Chapter 4
IT WAS THE LAST day of the festival of Beltane. People were readying themselves to go back to work, labour in the fields, and go off on military campaigns. The grounds were verdant, with fresh flowers everywhere, and people were taking advantage of last-day market prices. However, a week of festivities had made many a coin purse fat with money. Thieves were prowling the castle grounds more than ever. Even though the guards took special care to look out for cutpurses, they could not catch all of them.
Still, Aileen and Lena walked the grounds, wanting to take in the last of the beautiful Beltane festival. Lena had managed to find a beautiful lamb for her family, but Eileen still wanted to find a few gifts for her new husband. She wanted to find him a gift that conveyed her love to him, something that would show him her deep appreciation for what he did for her in the forest. All the while, she shared her concerns with Lena, about Alex’s nightmares and how he still had not allowed himself to stay the night in her bed.
“Perhaps he is still becoming accustomed to sleeping the night with someone,” said Lena. “Perhaps he is used to keeping his privacy.”
“Perhaps,” replied Aileen. However, she remained unconvinced. Aileen was deeply worried that she did not please Alex. All the thoughts she had about him loving her were now called into question.
“While you’re looking for a gift, I’m going to purchase more wool,” said Lena, and she sped off toward the wool and clothing part of the marketplace.
Aileen was wandering the market, when she decided to go down an alley that was relatively empty. A few people wandered here and there, but they were walking back toward the main part of the festival. Shadows darkened the streets, and Aileen thought about turning around, but she kept going. This was a short cut, and it would lead her to finding a gift for Alex.
All of a sudden, she felt a hand grab her from behind.
“You can hand over your purse now, lass,” said a cold voice that crackled with dark intent.
Aileen tried to scream, but a hand clamped over her mouth. Suddenly, she felt herself pushed back against rough stone. She looked around wildly and noticed that the street was now completely empty. There was too much noise coming from the festival, so even if she screamed, there would be no one to hear her.
The thief’s hot breath near her face stank, and the taste of his hand over her mouth was salty, as she tried once more to scream. Her heart was pounding hard. She felt caught, trapped like a fly in a spider’s web. She knew that she might die if she did not do anything.
The knife!
She had it hidden in the folds of her skirt.
In the fog of panic, she wondered why the thief had not used a knife on her.
Perhaps he does not have one.
That single thought gave Aileen hope that she might be able to defeat this thief.
She held up her hands. “Stop, stop here,” she said. “I’ll give it to you.”
The thief let her go, as she reached around her dress, pretending to fumble for her coin purse.
The thief snapped his fingers. “Quickly now.”
Aileen released the knife from its sheath. She whipped it out, swinging in a wide arc toward the thief.
The thief jumped back as soon as he saw the steel flash in the light, so Aileen was unable to catch him.
Aileen then made a stabbing motion toward the thief, with far more courage than she actually felt. It was the same move that Alex had taught her. She had practiced it so many times that the motion now came naturally.
Now, as she slashed the knife toward the thief, Aileen began to scream as loud as she could. She screamed with all the fear and anger that had built inside her for years.
The thief, upon seeing a woman wielding a knife, knew that he had no defence against sharpened steel. He ran off as quickly as he came.
Aileen sank to the ground, her heart pounding. She did not know how she had managed to fight off the thief; it had felt almost as though she were gone out of her body.
People came running when they heard her scream, and soon, there was a small crowd around her. To her immense relief, one of those people was Alex.
He towered above the crowd and pushed his way through. He was normally polite, but he had heard the fear in his wife’s voice echo through the castle walls, and he had run as fast as he could toward the sound. He now shoved people out of the way.
“What happened?” he demanded upon seeing his wife’s trembling figure.
Aileen was still gasping for breath, as she explained the thief’s attack.
Alex turned toward a bystander and said, “Run. Fetch the castle guard, and tell them to be on the lookout. Go!”
