Page 25 of A Highlander Bound by Oath
She looked downcast. "Do you think I enjoyed his attention? Is that the issue here? Because I did not. Nothing of what happened with this man was fun for me."
Charlotte turned away and looked at the man still passed out on the ground. Owen looked at her again and felt bad for the way he had reacted. All this time, all he had done was try to rationalize his anger or explain it away. He had not stopped to consider her feelings in all of this and how she must have felt when she did it or why she had agreed. She was looking out for him, yet he could not even commend or appreciate her effort.
Owen looked off into the distance for a moment and sighed. He had messed up and he knew he had to make amends. He could not let his jealousy ruin the friendship he had with Charlotte.Friendship…They got on well, way more than he had ever got on with any of the women he had been with in the past. And although she did not know all he had done, she did not seem to care much about his past. Of course, she had not known whatto do. He had not prepared her for it. Owen had simply told her his plan in very little detail and had expected her to play it out exactly the way he wanted her to.
"Ye should stand in front of me while I change." Owen noticed her eyes widen at his words just as he bent down to remove the man's clothes. She really was so innocent. He already suspected that, but he was unaware of how deep her innocence went until now.
"How you survived in a monastery, I will never know," she said suddenly, turning around to let him change. "Why were you staring at my bosom earlier in the first place?" she asked.
Owen stared at her back. He thought of teasing her but decided against it and continued undressing the man, groaning from the strain it was putting on his wound. After removing the man's shirt from his body, he turned him over and proceeded to undo his trousers.
"I told ye I might be a monk but that doesnae make me any less of a man," he replied.
Owen took off his robe. He was glad that it did not require much effort. He tore fabric from the inside to make another makeshift bandage to stop his wound from bleeding over his newly-acquired outfit. Then, he bent to pick up the man's shirt.
Charlotte turned to look at him because of what he had said. Her eyebrows dropped in shock and her face reddened when she noticed that Owen was shirtless with one hand going intoa sleeve. She quickly turned away from him with a tiny squeak. Owen, who had caught her reaction, struggled not to laugh. She was still angry at him, that much was obvious. And he did not blame her at all. But the fact that she still managed to be flustered made him feel good.
Owen's brows dropped as he frowned. She was trouble. This, whatever it was he was doing, was trouble. There was no reason for him to feel good because of how flustered she was. Something was happening between them and it was becoming more worrying.
Owen looked down at himself when he had completely changed and nodded in satisfaction. This would have to do until he could get into his own clothes. He cleared his throat and struggled to hide a smile when Charlotte peeked from behind her hair to ensure he was fully covered. She was definitely too innocent.
"Ye can turn around. I am fully dressed." He made a face when she turned, making her blush deeper. And this time, he laughed.
She rolled her eyes and looked down at the man, who was currently only in his underclothes, clearing her throat as she looked away.
"Well, what are we going to do with him? We can't just leave him like this on the road." Owen nodded. However angry he was at the man, he did not deserve to be abandoned for anyone to witness his shame.
"Ye are right. Let’s move him tae the bushes."
He signaled Charlotte to pick up the man's legs while he picked up his arms and, together, they moved him. Owen went back and picked up the robe. He tore it up to create one wide cloak to cover the man instead of just placing it on him.
"Well, come on; let's go tae the inn." They walked side by side the short distance to where he remembered the inn to be. He did not know if he was feeling better because of the burst of adrenaline earlier or if he had been in so much pain that he had grown numb, but Owen found that he could walk better without resting on her shoulders anymore.
As though his thinking had brought it on, he looked down to see that blood had seeped through the makeshift bandage and he was now bleeding slowly into the man's clothes. However, it was still something that he could manage. In the meantime, he would ignore it until they got a room where he could take care of it better.
"Finally!" Owen glanced down at Charlotte, who had an excited look as she stared into the distance. Owen followed her line of sight, taking a glimpse at the inn, and relief filled him immediately.
"I do not think I can walk any longer. I can't wait to get a room so I can have a relaxing bath and sleep in a comfortable bed."
"Aye, finally. Yer wants are the very thing I long for as well." Owen heard her stomach grumble and looked down to find her blushing.What a contrasting person.The day before, she had been so quick to reply to his banter. But here she was, blushingso much today. He supposed he had found her in so many embarrassing situations of late, but then again, so had he the previous day. His mind flashed to her naked body and bouncing cleavage as she jumped to get rid of the spider on her back. Owen shook his head. No, he would not think about that. He needed to erase all memories of her tempting body, but that was more difficult than it appeared.
"Maybe we should also consider putting some food in yer stomach as well," Owen grinned. "We do nae want ye scaring the rats that may be in the room." Her eyes widened at his words and, once again, he had to stop himself from laughing. Oh, but she was so easy to tease and it was so tempting to do so. Her reactions always made it worth it.
"Will you just stop with the jokes already?" she snapped, looking around as though something would jump on her now that he had mentioned it. Owen raised his hands in surrender, grinning at her.
"All right, so we will get two rooms close tae each other so that we—"
"What?" she cut him off suddenly. "What do you mean, two rooms? We have to share a room. I cannot sleep separately from you; we mentioned this earlier," she said to him frantically.
"Charlotte, calm down. We cannae share a room. I ken we spoke about it, but… Even though we are pretending nae tae be, I am still a monk, and I cannae be alone with a woman in one room. At the monastery, I did nae really have much of a choice becausethere was nae place else for ye tae be. Now that we have a choice, there is nae reason for us tae share a room," he tried to reason with her calmly. He might not be a monk in his deeds. But at heart, he was one to the best of his ability.
"I do not feel safe and I am afraid that the men will come back and you will be too far away for me to get to you. If we lose each other, then what am I to do?" Charlotte asked him, staring at him with pleading eyes. "We did not expect the last attack and while we already know to be on guard, we still are not prepared for another. You are wounded and I will not be able to defend myself against all of them alone."
Owen sighed. He could not very well argue with her. She made valid points. Yet a part of him, the part that he had devoted to the monastery, wished he could disagree and push for separate rooms.
"All right, fine. We can share a room. Although I still think it will be a bad idea." He rolled his eyes as she smiled up at him, her eyes filled with relief. He was happy to be able to give her what she wanted. It once again made him feel a kind of way he was not used to feeling.
Owen looked around when they arrived at the inn. He could not be too careful, especially not after what they had just been through. Content that they were not being followed, he took her hand and walked into the inn toward the bar where the man he suspected to be the innkeeper was sitting. Owen looked around at the people, and, happily, no one was paying them any mind. Almost all the tables were occupied and the room wasquite noisy as people laughed and joked. Ale overflowed. He turned back to the innkeeper and found the man already staring impatiently at him.
