Chapter 20

CHAPTER TWENTY

A va rolled over, stretching her hand out across the bed, but it was empty. There was no warm body there to hold her, no hand to caress, no soft lips pressing into the crook of her neck in the night.

I dreamt it. Aye, that’s the only explanation . Opening her eyes, she sat up in bed, thinking of the dream and how in her sleep, she had imagined Kai there, holding her, keeping her safe from the nightmares.

Yet it had felt so real.

She rolled over to climb out of the bed, when she knocked a parchment down onto the floor. Scrambling to pick it up, she held it high in the air so that the morning sunlight shone through the windows onto the sheet. Written in black ink was Kai’s handwriting.

‘Ye never need fear sleep, Ava. I didnae want tae wake ye when I left. Sweet dreams.’

She held the parchment between her hands, protectively.

“It was nay dream.” She thought of the way Kai’s arm had threaded around her waist and he had nuzzled into her neck. It had been the perfect night. Once he had come, her nightmares had dissipated as if they were vapor. Free from that darkness, she had slept peacefully.

Closing her eyes, Ava thought of what else could have happened had she woken when he had slipped out. They had kissed now. Had not a wall come down between them? Hadn’t Kai kicked away any stone remnants there may have been of that wall by coming into her bed at night.

Had she woken, would they have shared another kiss? When wearing so little, sharing the same bed, could more have happened between them?

She dithered as she stood from the bed, her whole body trembling with excitement at the thought.

Would Kai have kissed other parts of her body? Would his lips have wandered down her chest, to the curve of her waist and hip, maybe to the inside of her thigh, his fingers wandering to that spot between her legs where –

“Ava?” a voice called as a knock sounded at the door.

“What?” she stammered loudly in surprise. It was Thora’s voice.

“Why so sharp this morning? Did ye sleep badly?”

“Something like that,” Ava muttered. She pulled on a robe over her dressing gown and moved toward the door, opening it wide to find Thora bouncing impatiently on the balls of her feet.

“A few of us are going intae town tae see the market. Do ye wish tae come? I daresay Laird Blair Grant may follow ye down there if ye dae come.” Thora giggled with delight.

Ava had to force herself to smile though it was the last thing she felt like doing. The mention of Laird Grant’s name made her feel as if a cold breath of wind had rustled into the room. All warmth which had encapsulated her body by thinking of Kai was gone in an instant.

“Aye, Laird Grant,” Ava murmured, reminding herself of the imperativeness of her mission.

I cannae afford tae be distracted. Even fer Kai… what would become of me sister if I did?

She couldn’t help glancing back at the bed though. Had Kai been there when she had awoken, she would not have thought of Laird Grant or sister. Her thoughts would have only been for Kai.

“Ye well?”

“Aye, aye, perfectly,” Ava said hurriedly, shrugging off any concern Thora might have had about her odd manner before it could spread. “Aye, I’ll come with ye tae market. I’ll see ye downstairs shortly.”

“Excellent.” Thora smiled and turned to walk away, throwing her last words over her shoulder. “Oh, Kai is coming too.”

Oh, is he?

Ava couldn’t quite level out the mixture of excitement and fear at this news. It wasn’t fear to be around Kai, but fear that the longer she spent in Kai’s company, the more she would be unable to resist him.

“Wonderful, I’ll be there soon,” she called, maintaining that falsely cheery tone. As she shut the door and laid her forehead against the wood, she tried to banish all thoughts of Kai. She was not going to think of his lips in the crook of her neck, nor the way his arm had threaded perfectly around her waist. Neither would she think of how he had pulled her into his side, so that she slotted against his body, feeling the tone of his muscled chest as she had bid herself not to explore with her hands. “Why are ye such a distraction?” she cried aloud when she realized that for all her determination, her mind was weak. As fast as she bid herself not to think too much about Kai, he was all that she could think about at all.

Thora and Lyla crept off to the side of the market, staring at scarves and fine furs. Kai gestured for Ava to go with them, but she narrowed her eyes, prompting him to chuckle.

“I ken,” he said softly. “Ye’re rather buy a new dagger than ye would a fine silk, wouldnae ye?”

“Ye think me tastes are that of a ruffian?” she teased him back, walking alongside him to the next stall, where there was a display of scabbards and belts.

