffer the indecency of it.

As if pulling himself back together, Dunn cleared his throat and sat up a little straighter. “But ye must tell her this. Even if ye tell her naething else, ye must tell her that I… that I penetrated ye.”

Elayne may have been more innocent than many of her peers, but even she knew what Dunn meant. She had heard maids talk about it before, giggling as they whispered among themselves. That was what it meant to consummate the marriage, she knew, and so she had to make sure to mention it to Isobel.

“Does it hurt?” Elayne asked. She had heard that it did, but that it was a pain a wife had to endure.

Dunn gave her a small smile. “It can, but it doesnae always hurt. I wouldnae make it hurt. Maybe there would be a little pain at first, but I would take me time with ye, make sure ye were ready fer it. I’d use me fingers first, gettin’ ye open fer me, gettin’ ye used tae it. I’d pleasure ye with me hands an’ me mouth until ye begged me tae take ye, an’ only then would I enter ye like that. When ye would want it more than anythin’. When ye would be pliant an’ wet fer me.”

Elayne didn’t need to ask for any clarification on that part. She was already wet. She could feel it, slickness gathering between her thighs, and she knew precisely what Dunn meant.

She wanted him more than anything. She wanted him inside her, doing everything he was narrating, everything he would be doing if they were truly husband and wife.

“How many lasses have ye bedded?” asked Elayne, though she didn’t know if she wanted to know the answer.

Dunn laughed once more, shrugging a shoulder. “I’m afraid I’ve lost count.”

That was certainly not the answer Elayne wanted, but it was what she had expected to hear. She had always known that men bedded several women before they married—sometimes even after, as they weren’t expected to stay faithful to their wives like women were expected to remain faithful to their husbands. But the contrast between their experiences was so apparent to her in that moment that Elayne felt almost inadequate. Dunn must have been with many women who had given the kind of pleasure Elayne had only just found out existed. He had no reason to be with someone who needed so much guidance, who had no experience on such matters.

“Dae ye think ye can tell yer friend all this?” Dunn asked, his voice still carrying that gravely quality that shot a jolt of desire through Elayne. She nodded silently and Dunn smiled softly at her. “Good lass.”

They had come closer once more, sharing the air between them. Without thinking, Elayne raised her fingers to Dunn’s scar, tracing the jagged line by his temple. In that moment, she could have sworn that she felt him shiver, as if her touch affected him like his words had affected her.

“I’ve always been fascinated by this,” she mumbled. It was just for her to hear, but Dunn must have heard her, as he gave her a curious smile, tilting his head to the side.

“Me scar?” he asked.

Elayne hummed in agreement. “It makes ye… mysterious, in a way. But it also shows ye’re a survivor. It’s me favorite thing about ye.”

It was only when the words were already past her lips that Elayne realized what she had just said, and she pulled her hand back as though she had been burned, her eyes widening with embarrassment.

“I cannae believe a sweet lass like yerself has never been kissed,” Dunn whispered, their lips almost brushing against each other. Elayne forced herself to remain still. As much as it unsettled her to be this close to him, she didn’t want to pull back. She wanted to stretch this moment out for as long as she could.

“I have been kissed,” she reminded him. “Ye kissed me that day in the forest.”

“Ach, that wasnae a real kiss.”

“What is a real kiss, then?”

Dunn grinned, the gesture almost predatory. “If ye ask me fer one, I shall give it.”

Elayne knew exactly what Dunn was doing. That night at the inn, he had promised her that he would make her beg him for a kiss and now he was making good on that promise. Elayne ached to kiss him, to see what a real kiss was like according to him, and if she were honest with herself, she didn’t mind begging for it—not now, not when she was finally so close to getting what she wanted.

“Please,” she said, her eyes falling shut with a sigh. “Please, Dunn… kiss me.”

Dunn wasted no time before he grabbed her and pressed his lips against her own. This time, it was much more than a mere brush, the soft press of them soon turning insistent, his tongue pressing against the seam of her lips and slipping past them when she parted them. When he deepened the kiss, Elayne couldn’t help but moan, the sensation better and more arousing that she would have ever imagined.

Dunn’s hands were everywhere on her, grabbing her hips, caressing her back and shoulders, fingers sliding into her hair. Elayne wrapped her arms around his neck to keep him close, her body craving him, her desire pulling her towards him like magnet. It wasn’t long before she straddled his hips, pressing their bodies together. In response, Dunn thrust up against her, the sensation drawing a choked-off moan from her.

Suddenly, Dunn pulled back, putting a stop to it. He was flushed and panting, the hunger still lingering in his gaze, but he shook his head.

“We shouldnae dae this,” he said, not unkindly. Elayne, mortified by her own lack of control, rushed to get off his lap and all but ran to the other side of the room, trying to catch her breath. “Forgive me, I—we shouldnae.”

“Nay. Nay, yer right,” said Elayne, nodding furiously. This would be a terrible mistake. As much as she wanted him, she had to remember that all this was nothing more than a ruse. Perhaps one day, she would find a man she truly wished to marry, and she wanted to be pure for him. She couldn’t give this to Dunn.

Dunn didn’t even want it.

After a while spent in an uncomfortable silence, they had both recovered, physically, at least, if not mentally. Elayne was still terribly embarrassed, the lingering redness on her cheeks and her chest betraying it. Dunn seemed more composed, but he hadn’t quite returned to his usual, aloof self.

“I still havenae forgiven ye fer puttin’ us in this danger,” Dunn said, and though he didn’t sound too upset about it, Elayne was flooded with shame. He was right, of course. How could he forgive her after that dinner?

“I understand,” she said. “An’ I cannae ask ye tae forgive me.”

“Ach, I’m sure I will,” he said. “Ye’re too sweet fer me tae hold a grudge on ye.”

Despite herself, Elayne couldn’t stop the smile that spread over her lips.

After that, they were quiet as they prepared for bed, but when Dunn began to remove his clothes, Elayne quickly averted her gaze, turning her back to him. “I think we should sleep clothed,” she said in a squeak that she found rather undignified.

Behind her, Dunn chuckled. “Isnae that uncomfortable?”

“I think it’s fer the best.”

“I think it’s uncomfortable.”

Elayne cursed quietly under her breath—another undignified gesture, but it seemed Dunn had that effect on her. “I am askin’ ye tae keep yer clothes on. Dinnae make me ask again.”

She waited for a few moments when Dunn gave her no reply, but then she heard him simply sigh and move to the bed. When she turned to look, he was still clothed, spreading his arms as if to tell her he had done as told. Only then did Elayne join him, herself still fully clothed, but she made sure to keep as much space between them as she could, almost falling off the side of the bed to avoid him.

Perhaps it was silly, especially after the kiss, but it was that kiss that made the distance now absolutely necessary. Elayne didn’t want to slip up like that again. She had to stay as far away from Dunn as she could.

“I willnae bite ye,” Dunn said, amused. “Ye dinnae have tae sleep over there.”

“I’m perfectly fine,” said Elayne stubbornly. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Elayne.”

The last thing she heard from Dunn was a soft laugh, followed by his quiet, even breaths as he fell asleep. Elayne knew she wouldn’t have such luck. The night ahead of her would be a long one.