Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Owen was furious. Very few things affected him to the extent that he felt murderous. And the sight before him was one of them. His hands were clenched into fists beside him as he imagined pummeling into the man Charlotte was sidled up to.
Och, who am I kidding? No matter how he tried to explain it, he was mad and not getting any less angry by rationalizing what he saw.
He had to put an end to this. His eyes twitched when he heard her giggle and saw the man's eyes move to her face before returning to the cleavage she had put on display.
Aye, I definitely have tae put an end tae this.
Owen had been the one to ask her to seduce the man and she was just doing what he wanted.
So then, why did he feel so frustrated by the sight?
As for the man, Owen assumed that he was interested and had decided to take advantage.
And who could blame him? Charlotte was beautiful, and any man would want to be with her.
Owen watched the man pull her closer and draw circles around her body, touching her in ways he wanted no one to touch her besides himself.
Owen took small satisfaction in imagining how hard he would pummel the man.
How could Charlotte allow him to touch her like that?
Why was she not pushing him away? He had been blinded by fury when he noticed that she had pushed up her cleavage and exposed her ankles for him to see. Now, he was ready to explode.
Owen was jealous. Right from the moment Charlotte had approached the man, he had tried to fight the feeling. Her sultry gaze did not make him feel any better. She was seducing Owen, too.
Deciding that putting his hands on her was too much for him to bear, all rationality went out the window.
Owen got up and stepped forward quietly without drawing the man's attention.
The moment he reached them, Owen smacked the man across the head, admittedly harder than he had intended.
He watched with deep satisfaction the man's eyes roll up as he collapsed immediately.
He had not drawn blood and the blow would not kill him.
But he would have a large bruise on his head and a very terrible pounding in his skull when we woke up.
Owen had tried not to look at Charlotte as he acted.
He did not want to direct his anger at her.
She did not deserve it, not after what she had done.
Yet, despite his best efforts, Owen looked up and glared at her when he heard her gasp.
His face deepened into a scowl when he saw her staring at the man on the ground with concern.
Should she nae be happy that I put an end to his disgusting touch?
"Are ye touched in the head?" he asked, lightly hitting the side of his head with the tip of his fingers as he questioned her.
"What?" she asked. Owen turned away, unable to stand the innocence in her eyes and the look of pride at a job well done transforming into something else. I shouldnae be angry with her. She doesnae deserve this.
"What did I do?" she asked.
Owen could not tell what it was about his question that quickened his anger even more.
What did she mean by asking what she did?
Was she so innocent as to not know where to draw the line?
Owen did not know who he was angrier at; himself for asking her to do it or her for agreeing and going overboard in a way he had not expected.
The ache in his groin was a clear sign she overdid her task.
"What did ye do? Why were ye being so revealing and why did ye let him touch ye in that manner?
" he almost shouted. But Owen managed to hunker down on his anger when she blushed in embarrassment and looked away.
Charlotte remained silent for a while, almost as though she was trying to keep from reacting in the way Owen currently was.
"Why are you angry? I do not understand.
You were the one who came up with the idea.
I do not make it a habit of showing my body to men for the pleasure of their gaze.
" Charlotte quickly covered herself up until she looked presentable once again.
Owen hated how something that should have been over and done with had turned into an argument between them.
She was embarrassed, but even worse, she was angry. He could see that in her gaze. She had done it for him. And instead of the gratitude she had expected for letting that disgusting man's eyes roam her exposed body, he had inadvertently directed his anger toward her.
Before he could speak, she continued, "Maybe you should have told me what was all right to do while you were planning to use me as a distraction. All I wanted was to try to do my best so that your plan would not fail and we could get a room and have your wound treated."
She looked downcast. "Do you think I enjoyed his attention? Is that the issue here? Because I did not. Nothing of what happened with this man was fun for me."
Charlotte turned away and looked at the man still passed out on the ground.
Owen looked at her again and felt bad for the way he had reacted.
All this time, all he had done was try to rationalize his anger or explain it away.
He had not stopped to consider her feelings in all of this and how she must have felt when she did it or why she had agreed.
She was looking out for him, yet he could not even commend or appreciate her effort.
Owen looked off into the distance for a moment and sighed.
He had messed up and he knew he had to make amends.
He could not let his jealousy ruin the friendship he had with Charlotte.
Friendship… They got on well, way more than he had ever got on with any of the women he had been with in the past. And although she did not know all he had done, she did not seem to care much about his past. Of course, she had not known what to do.
He had not prepared her for it. Owen had simply told her his plan in very little detail and had expected her to play it out exactly the way he wanted her to.
"Ye should stand in front of me while I change." Owen noticed her eyes widen at his words just as he bent down to remove the man's clothes. She really was so innocent. He already suspected that, but he was unaware of how deep her innocence went until now.
"How you survived in a monastery, I will never know," she said suddenly, turning around to let him change. "Why were you staring at my bosom earlier in the first place?" she asked.
Owen stared at her back. He thought of teasing her but decided against it and continued undressing the man, groaning from the strain it was putting on his wound. After removing the man's shirt from his body, he turned him over and proceeded to undo his trousers.
"I told ye I might be a monk but that doesnae make me any less of a man," he replied.
Owen took off his robe. He was glad that it did not require much effort. He tore fabric from the inside to make another makeshift bandage to stop his wound from bleeding over his newly-acquired outfit. Then, he bent to pick up the man's shirt.
Charlotte turned to look at him because of what he had said.
Her eyebrows dropped in shock and her face reddened when she noticed that Owen was shirtless with one hand going into a sleeve.
She quickly turned away from him with a tiny squeak.
Owen, who had caught her reaction, struggled not to laugh.
She was still angry at him, that much was obvious.
And he did not blame her at all. But the fact that she still managed to be flustered made him feel good.
Owen's brows dropped as he frowned. She was trouble. This, whatever it was he was doing, was trouble. There was no reason for him to feel good because of how flustered she was. Something was happening between them and it was becoming more worrying.
Owen looked down at himself when he had completely changed and nodded in satisfaction.
This would have to do until he could get into his own clothes.
He cleared his throat and struggled to hide a smile when Charlotte peeked from behind her hair to ensure he was fully covered. She was definitely too innocent.
"Ye can turn around. I am fully dressed." He made a face when she turned, making her blush deeper. And this time, he laughed.
She rolled her eyes and looked down at the man, who was currently only in his underclothes, clearing her throat as she looked away.
"Well, what are we going to do with him? We can't just leave him like this on the road." Owen nodded. However angry he was at the man, he did not deserve to be abandoned for anyone to witness his shame.
"Ye are right. Let’s move him tae the bushes."
He signaled Charlotte to pick up the man's legs while he picked up his arms and, together, they moved him. Owen went back and picked up the robe. He tore it up to create one wide cloak to cover the man instead of just placing it on him.
"Well, come on; let's go tae the inn." They walked side by side the short distance to where he remembered the inn to be.
He did not know if he was feeling better because of the burst of adrenaline earlier or if he had been in so much pain that he had grown numb, but Owen found that he could walk better without resting on her shoulders anymore.
As though his thinking had brought it on, he looked down to see that blood had seeped through the makeshift bandage and he was now bleeding slowly into the man's clothes.
However, it was still something that he could manage.
In the meantime, he would ignore it until they got a room where he could take care of it better.
"Finally!" Owen glanced down at Charlotte, who had an excited look as she stared into the distance. Owen followed her line of sight, taking a glimpse at the inn, and relief filled him immediately.
"I do not think I can walk any longer. I can't wait to get a room so I can have a relaxing bath and sleep in a comfortable bed."