“Hardly.” Kai leaned against the stall as he watched her. When they had first ventured out into the snow to this market, he had thought Ava was nervous about something. She had avoided his gaze consistently as they wandered the market, but in the last few minutes all of that had disappeared. Now, she caught his gaze at every opportunity, and he could hardly miss the blush across her cheeks. “I ken ye have excellent taste. Ye like me, dae ye nae?” he teased her in her ear as she leaned forward to look at a particular woven scabbard with triskele detailing.

“Ha! Ye are proud today,” she whispered back.

“Perhaps I slept very well. It has put me in a good mood.”

“Aye, I slept well too.”

“Oh, pray tell why?” He followed her as she took a step along the stall, reaching out to a second scabbard, this one marked with roses. “Was there something about last night that put ye at ease? That even… excited ye a little?”

She bit her lip, clearly determined to look at the wares and nothing else.

“I rather like it when ye blush,” he went on.

“Ye’re lucky this scabbard has nay blade in it.”

“Ah, am I due some punishment?”

“Ye are due a lot of punishment,” she said, though she smiled as she turned to face him. “Last night… should nae have happened.”

“Aye, I ken.” He sighed. “But dae ye wish it hadnae?”

Instead of answering, she blushed even redder. It was such a delicious shade of crimson that he couldn’t move from her side, even when she reached across him to pick up a third scabbard to look at. This one was made of leather and woven fabric, imprinted with the stars. When she went so near to him, he inhaled deeply, finding it increasingly impossible to stay away from her.

Maybe he could have put up walls between them if he knew she felt nothing, but that was not what the last few days had proven. That kiss, the way her body had melded to his in that bed… all of it spoke volumes.

She cannae keep away from me either.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered, distracted by the scabbard.

“Aye, useful too.” He nodded. “Ye can keep yer blade at yer side tae enact punishment on unsuspecting suitors any time ye like then.”

She laughed at his words as she laid the scabbard back down. Clearly, she wasn’t going to buy it. Something knotted in Kai’s stomach as he longed to buy it for her. It could be a gift, a small gift. It didn’t have to mean anything if he gave it to her in secret.

“Ava…” Kai began slowly.

“Aye?” She jerked her head up, looking hopeful. What was she expecting him to say? Something wondrous.

“About last night…” He wanted to explain why he had left so early, but how could he put into words that he had woken up rock hard and hadn’t wanted to frighten her? That he had slipped out, tormented by thoughts of making love to Ava in that bed, hearing her moan his name and gasp, see her writhe as he entered her. “This morning, I–”

“There ye are.” The deep voice made Kai freeze instantly.

Ava was the one to step away. The distance she created between the two of them made Kai feel sick. He turned to face the stall, pretending to be interested in its wares and firmly ignoring the presence of Laird Blair Grant as he hurried up to greet Ava.

“I have been looking fer ye.”

“Me?” Ava said, apparently unable to keep the surprise out of her voice.

“Aye. Well, how could a man resist looking fer such a beautiful woman?”

It was such a prosaic compliment that Kai looked at the heavens, pleading for patience. It was also a far cry from the easy flirtation there had been between Kai and Ava just seconds before.

“Oh. Well… I… thank ye.” Ava’s lack of composure made Kai shoot a glance over his shoulder at her. He smiled forcefully, showing her what she should be doing to encourage Blair’s attention. She smiled in reflex at that moment.

“Come. It has become so cold and icy.” Laird Grant offered his arm to Ava. “Let me escort ye back tae the castle.”

“Thank ye. I’d like that very much.” Using all the charm and wiles that Kai had taught her, Ava slid her hand in the most teasing of ways across Laird Grant’s arm and smiled up at him sweetly. They turned together and walked up the road, leaving Kai to stare after them, noticing the cold increasingly.

Fresh snow had started to fall and nearby, and he could hear Thora and Lyla talking about returning to the castle together, but he had no wish to return just yet. He waited until Thora and Lyla meandered far enough up the street not to pay attention to what he was doing, then he picked up the scabbard that Ava had admired so much.

“This one please,” Kai asked the stallholder and put his money in his pocket.

“A gift, sir?”

“Aye.”

He thought about the gift. It didn’t matter what happened between him and Ava. She had made up her mind. Her love would be Laird Blair Grant someday, as soon as she could ensnare him enough into offering a proposal of marriage.

