Page 39 of Savage Knight
He stretched, making sure she stayed put with his hand on her back.“Did you sleep well?”
“No,” she replied honestly.
“What’s wrong?”he asked, concerned.
“Nothing.Just ...thinking.”She touched his tattoo.“What does this mean?”
“Evrenis a dragon in Turkish mythology,” he said.“I don’t know if my mother knew that, or where she even heard the name, but I thought it made me cool when I was a kid.”
She smiled.“Lowen was my paternal grandmother’s name.My dad insisted.”
“It’s pretty.”He kissed the top of her head.“You rocked my world last night, Miss Hayes.I hope I didn’t hurt you too much.”
“It was perfect,” she replied softly.“I never knew sex could feel good for a woman.”
“Not even masturbation?”
“I never did that.I was ...ashamed.”
“For what?”
She took a moment to collect her memories.“One time my father found a maid and a gardener having sex in the pantry.Apparently, this maid was my father’s favorite toy, and I had to watch him beat her with a belt.The lesson being a woman’s body wasn’t her own, and I took that to heart.I was eleven.”
“Shit,” he muttered.
“Lots of so-called lessons,” she continued.“The first man who ever beat me, was him.Part of it was that he blamed me for being born a girl, when he wanted a son.”
“He could’ve remarried.”
“Yes, he could have.”Lowen shook her head, searching for the emotions of guilt or sorrow for her father, and found nothing but apathy.“I should feel bad that he’ll be the one paying for my defection, but I can’t seem to summon one iota of remorse.Does that make me a bad person?”
“It makes you one of us,” he said.“And I’ll protect you with everything I have.”
They lay in each other’s arms for a few more minutes, then her bladder wouldn’t let her lie still anymore.Extracting herself from his warm embrace, she grabbed her clothes and then entered the bathroom.After emptying her bladder, she jumped in the shower and quickly washed.After drying, she dressed, ran a comb through her hair, and brushed her teeth.By the time she stepped back into the room, her stomach growled.
Evren walked over to her, wearing his boxer briefs, and gave her a quick kiss.“I’ll only be a few minutes.Then we’ll pack up and get breakfast.”
“Okay.”
While he showered, she grabbed the duffle bag she’d bought at Wal-Mart and started removing tags.She folded everything up and packed it neatly away.Everything she’d bought last night was all stuff she felt comfortable to wear.Jeans, t-shirts, tennis shoes.Everything Scias forbade her to wear.He told her she was a reflection on him, so she had to play the part.Every time she dressed in the clothes he’d picked for her, she hated her life a little more.Lost in unpleasant memories, it startled her a bit when Evren’s arms came around her.
“Are you okay?”he murmured as he rested his chin on her head.
“Yes,” she replied.“Just ruminating.”
He placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her around.“They can’t hurt you now, and I won’t let him hurt you.”
“I know,” she said trustingly.She remembered his promise to make sure Scias never hurt her again, but it didn’t seem enough.Something in the back of her mind told her she needed more.“Do you think you could show me some basic self-defense moves?”
One of his eyebrows went up.“Yeah.That’ll be no problem.We’ll have lots of time once we reach Blackmeadow.”
She smiled, stood up on tiptoe, and kissed his cheek.“Thank you.I want to be prepared, you know.In case Scias manages to find me.”
“Anytime,” he said.
