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She bit her lip and watched her hands as they massaged and brushed against him. “Oh, it will be. In everyone’s eyes.”

“Nae in mine.” Angus thrust his hips to the side, attempting to throw her off.

She chuckled excitedly and dug her nails like a cat dug its claws. “Oh, struggle all ye want. Men think they can rape women whenever they want. Well. I canna be a laird. But I am as powerful as a man in all other ways. I will make ye mine, Angus Mackenzie. Oh, I will.”

Helplessness weighed on him, injecting weakness into his arms and legs like venom. He thrust, and tried to throw her off, but she held on, as excited as a lass on a wild horse. He wanted to scream, but he knew it would be futile. He had not a single friend in this castle. And no one would dare to go against their mistress, even if they pitied him. He felt like a piece of meat, nothing but a bull that was expected to inseminate a herd of cows.

He wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. She’d imprisoned his body. But she didn’t own his mind. She never would. With coldness creeping into his soul, he stilled and met her eyes.

“And what happens after the wedding, Euphemia?” he said. “Will ye keep me locked up forever?”

She leaned down and began planting wet kisses on his body. They felt chilly and slurpy. “Aye. Till ye submit to me.”

When her lips reached the lower part of his stomach, he stilled and clenched his fists. Her face came close to his cock, and he felt her warm breath on his skin. He cringed and pressed himself back into the mattress, as though it would help to escape her. With a featherlight brush of her fingers, she stroked his cock once, then twice.

“If ye think this will arouse me, ye’re wrong. I can never want a woman like ye.”

“A woman like me?” she purred as she wrapped her hand around him and started moving her fist up and down.

By God’s blood, he was still a man. He still felt things, and his treacherous body was enjoying this. Nae! Ashamed, hating himself, he felt his sex swell with the need for more. Aye, this was only physical, but he hated every inch of himself for reacting to her command.

“A woman who has nae soul,” he spat.

She smiled. “Mayhap I have nae soul,” she said with an undertone of bitterness. “But ye’re wrong that ye canna want me. Look at yer gorgeous cock.”

A low growl escaped his throat. Stop, he willed himself. Stop! Ye canna show her she can win this.

But as she moved her hand up and down, his body was still eager to respond, and more blood flowed to his member. Goddamn it!

“Dinna fight this, Angus,” she said. “Ye already lost. Give me a son. Be my husband. Lie with me. Make me the happiest woman alive.”

He moved his hips sharply away from her hands and to the side and away from her. She lost her grip, and immediately his erection softened. Good! Think of worms… he thought. Snakes… A latrine…

With an angry grunt, she found him again, but his cock was completely flat now. She began pumping him faster, annoyed.

Latrine…

The pleasure didn’t come anymore. He willed his body, and her movements felt disgusting. He didn’t hate his body anymore. He hated her. She was abusing him, doing things against his will. He wouldn’t let her.

She kept moving her fist, but her face lost the expression of satisfaction, the expression of victory. She looked angry, her lips pursed. He closed his eyes.

“Keep trying. I told ye I dinna want ye.”

“Oh, ye will. Nae man has ever gone soft on me.”

Angus chuckled. “Keep me here all ye want. Do whatever ye want. I ken who ye are inside. Rotten. Selfish.”

She let go of him with a jerk. She jumped up and put on her cloak. With a furious snarl, she stood and looked down at him as though she was considering where to spit on him.

“Ye will regret this, Angus,” she said. “Mayhap ’tis the pretty dark-haired girl that’s clouding yer mind. Well, let me see if ye keep thinking of her once her head is nae attached to her body nae more.”

She marched out of the room and slammed the door shut, the heavy iron handle knocking against the wood.

Horror dripped down his spine. “Nae!” he cried after her.

He was already regretting rejecting her—she was right. If he’d known that he would be protecting Rogene by mating with Euphemia, he wouldn’t have resisted.

He was ready to sell his soul to the devil if it meant she would live.