Emily and the guys started to gossip about some dude – Ryan Raynard – who owned the adjoining property, called Raynard Hall, and was apparently this uber famous reclusive artist who hadn’t been outside in years. I shoveled down the rest of my breakfast, which now tasted like cardboard, and tried not to be such a bitch.
Just because Emily’s pretty, and she knows my guys, and she’s hanging around the castle like it’s her second home, doesn’t mean that she’s slept with any of them, and even if she has, it’s not any of my business…
I slid back in my chair, and it hit me. What was wrong with what Emily had said.
She thought I was a blonde.
She hadn’t recognized me. But how could that be, when Corbin had seen a picture of me that she’d shown him?
One of them was lying to me. But was it Emily… or Corbin? And why?
CHAPTER TWENTY
ARTHUR
Igrabbed two wooden swords from the collection in the hatstand and led Maeve out into the apple orchard at the back of the garden. The orchard was hidden from view behind a high stone wall – ideal, since I didn’t want any tourists to see what we were up to. I’d made that mistake once, and the next day we had two Health and Safety inspectors up at the castle asking me about protective equipment (apparently a suit of armour wasn’t considered protective enough) and demanding I obtain a fairground licence for my “sideshow.”
“What are those for?” Maeve asked as I handed her the sword. “This isn’t iron. I can’t hurt a fae with this.”
“No, you can’t, but if you don’t practice with these first and learn the basics, you won’t be able to hurt a fae with the iron one, either.” I stepped back from her and held my own sword out in front of me, showing her how to grip the hilt with both hands. “This is a wooden replica of a two-handed sword of English design. Later – if you still like me – I’ll show you how to fight with a smaller, single-handed sword and shield. But two-handed is good to start with. You hold your hands here and here,” I demonstrated my grip on either end of the hilt. “Thisgrip enables you to pivot the sword through different holds. We call thesewards.”
“Like this?” Maeve mimicked my swing.
“Exactly.” My heart thudded in my chest, and I extended my stance to make room for my stiff cock, hoping Maeve wouldn’t notice. I’d had this vivid dream about her last night – she was lying naked in the middle of the Great Hall and I was sucking her nipple and she made these mewling sounds at the back of her throat. Now I couldn’t look at her without remembering the curve of her breast and the taste of her skin.
Which was good, because I wasn’t sure I wanted to remember the rest of the dream – all my friends naked around me, and some random guy in a black coat I’d never seen before.
Seeing Maeve swing that sword brought it all back, and more. Girls swinging swords were my one weakness. I shifted my leg. This was going to be onelonglesson.
“That’s how you control the weapon,” I explain as I swing again. “Most swords have a ball-or triangular shaped pommel, and you can use this for pivoting as well, but some of them have a spike, which is great for doing this.”
In a flash, I slid in close to her, wrapped my sword around hers, knocked it aside, flipped mine over, and drove the pommel into her face, stopping an inch short of hitting her eye socket. To Maeve’s credit, she didn’t shriek or flinch away.
Instead, she blinked twice and her muscles relaxed against mine.
Fuck.
This close, her sweet scent danced over my nostrils, and it was all I could do not to pull her closer and taste her again.
Girls who smell good and swing swords were my one weakness.
How the hell was I going to survive these lessons without giving in to the pull of her? We were only ten minutes inand already I was imagining taking her up against one of the apple trees, her shapely legs curled around me, her hot wetness clenching my cock?—
“Show me how to do that,” Maeve breathed. She blinked again, and her chest brushed against mine. I sucked in a breath and turned my pelvis away from her. Damn, this was going to be hard work, but I had to let Maeve come to me if I was really the one she wanted.
That's what I’d agreed to, and no way in hell would I go back on my word to the guys.
It took all of my willpower, but I dropped my hold and stepped away from Maeve. “That comes later. Today we’re doing basic stances and crosses, and then we’ll do a little bare-knuckle fighting. Now, follow me closely.”
I drilled Maeve on some basics, and explained the importance of distance and timing in a swordfight. Brute force won’t win a battle if you mess up your distance, which is one way Meave will be able to get the upper hand against a fae warrior – she simply has to watch for an opening.
I made her repeat the drills over and over, hoping to kick in her muscle memory. Sweat poured down her brow, but she never once complained.
“Where did you learn all this?” Maeve asked as our wooden swords clattered together. I’d gone easy on her in the beginning, but as she got better, I added more force behind my blows. She defended with equal force.
Girls who smell nice and swing swords and don’t back down from a challenge were my one weakness.
“From Youtube videos, mostly.” I said, swinging again. “And studying sword fighting manuals written by the medieval sword masters. I was involved with a historical martial arts club in Crooks Worthy for a while, but I had to leave last year.”
