by Kerri Carr
“You look pale as a board.” The other one said. I frowned. I took it as an insult.
“I said I am just fine.” I stood up then and set off for the well. But they just kicked their horses and followed me on either side.
“Aye, I mean no offense, lass. I was only concerned.”
“Well, your concern is not needed.” I was self-conscious enough about my skin, now I know for sure that it is the first thing people notice about me.
“Let us give you a hand, for our offense,” the first one said to me. The other’s voice was not quite as deep, but its pitch was still enough to give me a chill.
“No need.” I walked faster, but they were on horses, it was no use speeding up.
It was not that they intimidated me, perhaps, but I did not talk to anyone very often, let alone men as large and overbearing as these. Still, there was something about them that…no, I am just being a child.
“Please.” The first man sped up and blocked my path with his horse.
I worried then, that they had other intentions besides helping me but my instincts saw the sincerity in them, and I did not run like my legs wanted me to. “We only meant to help. My name is Allen, and this is Carson.” He gestured to the second one, who had joined him in front of me. Carson gave Allen a look I did not understand, but then he nodded at me with a smile.
I sighed heavily. My legs were tired anyway. It was so hot today too… who was I posing for? I nodded once, and Allen held out his hand. It was more of a tree branch, but a hand just the same. When I touched his forearm it was like gripping a rock, or a vice of steel. He hoisted me up like I was a leaf from a tree. I hiked my dress up further and straddled the back of the horse, I had not been on one since I was a small girl.
“Tell me your name, lassie.” His voice seemed even deeper close up.
“Fiona,” I answered. He set off on the horse at a slow pace, it would still take an hour at this rate. Carson followed next to us.
“Ye may want to hold on, Fiona. The land is uneven.” The way my name rolled out of his mouth, I had never liked my name more.
Carefully, I placed my hands at his sides. If it were not for the softness of his skin, I would confuse the hardness with a stone wall. And he was so very warm, his skin was a bit clammy but it felt nice under my hands. I shook my head as if I did not understand my own thoughts. Carson offered to hold my buckets, and I gave them to him. The wooden circles looked so small in his hands. And I felt even smaller next to them.
“What is all this water for anyway?” We reached the well and Allen helped me down and filled my buckets.
“For my animals. And the land,” I answered simply. I sat on the edge of the well right next to him. The lake was behind him facing me. Sometimes I would soak my feet in it for a while before coming back home.
Carson got off his horse and stood next to me. I wanted to say something to them, but I had no idea what. The only conversations I had were with my swine and beef. Pigs and cows, I am not completely insane.
“I have never seen you two around here before,” I finally said. I looked up at Allen, but the sun was blocking and I looked away. Carson took the filled buckets and strapped them to his horse as he answered.
“Aye, we took a different route after our hunt.”
“I don’t see any animals,” I said. He laughed then, a deep rumble that seemed to shake the trees.
“Aye lassie, some days are not as good as others. We will have to find something else to dine with tonight.”
The words left my mouth before I processed them. “I have plenty of meat in my home, you can join me for dinner.”
*****
I do not know what answer I expected, but I was still pleased with the one I received.
“We have no plans, but we must return to our laird before sundown,” Carson said first.
“Aye, we are his right-hand men. He will be expecting us soon.” I stood up then. I think I was ready to leave them so I could breathe normally again. I found myself holding my breath often since they spoke to me first back at the tree.
“I see. We better return then.” Perhaps I was just eager to be back on the horse, touching Allen again. But another part of me wanted to touch Carson, too. I had no idea who I was until we returned to my cottage.
Allen helped me off the horse again and carried my water out to the barn.
“Thank you for your help.” I walked them both to the front of my porch. Carson mounted his horse, but Allen stopped before.
“Not a problem. We will see you tonight, you should know we have quite the stomachs to feed.” I could not help but smile. I loved to cook, and I had only cooked for myself for years.
“Consider it known. Until tonight.” I turned to leave, but his strong hand circled around mine like a vice. His fingers were so long, and my arm so small that his fingers overlapped. He stepped closer to me and surprised me with a kiss on the cheek.
“Until then,” he said. I gasped at the feeling of him against me. Carson waved goodbye and they rode off into the other direction.
I clutched my cheek. It seemed to be lighting its own fire. Once I had tended to the animals and the land, I was reluctant to wash off because I wanted the remnants of his kiss to stay there, but I could not greet them again in my same tattered clothes. What if they did not come? The realistic part of me reared its head.
I shoved it away. This was the most exciting thing that happened to me in years since my cow gave birth three years ago. I had to hold onto it. I washed my hair and braided it up. I wore my favorite green dress, one of my nicest ones. It had a lace neckline and made my skin look not as pale. It seemed perfect but I did not want to be too over dramatic. I still had to prepare dinner. Men like them needed meat, lots of it. I had enough from the last hunt and trip to the market to make a roast with potatoes. I worked until the sun started to set, and then I finished.
