by HP Mallory
“Nae,” Tallis repeated, but this time, his jaw seemed tighter and he looked more stressed than a moment ago.
“Nae yourself!” I screamed before turning around again and starting for Tallis’s house. Yes, I had no clue where the house was, but I didn’t intend to let that stop me! I planned to just continue marching, with my head held high, and be damned grateful that I still had one. My only hope was that the forest wouldn’t pull a Rubik’s Cube on me and make me lose my way.
“Lass,” Tallis muttered as he caught up with me and gripped my upper arm before yanking me to a stop. He so rarely touched me that I was immediately taken aback. “You’ll nae retreat ’til Ah’ve had mah say.”
“Then have your say!” I yelled at him, throwing my hands on my hips as I dared him to come up with a good enough excuse as to why he’d nearly lopped my head off.
“Ah wasna goin’ ta kill ye, lass,” he said before grunting and taking a deep breath. Whatever he had on his mind was obviously not easy for him to spit out.
“So you’ve said,” I muttered.
“Aye,” he began and seemed like he had something more to say before he firmly shut his mouth again and ran his enormous hand over the back of his neck, looking frustrated.
“Is that your best defense?” I asked in disbelief, frowning at the enormous man. “Because it’s pretty lame!”
“Nae!” he thundered at me, his eyebrows meeting in the middle of his forehead in undisguised frustration. “This isnae easy fer meh, lass!”
“I’ll bet it isn’t easy! How do you tell someone you were just about to cut her throat, even if you are possessed by a warrior ghost!” I railed back at him.
“Fer the last bludy time, Ah wasna goin’ ta kill ye, ye daft woman!” he yelled, his patience clearly failing. “Ah was tryin’ ta keep mahself from tearin’ yer clothes off an’ plantin’ mah face ‘tween yer thighs!”
“Well!” I replied, biting my lip because my thoughts suddenly crashed headlong into a wall and now bits and pieces of them were strewn all over, never to be made into a coherent whole again. “Well,” I repeated, shaking my head. My first battle was wrapping my mind around the knowledge that Tallis not only possessed a libido, but, apparently, harbored sexual attraction toward me.
“See? ’Twas noot an easy feat fer meh ta tell ye,” he grumbled, shaking his head like he was both embarrassed and angry with himself.
“Well,” I said again, for the third time, which turned out to be the charm because my words didn’t fail me this time. “I guess that’s better than thinking you were trying to kill me.”
He glanced at me and raised one brow. “Aye, Ah’d agree with ye, lass.”
“So,” I began while studying him curiously. “Was that … response coming from Donald or was it from … you?”
“Doonald?” he repeated, shaking his head, clearly at a loss.
“The warrior ghost inside you,” I prompted before rolling my eyes as if to infer he should have figured out whom I was referencing, even if Donald wasn’t the ghost’s actual name. The real name sounded like something close enough …
Tallis shook his head. “Ah dinnae know, lass,” he answered, raising both eyebrows. “Donnchadh has been a part o’ meh fer so long, I dinnae know where he ends an’ Ah begin.”
“Donnchadh, that’s right,” I said with a little smile, feeling relieved. Now that I knew Tallis hadn’t wanted to kill me but was only after a little tongue action, I was a little more relaxed. Although I had to admit I was still finding it difficult to come to terms with the fact that Tallis was lusting after me even if the information did thrill me. It really didn’t make sense because it wasn’t like I felt any romantic feelings for the guy. I mean, he was practically a hop, skip and jump from being a wild animal. He probably had much more in common with the Grevels than with me …
After studying me for a moment or two, Tallis seemed to get his wits back about him. “We are finished with our practicin’ fer today,” he announced, placing his sword back into the scabbard before fastening it across his chest. It wasn’t lost on me that the practice lasted only what? Twenty minutes, max. It was fairly obvious that the whole image of cunnilingus threw a hiccup in Tallis’s giddyup because he was definitely acting very weird. He refused to look at me and I thought his cheeks seemed a little redder than normal.
“I thought my personal training appointment was at noon,” I said with a scowl. “And I don’t know what time it is, but I’ll bet it’s nowhere close to noon.”
“Aye,” Tallis answered indifferently as he started toward the forest from where we’d just emerged. The Grevels hurried out from the undergrowth and trotted behind him, happy as demons could be now that they were headed home. Lacking another option, I caught up with him.
“So?” I prodded.
“So we are goona be a wee bit early,” he answered and stiffly shook his head to discourage further questions.
