Chapter 12 #2
"Oh, do stop being stubborn. Do you want your wound to get infected?
If it does, it will only hurt worse and slow us down, so let me look at it.
I will be quick," Charlotte snapped. Why would he not let her care for him when he had been doing so for her since they met?
She saw his jaw working before he slowly sat up and nodded.
Charlotte unwrapped the makeshift bandage he had wrapped the wound with.
Owen hissed in pain when she got to the area where the bandage sat directly on the wound.
The blood had dried up and was now stuck to the sore spot.
Her brows furrowed with worry. She could not very well yank it off; that would cause him more pain than whatever else she had to do.
She rushed to get water and wet the cloth, making it easier for her to remove.
Charlotte looked at the wound on his side and gasped.
"It is a flesh wound, which is good, but you can't just clean it and wrap it with some unclean cloth. Are you trying to make yourself sick?" she looked at the irritated flesh surrounding the wound. It looked pink and sore, almost as if it had swollen due to the irritation and lack of treatment.
"Well, do ye ken how tae treat wounds?"
Charlotte nodded. After her uncle had taken over her father's properties, he had allowed her to receive treatment for just a few days before he locked her in her mother's room.
She had been left to fend for herself and had to learn how to take care of her burns to avoid infections.
Unfortunately, no one had taught her what to do to prevent scarring.
"I will be right back. Do not move too much. We do not want you bleeding again." Thankfully, the bandage stopped the bleeding, but she knew any erratic movement would immediately open it back up.
Charlotte walked down the stairs, where she peeped and was relieved to find the room was almost empty.
She did not know what she would have done if she had to face the roaming eyes and nasty smirks again.
She did not realize how late it was until she saw the people had all left and looked out a window. It was dark out already.
Charlotte smiled when she saw the innkeeper's daughter coming toward her.
"Hello. Perhaps you have some salve and a clean piece of cloth I could use?
" Charlotte smiled when the girl looked her over as if to check if she was injured.
She appeared very young, in her mid-teens, yet she seemed to know a lot.
Charlotte was not surprised. Working in an inn and bar like this was bound to tell on a person, no matter how young.
"Are ye hurt, Miss?" she asked when she could not find any injuries.
"Ah no, I am not. It is for the man I am here with. He has an injury that has been left untreated for a while and I just want to make sure it does not get infected," she explained to the girl, who nodded, already moving to get her what she needed.
"All right, Miss. I will bring it up for ye," Charlotte held out her hands.
"Oh no, thank you. I do not want to be a bother. I'll take it with me and save you the trouble of walking up and down the stairs."
"All right, Miss." The girl dropped the items on the table and stopped Charlotte just as she was about to leave. "Let me bring ye some strong alcohol tae clean the wound with."
"Thank you," Charlotte said when the girl returned, picked up the rest of the items, and headed back up the stairs. When she opened the door, Owen was exactly the way she had left him. She walked over to him and placed everything on the floor before tearing the cloth into two long strips.
Charlotte dipped one in the alcohol and cleaned the area surrounding his wound with it, dabbing and wiping gently to make sure that she did not subject him to pain.
Then, she picked up the salve and applied it to his wound.
She looked up just in time to see his face relax and smiled, glad that she had been able to offer him the relief that he needed.
Quickly and with experienced hands, she wrapped the strip of cloth around his waist.
Charlotte looked up when she heard him chuckle. Her brows furrowed in confusion. What was so funny that was making him chuckle?
"Do ye think I am a child that ye have to sing a lullaby tae as ye dress me wound?" he asked.
Charlotte was shocked. She had not realized she was singing until he mentioned it. It was something she had done whenever she had to treat the wound on her leg in the past or the ones inflicted by her uncle when she angered him. She also sang to herself whenever she felt alone.
"I did not realize I was singing. It was a song my mom used to sing to me whenever I was bothered by something, usually the storm or the dark.
" Charlotte looked at her reflection in the water and imagined her mother.
She was glad to have her face, else she might have forgotten what she looked like since her uncle had taken away all the paintings of her parents.
"I am sorry. I dinnae mean to make fun of a song that meant so much tae ye."
She looked up and smiled at Owen. "It is all right. I know you did not mean it like that. It was clear to me that you were just joking."
When he said nothing, she tied the strip and picked up the supplies to keep them aside.
