Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
F iona
Everyone thinks I’m a gentle, delicate flower, and aye, I am that. I love the color pink, soft kittens, and dewy meadow mornings.
But I’m something else as well.
There’s a flower dotting our island’s shore that blooms for only one day. Called Strawberry Grass, it’s strong, with stems thick like that of a pussywillow or a cattail—a weed taking over every inch of the land it chooses to claim. That strong, beautiful, mysterious flower keeps you guessing, never knowing when its ripe red head will bloom. Like me.
As I said, I’d lay in bed at night and wonder what it would be like to be touched…
But not gently .
Candles, roses, light kisses.
Yes.
They have a place in my little virgin heart.
But there’s something darker that hides inside me. Something that makes my heart beat a little faster each time Callum whispers a naughty tease, his breath warm against my skin, or tugs the end of my braid, sending tingles down the back of my neck.
I want to be touched by a man like him. One who has hands rough from working our lands and the spirit of a Viking to claim what is his. But curiosity killed the cat. Don’t think I don’t know that.
And don’t think as much as I feel the thrum of desire…
That I don’t feel the fear.
Somehow, the idea of being his bride had me momentarily shellshocked, staying in place, not immediately tearing off at a run. I guess I somehow thought I’d figure that part out, but the imminent threat of shame, of humiliation, finally registered with me and…I’m terrified.
That fear has me dashing past him, flying toward those doors.
“Freya!” I cry out, hoping she’s still within earshot and that she’ll hear my pleas. That she’ll come running. But my words are cut off along with my breath as a strong arm buries itself across my midsection. “Ooh!”
“Now, where would you be going, lass? We’ve only just begun our little chat. ”
I look over my shoulder at him. “We’ve got nothing to discuss. I’m leaving. I’m going back to the island. I’ll find another way to get your money to ye.”
His muscular chest covers my back, a wall of heat and muscle. His breath is hot on my skin as he murmurs in my ear. “I can think of plenty of ways for you to pay off those debts. Dirty, filthy ways that would make your body tremble. But I’ll wait to have those pretty things. I want them from you as my wife.”
Wriggling against him, I stutter, “I—I can’t be your wife. And I can’t let you do anything to me.”
“You don’t need to let me. I’ve told you. I take what I want. And what I want is you, Fiona.”
Grabbing my shoulders, he forces me to face him. He holds me there, staring at me for a beat, the tension between us a thick wire of electricity. He pulls that wire tight, closing the gap between us, his mouth coming down hard and fast, covering mine in a punishing kiss.
My first kiss… My mind goes hazy as I stand there, processing what is happening. This is nothing like what I imagined my first kiss to be; I’d pictured it sweet, soft, slow. Gentle. This is a devouring kiss, with heat, passion, and possession.
I refuse to move my lips against him.
Finally, the shock dissipates, and I come to. Pulling my face away from his, I cry, “No!” I push against his chest, trying to break free from his unyielding hold. “Stop!” I try to scream, but he muffles any sound with the return of his aggressive kiss. His lips are rough and demanding, his touch possessive.
His hands roam over my body …
Panic rises within me. I have to stop this. I have to stop him.
It’s just a kiss, but his hands, his hot, heavy hands, grab my ass, telling me he wants more. How far will he go? How much is he willing to take? He’s already stolen my first kiss.
I need to fight. Wriggling against his hold, I manage to kick his shin sharply, causing him to momentarily loosen his grip. I take the chance to push him away and stumble back, my chest heaving as I finally manage to put some distance between us.
My hand grips the edge of the back of a chair. “You can’t do this,” I gasp, my voice quivering with fear and anger. “This is not how you win someone over.”
“Win? I’ve already won.” He straightens up slowly, the dark glint in his eyes giving me shivers. “You have no idea what I’m capable of, Fiona. You will be mine, one way or another. And you will obey me.”
“Never.” I shake my head, disbelief and defiance mingling in my gaze as I meet his unwavering stare. “I will never be yours. I will never consent to this—twisted—arrangement. You may have the power and the wealth, but you will never have me.”
A dangerous smile curls his lips. “We’ll see about that, Fiona. For now, this is your home. And I alone rule it.”
He grabs my shoulders, spinning me till I’m facing away from him. My stomach digs into the table's edge, my hands splaying across its top. His palm presses along my lower back, smoothing up my spine as he flattens me against the table. The front of his powerful legs press into the back of mine .
I reach around, trying to swat him away. “Stop! No! What are you doing?”
“I’m going to make sure you understand my rules. Never run from me. And never, ever leave this property. There are dangerous men outside our walls, ones that would love nothing more than to capture a virgin like you, taking her innocence.”
