by Aileen Adams
He continually reminded her of what had happened to Sarah in the woods. Not only when she was kidnapped by Phillip, but when Ceana and a couple members of the Orkney clan grabbed her. He stressed the importance of watching and assessing her situation. When it was beneficial to fight or run, and at other times, to wait and be patient.
Over and over he had repeated one of his most important rules. “It's important to know when to stand and fight and when to run and hide.”
She wasn't sure about that. “I don't suppose you've ever run from anything in your life, Jake, nor hidden from anything.”
“Don't bet on it,” he said.
Her curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she asked him to explain.
He proceeded to tell her about a time when he had been fighting with the King’s men, and his small group of soldiers had been confronted by a smaller group of enemy warriors, though better equipped. Without hesitance or any sign of embarrassment, he informed her that he and his men had promptly turned around and run.
“But why? You and your men were armed, weren't you?”
“Aye, we were. But, despite our caution, they appeared out of nowhere, and on higher ground. Finding high ground is one of the best strategies for mounting a defense. We were not in that position. We knew it would be better to retreat, regroup, and find a better position to defend ourselves.”
She understood.
The more she learned from Jake, the more she realized that strategy, planning, and careful thought went into battle. It wasn't merely a matter of two sides clashing.
It was more a matter of advance and retreat. Much like fencing. Thrust forward, step back. Parry.
The more time she spent with Jake, the more she appreciated not only his strength and knowledge, but also his wisdom.
She began to realize that there was much more to Jake than she had ever imagined. Most of the time he was very patient with her. Sometimes, however, when he felt she was not focusing as she should or when he had to repeat himself more than a couple of times, he scolded her.
She tried very hard. It was physically grueling, much more demanding than her lessons with Kevin. Perhaps not so surprising, based on the difference in skill levels, confidence, and years of experience.
One evening she snuck out of the manor house after everyone else had gone to bed, as usual, knowing that Jake would be close behind. She never grew careless. Just because Jake was aware of her movements didn't mean anyone else was, and she certainly had no intention of being caught.
She arrived near the edges of the meadow, and because it was a full moon, she waited in the shadows for Jake.
The minutes passed, interminably slow.
Where was he? Why did he keep her waiting?
And yet, as she waited, she also anticipated his arrival to a degree she had not experienced before. She was developing quite a deep affection for the man. Not just as a teacher. Not as a soldier. But as a man.
She looked forward to—
Something brushed up behind her, then grabbed her about the waist. A hand clamped over her mouth, another wrapped around her middle, flattening her back against a rock-hard chest.
She couldn't even scream, could hardly even breathe. Panicked, she began to thrash and squirm. She lashed out with her feet, but whoever had grabbed her was standing so she couldn't make contact with her feet. Her arms pounded ineffectually. She reached a hand upward and tried to pry the hand away from her mouth, but it was incredibly large and strong.
Her heart pounded so hard she thought it might burst. Her ears rang with fear.
Jake… where was Jake?
For a moment, she froze with her panic, not sure what to do. Her paltry efforts at self-defense were useless against such a large opponent.
Suddenly, the arm wrapped around her waist eased, and she settled back down on her feet.
She felt her stomach heave and her head swam. Don't get sick… don't get sick!
“Don't scream, Heather. It's me.”
It took her several seconds before she recognized and acknowledged the voice over the buzzing in her ears.
The voice belonged to Jake.
She sagged with relief in his arms, counting on him to hold her up because her knees were so weak she knew that she would drop to the ground if he didn't.
He turned her around in his arms, gazing down at her, concerned, his hands firmly gripping her shoulders.
“And that's why it's important to learn how to defend yourself.”
She stared into his face, torn between throwing up and shouting at him.
“What… why did you do that?” she finally stammered. “You scared me half to death!”
“Because I want you to realize that danger can approach from any direction, at any time. I was watching you. You were not focused on what was happening around you. You didn't notice that the cricket stop chirping, did you?”
Thinking about it, she realized he was right. She shook her head.
“You weren't listening to the sound of the breeze through the trees or the way the branches rustled. I deliberately stepped on a twig, but you didn't react.”
“I didn't?” She didn't recall any sound of a twig snapping, and she knew why.
She had been too busy daydreaming about Jake rather than paying attention to her surroundings.
He frowned and looked down at her, placing his index finger under her chin to lift her face up toward his. “This is no game, Heather. You're the one that wants to go off and fight, remember? I fear, due to your inexperience and inattentiveness, you wouldn't get much beyond the borders of Duncan lands before something terrible happened to you.”
She wasn't sure why she felt such a surge of disappointment. She had let him down. She had let herself down. She took a deep breath, sought to calm her still racing heart, and looked up at him.
“I'll do better, Jake. I promise.”
He didn't look too certain.
She tried to convince him. “I want you sneak up on me again,” she said. “You can try, but next time, I'll be ready for you.”