I was worried they had not come yet, but I did not want to worry myself too much. I sat on the window sill with my knitting roll. I had been making the same scarf for months now. It bored me. I looked around and tried to remember a time when it was not just me in this house. The leather couch used to sit my parents and my brother, we would watch the fire or share stories of my father’s time at war. The kitchen table was made by hand, by my father’s favorite tree on the land. The cabinets, too, and the countertops. They were everywhere in this house and I missed them dearly, but I was so young when they passed, I can barely remember their laughs.
There was a heavy knock on the door then. No one ever knocks.
*****
I stood up, straightened my dress and hoped everything else looked tidy before going to the door. I am not sure what I expected, but my heart still fluttered a beat when I opened the door to see the two men on my doorstep. It seemed they grew larger. I looked at Allen first, whose smile was kind and inviting. Carson smiled, but there was something mysterious about his smile, and him. I was not sure which I even liked more.
“Good evening.” I allowed them in. The floor creaked underneath their feet as they stepped inside.
“Hello. Please, sit.” I gestured to my dining table. It only had four chairs, but I was usually alone.
“Thank you. Your home is lovely. You are alone here?” Allen asked. I stepped into the kitchen to gather the food, so I could not see him. But that made it easier to talk. And breathe.
“Yes. I am. My brother is often away.” It took me two trips to carry in the trays of food. “Please, help yourselves.”
It was a very nerve racking thing, to be sitting across from these two brooding men. My appetite faded even though I had not eaten all day.
“Where are you two from?” I asked them. I wanted to know more about them. I never got to know people much these days. I went to the market every two weeks and that was the most contact I got.
“We are part of the Greg Clan. The laird is our father.” My eyes widened at Carson’s answer. They were sons of the laird, in my house! I knew my fa
ce was brightening with blush of embarrassment. I should have used my better china.
“I had no idea… I suppose I should have bowed.” I murmured, not thinking they heard me. But Allen laughed his booming cackle, of course he heard me, he is a keen hunter and can hear things from miles away.
“Nay, there is no need for that. If there is anything we hate the most is being sons of the laird,” Allen said.
“Aye, the responsibilities,” Carson said before sipping his wine. It was his third glass and he was perfectly fine, but I only had one and my eyes were already drooping.
“I see. But it must be better than… being alone all of the time.” They had three plates of food already and crossed their silverware on their plate, so I knew they had finished. I started clearing the table and I felt their eyes on me the entire time.
“What do you do all day then?” I spoke to them from the kitchen.
“Work the land. Read. It varies sometimes, but it is mostly the same.” I heard their footsteps before I saw them. They moved around the kitchen and leaned against my pantry wall. I hadn’t even noticed they wore shirts, though the thin linen did not hide their bodies much.
“That must get very… tedious.”
I sighed as I wrapped up the loaf of bread that was left. “Aye, the most exciting thing to happen to me in years was meeting the both of you.” I gasped and my fingers flew to my mouth in shock at my words, but they only smiled in return.
“Forgive me, I am too audacious,” I excused myself. But they only smiled kindly at me in return.
“No apology necessary. Why don’t you show us your keep?”
I swallowed nervously. But I hid my uncertainty and wiped my hands on my towel. “Of course, follow me.”
Why did they even want to see this keep when they had a castle on the hills? And land for miles? Their interest was unknown to me, but I tried to be as mature about it as possible. The part of me that used to dream of fairytales imagined myself… never mind.
“This is my library. It is more of a small collection though, I do not have many books.” Allen chuckled a bit. Even that sent a rumble to my chest.
I showed them my den, where most of my knitting stayed. Even my property outside. I realized then, what if they meant to buy the land from me? Is that why they showed interest? It angered me that they would be so dishonest, but also that I would fall for their tricks. I stopped them in the living room, and went to the door fully intent on seeing them out.
“I hope you enjoyed your dinner. But I would ask you both to please leave now. I do not intend to sell this keep to anyone and I am appalled at your tricks.” They stood on my left side but I could not face them, I would become too weak.
“Lassie, what do ye speak of?” Allen spoke first.
I shook my head rapidly. “No, I know how you people are. All those in neighboring keeps have lost their land to the laird, your father. Why else would you be speaking to me?”
Carson spoke then. “You are mistaken. We mean no ill intentions toward you. Do you think us dishonest men?”
I took a deep breath and stared them down, well they stared down at me and I had to crane my neck as if I were watching the clouds. “I…I do not know. I know nothing of you. Except that you are above my class, yet you are here in my keep. What other reason could there be?”
They gave each other a look, then turned back to me.
“Dear Lassie, we like you.” Allen said with an even tone.
“Why? What do you mean us? How?” I stammered.
Allen stepped forward first, and Carson was not far behind him. Two more steps and I would be surrounded with no escape.
“Too many questions, lassie.” Allen smiled. I stared up into his eyes, so perfectly blue and shining.
“Well… are you not brothers? How can you like the same woman?” My voice had gone up an octave, as it always did when I was utterly confused and shocked.
