Chapter 10 #2
Pain danced up her arm as her knuckles crashed against the rough bark.
She brought her hand back for another blow.
The tree hadn’t done anything to deserve her anger, but it was the only target in sight and she needed to unleash her anger at something else she was liable to lose her mind.
But just as she was about to swing her fist, she felt resistance.
Callan was there again.
His fingers curled around her bicep, holding her arm back. She swung around, stray locks of hair slashing across her face. Her lips were pinched in a grim expression.
“Let gae of me,” she thundered.
“I will nae let ye hurt yerself.”
“Let gae of me, Callan, or I swear that I will hit ye and nae the tree.”
“Nora, calm down!”
Those were the wrong words.
Nora mustered all the strength she possessed and wrenched her arm free, turning in one motion.
She shoved Callan away and then threw a punch.
Callan leaned back, avoiding it easily. Nora threw another, believing that the best punch was one that was the most powerful.
She put everything she had into it, practically throwing herself forward, but it only served to leave her unbalanced.
She toppled over when Callan evaded the blow again, crashing to the ground.
Nora slumped down, hitting the ground with her fists and feet simultaneously. A lamentable groan rose in the air because there seemed to be no end to her humiliation. The world had its boot on her throat and it was squeezing all the time.
Then a shadow came over her face. She lifted her gaze to see Callan looming above her.
“Hae ye got it out of ye system now?” he asked.
She huffed and drew herself into a sitting position.
“Ye dinnae understand. Everything is easy for ye. Ye ken this world. Ye are strong. Naebody makes ye dae anything ye dinnae want tae dae.”
“It was nae always like this. I hae tae learn tae be this way,” Callan replied.
“Then I want tae learn,” Nora said, looking up at him with an earnest desire in her eyes.
The anger had burned away, leaving behind raw emotion. It still glistened in her eyes, but the tears did not threaten to spill down her cheeks, nor did she feel that she was on the verge of losing control.
“There are better things tae dae in this world than learn how tae fight,” he said. “It’s nae the kind of thing a lady learns.”
“I dinnae want tae be a simple lady. I dinnae want tae always dae what is expected of me,” she spat.
“Let’s sleep on it and we can decide in the morning. There’s nae hurry tae think about this,” he said, holding out a hand to help her up.
The anger started to build up again. Did he not listen to her? Did he not care about anything she just said?
Nora took his hand and yanked hard. She put all her weight into it and he came crashing down to the ground with her. She rolled on top of him, wanting to prove for just one moment that she could protect herself.
His body was hard beneath hers, but it wasn’t hard like stone. It was warm and moving, alive. It undulated with pulsing movements and his breath rushed out of his lips, scorching hers. Her raven hair fell across his cheeks and she grinned.
“I’m nae as helpless as I seem,” she said.
But just when she thought she had finally gotten the upper hand, she felt a swell of strength beneath her. Callan grabbed her hands and then twisted his hips. She tried to resist, but she was no match for him at all. It was as though she was a pebble being dislodged by the tide.
The ground spun around her as she was twisted around, her back pressing against the ground, Callan on top of her, his hips grinding into hers, his chest pressing into her bosom, all her curves squashed under the size of him. His fingers linked in with hers, holding her arms above her head.
Her lips were parted as she breathed deeply, air rushing into her lungs. Her hair was now spilled across her gown, although a few strands remained against her cheek.
“Ye did well at using surprise, but the first thing ye need tae learn is tae never attack without thought,” he said.
His words rumbled over her, enveloping her in his bristling warmth.
He was so close it was overwhelming. She struggled beneath him, but she wasn’t strong enough to break free.
It was different from when it had been with Brune.
She didn’t feel trapped with Callan, and while she knew he was dangerous, when she looked into his eyes she did not see any kind of malevolence or cruelty, although what she did see terrified her all the same, for she suspected that this naked desire was reflected in her own expression.
His palms pressed against hers, sticky and clammy.
The air was thick with the scent of him.
Their lips were so close she could see the shape of them fully, as well as the small marks his teeth made where he’d bitten his skin.
For a moment his gaze dropped down to the shadows of her cleavage.
It only lasted a moment, but it tore something asunder within her.
Desire trembled within her, and the stark possibility that something forbidden was going to happen slithered through her mind.
Duty and all the lessons she had been taught about manners and etiquette and responsibility lashed through her mind.
She wasn’t one of those maids. She wasn’t Alison.
She was a virtuous lady and she was promised to another.
“I’m nae sure Laird MacPherson would look kindly on us being like this,” she whispered.
Callan smirked and let go of her hand. He brushed a few strands away from her cheek. Nora squirmed as an unfamiliar flash of desire swam through the core of her, right down deep in the parts that had never been touched.
“I thought ye were done asking for permission, lass. It’s never something I’ve been very good at anyway.”
For a moment she thought that he was going to kiss her.
For a moment she thought those strong, insistent hands would tear her clothes away and he would devour her.
Nora’s lips trembled in anticipation and she found that she wasn’t trying to fight him off, not because of cowardice and not because she was helpless, but because a part of her wanted it.
Somewhere buried deep inside her there was a reckless, passionate shard of her soul and it was screaming in the abyss of her, trying to be heard and to overpower all the rational, civil thoughts that governed her sensibilities.
If Callan tried to take her in that moment she might very well have yielded, but instead he rose.
The suffocating air was relieved and Nora could breathe again.
She brushed dirt and blades of grass off her dress and then clutched her heart, trying to compose herself as balance returned to the world.
“Then will ye dae it? Will ye teach me tae fight?” Nora asked.
Callan was standing now, ready to go hunting. He looked over his shoulder at her.
“Aye lass, if that’s what ye want. Now, I’m gaeing tae fetch us some dinner,” he said, leaving her beside the fire.
Nora didn’t need it to keep warm though. Callan had already seen to that.