He still didn't look like he believed her, but he nodded and gestured toward the meadow.
She realized he wasn't caring any weapons. Weren’t they going to have a lesson tonight?
“Tonight, I'm going to show you some moves that you can use to defend yourself, even against a much larger opponent like me.”
She felt doubtful.
Why, she barely came up to Jake's shoulder. He weighed twice as much as ske did, and his muscles could easily overpower her. “Defend myself against someone like you? Impossible.”
He smiled and shook his head. “No, Heather, it's not. I’ll show you.”
During the next hour or so, Jake showed her exactly what he meant. Standing in the meadow, but fairly close to its edges, he stood close behind her, telling her what to do when he grabbed her from behind. She tried to concentrate on what he was telling her, but all she could think of was the warmth emanating from his body. The scent of sweat, horse, and leather that wafted into her nostrils. It was oddly intoxicating.
“Ready?”
His voice jolted her out of her reverie.
“Ready,” she nodded.
Before the sound of her voice faded, he had clamped his forearm against her throat, her chin resting near the crook of his elbow. Firmly, but not enough to choke her.
Trying to remember everything he told her, she stomped the heel of her foot onto his instep and then allowed her body to go limp. Even that slight movement pulled him slightly off balance, prompting him to lean forward to adjust to the different weight distribution. The movement gave her just enough room to turn her shoulder into his chest, slide a hand up between her jaw and the crook of his elbow, and twist away.
She tripped over her feet and fell to the ground, but she still smiled. “I did it!”
“That you did,” he nodded. “Now let's see if you can do it again without falling on your arse.”
So they repeated the maneuv
er several times, each time successful and increasing Heather's confidence.
This was exciting!
“All right, let's try something just a little different. When he told her what he was going to do and the moves she needed to make in self-defense, her eyes widened and she felt the heat of a blush rising in her cheeks.
“I'm not sure I can—”
“You'd better.”
In a matter of seconds, he had her in another headlock, but this time his other arm was wrapped around her waist. Because her arms were pressed down against her sides, she couldn't reach up with either one of them to loosen his grip around her neck.
She began to struggle.
“Do it!” he ordered, his voice gruff.
The thought sent waves of embarrassment rushing through her body, but she did it anyway. With her right hand, she groped between his legs, grabbed a handful of his privates, and began to squeeze.
“All right, good.”
Abruptly, he let her go, giving her a slight push away from him.
She felt mortified.
He would have none of it.
“A man's privates are very sensitive,” he told her, calmly, and without a hint of embarrassment. “If someone grabs you, you grab him there, and you squeeze as hard and as forcefully as you can. You can also hit or kick him there. I guarantee that most times he'll go to his knees.”
“Really?” she asked, doubtful.
“Really.” He looked at her. “You don't believe me, do you?”
She shook her head. While kicking someone in the privates might hurt, she didn't think that any kind of a blow would stop someone of Jake's size, at least not enough to make them drop to his knees and give her a chance to escape.
“Do it. I'll prove it to you.”
Her eyes widened. “You want me to kick you in the…”
“Aye.”
She shook her head. “That'll hurt, won't it?”
He chuckled. “Most certainly. But you need to see for yourself.”
“But I don't want to hurt you, Jake—”
“It won't be the first time I got kicked there, and it likely won't be the last. But if you hesitate, even with me, it will be difficult to prove it to you. You have to be willing to go to any extreme to protect yourself. Now do it.”
She didn't want to. Really, she didn't.
He placed himself in a fighting stance, slightly hunched, arms out to his sides, hands ready to grab her. He made a low, growling sound in his throat.
“Imagine I'm about ready to attack you. I'm going to ravish you if you don't do something to stop me.”
She still didn't want to. Actually, she wanted to do nothing more than turn and run.
He looked ferocious.
She knew that Jake would not hurt her, would not ravish her. She didn't want to kick him in his private parts. She knew he was trying to teach her something, but—
With a loud, threatening growl, he lunged for her.
She squealed.
He managed to swipe one hand across her shoulder.
She yelped in dismay and started to turn and run, but stopped herself. Her heart pounded. Even though it was Jake and she knew he wouldn't hurt her, she knew enough by now to know that he wouldn't quit until she did as he told her.
“If you don't defend yourself you’re going to get slapped.”
She gasped in dismay as he swiped a hand toward her face.
She managed to spin away from a wide swing of his arm and knew then that he wasn't joking. She couldn’t go back to the manor with a mark on her face.
Such would initiate questions and demands to know what had happened.
He wouldn’t! He couldn’t!
He had no intention of hurting her, but was forcing her to defend herself. He lunged at her again.
“I'm an outsider. I came upon you in the forest… a lass out in the middle of the forest alone. Where you have no business being alone. You're just asking for trouble, aren't you? What are you going to do about it?”
