Page 32 of Bought to Break
‘Who was your father going to make you marry? You probably would have been better off staying with him than being a slave.’
Lana tried to remember. ‘A man called Boone,’ she replied finally.
Kane snorted. ‘Never mind.’
‘Why? Who is he?’
‘A powerful man; a warlord in the far north. He’s known for his violence. He kills his slaves frequently during his rages.’
Lana looked away as a fresh pang made her want to cry. Her father would have sold her to a beast. She’d made such a mistake coming to find him, thinking he would help her. Everything was so much worse now.
Kane said nothing more as he weaved the horse through the trees and into a stream to mask them, but still the sounds of the dogs got louder and louder. Finally, he cursed.
‘The fucking things have our scent. We won’t be rid of them now.’
‘What are we going to do?’
‘Ride out and meet them. I have better things to do than waste all day riding around this fucking forest.’
Kane turned his horse in the direction of the baying hounds and, true to his word, began to manoeuvre the beast towards them. It didn’t take long until a cry rang out as they were spotted. Kane jerked the reins and his mount halted at once.
As men came out of the trees around them, Lana shrank closer to the Dark Brother at her back. She couldn’t help it. He was strength where she felt so feeble. If he was surprised, or indeed felt anything at all, he didn’t show it. He sat regally, not even looking at the men surrounding them. She felt a flash of pride – as if he were hers – and her brow furrowed in confusion.
‘I’ll take my daughter now, sell-sword.’
Lana’s father sat on a dapple-grey, extremely docile-looking mare behind his men and, though she was scared, Lana smiled at a sudden memory.
‘What are you so happy about?’ Kane murmured behind her.
‘My father’s horse. I just remembered he’s a terrible rider. My mother was always –’
‘Natter my ear off about it later, woman. Just now we have problems.’
Lana scowled at him. ‘Can’t you just … you know … tell them all to leave or something?’
‘Or something,’ he said ominously. Then he spoke loudly for her father to hear. ‘I’m no sell-sword, and the woman is mine.’
Her father was silent. His eyes surveyed Kane, reassessing the threat he posed. ‘My apologies. I did not realise you are one of the famed Dark Brothers. I just want my beloved daughter. I’ll pay for her, of course. A bag of gold? Two? You need only name your price.’
Kane picked up a piece of Lana’s hair that had fallen from its bindings and played with it casually. ‘My price would beggar you. I find I quite enjoy your beloved daughter.’
Lana snatched her hair away from him. ‘Stop playing games. Stop goading him.’
‘Goading him?’ Kane leaned closer. ‘What if I stripped you to the waist here in front of all these men and fondled your tits while you struggled? Would thatgoadhim?’
Lana felt him growing hard once more. ‘Stop it! It would provoke any father to see such a thing done to his daughter.’
Kane snorted. ‘Even one such as he? You already see he would buy you from me like a brood mare, sell you to a worse man for his own gain.’
Lana’s lip quivered at his harsh words and she struggled to stop the tears from forming in her eyes. ‘I s-suppose it would be more a matter of pride for him than true affection for me,’ she conceded.
Kane’s fingers tangled into her hair and pulled her head back to survey her face. A flash of something crossed his features, confusion or fear perhaps, but it was gone too quickly, and his usual mask of indifference settled back over him. He let go of her plait.
‘I grow tired of these games. Brother or no, give me my daughter or my men will attack.’
Kane’s eyes narrowed. ‘You think to threaten me with your motley soldiers, you old fool?’
Lana’s skin suddenly began to tingle, making her feel like she was back in that tent when she first met Kane, and she gasped, hugging herself and pushing back into his body. The irony wasn’t lost on her that she was trying to find comfort in the belly of the beast, literally. What did give her pause was that the beast’s arm settled around her and gave her what could be considered a reassuring squeeze.