"Do ye mind telling me about yer maither?" he asked, surprising her. She paused, not knowing what to tell him.
"My mother died when I was quite young. She fell from a window in her room.
" Charlotte was still unconvinced that this was all that had happened.
"I miss her every day. I miss how she filled every room with happiness and always made sure I was happy and comfortable.
She was my first friend; we had been so close, and our family was a wonderful one. "
She smiled wistfully as memories of the past filled her heart and mind. "My life has been completely ruined after my parents died and my uncle took over. He does not care about me and constantly ensured I knew that."
Charlotte's hands went to her hair, fingering the uneven ends.
"He did this. My hair was the last thing I had of my mother, and he chopped it off as though I was not allowed to have any memories.
Caring for our hair together was a bonding experience for me and my mother.
After she died, I ensured I always cared for it and never cut it.
But now I have nothing that is hers anymore.
I was made to not feel like a person by my uncle, which is why I ran away. "
Charlotte's eyes watered and she looked to the side, embarrassed that Owen would see her cry. She fought off the tears. She had cried enough.
"I am so sorry that ye had tae go through all of that all on yer own," Owen said.
Charlotte studied his face, feeling the compassion in his voice. The sincerity in his gaze overwhelmed her. Unable to stop herself, she leaned into him and kissed him. She liked the contrasting firmness of his lips against hers. When his lips remained unmoving, she moved away from him, embarrassed.
"I am sorry, I do not know why I di—" Before she could finish her apology, Owen's lips were on hers, kissing her back fiercely this time. His hands cupped her face, raising it to meet his as his lips continued searching hers. Charlotte released a moan and tried to follow the pattern he had created.
A gasp escaped her lips when Owen peeled away from her.
Before she could protest, he began a trail of kisses from her forehead to her eyelids, her nose, back to her lips and down her jawline.
Charlotte gasped when he kissed behind her ear as a jolt of pleasure ran through her entire body.
She opened her mouth in shock as he sucked on her neck and moved down her chest. She had not realized that the body was capable of such pleasure, aching as he slid his hands up to her breasts.
Her eyes shot open when his hands pinched her pert nipple through the fabric of her dress.
She closed her eyes and moaned when he rubbed his thumb over her hard nipples, sending a new jolt of pleasure through her.
Owen looked at her, his eyes boring into hers.
She nodded despite not knowing what she was getting herself into.
His hands undid the lace of her dress until her shoulders were bare.
Owen kissed her smooth skin all the way to her collarbone and the base of her neck, pulling her dress even lower as he went. He unlaced her corset, pulling the fabric from her body to expose her perky breasts. Charlotte quickly covered them, suddenly feeling shy.
"Ye do nae need tae hide yerself from me, Charlotte.
" Owen gently pulled her hands from her body.
His eyes were locked with hers, seeking permission for this shared pleasure.
Charlotte did not know what it was about the sudden roughness of his voice that pooled heat in her core.
But she found herself aching for him to do what he wanted, willing to please him.
Owen's lips wrapped around her nipple with the heat from his mouth traveling straight into her.
His hand wrapped around her other breast, fondling as he sucked on her warm, hard nipple.
Owen's other hand traveled slowly down until he found the warmth between her thighs.
He pressed firmly on the swollen tip of her aching bud, intensifying her pleasure.
He relaxed his fingers and began a circular movement that made her gasp.
Charlotte's eyes closed as Owen guided her to the bed, placing the pillow behind her head while her legs dangled at the edge.
Charlotte instinctively closed her legs when she felt his heated breath in her center, trapping his head between her legs.
He looked up and smiled at her before prying her legs open.
"It is all right. I will nae dae anything ye will nae like. "
She nodded and gasped as his head disappeared between her legs and she felt the heat of his tongue on her center.
Pleasure ran through her, and her hands grabbed the sheets.
She moaned loudly and grabbed his head, unable to stop her hips from gyrating with the pulsing sensations she felt coursing through her.
Something built within her that she could not explain, a deep sense of pleasure.
She screamed as pleasure overtook her and collapsed on the bed completely spent.
Charlotte murmured incoherently as she tried to speak.
"It is all right. Ye do nae have tae say anything," Owen chuckled, pleased with his accomplishment. "Ye need tae rest." He covered her up, guiding her upright on the bed. Then he placed a kiss on her head before lying next to her, cuddling close.
She felt his member press into her back, feeling excited and alive for the first time.