“What he tried tae do–”
“Dinnae say it,” she barked so quietly, he almost missed it. “I dinnae want tae hear it, Kai. Ye understand?”
“Aye, I understand.” He slowly brushed his fingers against the red raw marks, needing her to know that he would be gentle, that he would never hurt her as that man had hurt her. “It will never happen tae ye,” he whispered urgently and lifted her hand to his lips.
“What dae ye mean?” She watched, apparently transfixed as he hovered her hand in front of his lips.
“Any man who tries tae dae that tae ye, I’ll kill him fer it. Ye’ll always be safe, Ava. I’ll make sure of it.” He couldn’t resist. He gave in to every temptation, to show her just how much she mattered to him and kissed the back of her hand, then he lowered it fast, not wanting to reveal to her just how much such a simple kiss had truly meant to him.
There was the briefest of nods from her, but it wasn’t quite a smile.
Kai found it impossible to concentrate on their journey. Between feeling Ava pressed up against his back as they rode, the wild snow around them, and everything that had passed with those bandits, he wasn’t thinking about where the horse was going or even hearing the grunts the stallion kept making in his frustration at riding in this weather.
He marveled at the feeling of Ava’s body against his own. The strength she had, the curves, the muscle, those long legs that hung down on either side of him… Her whole position made him think of her spreading her legs around him if she had been in front of him, instead of behind.
Dinnae think such things.
He shook his head, ashamed that he could let his thoughts become so sexual when clearly, she had just been so terrified by such thoughts.
As they rode on through the snow toward Dunvegan Castle, the light fell quickly. They went from a bright white mountain range to a grey and dusky forest, the snow looking dull and murky as the night drew in.
“We’ll have tae camp fer the night,” Kai broke the silence eventually.
Ava lifted her head up from where she had been resting it between his shoulder blades.
“Where?” she whispered. “We dinnae want bandits to find us again.”
“I ken a place. I ken this forest.” It may have been harder to traverse in this weather, but he had spent so many years as a scout for his clan, he knew it well. Turning the horse toward a particularly thick clump of trees, he made his way toward a cave nestled on a hillside. There at least, they would be protected from the driving snow and wind.
As they grew nearer to the cave, Kai’s mind began to race. Ava had placed her head on his back again, her hands buried in his cloak. She was so physically close and yet emotionally, she felt a great distance away. He may have been able to sense all that she was feeling - the fear, the sadness, the shame that she hadn’t been able to defend herself - but it was not the same as having her talk to him.
“I dinnae want this tae be yer future.” The words broke free of him as he brought the horse to a stop in front of the cave.
“What dae ye mean?” She lifted her head once again.
He lifted his leg over the horse’s head, swiveled and jumped down, turning to face her as she still sat upright in the saddle.
“What that man tried tae dae –”
“I said I didnae want tae talk about it, Kai,” she hissed in anger.
“If ye marry a man ye cannae love, a man ye dinnae even like… the chores of the bedchamber will be horrid tae ye.” He had to say it. He had to be certain she knew what she was letting herself in for. “I’d sooner see ye married tae a man ye wanted tae share yer bed with, Ava. Nae one ye are marrying fer the sake of duty.”
“When it comes tae marriage, it will be entirely different.” She jerked her head up, abruptly looking quite like the daughter of a larid. She was imperious and fully in control. Sweeping her blonde braid over her shoulder, she ignored the hand he offered her to help her down and jumped off herself, landing in the ice. “Ye dinnae need tae worry about me, Kai. I’m perfectly capable of looking after meself.”
“I have never doubted that.” He busied himself with seeing to the horse as she marched toward the cave. “It will never stop me trying tae protect ye, though,” he called after her, aware that his words made her halt in the mouth of the cave. She turned back to face him, her eyes wide.
Disbelief.
The word hit him as if it was another arrow that had been fired by those bandits, straight into the center of his chest. It was plain enough that she didn’t believe him.
“Ye think there would ever be a time where I wasnae there tae help protect ye?”
“Women cannae only rely on the protection of men,” she spoke somewhat snidely.
“What does that mean?” With the horse settled under a bank of branches as shelter, he moved toward Ava in the mouth of the cave. She held her ground, her cheeks reddening. It was a blotchy sort of red, as if she was holding back tears.
I cannae remember the last time I saw her cry.
