Chapter 3
He was mesmerized by her flaxen hair. He found it strangely erotic that she was wearing men’s clothing. It gave her an air of masculinity mixed with a feminine quality that you could see. Her curves were undeniable and the pleasant shape of her breasts drew his eyes to her like a moth to a flame.
On first inspection, Samantha was not impressed. There was an inkling below her waist, but it was purely physical and came from the fact that he wasn’t wearing a shirt. His chest was bared, his knuckles bloody and the kilt was the only thing that was keeping her from seeing what was underneath. A slight breeze and his legs became more exposed. With one tug of her hand, she could easily see what he was working with.
“I’m going to leave you in the capable hands of Finn. He’ll bring you back to the outskirts of town. Each day, you’ll do exactly what he says without question or delay. You’re going to have to learn that he’s not going to bend to your will. He wants to get something from this, but I’ll allow him to speak to you about that in private. I’m going to take my leave and make sure that Jeffrey and Elizabeth are not going too far.” He had not voiced his desire, but Michael had his eyes firmly planted on the prize of Elizabeth. There was obvious attraction and a flirtation that went both ways.
Elizabeth had told him what she was going to have to do and Michael was not at all impressed. He had to make sure that things didn’t go badly. He would watch from afar and wait to intervene if necessary. He had a sword at hand and he was willing to run it through Jefferies body in retaliation for any kind of inappropriate behavior.
He took off in a Gallup, glancing over his shoulder to see that they were both standing toe to toe like two warriors about to do battle. He didn’t know what to make of it, but there was something in both of their eyes that indicated that there was more here than a professional detachment.
“I would say that I’m glad to meet you, but I thought for sure that I would be trained by somebody with some decorum. I thought for sure that he would give me somebody that was worthy of my status. I find you repulsive and you smell worse than you look.” Samantha was doing what she could to him in his place. “I don’t want to be here and I can sense that he doesn’t want anything to do with me. We should cut our losses and walk away from this, but for whatever reason I find him strangely compelling. His manliness and the muscles are something that I can truly sink my teeth into. I’m curious to know what is underneath that kilt. I’ve heard rumors that highland warriors wear nothing between them and Glory.”
Without warning, Finn grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him. She struggled in vain against his overanxious embrace. She slapped halfheartedly against his chest, feeling how well defined those muscles were and how much it affected her deep down inside. “I think that you need to learn that a man doesn’t want to be treated like some kind of insect underneath your shoe. If you intend to learn to fight, then you need to abide by some rules. If you intend to learn to fight by my hand, then you need to show me some kind of respect. I also want a reward in the form of gold. You may be able to fool everybody else, but there is an obvious wealth within your family that you can get your hands on. I want, as much as you can carry and not a penny more.” To Finn, it was a reasonable monetary gain and not something that she would back down from.
“I will agree to your terms on one condition. If after one week that I don’t feel that there is an improvement, then the deal is null and void and we go our separate ways.” She swallowed hard, not able to prevent herself from looking at the slight tent in his red and black kilt. The excitement at standing against somebody that was so pure and virginal was like his own personal aphrodisiac. No man had ever touched her, but for the first time in a long time she felt like she could give herself freely and willingly. Deep in her mind, she was thinking that maybe being taken roughly and with determination would be something that she would gladly do for her overactive libido.
“I think that you’ll find that I’m a very demanding taskmaster. Show me what you can do and we’ll work from there.”
He let her go, but only temporarily, before she found herself once again trapped in his embrace. This time, her arms were behind her back and she could hear his giggles of amusement at how easily she had succumbed to his manly ways.
“Unhand me and you know not what you do. I will not be treated like this by somebody like you.” “I can feel him up against me and that steel bar inside his kilt is more than enough to pique my curiosity. That bulging presence is making me yearn for something that I’ve never dared to mention to anyone. I know that I need to remain pure for marriage, but Finn might be the exception to that rule.”