The man ran off.
Aileen tried to push herself to her feet, but when she stood, she was overcome by a wave of dizziness. Now that the attack was over, and the adrenaline was fading, she felt like collapsing. Her knees shook and threatened to give way beneath her.
Alex, noticing her distress, scooped her up in his arms and began to walk back to the castle, toward their shared room.
Once they were there, he slowly layed her on the bed. He went to fetch the wine, and he poured her a very large glass. She accepted it gratefully, gulping it down to steady her nerves.
“Now, tell me how ye managed to fight off the man,” said Alex. His hand squeezed unconsciously by his side. How dare someone try to hurt his wife! Guilt pushed against his heart, for not being there to protect her.
“I did what you showed me, that day in the woods,” said Aileen. “I fought him off with the knife. Or at least, the knife did all the work. I don’t think he was armed, otherwise…otherwise…” And then she buried her face in her hands. Surely she could not have fought him off, if the thief had been armed. She began to cry a little, out of sheer relief than anything else.
“Shhh…” Alex whispered. “It’s all right now. You were so brave.” And he tucked her head against his shoulders.
However, once she had calmed, Aileen looked up. “Brave?” she asked, a question in her eyes and a stillness in her heart. “What do you mean, brave? I screamed. I was so scared. I thought that he would kill me, or worse.”
“Of course you were brave, my lady, my lioness,” replied Alex with a caress in his voice. “You fought him off. It did not matter that you were scared. You did not allow fear to rule you.”
Aileen straightened her back unconsciously. “You really think that I am brave?” she asked, as she wiped the tears from her face. She wanted to be as brave as Alex, and strong, but she had never believed in herself enough for that.
“Most certainly,” said Alex, without a trace of doubt in his voice.
Aileen’s heart began to take flight. The look in Alex’s eyes said everything; he had given her the tools and knowledge to protect herself, and she had! Perhaps it was not the hardest victory ever won, but she had done something. She had fought for herself and defended herself against danger; that was more than she had ever expected to do in her life.
Chapter 5
ALEX WANTED TO TELL her then; he wanted to tell her all of it. All the pain in his heart, all the secrets he kept, but he remained quiet. Aileen had gone through such an ordeal today, that he wanted to be there for her.
And yet, it was as if his secret were between them, a physical thing that would not let them be truly happy.
Aileen reached up to him and cupped his face. “I could tell that you were being gentle with me,” she said. “When we first made love.” She paused and bit her lip. “But I also felt you holding back. What keeps you from loving me?”
Alex released the breath of air that he had been holding. He gathered Aileen all the more tightly to his body, pressing her against him, trying to quell the need inside him that would not, would never, rest.
“I cannot show ye,” he said, his voice husky with desire. “It would make ye turn away from me.”
Aileen laid a hand on his cheek. “Nothing that you do could make me turn away from you.”
Su
ddenly, Aileen’s throat was tight with all the words that she wanted to say to him.
“Alex…I love you,” she said. “You’ve made me realise that I can be brave.” And then she pulled him tightly to her and kissed him deeply.
Her kiss inflamed his passion. Alex gripped Aileen’s waist tightly and ran his hands along her hips. His tongue probed hers and with each touch, Alex felt the wild need rise up inside him, to control, to dominate.
“I love ye too, my lady,” he whispered, his eyes dark with wild emotion. “I’ve loved ye since the first day. And I’ve longed to make ye mine.”
And then he covered her mouth with his, kissing her again.
When they came up for air once more, Aileen said, “But I am yours. Heart and soul. Body and mind.”
Alex chuckled darkly. “Nay, lass. I want to make you feel…something new. I need to make you mine, in more than just making love.” His eyes raked over her body, and he felt the passion rise up in him; he could no longer control it.
“Then show me how,” Aileen whispered. “Show me what you want.”
Alex began to stroke Aileen’s body, each sensation bringing them closer together.
