Cormac held up his hands in surrender, but he wore that stupid grin all the way outside.
Caelen welcomed the brisk chill. It was a reminder to him never to get too comfortable. Never let his guard down. When men became too ensconced in their own comfort, it was inevitably their downfall.
That wouldn’t happen to him. Not if he could help it. Nor would it happen to his clan—both new and old.
“She has skill,” Cormac noted.
Caelen scowled again as they approached the area lit by the torches.
“Rionna!” he barked.
Her head yanked in his direction just as the other man’s sword flew. Directly at her exposed neck.
Caelen thrust his sword forward to deflect the blow, and Rionna’s eyes widened as the tip of her sparring partner’s blade stopped within an inch of her flesh.
With a flick of his wrist, Caelen knocked the sword from her opponent’s hand and sent him a look that had him backing away in a hurry.
If he expected his wife to be frightened, abashed, or grateful that he’d prevented her death, he was wrong.
She was bloody furious.
Her eyes sparking with demonic light in the glow of the torches, she turned on him, reminding him of a spitting kitten. The comparison would probably only make her angrier, but it was an amusing enough thought.
“What did you think you were doing?” she yelled. “You could have gotten me killed! You don’t bellow at someone when they’re sparring!”
His nostrils flared and he advanced on her, furious that she’d address him thusly in front of others.
“Think you that distractions don’t exist on the battlefield, Rionna? Think you that no one will ever shout at you? A warrior is strong, not just physically but in the mind as well. Allowing yourself to become distracted during battle will get you killed.”
She flushed and looked away, her sword lowered toward her feet.
“Nor do you ever lower your sword. You’re now completely vulnerable to attack.”
Her lips twisted in anger. “You’ve made your point, husband.”
“Have I? I think not. I’m only about to begin to make my point. You will take yourself inside at once. You’ll not indulge in such activities again. Do I make myself clear?”
Her mouth dropped open and those golden eyes flashed with rage—and humiliation.
“When you present yourself to the table to break your fast, you’ll do so as a credit to the McCabe clan, and you’ll show respect due the king and the laird of this clan.”
Her lips snapped shut and formed a mutinous frown. He took another step forward until there was no space separating them. He’d never admit it, in a thousand years, but the sight and smell of her, all disheveled from swordplay, had his c**k about to split at the seams.
He couldn’t have her running about in this manner of dress or doing battle with the men because he’d be naught but a walking erection.
He waved a hand to dismiss her and to let her know she was dismissed. As she turned away, he called after her.
“Oh, and Rionna? Take a bath. You stink.”
CHAPTER 3
Stink. He’d told her she stank! Rionna slid farther down in the tub until water lapped at her ears. They still burned with mortification, and she could still hear the men’s laughter ringing in her ears as she’d all but fled into the keep.
He’d humiliated her. Not just with words but by actions. He’d proven her inept and she’d committed the sin of allowing herself to become distracted.
She knew all of this. She wasn’t an idiot. She could hold her own with a sword, and yet from the moment she’d become aware of his presence, all sense had flown right out of her mind.
She’d become nothing more than a bumbling fool playing at being a man. Her disgust knew no bounds.
A knock sounded at her door. She frowned and sunk so low in the tub that only her nose and eyes stuck out of the water. A moment later, the door opened and Maddie stuck her head in.
“Ah, there you are, lass. Caelen thought you might be needing help. He wants you below stairs to break your fast in half an hour’s time.”
“Oh he does, does he?” Rionna muttered.
“Let me help wash your hair. ’Twill take some doing to get it all dry in such a short time. You have such long, thick hair. ’Tis as beautiful as a sunset over the loch.”
The woman’s praise bolstered Rionna’s flagging spirits. She knew she wasn’t beautiful. Keeley was beautiful. Rionna … Well, part of it was her fault. She could have practiced being more feminine when she was younger.
Now her body had lost some of her youthful softness and she had muscles that no lady should ever have. Her arms were firm. Her waist slender. Her legs were hard with muscle, and no flab gathered at her hips. In fact she was quite narrow.
The only womanly place on her was her br**sts, and she despaired of them. They simply didn’t match the rest of her.
Which is why she kept them bound. They simply got in her way and they were a great distraction.
There were occasions when her father insisted she dress as a woman, the few times the McDonalds hosted honored guests. Her mother’s gowns had been altered, but the bodice had still been too tight. Her br**sts had strained the limits of the bodice, and the result was men making twits of themselves as they stared lasciviously at her cle**age.
Men were ridiculous. Show them a breast and they became slobbering fools.
And one man was a fool above all others and ’twas him she feared the most. As long as she remained boyish in figure, she didn’t have to worry about drawing unwanted attention.
“Well, lass? Are you going to sit there all day while the water grows cold or are you going to let me wash your hair so we can get you ready to go below stairs?”