CHAPTER SEVEN
Vrogul
In an effort toquiet myKteer, on the third morning after that disastrous—miraculous?—sparring session, I hoisted atairsgeirpeat spade over my shoulder and headed for the distant moors.
Our island is barren and windswept, with our share of standing stones from the ancients, and more sheep than any clan needed—there were some winters I got positively sick of mutton. Most of our once-mighty forests were depleted, but we still put together hunts for the mighty red stags each autumn. We had fish, shellfish, cows…and peat.
So much peat.
I’d grown up with the smoky scent and found it comforting when our bonfires reminded me of home, and I was proud of my clan for figuring out how to make the best use of this resource.
And cutting peat was a convenient way to work out aggression, if need be.
This morning, myKteerwasn’t falling for it. No matter how hard I slammed thetairsgeirinto the compacted plant matter, how neatly my bricks came out, it still buzzed in irritation in my chest.
‘Twas as if it urged me to do something, something I didn’t understand.
I wasn’t in danger, not here at home. I had no need for myKteer’sinstincts to keep me alive. The only explanation was Rowena.
MyKteer, that primitive part of me, was as frustrated with my body’s response to Rowena as I was.
Soon, I had a tall stack of peat bricks piled along a furrow in the ground, and I dropped the spade to begin scooping them up and laying them out to dry. All kitlings born on Islay learned this skill young. If the peat didn’t dry—even in the damp air—then it wouldn’t burn.
And I prided myself on the fact that all members of my clan had enough to burn through the long winter.
Even the stooping, bending, squatting didn’t distract me—or myKteer—from thoughts of Rowena.
Rowena, her fingers pressed to her lips to hide her laughter as I teased her. Rowena, her temples sweaty as she bent over the hearth to redistribute coals atop the bread that was perfuming my cottage with delicious scents. Rowena, hair rumpled and eyes sleepy when she woke in the morning.
Rowena, lips bruised from my kisses, gasping as pleasure coursed through her.
With a growl, I stood and grabbed thetairsgeironce more, desperate to work out more of this…hunger.
The gods below knew, in the three days since I’d felt Rowena come against my leg, I hadn’t felt at ease. We continued to share the bed, and she didn’t mind when I reached for her,needingto hold her in a way I’d never needed aught before. And I slept well with her in my arms, myKteerfinally quiet…
But I woke unsatisfied.
I’d been walking around for three days and two nights with a cockstand which could cut this peat.
And there wasn’t a fooking thing I could do about it.
No matter how many times I stroked myself, no matter how many cold dunks I took in the loch, my cock wouldn’t cease its frustrating attempts to get me to notice it.
Och, I’ve noticed ye, ye arsehole! I cannaehelpbut notice ye. The whole godsdamned clan has noticed ye—Maardok keeps teasing me about ye. Go the fook away!
My motivational speeches needed some work, it seemed.
After an hour of backbreaking work, I had an impressive pile of peat—I made a mental note to have some of the kitlings stack it beneath one of the sheds—a persistent cockstand, and aKteerthat still buzzed in irritation.
Mayhap time for another cold dunk.
Or mayhap I could head to the inlet and see if any of the birlinns needed their bottoms scraped.Anythingto distractme from thoughts of Rowena. The sight of her pleasure, the scent of her arousal.
In the last three days, I’d smelled it more than once, and I wasn’t sure how to handle it. She hadn’t referenced her pleasure, hadn’t asked to repeat it. Aye, she’d begged for a kiss that day, but not since then.
What was I supposed to do with that, except conclude she wanted naught else from me?
I was halfway back to the village when Jean stopped me. The stooped human woman had been Mated for years to one of my father’s lieutenants, birthed many fine sons and even two prized daughters, and now kept the Battleborn history. I slowed my steps so we could walk back together.
