I swing her around to look back at me, and grab her chin in my hand. Her cheeks are flushed pink, and her eyes are filled with tears. It only angers me, though. Why is she so fucking stubborn?
I look around the room, and prepare to restrain her. We’ve guest rooms on the third floor, but this room in particular’s reservedfor moments such as these. I’ve handcuffs and chains, rope, and a variety of restraints at my disposal.
My phone rings.
Goddammit.
It’s my father’s fucking ringtone, one of the few I’ll answer this time of night, no matter what.
I decide to test her obedience. Is her reluctance to speak intentional? “Go sit on the bed,” I order, giving her a wee shove in that direction. She stumbles a little, but does what she’s told and steps right over to the bed. She folds herself onto the edge and looks up at me with curious eyes.
Not fully defiant, then.
I answer the phone. “Yes?”
“What happened tonight, son? Come speak to me?”
“Aye, Dad, I’ll be down straight away.”
I may be Clan Captain, but he’ll have a say in the leadership of our Clan until the day he draws his last breath. I frown at her as I hang up the phone.
I look around the room and quickly gather what I need. Soft restraints, blankets, a simple white sheath suited for prisoners.
Time for another test.
“Off with your clothes.” I toss the sheath to the bed. “Dress in this.”
Her hands tremble on the edge of her blouse as she lifts it, but she doesn’t hesitate to obey me. In fact, it seems likely she’sactually moving quicker to obey me than is necessary. Is she eager to show me she’s not fully disobedient, then? What an interesting lass she is.
In less than a minute, she’s stripped to nothing but a skimpy pair of knickers, too small and faded, better suited for a child than a woman.
AndJesus,is she a woman. My errand to my father seems to lack urgency as I take in every detail. Pale, pale skin that hasn’t seen sunlight in ages. A wee mole on her collarbone and another just above her left breast. I want to connect the little marks with my tongue.
Her body’s soft and curvy but slight, a model of perfection with her silky hills and valleys, and a little dimple by her belly. Her flat belly is gently curved, her hips slim but feminine, though as pale as the rest of her. There’s another little birthmark on her upper left leg.
I swallow hard.
She watches me with a cool, interested expression, as if she wonders what I’ll do to her, but isn’t terribly afraid. Either she’s ignorant or jaded. Maybe both.
“Lie on your back.”
Still watching me, her gaze grows a bit more guarded as she obeys. She lies back, her hands placed gently on her belly. Her eyes never leave mine.
“Hands above your head.”
My words ring out in the stillness like the gonging of a bell. The only sound once my voice fades is her slow, steady breathing.
Why has she obeyed every fucking instruction I’ve given her but one? I don’t have time to question her further but I certainly will. She’ll be fine for the night while I make my plan. I kneel beside her as I fasten her restraints. I watch the thin blue veins on her inner wrists throb as I draw nearer to her.
She smells as clean and fresh as the snow-capped mountains. I inhale her scent as I secure her. Everything about her is soft and gentle, and I want to crawl up in this bed beside her.
I haven’t had a woman that mattered in so long, I damn near forgot what being near the gentler sex is like. There were plenty back before the accident, when we were younger and more carefree. Then we took to the reclusive north. My brothers venture into town and some even have regular relationships. Not me, though.
In recent months, the only priority in my entire world has been assuming the weighty role of Clan Captain, and making sure that the Clan is taken care of. Everything else has been put on indefinite hold.
A folded blanket sits at the foot of the bed. It’s coarse, a deep red that resembles the soil outside our windows in the spring, but it’ll do. I reach for it and unfold it, then toss it over her nearly naked body. I tuck it in loosely around her shoulders.
“Tomorrow, you’ll tell me. Tonight, you’ll think about the punishment I have in store for you if you don’t.”