Kai thrust the blade at the hay bale once again. He wished it would fight back, that there, in that great hall set up for their sport, the bale would jump to life and be the opponent he truly needed in order to vent some anger. Disappointingly, the bale remained very still.

He lashed out again with the broadsword, delving deep, as if he was running the bale through. Satisfied, he stepped back, breathing heavily.

“Who was yer opponent?”

“In the name of the wee man.” Kai spun around in shock, his heart pounding when he heard Ava’s voice. She stood there in the shadows of the room, her curiosity rolling off her in waves.

“Ye trying tae make me heart stop?”

“That was nae me intention.” She stepped toward the haybale. “It looked as if ye were trying tae get rid of some anger. Had ye had a real opponent, they would be dead.”

“Perhaps I needed tae vent a little rage.” He turned his back on Ava and the bale. The whole of the previous night, he’d had to watch Ava and Laird Grant together, making eyes at one another across the feasting tables. Kai hadn’t said a word. He’d sat there miserably, gripping onto his tankard so tightly that at one point, Thora had silently prized it from his fingers and pushed it away across the table.

It's torture tae watch Ava seduce another man.

“What rage?”

“It doesnae matter.” He turned to retrieve his blade, only to find that Ava had beaten him to it. She stood there with the sword in her grasp, bearing it toward him.

“Fight me.” She nodded at the blade.

“Ye saw what I did tae me last opponent.” He gestured to the bale.

“Then choose something else we can lose rather than blood.” She smiled freely at him, looking completely at ease. It was infuriating when all he wanted to do was shout at her, to demand to know how she could still really consider giving herself to Laird Grant for the rest of her life after all that had happened between them over the last couple of weeks.

No such emotion emanated from her though. She was determined, ready for the fight.

Just like at every other point in life, he couldn’t refuse her anything.

“Very well. What shall we wager?” He turned his back and picked up another sword from the racking at the side of the room.

“How about our freedom?” Ava’s question made him pause again. “Whoever loses, must agree tae be the other’s slave fer the day.”

Kai had a hard time keeping up for a second. Picturing Ava as his slave was making all sorts of naughty thoughts come to mind. Feeling his length harden in his trews, he cleared his throat and held his arm down in front of him to hide it from her.

“One day?” he clarified.

“Aye, one day.” She raised her sword. “Ready tae lose?”

“I’m ready tae win, Ava.” He didn’t give her much time to think and advanced toward her.

She knew his fighting style so well by now that she absorbed most of his blows. They lunged toward one another, sparring and battling, each one trying to gain dominance in the fight. At one point, they ended up close to the hay bale. Ava had to dart around it, hiding for cover, the movement offsetting his balance as he ran the other way to catch up with her.

Yet she moved so quickly that by the time he raised his blade toward her, she had already blocked the blow, absorbing the full weight of his strike by sinking onto her knees. They parried quickly, neither one of them willing to give up the fight. As Kai darted around the hay bale again to catch up with her, a thought occurred to him.

To make Ava his slave for the day was a highly enticing thought… but also dangerous. He could ruin everything she had worked toward for the last few weeks. Her whole intention to protect Lyla from an awful fate could come to nothing if Kai’s salacious wishes brought the two of them to bed.

If she and I ever cross that line, if I ever have her… Lyla will be doomed tae an awful fate.

It was a momentary decision he made, but one he had to act on.

I must lose this fight.

He pretended to trip in his haste to catch her. She took advantage of the moment and swung around with the blade high. He was forced to cower on his knees to avoid the blow, then she kicked his own sword out of his hand. It clattered away across the floor as he knelt before her, his hands up in surrender.

Ava froze, a smile growing on her face with the sword outstretched in front of her.

“I… win…” she panted, her chest rising and falling in the most distracting of ways.

“Aye, ye win.” He nodded firmly. “Ye ken what this means, dinnae ye?” She raised her eyebrows, urging him to carry on. “It means from dawn until midnight tomorrow, I’m yer slave for the day, Ava.”

Something briefly flashed in her eyes, but he didn’t need to see that expression to know she had also given way to some desirable thought. He felt it. It was like being cast in a great sunbeam, warming and deliciously exciting.

Whatever did ye think tae make me dae then Ava?