His words and the tone of his voice startled her. Enough so that she felt a shiver of fear race up her spine. He was trying to make her afraid and angry, and to a certain degree, he was succeeding. This was Jake, but still—
He lunged at her again. His crippled leg didn't make him any less intimidating, any less powerful. Those hands reaching for her were real and strong…
She glanced once at his crotch and then back up at his face, startled by his angry expression.
His mouth turned down in a snarl; his brows lowered over his eyes. He looked mean. Her heart skipped a beat.
He lunged for her again.
Without hesitating, and with every ounce of strength she could muster, she swung her leg up between his and made contact.
It felt funny, not like striking his shin. Softer. A garbled sound escaped his throat. He dropped to his knees, cupping his hands over his groin. The suddenness of it startled her.
He hunched close to the ground, moaning low in his throat. Gagged once. He froze for several moments, and then finally, he raised his head and spoke, his voice tight with pain.
“If any man ever comes at you and you have a chance, you kick him just like that. Understand?”
She nodded, fighting back the tears. She had really hurt him.
Why had he made her do it? Why?
She surged forward, crouching down on the ground in front of him, placing her hands on his shoulders.
“Jake, are you all right? Did I kick you too hard?”
He uttered a half-growl, half-laugh.
And then suddenly his arms were wrapped around her, and he toppled backward with her on top of him.
At first, she was alarmed, thinking this was another lesson in self-defense, but he was chuckling, his arms gentle as they cradled her back, pressing her against the length of him.
Sensations thrummed through her. So too did emotions, so many that she felt a mixture of dismay, attraction, and equally fear and hesitance.
But then he was laughing, a soft laugh that she could actually feel rumbling upward from the depths of his chest.
She smiled, her forehead pressed against his neck. Without thinking, she pressed her lips against the pulse there.
He froze.
It had seemed the most natural thing in the world to do, to kiss that pulse, and she did, reveling in the texture of his skin, its warmth, and its slight salty taste.
She relaxed into his embrace, allowing her weight to sink against him. She felt his heart beating beneath the palm of her hand. Heard the quick intake of his breath.
Reality returned with a rush, and she realized what she had just done.
She tried to scramble off him, but his arms tightened around her waist.
“Jake, I… I'm sorry, I didn't mean…” Her words ground to a halt. Was she apologizing for hurting him or for kissing him? She wasn't quite sure, but before she could figure it out, he turned his head and found his lips with hers.
Kissed her.
The pressure of his lips against hers was exquisitely soft at first but then deepened, provoking a surge of sensations.
She returned pressure, enjoying the feel of their lips touching. She felt the warmth of his tongue, gently tracing the contours of her upper lip. The tender gesture nearly took her breath away.
She swallowed a gasp of wonder. Were the feelings surging through her normal? Did everyone feel this way when they were kissed? It was something she might have to ask her sister.
Someday.
A low sound erupted from her throat, a sound of pleasure, of… she wasn't quite sure.
Nevertheless, it was enough to bring them both back to their senses.
Jake broke off the kiss, cleared his throat, and gently set her away from him.
They both sat up.
She brushed her fingers over her hair while he slowly rose to his feet.
“Lesson’s over,” he said quietly.
She nodded, uncertain whether she had offended him. “Jake�
��”
“We won't have any lessons for the next few days,” he said. “I need to take a patrol around the perimeter of the Duncan lands.” He helped her up and then clasped her arm gently in his grasp. “I want you to promise that you won’t sneak off while I'm gone.”
She said nothing, and he repeated his request.
No, it wasn't so much a request as it was a demand.
Softly spoken but a demand nevertheless. Was he worried about her?
“I mean it, Heather. There have been some sightings of another clan venturing onto Duncan lands. Until I assess the situation, I want you to stay close to the house.”
She looked up at him, admiring his profile in the moonlight, while most of his face remained in shadow. Nevertheless, she felt his gaze on her.
She nodded. “All right, Jake. I’ll stay close.”
He nodded.
Without saying another word, he gestured for her to take the path back to the house.
He followed.
Neither of them said a word, but the tingling in her lips had her thoughts racing the entire way.
8
Jake had left the manor earlier in the day. His leg ached, more than likely due to the extra activity with Heather. While he had no intention of allowing her to prance off to war, he was pleased with her progress.
She might be a girl, but with the proper training and practice, and any weapon other than the heavy sword, she would likely become as adept with a number of weapons as any of the young men training with the clan.
The day was pleasantly warm for this time of year, for which he was grateful. He didn't look forward to this coming winter and the long nights where his throbbing leg would constantly remind him of his injury.
Of course, he had been working his leg more often of late, and if he were fortunate, he would prove Sarah correct. The more he moved, the less his muscles would tighten and possibly even shrink.
He hadn't believed it when Sarah said that muscles could shrink and die, but over the past few months, he began to realize that it was true.
