It was the ‘ride with me,’ comment that snapped my attention to how close our bodies were. Riding with him on the same mount would mean being even closer. I was not sure that I could tolerate being closer.
“Forgive me, Your Highness,” Torben said. “But propriety demands that the princess ride her own horse.”
I started to let out a sigh of relief, but it was cut short when Cathal answered.
“I demand she ride with me,” he snapped. “And you are to hold your tongue, or I will cut it out.”
I didn’t miss the way Brant put a firm grip on Torben’s shoulder once Cathal had turned away. He whispered something to his comrade, and I could see the battle raging in Torben’s eyes. He looked at me, and I tried to give him a reassuring smile that I was fine. The short shake of his head told me he wasn’t buying my false bravado.
Once we were at the stables, I did not bother arguing when Cathal demanded one horse for the pair of us. There was no point. I would simply make sure to ride behind him. If I was behind him, he couldn’t get his filthy hands on me.
I walked over to the first stall and found one of the younger mares named Delilah. She was a beautiful red with a dark black mane. She shook her head at me and whinnied.
“Sorry, girl,” I whispered as I ran a hand down the front of her face. “I cannot take you this time.” I motioned over my shoulder to where Cathal was arguing with Geoffrey, the stable master, about which horse would be best suited for two riders. “Unfortunately, he is in charge.”
Delilah snorted.
I smiled and laughed. “I know, I’m not too impressed either. But perhaps another day soon we will go out.” She nodded her head as though she understood my words, and then nudged my face with her soft nose. With one last pat and a kiss on her nose, I turned back to face Cathal and the others.
I felt eyes on me as I watched Cathal complain about the fact that his own horse couldn’t be used. When I turned my head slightly to the right, I saw Torben. His intense gaze was burning over me, and I felt myself blush. I shook my head at him as if to tell him to stop. His lips turned up in a smirk, and he shook his head back at me. He wasn’t about to do what I told him. Stubborn man, I mentally growled.
“Allete,” Cathal’s voice bit out.
I turned back to him. “Hmm?”
“We will be riding this beast. Come here, and I’ll help you mount. I can ride behind you.”
“I would prefer to ride in the back, my lord,” I said in a voice that I hoped sounded docile and unchallenging. “I’ve not ridden with another rider before. I would feel more comfortable this way.”
His jaw clenched as though he were trying his very hardest not to growl at me. He stared at me for a long time, and I got the impression he was waging some sort of internal battle. Cathal must have seen the determination in my eyes because he finally sighed. “Fine. I’ll mount first and help pull you up behind me.”
He climbed up onto the large horse and then moved his foot from the stirrup so that I could put my foot in it. I bit back a gasp when I felt a hand on my waist and another grasp the back of my thigh.
“It is not necessary for you to help her, guard.” Cathal leaned down to grab my arm and would have jerked it out of socket had not Torben been there helping boost me up.
“I have to disagree, King Cathal. And since Allete is my charge and responsibility, it is my duty to make sure she is safe at all times.”
I couldn’t see Cathal’s face as I sat behind him on the horse, but I could feel his trembling form. The rage in him was going to erupt like a volcano, and the gods save any who were near him when that happened. I just hoped I was far away when it finally did. Though if Torben kept poking the beast, we would be the immediate collateral damage when the explosion came.
“I’m eager to get started,” I said, trying to break the tension. “Shall we go?”
I could see Torben and Brant clambering onto their own horses, and I tried not to laugh when they both had to scurry to mount to keep up with Cathal, who had suddenly pushed the horse forward into a fast trot.
As he picked up speed, I turned my face up to the sun and closed my eyes. I wanted to forget who I was riding with and simply enjoy the fresh air. Though it seemed Cathal’s presence was casting a pall over the whole of nature, I could still feel the familiar countryside singing out to me. The trees were clapping their leaves, and the grass was swaying to the music of the birds. The sun shone down on it all as though it were giving light to a magnificent performance. How I wished I could be a part of it, but with a different rider in front of me.
I felt my hair beginning to fall from the bun into which Lidia had placed it. I loved feeling it fall down my back while the wind flowed through it. It was the best I had felt in several days, but it all came to a screeching halt when I felt Cathal’s hand on my thigh.
He squeezed, and it was so painful I knew he must be leaving a bruise. He was marking me again, as if he hadn’t already done enough damage. The bastard, I growled in my mind and mentally kicked him. Oh, how I would love to kick him for real. I imagined it would give me great satisfaction, but the consequences would likely be deadly.
He tilted his head so that I would be able to hear him as he spoke.
“Only a week until we wed,” he told me, though it sounded more like a warning. “You will be all mine, and then there will be no guards between us.”
I didn’t say anything. How was I supposed to respond to such words? It wasn’t like a man telling the woman he loved that he was excited about being alone with her. It was more like a butcher telling his prized hog that soon enough the crowds would no longer be watching, and he would be able to cut the poor beast apart. Think pleasant thoughts, Allete, I chastised myself. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find the resolve to remain positive.
We rode even faster and, after at least an hour, he stopped at a stream. Torben and Brant were there less than a minute behind. We all dismounted and set our horses to graze.
“Stand watch over there,” Cathal told them. “The princess and I have things to discuss.”
He took my hands and pulled me away from them, drawing me closer to the stream. For a fleeting second, I entertained the thought that he might be about to drown me. A few weeks ago, I might not have minded if it meant I didn’t have to spend my life with him, but now there was Torben. The escape of dying no longer held the appeal it once did.
“We need to discuss your transition to my kingdom,” he began. He turned me so that his back was to the guards, and I could not see them past his broad shoulders. “You do not need to bring your lady in waiting, or any of your help for that matter.”
“What?” This got my attention fully. “But why wouldn’t I bring my lady?”
“Because I have sufficient servants to ensure you are taken care of. There is no need to bring in more mouths to feed.”