“You are a very foolish girl. You have no real training and I’m going to have to work you, until you can’t move one single muscle. Let’s begin with a few exercises to give you a bit more upper body strength. You’re going to need that, especially if you intend to carry a sword with any sort of authority. Stop fooling around and show me what you’re made of.” Finn grabbed Samantha and pulled her to him, only to feel her fingers now underneath his kilt touching him in a most inappropriate way.
This made him look down and that distraction was what was going to catch him off guard. He felt her leg go around his and sweep him off his feet, until she had him on the ground in a vulnerable position. Her foot planted itself in between his legs, causing him discomfort, but not enough that he was going to give her the satisfaction of crying out in pain.
“I think that you see now that I’m full of surprises. There are all sorts of ways that you can catch a man with his pants down literally and figuratively. I’ve always wondered if it was true about what you Scotsmen wore underneath your kilts. It appears that the rumors were true. I would think that makes it a little hard for you to battle in the field.” “I suppose I really didn’t know that much about the male anatomy. They remained flaccid when they weren’t excited, but it was obvious that he was not exactly feeling nothing towards me. The feel of his package pressing up against my foot is a good indication that I’ve gotten underneath his skin. It’s interesting that he would be in this position and I can tell that this is not something that he is used to. It makes me feel powerful to know that I was able to get the upper hand. I doubt that it’s going to last very long and I’m sure that he’s going to want to take back some of that power.” Samantha waited to see how this was going to play out.
Finn scrambled to his feet, dusting himself off and trying his best not to show his overactive imagination coming through. His loins were begging for her to touch him again, but there was a time and place for something like that. Her training had only begun and there was a whole lot more that she needed to learn in order to make a stand against her Uncle Phillip.
“That was pretty good and being unpredictable is one of the tricks that you need to master. Surprising your opponent will give you a chance to vanquish them without having the need to go toe to toe. Trickery will only get you so far and that’s when technique comes into play.” The sun was barely a speck over the trees, but there was still enough light that they were able to train for another hour. In that time, he had seen some remarkable improvement and that was not something that he was expecting. This woman was indeed something special and should not be taken lightly. For one moment, he thought of her Uncle Phillip and how stupid he was to go against her. He was in for a very rude awakening.
“I’ve learned from the master. You are a pretty good teacher, but sometimes I think that you feel that I’m not worthy of your time. It really doesn’t matter. I’ve always had to prove myself, as capable and I didn’t think that this was going to be any different.” She easily used his strength against him and once again was able to topple him onto the ground. It was only one time, but it made her smile with the accomplishment.
“I will say that you have potential. Deep down I sense that you have a warrior spirit and that’s usually something that is reserved for men. It is very rare that a woman is able to take on that trait. For you to do it, so easily is an admirable quality. I don’t think that you’re going to be ready to fight any time soon, but I have no problem showing you a few tricks of the trade. This will give you a way to turn the tables on your opponent and not break a sweat doing it. I’ve learned that once you show dominance a foe will back down. You’ve already learned to play dirty. It gave you the opening that you were looking for.” Finn brought his sword up quickly and was amazed that she was actually able to lift the one that he had allowed her to borrow.
“I think that you’ll find that I’m more than up to whatever you have to show me.” “I don’t want to tell him that being in his presence has made me want to strip away everything else for the chance to see him naked. Just feeling him with my hand and then with my shoe has given me everything that I need to know and more. The only thing that matters is the way that he feels. I will not try anything in case that it’s met with disdain. I don’t know if I could live knowing that I did not give him that same feeling deep down inside.” Samantha swung that sword back and forth with a determination to show him that she was not a waste of time.
Finn felt a little overwhelmed. She was a quick learner. He had to compensate by using his obvious weight advantage. He heard her cry of pain and realized that his blade had nicked her cheek. It was not something that he wanted to do. He felt bad from the moment that it happened. She turned away from him and didn’t want to show her weakness.
Samantha needed to show him that she wasn’t any kind of pushover. The only way that she was going to get any respect from him was by being strong and willing to do what needed to be done.