Hot hands run up the backs of my bare thighs. Chill bumps rise all over my flesh. My pussy does a hot, wet, clenching thing I’ve never experienced, heat swirling in my womb as he touches me. He’s flipping the hem of my skirt up over my lower back. Cool air rushes over my skin.
“What are you doing!” I shriek.
“Do you understand what I’m telling you? Do you understand how dangerous it would be for you to leave alone?”
The thought he plants in my mind elicits fear and makes my stomach turn. “Yes,” I hiss between clenched teeth.
“Such pretty panties. Pink. Just as I suspected.”
No man has ever seen this much of my thighs, much less my panties. I moan in humiliation as he smooths his rough hand over my ass, a callous on his finger catching the thin material and tugging at my panties. My stomach clenches from the sensation of having him touching me where I’ve never been touched, seeing things no one has seen before, my panties exposed to him.
Pink panties. So childish. So innocent. Just like me. I’m naive as well, thinking I could run from a man like him.
What will he do to me?
How far will this go before he lets me leave this room ?
He lifts his hand, bringing it back down across my ass with a stinging spank. The pain shocks me, the smarting flichterin’ over my skin like sparks from an explosion. I bite my lip, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of crying out.
“Such a pretty ass you have, Fiona. Such pale skin. I look forward to seeing the way my handprint rises on your skin.” Starting at my waist, he smooths a flattened hand up the ridge of my spine as he leans down, stretching over me, the heat and strength of his body pressing against me, his chest covering my back as he moves his mouth to my ear.
His other hand wanders, the tip of his finger dragging a light trail along the leg band of my panties. So close to my pussy, now clenching with heat at the nearness of his touch. “Should I wait? To take off these panties? To see everything my wife has to offer me?” The tip of that finger slips just past the elastic of my panties.
So close.
As my situation sinks in, I realize I am now entangled in a dangerous game of power and desire, where the stakes are higher than anything I could have imagined. But deep within me a flicker of defiance stirs, a spark of resistance that refuses to be extinguished.
I twist my face around to meet his eye. “Don’t you dare!”
“Or what?” He gives a dark chuckle, sliding the hand on my back further up to my neck, gathering the hair between his fingers. He takes the opportunity to press his lips against me, a harsher kiss this time. My cheek pinned to the table, my hair in his hand, I’m unable to pull away, and the tip of his tongue slips between my lips, caressing my own.
I can feel his hunger in this kiss .
Callum Burnes. The massive Viking man that all the girls on the island dream of, and he wants me so badly I can taste it as his lips move against mine. It turns me on to have this sliver of power over him even though he’s in control of my entire body, needing only a quarter of his strength to pin me down, to dominate me like this.
I dinnae know why he wants me, but he does.
The heat of his mouth mingles with mine. The warm wetness of his kiss has arousal gathering between my thighs. I try to resist his kiss, but to my shame, I find my tongue hungrily swiping against his.
This is nothing like the sweet kisses in the American Hallmark movies Carol Ann and I sighed over watching together over Christmas break. Or the chaste kiss my friend Kitt shared with her husband Bayne on their wedding day. Or the kisses I’ve seen couples share on the island.
This is a kiss of dominance, desire, and danger.
I’m crossing a line of fire, and I’m already feeling the lick of the flames, knowing I’m going to get burned. I never should have kissed him back, but I’m in deep now, and his fingers are exploring, crossing their own line, dipping into my heat.
“Oh. Uh. No! Yes. No!” My palms flatten against the tabletop, damp from fear, my belly digging into the hard edge of the table. I turn my face so he can’t kiss me, pressing my forehead into the cool wood as I lose all control, no longer able to deny him.
This feeling…
I’ve never felt anything like this .
The tip of his thick, rough finger dips into the slickness of my pussy, stroking along my entrance.
I need to make this stop.
Now.
But I can’t…
Because now his finger is gliding into me, stretching and filling me. An earthy, primal wave of something emanates from my core, clenching my belly, making me want, need more. But more of what?—
I dinnae know.
A moan rises from my lips. “I need…”
“You need me.” His expert finger strokes inside me. I give a desperate gasp as he withdraws it, only to find my breath choking off as it moves to my clit, circling my throbbing, swollen bud. “Don’t you?”
“No,” I hiss. He stills, his finger no longer massaging my needy clit. Realizing my mistake, I resort to a mangled plea. “No! Yes. Please!”
“You sound confused, Fiona. It seems like what you think you want and what you actually need may be two entirely different things. Can we agree on that fact?”