“Tis not what I want, lass,” he said, suddenly standing up. “It is what I need.” Then, he crossed the threshold, toward the door. He could not control these dark urges, and he did not want to hurt Aileen or have her turn away in disgust.
“Wait!” she shouted, jumping off the bed and crossing the room in a few, quick strides. “Why do you run?”
Alex turned his face away. “I cannae say,” he said, his voice low but with the same level of intensity that he had on the bed. “It would bring me shame.”
“Then show me,” Aileen repeated. “I am not afraid.”
Alex looked at her, full of love, full of longing, his own body aching in desire. “Aye. You’ll have to be brave for what I have in mind.”
“I am brave,” said Aileen, meaning every word. She knew that if she could confront a thief and fight him off, then she could face whatever Alex had in mind. “I trust ye.”
With those words, Alex’s resolve crumbled.
“Just know that I won’t take you past where I do not think you can go,” he said, as he grabbed her hips and pulled her close.
Then, he allowed his instincts to take over. He grabbed the strings of her dress and began ripping them free, not caring if they tore. He pushed her back against the bed, until her knees buckled, relieving her of the dress. Roughly, he pushed her legs apart, until she was ready for him.
“Now, I have one rule about tonight,” he said, as he kissed the tender peaks of her flesh, until she panted with desire. “You cannot make a sound.”
aileen’s mouth dropped open, but he merely put a finger over her lips.
“Not a sound,” he repeated.
He plunged himself into her, giving her all that he had wanted to give from the first moment that he had laid eyes on her. He needed to dominate her, make her his.
She gasped and groaned as she felt the full length of him, dip and plunge over and over. Her body cried out for him to stop, but the pleasure mingled with the pain, and it heightened every other sensation.
Then, just as quickly, he pulled out and said, “I told you to not make a sound.” His voice was full of playfulness, but the look in his eyes was serious.
aileen cocked up an eyebrow and said, “Now what?”
“Now, I must punish you, for disobeying the rules,” he said, and he made a motion with his finger for her to turn around.
She obliged and turned, until she was face-down on the bed.
“Lift up your hips,” he whispered, and he drew them towards him.
She did as she was told. With one hand, Alex gave a smack to her round bottom, gentle at first, but it still caught Aileen off guard.
“Ow!” she cried out, more out of surprise than anything else.
Alex rubbed her bottom, cupping it in his hands. Then, he gave her another smack, this time a bit harder. “I thought I told you to not make a sound,” he growled.
Aileen bit her tongue, trying to keep the moans of pleasure inside, but she was unable to.
With each moan, Alex smacked her bottom a little harder, until Eileen was panting.
Alex could sense that she was reaching the peak of how much she could handle. He suddenly turned her over, and he entered her once more. With each pulse, their mutual desire grew greater and greater, until Aileen kissed him fully on the lips, and at the same moment, they gave themselves into the height of their pleasure.
They were so spent that they did not speak for several moments. Alex took Aileen and brought her close beside him. She laid her head on his chest, just revelling in the warmth of each other’s love.
Then, Alex began to get up, when Aileen placed a hand on his chest.
“Stay with me,” she whispered. “Why do you always leave?”
For some reason, Alex sank back down on the bed. Perhaps it had been the way that she said that she had trusted him. Maybe it was the way that she had given herself to him, body, mind, and soul, and he wanted to trust her the way that she had trusted him.
He finally opened up to her.
“Well,” he began. “I have terrible nightmares. And sometimes, I cannot control my body when they happen. It’s like what I am seeing in my dream is happening to me. My mind is asleep, but my body becomes awake.” He tenderly kissed the top of her head. “And I…I lash out. I thrash, punch, kick…to fight off what is fighting me in my head.”
Then he fell silent; the only sound in the room was the flames crackling in the hearth.
Aileen asked, “But what is it that you see? What makes you have the nightmares?”
