She quickly held up two fingers.
“You have two friends?”
With a nod, she continued, pointing a finger at him and then to her.
“A man and a woman?”
She gave another nodded as she linked two fingers together.
“They’re wed.”
She grinned, joined her hands together and extended them past her stomach.
“The woman is with child.”
She nodded.
“Are they you’re only friends?”
Dawn thought a moment. While there were many villagers who were pleasant to her, she couldn’t call them friends, and then there were a few who made fun of her and far too many who simply ignored her.
She nodded and patted her chest.
“They are the only ones who you care for and who care for you.”
Her smile grew and she was disturbed to see him grow angry, his eyes narrowing and his jaw tightening. His nostrils even flared.
“No men force themselves on you do they?”
She gave a fast shake of her head.
“Have you taken any man willingly between your legs?”
Her body flushed with heat and she was glad for the darkness that she hoped concealed her red-stained cheeks.
“And don’t lie to me,” he snapped, “for I will learn the truth myself.”
Her stomach churned at his words. He intended to have his way with her and there was nothing she could do to prevent it.
“Answer me,” he snapped again.
She patted her chest and shook her head.
“You’ve never given yourself to a man?”
She continued shaking her head.
“You’re a virgin?”
She nodded slowly, as if perhaps she shouldn’t admit the truth to him.
“How have you managed,” —he laughed and shook his head— “Column has ordered his men to stay away from you. He’ll have none of his men sire a du —”
He bit his tongue as soon as he saw the hurt surface on her face, though she turned away from him quick enough.
“You will not turn away from me,” he ordered and she had no choice but to obey.
Her chin went up just a bit, but enough to be noticeable and though the hurt remained in her eyes, her face and the pale column of her neck had grown taut with courage.
“No one will lie between your legs but me.”
Her mind went silent and for a moment she knew what was meant by someone turning speechless. His edict had so shocked her that no thought came to her head.
“You belong to me now.”
It took her a moment to form a clear thought and when she did his words struck her hard.
Belong to me.
She was nothing but chattel to him, to be owned and worked like the burdensome beasts who toiled for their masters. She would be expected to spread her legs for him whenever he ordered, and she would not be able to object. Had she expected any different? Had she foolishly thought, if only for a few moments, that because he had attempted to converse with her that he would be kind and treat her as kindly as her friends?
A spark of anger misplaced her fear and suddenly she wanted to lash out at him and tell him she was not a woman to be used at his whim. But even if she had a voice, she would not be able to speak her mind or she would face Colum’s wrath. And a beating from him was something she might not survive. So she would deal with the lesser of two evils... and spread her legs for the infamous Cree.
Chapter Five
Cree watched Dawn as she gathered what was left of their meal and placed the remnants in the basket. He could tell by her fumbling movements that she was nervous, and it had been his fault.
His body certainly made no attempt to conceal his desire for her, having grown hard telling her that it would be him who would lie between her legs. He found her features plain, though her creamy skin looked soft to the touch and while her breasts were small they were pert enough to garner attention.
Damn if he wasn’t hurting with how hard he was swelling.
He had to stop this. He had no intention of coupling with a mute. He’d not spill his seed and worry that it would take root in her. He had worked too hard to throw away his dream for one night of lust.
Still, he could not take his eyes off her, the sway of her generous hips, the slimness of her waist, the gentleness of her movements. Try as he might, he could not help but wonder how she would respond to him if he coupled with her.
He shook the tormenting thought from his mind so hard that he stumbled.
He felt her hand on his arm and when their eyes met he saw concern in her dark eyes. She didn’t have to speak for him to know that she worried over him and his desire for her grew. Never had he seen a spark of concern for him in any woman’s eyes and it startled him to the point that he pulled away from her, as if her touch had burnt him.
Her head went down, and she turned away.
He grabbed her arm, and she swung her head around.
“I will warn you one more time only... never turn away from me.”
She bobbed her head, kept her eyes on his and shrugged as she pointed at him.
He easily understood that she was asking how he was. “Tired,” he said.
She slowly eased her arm from his grasp and set about arranging a sleeping pallet. He saw that she had saved some sprigs of heather and after bunching some of the rushes together she added the heather to them and then laid a clean wool blanket on top. She spread another blanket on top of that one and folded the top back.
“Well done,” he said with a nod to her.
She bobbed her head, and he was sorry to see that she did not smile. He liked when she smiled. It made him smile.
What was the matter with him thinking of smiles? He had no time for such nonsense. He had a mission to accomplish and foolish musings would not help him. He had to use her for what she was worth and be done with it and yet...
The thought did not set right with him. What little he could surmise, she was a good woman and did not deserve to be treated badly and yet...
Whatever was the matter with him? He had done far worse than using a lone woman to achieve victory. He could not allow himself to feel for this woman, mute or not. She was but a pawn in a high stakes battle and he would do what was necessary to be the victor just as always.
Cree motioned for her to lie down on the blanket.