“I dinnae know,” I whine, shifting my hips, trying to steal another swipe of his finger. A sudden shock hits my body as two thick fingers are fully thrust inside me. I gasp, choking on my cry as I push back against his hand, shamefully aiding him in filling me.
“Yer so tight, wee virgin. So tight and so pretty and so. Fucking. Sexy.”
A breathy whine escapes me as he thrusts his fingers in and out of me. No one’s ever referred to me as sexy, choosing to focus on my red hair, peely-wally skin, and freckles. Now, slumped over his dining table, his fingers inside me, fucking me, the deep secrets of womanhood begin to unlock within me.
“Callum,” I breathe. “Don’t stop.”
“I won’t. Just promise me one thing. That you’ll marry me.”
“I c—can’t,” I gasp.
But he doesn’t pull away. Thank goodness. His fingers keep working me, pleasuring me, a tightening wrapping around my core.
“Then promise me you won’t run.”
“Fine.” I push my ass back against him, moving in rhythm with his hand, back and forth as he brings me to that beautiful place I’ve only managed to find a few times with my own fumbling fingers.
Those lonely nights in bed…it didn’t feel like this. Desperation, longing, and need fill me, leaving me gasping. When I’m about to reach that perfect pinnacle, he takes his fingers from me. Snaps my panties back into place. He gives my ass a hard smack that sends me flying onto my toes, my skirt falling back into place as I right myself to standing.
I face him, immediately wishing I hadn’t, as he eases his fingers into his mouth. Fingers that were only moments ago…inside me. Heat flashes over my face in shame as I watch him tasting, licking me from his skin.
“Like honey. Sweet and rich.” A slow smile spreads across his face, that look of chaos flashing in his green eyes. “And all mine. This is just my first taste.” He moves his two fingers over his lips, his tongue lashing in the air. “Soon, I’ll have the full dessert. Tell me, wee Fi, have you ever had a man’s mouth on your pussy?”
I don’t answer.
He steps closer. “How virgin are you, my wee bride?”
“I’m not your bride.” I step back.
He takes another step toward me. “That’s not what I asked you.”
“I’ve never done…anything.” I shrink back till I’m bumping the doorframe behind me.
He puts a hand on the frame above my head, closing me in with his broad body. “Was that your first kiss?” He drags the pad of his thumb over my bottom lip.
I push his hand away. “No. I’ve been kissed before…but I meant that’s all I’ve done.”
“Shame.” A look akin to anger comes over his face. “I wanted to own all your firsts.”
“You can’t own someone’s firsts.” I stare at the tops of my shoes, smoothing down my skirt under his naked stare. “‘Tis something to be given. Freely.”
His fingers swipe under my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. “Alright then. I’ll settle for owning you.”
Jutting my chin out in a small act of defiance, I say, “You can’t own people.”
“That’s not what God says.”
“God says you can own people?” I ask .
He grins. “The good Lord’s wedding vows.”
“Meaning?” I ask.
He clears his throat, letting his voice drop an octave. “I take you to be my wife. To have and to own.”
I correct him. “It’s ‘to have and to hold.’”
He shrugs. “You say tomay-to, I say tomah-to.”
“Only we’re not talking about garden vegetables. We’re talking about human life, and if you think you can own me, well then, yer no better than the men you fight against,” I say.
He leans down, his face only inches from mine, his green eyes flashing. “Are you likening me to the scum of the earth?”
“The Hoax,” I say. “Thinking they own people like machinery or tools.”
He studies my face, my skin burning under his scrutiny. “You have no idea what men like them would do to you.”
I list off all the things he’s done. “Kidnap me? Take me somewhere against my will? Threaten me if I try to escape?”
For the beat of a second, I hold the upper hand.
He takes back control, sliding a hand along the side of my face, pulling me close enough to kiss me again. “You may not want me now, but you will want me, Fiona.”
I shake my head in his hand. “I don’t think so.”
“Can I trust you, let you roam freely?” Still holding my face, he brushes a thumb over my cheek. “Or do I need to tie you to the bed? ”
The image brings heat to my core. I take a breath to collect myself. I manage a whisper. “I’m not going to do anything stupid.”
“Good. See that you don’t.” His mouth moves to my ear, his breath tickles my skin, and his words tremble through me. “Or, like I said. There’ll be hell to pay.”
With that ominous statement hanging in the air, he turns on his heel and strides out of the room, calling over his shoulder. “Tea’s on at five sharp.”
Leaving me alone with my racing thoughts and pounding heart.
I know I am in for a battle unlike any I have yet faced. One worse than the evil weevils in my garden. Just as I have with those little gremlins…
I’m determined to stand my ground.
I’ll not let him break me.