Page 23 of Bold Angel
“I will not do your bidding, Norman. Not now or ever.”
“You will, you little vixen. You will learn that I mean what I say!” With that he moved once more, reaching out as she tried to run past, grabbing her wrist and jerking her against him. A hard arm snaked around her waist, then he half-carried, half-dragged her toward the upended barrel. The huge knight sat down and hauled her across his lap.
“You have ridden my thighs once this day, now you will do so again. I trust this time you will not forget it.”
He jerked up her camise, baring her to the waist, and Caryn gasped in horror. Embarrassment heated her blood that he should see her thus, then his palm came down hard on her bottom. Caryn shrieked at the feel ofit, at the fire that seared into her flesh. Once, twice, thrice—she soon lost count.
“Let me go!” she cried out, trying to struggle free of his grasp. His hand was so big it covered her bottom and with every fierce blow heat burned into her skin.
“You will marry me,” he said, continuing his hot rain of fire. “You will accept me as your lord and you will learn to obey me.”
“Never!” But as Ral continued blow after blow, the flat of his hand relentless, Caryn wasn’t so sure.
“You little minx,” he said, the next several whacks bringing tears to her eyes. “There are few men who would gainsay me as you have. You are lucky your punishment isn’t far worse.” She squirmed against his hard-muscled thighs but his grip on her waist held her firm.
Whack, whack, whack. The heat of his hand burned brighter. He meant to teach her a lesson and Caryn finally conceded that he had. A sob escaped her throat and then another. She hadn’t meant to cry, she hadn’t. She couldn’t let him win and yet it was certain that he had. She didn’t realize he had stopped until she felt him ease her thin white gown down over her hips.
Turning her into his arms, he cradled her gently in his lap. “Do not cry,cherie.The worst is past.”
He smoothed the hair from her damp cheeks and held her close. To her surprise, Caryn let him, splaying her hands against his chest, turning her face and crying into his shoulder.
“I am sorry,ma petite.I would rather not have done it. You left me no choice.”
Caryn said nothing as his knuckle grazed her cheek, wiping away the wetness. Kindness was the last thing she expected. She reined in her tears and began to hiccup softly. “N-No choice but to beat me?”
She felt the rumble of his chest. “’Twas hardly a beating. ’Twas a lesson pure and simple. I would see you safe, Caryn. What I ask of you, I do for your own good.”
“You are a b-brute and a bully.”
“And you,ma chere,are a pigheaded little wench with far more courage than sense.”
Caryn looked up at him through her tears. There was something in the way he said the words, something of amusement and maybe a hint of admiration.
“I would have my freedom. ’Tis all I have ever wanted.” She turned away from him and came to her feet, her bottom smarting with every step. She crossed the room, bent and retrieved her blanket, then swirled it protectively around her shoulders.
“Your freedom is something I cannot give. Even I do not possess such a thing. I am bound to king and country, just as you will soon be bound to me.”
“Think you I have forgotten what happened to my sister? I cannot forget, nor can I ever forgive.”
“We are to blame, yes. The Normans conquered your people, taking whatever lay in their path. Your sister was an innocent victim of war. ’Twas a pity she fell prey to its fury, but now that war is past.”
“It will never be past for me.”
“I would know how she fares,” he said, ignoring this last.
Caryn flashed him a look of disdain. That he should care at all amazed her… then again, mayhap it shouldn’t. From the moment of their first meeting, he had been drawn to Gweneth’s ethereal beauty. Caryn felt an unwelcome twinge that it should be so.
“My sister fares well… considering. ’Twas lucky, mayhap, that her mind was gone before it happened. She does not remember. She is happy in the convent. She loves the sisters and they love her.”
Ral nodded. “I am pleased to hear it. And for no other reason than to see your sister safe I would see the two of us wed.”
“You think to ease your conscience by protecting her now when you should have done it then.”
Ralsighed. “’Twas a mistake. I do not deny it.”
Caryn eyed him for a moment, surprised at his admission. It was hardly his responsibility to see two Saxon maids safely home, yet he’d been part of what happened after and for that she couldn’t forgive him. “I would do anything for Gweneth—except spend time in your bed.”
For a moment he made no move, just stood watching her with a dark brooding expression, his thick black brows drawn together in a frown. She shifted beneath his close regard, uneasy at his scrutiny, wondering at his thoughts. When he spoke at last, his voice sounded rough and husky.