“We do not have the same parents. Carson is not my blood, he was adopted. Saved from a broken clan.” Allen explained.
“I… I still do not understand. I am a land maiden with no money and little beauty. There is nothing to ‘like’ about me.”
Carson walked away to my couch and sat down. Allen stood before me still, his intense stare was almost too much to handle. I had to glance away for a moment.
He did not allow it. His hand was on my cheek, warm and calloused but somehow soft. He tilted my face up to look at him.
“Your beauty is something I have never seen before. Even from a mile away when I first saw you.” I gasped inwardly and my eyes glanced at Carson. He was giving me a somber look from where he sat.
“You boast.”
He smiled a crooked one and shook his head. “No. I will prove just how much I like you. I would never defile your honor, but there is too much temptation for me to wait.”
I furrowed my brow in confusion. “Wait for what?”
Men confuse me so. Perhaps it is because I know so little of them.
“You are so young and innocent.” His eyes drifted down my body and I realized he was looking at me. Like really looking at me. I felt myself blush and my heart beat faster. All the while I barely noticed Carson watching, but it somehow was no bother to me.
“I… I do not know what you mean. I feel foolish.” I looked away. More so I felt embarrassed, like I was making him feel like he was talking to a… a child.
“You are not foolish. Your youth is intriguing to me.” I looked at him again.
He did not look old. He still had flowing hair, bright and blonde. Clear skin, his eyes only crinkled when he smiled. He could be no older than my brother.
“I see. What… what is tempting you?”
His eyes narrowed, his expression was more serious and he seemed to grow into more of an alpha.
“You did not show me your bed chamber.”
*****
What could he have meant by that? I did not have time to make anything of it.
"Will you show me?"
I felt a fool again. He was looking at me like I should be communicating with him in some other way, but I could not.
"Yes I-I suppose."
I escaped the trap of his heat and walked in front of him. I glanced at Carson as I walked by, but his face held that same dull expression, but his eyes held so much I had to look away before I felt even more of a fool.
My bed chambers were nothing special. My bed sat atop the platform, and my armoire stayed in the corner of the room. There was a roll of fabric I had not finished knitting on my window perch, but that was it.
"I do not spend much time in here." I said something just to break the silence.
"I like it. The simplicity."
"So I am simple to you?" The words flew from my mouth before I had a chance to filter them, but his slight chuckle told me he did not take offense at my accusation. Though I still did not trust him completely, it was odd how he was acting.
"No, not at all."
I turned away from him and started familiarizing myself with the lines on my wall. The floor creaked under his steps, I knew he was behind me without turning. I could feel the heat of his body.
"What are your real intentions then?" My voice shook as I whispered.
He did not answer me. Not with his words at least. His hand brushed against the fabric on the tie of my dress, and I knew his answer then. I had heard of this, but never thought about it. Most wait for marriage, or love. I never expected either. I am just a land worker. My reputation does not go beyond the land.
His hand pressed against me harder, and his fingers curled under the tie of my dress. I started to breathe faster, so much that I felt like I was catching my breath. His other hand came and he started loosening the tie of my dress, I breathed faster. He remained calm and even, his breath never changing. A voice in my head was screaming, telling my lips to move and stop him but I... I did not want to. I was more curious than scared. A feeling came rolled through my body, somehow warm and tingling. I
had never felt it before.
"What are you doing?" I whispered, barely.
His fingers did not stop until the tie of my dress was loose and I felt the air through my chemise.
"Do ye want me to stop?" His voice was a grave whisper, like it was masked with something. I knew enough to know it was desire.
"I..."
His hand slipped in front of me and his massive palms closed themselves around my breasts, I gasped at the sensation but my body seemed to separate from my mind and it leaned into his touch, my back arching to feel him closer. He moved and my back was against the hardness of his chest, and something else. I realized it was his cock, but it could easily be mistaken for an iron rod.
I closed my eyes and surrendered. This could be the one thing I do, the only thing that I shouldn’t do but really, really want to. I had never explored myself this way, but I knew the tightness in my belly and the warmth between my legs was from this.
His hands moved back to my dress, but he ran them up my body slowly, until he was at the bare skin of my shoulder and slipped them underneath the dress. His hands were so warm, like he was running a fever, but they felt so good against my skin. In seconds my dress was in a heap on the floor and only my chemise hid my body from him.
I did not open my eyes until I felt him in front of me. I looked up at him, his eyes were still shining but darker now as he looked down at me. He took my face in his hands, his palm covered my cheeks as his thumb caressed me just under my eye. He was so much taller than me, he practically lifted me bodily and leaned down farther to press his lips to mine. I did not know what to do at first, I just let his lips move against mine, and then he applied more pressure and it seemed my body lit up even more. I gently placed my hands under his elbow, rough and hidden with muscle. I squeezed as he deepened the kiss and I stretched onto my toes to kiss him back. His lips were very soft, and warm like the rest of him. I lost myself in him, so much so that I did not notice Carson enter the room until his hands were on my hips.