She hesitated and he caught the fear in her eyes, dark as it was he could still see it stirring there. Then with reluctance that was all too obvious, she surrendered to what she believed was her fate and slowly lay down on the blanket.
He was quick to join her, wanting done with this and so he settled himself around her, drawing her back against him. She fit nicely in the crook of his curves, though she bristled when his enlarged member rubbed against her. She didn’t help matters any when she attempted to avoid contact with it, her actions only growing him larger.
He finally tightened his arm around her waist, yanked her harder against him and whispered harshly in her ear. “Stay still or I’ll bury myself deep inside you.”
She froze stiff against him and he warned himself to ignore the sweet scent of her soft hair that tickled at his nose, the warmth of her body that seemed to feed his heat, and the feel of her rounded backside that made him swell to an aching hardness.
He forced his thoughts elsewhere. He refused to succumb to lust when so much depended on his success here.
“While a nod or shake of your head answers simple questions there may be times when your response is best left between us,” he said, “in which case you will find a way to touch me once for yes and twice for no. Do you understand?”
He was pleased when she pressed her finger once against his arm.
“Good, now go to sleep.” He yanked her harder against him to let her know that she was to stay where she was, and closed his eyes and in no time drifted off into a much needed slumber.
Dawn listened to his steady breathing, his
cheek pressed against the side of her head, his arm tight around her and his leg clamped over her two. She couldn’t move, but then where would she go. The guards had no intention of letting her out until morning.
She wished sleep would have claimed her as quickly as it had claimed Cree, but the worries that continued to mount kept sleep at bay. She certainly was relieved that he hadn’t force himself on her, though she had no doubt that he had considered it. His lust weighed heavily in his eyes as did the way his glance drifted far too intimately over her more than once. Then of course there was the bulging size of him that was finally abating. It had dug into her when he had heaved her against him. She had thought he would take her there and then and was surprised when he hadn’t.
This was one time she was glad to be mute. He probably wanted nothing to do with a voiceless woman and that was fine with her, though she didn’t know how it would fair with Colum once he found out, though who would tell him?
Would Cree request another woman to tend him? Had the guards watched through the narrow slit in the door? She sighed inwardly wondering what to do and then realized there was nothing she could do. She hated being helpless; it left her feeling vulnerable. And she felt that way much too often.
It had troubled her when he had spoken of a time when he may wish to communicate with her without others noticing. She had no idea when such a time could possibly come or why their communication should be private. But she let him have his way and did what he had asked.
What troubled her even more was that she had not a bit of news to take back to Colum, and if she didn’t find something out soon, he would surely punish her for disobeying him.
She closed her eyes and wished this was all a nightmare and that she would find herself waking in her cottage. Though small, it was a fine home to her with a soft sleeping pallet and single table and chair and that was where she wanted to be right now... home.
A tear quickened in her eye and she forced it away. Tears would do her no good and besides crying seemed a waste since it only brought more suffering to her silence. No one could hear her cry and so her cries seemed louder inside her head.
Sleep began to intrude on her endless musings and she no longer could keep her eyes open. She fell asleep, though woke periodically throughout the night, finding herself in the same position, Cree not having moved a muscle.
She startled once in her sleep, and Cree was quick to tighten his hold on her.
“Do you try to flee?” he whispered.
She tapped his arm twice.
“Then settle yourself. You have woken me too often this night.”
She tensed, fearful of disturbing him.
A moment later he asked, “Did a nightmare frighten you?”
She tapped him once.
“Was I in it?”
She again tapped his arm once, though he truly wasn’t in her nightmare... he was her nightmare.
~~~
Sunrise found Cree still asleep and Dawn awake and ready to take her leave. She was relieved when she woke to find he had released his hold on her and had turned on his side away from her. She had gotten quickly, though quietly to her feet, grabbed the food basket and knocked on the door to draw the guard’s attention.
He opened the door and with a grin ordered, “You’re to go directly to liege lord Colum. Don’t stop anywhere.”
Panic rose to tighten Dawn’s throat and she nodded and hurried off. Colum looked for news already and she had none to give him. Whatever was she to do?
Dawn hurried around to the back of the keep to the kitchen, since it was the only way she was allowed to enter the Great Hall. Colum would fly into a rage if she dared enter the hall through the front of the keep.
Flanna caught her eye as she entered and shifted her eyes to the left as if directing Dawn’s glance behind her toward the archway that lead to the narrow hall that connected to the Great Hall.
Dawn followed her glance and there stood Goddard. He grinned when their eyes met and motioned her to him.
“Colum waits to speak to you,” he said.
She dropped her basket and followed him through the narrow passageway and into the Great Hall. Colum sat in the chair at the dais, his grin growing as she approached.
“The scent of him best be on her,” Colum said as she got close.
Goddard gave a hard sniff and snorted. “His stench is heavy on her.”
Colum waved her closer and Dawn took cautious steps forward while Goddard walked around her and took a seat at the dais.
“What have you learned?” Colum demanded.
Dawn clenched her hands to keep them from trembling and tried desperately to think of something, anything that might appease him.