Alex sighed deeply. Here it was: the moment that he dreaded above all else. Telling her the truth.
He ran a hand through his luscious hair.
“When I was a lad, I was sold into the house of a clan leader,” he said. “Not unlike you were with your husband. Only the pawn of some lord that my father owed money to. So he sold me and my little brother.”
Alex’s voice grew soft, as he told her his history.
“And the lord…he was not kind. He used to beat us. And my brother used to take the brunt of it,” he whispered.
Aileen was hanging on every word he said. After so long of staying silent, Alex was finally beginning to open up to her.
“So I would take his place. I always tried to protect him, but sometimes I couldn’t. The lord wanted to do things with us…terrible things.” He could no longer hide the pain in his voice. “It scarred me. And the lord gave me dark and terrible desires. Things that I thought that I could control, but with you, I can’t.” He lifted her lips to his, and kissed her.
“You don’t have to be afraid anymore,” she whispered, as she wiped his tears away. “You can trust me. You shouldn’t blame yourself about what happened. You two were only lads.”
“That may be so,” he replied, and he bent to kiss her. They loved each other through the night.
Chapter 6
IT WAS THE LAST day of the festival. Beltane had been on the first day of May, but the market itself had stayed open for longer, as everyone sold off their excess spring harvest. Now, the festival and market were shutting down. Aileen was now wandering the grounds with Lena again, and Aileen was telling Lena all about her new discoveries of Alex.
“He really does love me,” she sighed. “He felt so guilty over what happened to his little brother. He couldn’t stand the shame, but I think now, little by little, he’s learning to let go.” Aileen smiled at the memory of last night and how Alex had finally opened up to her about his feelings. She had longed for his trust, and now she finally had it. However, with the memory of his devotion to her also came a brief reminder of their rough lovemaking. Her bottom still hurt with the smacks he had given her, but surprisingly, it was a pleasant sort of ache.
“That’s wonderful,” sighed Lena. “I wonder when I’ll find someone.”
“You will,” reassured Eileen.
Just then, Timothy came walking up to them.
“Aileen,” he said. “Can I talk to you?” He didn’t even acknowledge or say hello to Lena.
Aileen cast a look at Lena, then said, “Alright. Let’s talk.”
However, Timothy shook his head. “No,” he said. “Not here. Out there, in the forest.” He pointed to where he meant.
Silently, Aileen nodded her head and began to walk with Timothy. She was overcome with curiosity. What could he want to talk about?
He strode off into the forest, with Aileen in tow. Unbeknownst to her, Alex saw them from the parapet from his guard post.
Alex frowned. It was that Timothy again. What could he possibly want with his wife? And she with him?
A cold fist closed around Alex’s heart. What if Aileen did not really love him? What if he had scared her last night, had revealed too much of himself? Was she rejecting him? Did he disgust her?
He took note of where they were walking and their location in the forest. It looked as though they were walking toward the very edge, where the land dropped off toward the cliffs. The sound of the sea grew intensely loud, as the waves crashed against the rocks below.
At the edge of the forest, Timothy took Aileen’s hand and said, “Aileen, you deserve better than to be with Alex.” It was Timothy’s last chance to explain himself to Aileen. He had loved her since they were small children, and he wanted to be with her. Couldn’t she see that?
Aileen gasped. “Timothy, you cannot be serious. I love Alex, and he is my husband. Surely you must understand that?”
“No, what I cannot understand is why you would want to stay with a man like that. He is a brute. There are rumours about him; they say that he likes to punish the women he’s with. He likes to inflict pain and suffering on them.”
Aileen smiled a secret smile. Oh how the rumours were so very false, but they did have a thread of truth running through them. Alex did like to be in control, and he knew how closely pain and pleasure were intertwined. However, what Timothy did not understand was that Alex did not want to inflict suffering, and therein lay the difference.
Highlander's Entangled Heart (Immortal Warrior Book 1) Page 3
