Page 46 of The Ruthless Laird's Virgin
“Never mind, lass. They are just scars now. I dinnae mind talkin’ about them. I was never what me father wanted me to be, and so to get back at him for how he treated me mother, I continued to defy everything he stood for. At least until I needed to take over the clan. His lesson in being hard proved invaluable then.”
Her eyes searched his face as something about the storm beating beyond the window compelled him to continue speaking.
Eleanor had opened a vein, and although it felt like his soul was bleeding, it was so liberating to share it with her. “One night, I was already quite a grown lad, he came home and started his habitual screaming and shouting. I lay awake in bed, listening to me mother crying as her husband’s rage echoed through the corridors.”
Callum was reliving the memory, his heart started to race again as he remembered his father’s voice echoing in his mind.
“Ye are good for nothing!Only one son and still I wait!”
Then he heard it, the crack of his father’s hand making contact with his mother’s face and her tears echoing even louder than his voice. The rage overflowed from within him, and he jumped out of bed.
Soft rain pelted the glass, drawing him out of the memory, yet still keeping him in the pain of what had happened that evening.
“I left me room and marched over to me parents’ chambers,” he said, looking straight at Eleanor, but all he could see was the wooden door with the thick black latches of his parents' chambers in front of him. He kicked the door repeatedly, loud enough to make the chaos beyond it end abruptly.
Eleanor sucked in a sharp breath as she waited for him to continue.
“Mother opened the door gently, with tears in her eyes and a nasty handprint on her face. I gently pushed her aside, despite her protesting. I beat me father so badly he lay barely conscious on their bed.” Callum still remembered how bruised and scraped his knuckles were for the next few days. “The last thing I said to him was, If ye ever touch mother again, I promise I will throw ye out of the chamber window and tell everyone ye fell through it. Daenae ever touch her again.”
“I’m so sorry,” Eleanor’s presence pulled him out of his thoughts, and he suddenly felt her hand on his. “What an awful memory…” her voice lowered to a whisper.
“I think that one was worse for me father, though,” Callum replied after a long pause where his eyes were locked with hers.
Eleanor laughed, and for the first time, he realized how much he loved hearing it. It was unlike the laugh of anyone he had ever met. Her laugh was loud, hearty, and authentic. She truly was a breath of fresh and much-needed calm air in his otherwise tumultuous, stormy life.
Callum noticed that she must have realized she was holding his hand, because she tried to pull it away. He gently grabbed onto it and kept it firmly over his. He looked into her eyes and held her hand as if it were the only thing keeping them safe on that dark, stormy night.
“Thank ye for listening. I’ve never shared that story with anyone,” his voice was low now as the storm raged around the cabin.
“Thank ye for trusting me with such a painful memory,” her voice suddenly lowered to a whisper. “I ken it must’ve been a really difficult time for ye.”
They sat there in silence, gazing into each other’s eyes, and Callum’s soul was suddenly igniting along with his desire for Eleanor. His passion rose like the flames in the fireplace as he imagined what it would be like to feel her lips against his once again. He could not tell what she was thinking, but she, too, did not take her beautiful eyes off of him.
“Callum…” She finally breathed his name as if it were her very last breath.
His heart skittered in his chest, yet he could not find the words to respond to her in the moment.
Her knees were close enough to his to touch, and he could not help but picture the kiss they had shared at the bonfire.
They sat again in silence, gazing at each other once more.
Callum’s hands gripped hers a little tighter, and he began to run his fingertips along her arm.
Her lips parted in a silent gasp, but she said nothing as her eyes dipped to his hand.
He gently stroked up and down her arm, drawing patterns with the tips of his fingers, and then finally, his resolve began to crumble as he leaned in closer and pressed his lips against hers in a searing embrace.
Their hot breaths stoked his passions as he gently caressed her mouth with his lips. Slowly, darting his tongue in and out of her mouth.
She let out a moan and moved closer to him, surrendering herself completely to his touch.
Callum picked her up and walked with her to the bed that stood in the corner of the cabin.
She ran her fingers across his shoulders and down his arms as he gently placed her on the bed and sat beside her without taking his eyes or his lips off of her.
“Eleanor…” he whispered in her ear between breaths. “Tell me to stop if ye daenae want this, lass.”
Eleanor moaned and shuddered as he stepped back and slowly removed his shirt. She reached up and placed her hands on his bare chest when he leaned closer again.