It came in a flash to her and she made an angry face, tapped her chest and pressed a finger to her lips.
Colum stared at her a minute and then grinned. “Cree was angry because you cannot speak.”
She nodded, relief running through her.
“Good. This is good,” Colum said rubbing his hands together and then stopped and shoved a finger at her. “Now get me information.”
Dawn wasn’t sure what information he wanted and her expression showed her confusion.
“Not only mute but an idiot,” Colum grumbled and then shouted at her. “Find out why he was in the area where we captured him and if his men are nearby. I want to know his plans. His kind always has plans. Now go and get me answers.”
Dawn bobbed her head, turned, and hurried out of the hall.
Flanna was quick to jump at her when she entered the kitchen. “You’re a sight and need cleaning you do.” With that she took firm hold of Dawn’s arm and rushed her out, though not before shouting a warning to her staff that they better keep working in her absence or they’d be hell to pay for their laziness.
Dawn felt as gray and dreary as the overcast sky. She didn’t object as Flanna hurried her along a footpath that led to her cottage a few feet away. Flanna gave her a shove inside and while this was her first time ever in Flanna’s home she didn’t care to take note of anything. She was too tired and distraught.
“Are you all right?” Flanna asked.
Dawn was still stunned by the woman’s sudden concern, though perhaps it was as she had thought. They were two kindred spirits that no men wanted.
Dawn pretended to yawn.
“You’re tired. Didn’t the devil let you sleep at all?”
The idea that the villagers would now believe Cree had ravished her upset her and she was about to confide the truth to Flanna when she thought better of it. It was necessary that everyone assume what Colum already believed. She could not take the chance of anyone discovering the truth.
Dawn shook her head, for the devil hadn’t let her sleep but not for the reason Flanna thought.
“You need to get yourself washed and some good food into you. I have fresh warm bread that just finished baking, bramble jelly and oatmeal porridge. I’ll arrange a tub of hot water for you right here in front of the fire and then you can eat.”
Dawn touched the woman’s arm and Flanna stilled. She rubbed a hand over her face and chest to demonstrate washing and nodded and then she motioned shoveling food into her mouth and shook her head.
“You can wash here, but you must eat with the devil,” Flanna said understanding.
Dawn nodded and yawned.
“Fine,” she snapped. “Have a wash and then a nap since I was wrong about that bread it won’t be done for awhile.”
How she wished she could crawl in Flanna’s bed, not a pallet but a bed with a good-stuffed mattress and sleep for a few hours, but it was not meant to be.
Dawn shook her head. She rubbed, as if washing herself and then pointed at the door.
“You must return to him after you’re done washing.”
Dawn nodded. She didn’t want to hurry back to him, but she had to see what she could discover or Colum would do her harm.
Flanna seemed to understand and sorrow filled her eyes as well as he
r words. “You have two devils you must answer to.” She shook her head. “I’ll have a tub filled for you. At least you can get his scent off—for a time.”
Dawn sniffed at her garments and noticed that she did carry a scent on her and she buried her nose in her sleeve for a minute. It was a woodsy scent mixed with Cree’s body scent. Some men’s scent was hard on the senses causing the nose to wrinkle in distaste, not so Cree, his scent actually appealed to Dawn. She couldn’t define what she favored about it; she only knew she liked it.
The realization startled her and she stopped sniffing her sleeve, just in time, since the door swung open and Flanna returned with servants who carried a round wooden tub and others followed carrying buckets of steaming water.
Dawn was grateful for Flanna’s fussing and more so for the tub of steaming water. After they all left she disrobed and climbed over the rim into the tub and sunk into the blessed hot water. Being tall didn’t help and so her knees almost touched her chin, but she didn’t care. The hot water was most welcoming, its heat soaking into her every limb and easing the stiffness away.
She had slept so rigid last night and rushed so this morning that it wasn’t until she had watched the tub being filled that she had realized how her body ached. She wished she could sit and soak until the water turned cold but there wasn’t time.
Cree would be waiting for his morning meal and he had questioned her during last night’s meal so perhaps this morning she could pose her own questions to him. She scrubbed herself with the soap that Flanna had left for her, including her hair.
She smiled favoring the scent of lavender that covered her, that was until she reached for her clothes. They smelled of Cree and the strong, not unpleasant scent sent a quiver through her body.
The door swung open and Dawn was quick to wrap the towel around her. She smiled wide when she saw that it was Lila her best friend.
Lila was everything Dawn wasn’t. She was beautiful with soft red hair that curled gloriously down her back, lovely green eyes, cream-colored skin, petite and slim and a lovely voice that could chatter on forever.
“I was stunned when Flanna showed up at my doorstep and expressed concern about you needing fresh garments. She struck me speechless she did, being kind and thoughtful to your—” She stopped and hurried to give Dawn a quick hug. “When Paul heard what Colum had ordered you to do he wanted to go to him in your defense.”
Highlander Unchained (Highlander Trilogy 1) Page 4