“Okay,” I said before falling silent and stepping in line with him. But silence was not one of my virtues. It never had been. Instead, I was one of those people who hated awkward pauses. I would have rather filled the gaps with meaningless conversation than to endure silence. ’Course, in this case, the conversation on my mind wasn’t exactly meaningless. “You surprise me, Tallis.”
He glanced over and raised his left brow, but his expression indicated that he wished he didn’t have me as a companion. “Surprised, Besom?”
“Yes,” I said just as I spotted a fallen tree branch, and had to carefully sidestep it. It was difficult to keep up with Tallis’s breakneck stride. “For a while there, I thought you might be asexual.” Then I shrugged. “Well, that’s not entirely true. At first, I thought maybe you were gay, but …”
“Gay?” he repeated, scowling at me and shaking his head. “Ah mayna carry oan mooch o’ a social life, boot Ah also dinnae care ta dally with the menfolk.”
“Right,” I said, nodding. “After convincing myself that you weren’t gay, I just figured you were asexual.”
Tallis glanced at me again and raised the other eyebrow, as if to say he was either amused or offended by my conclusion. “Ah am a man, lass.”
I nodded. “Right, that’s true.” Yep, that was very true. In fact, Tallis was the manliest man I’d ever met. He almost defined the word “man.” Maybe his title should have been “superman” or “man and a half.” Yes, I definitely knew that he was a man. “But that doesn’t change the fact that maybe some men aren’t necessarily swayed … sexually. You know?”
He shook his head and eyed me with a frown. “Nae, Ah dinnae know, lass.” Then he sighed. “Ah dinnae even profess ta know what goes oan in that daft head o’ yers.” Then he inhaled deeply. “Boot what Ah can tell ye is that a man cannae go without thinkin’ aboot a woman more than a day.” He exhaled. “Ah dinnae care who he is. A man has undeniable needs.”
That was a surprise. I couldn’t imagine Tallis thinking about anything except survival. “Hmm,” I started.
“An’ whether ’twas meh or Donnchadh that was thinkin’ loostful thoughts ’bout ye, lass, Ah cannae say.”
“Your eyes were completely black,” I said as I faced him, intimating that I figured Donnchadh had been steering the lust boat.
Tallis nodded and then exhaled heavily as he looked at me. “Ah wouldna be surprised ta find ’twas both o’ oos.” Then he smirked, as if to imply that was most likely the truth. This side of him almost seemed playful, and his candidness made him appear years younger. It took me by surprise.
“So, uh,” I started, taking a deep breath because my question wasn’t an easy one to ask. “So, then, I guess that means you are attracted to me?”
He chuckled deeply, while shaking his head. “Didnae ye hear me when Ah said Ah had ta keep mahself from tastin’ ye?” I gulped down the frog in my throat at Tallis’s reminder of wanting to taste me. Somehow, I sensed he wasn’t referring to my mouth. Meanwhile, he continued to shake his head. “Ah doona appreciate yer fishin’, lass.”
What? He thought I was fishing for compliments? “I wasn’t fishing!” I retorted. “I was merely asking you because your response doesn’t make any logical sense to me.”
“It doesna make sense ta ye?” he scoffed, but stopped walking. Turning to face me, he threw his hands on his hips and made me very aware of how incredibly large he was. “Ye are a woman. Do ye think Ah’m not aware o’ that?” he asked with frustration as his eyes continued to spear me with a narrowed expression. “Yer body is equipped, designed an’ built ta accommodate a man … physically.”
“Yeah, I get that part,” I interrupted, fully aware that my cheeks were on fire. I was so embarrassed, and yet also turned on at the very same time. Even though sex was still a new realm to me, I was suddenly consumed by the idea of what sex with Tallis might be like. I imagined he probably wouldn’t be gentle, given his overbearing personality, but at the same time, I didn’t think he’d be rough. It was an idea I found captivating, but it also made me feel deeply mortified to even consider sex with Tallis. Especially during his lecture on the birds and the bees.
“Ah am a man, lass,” he continued as his eyes traveled from my face to my bust. A shiver raced down my spine as he brought his gaze back to my face again. “An’ ‘tis in mah nature, mah instincts, ta want ta bed ye.” His eyes settled back on my breasts before he huffed a sigh and started forward again. “Ye will find that most folk cannae deny nature’s instincts, lass. Sooner or later, yer instincts catch oop with ye.”
“That wasn’t my question,” I yelled at his retreating back. It both irritated me that I couldn’t restrain my feelings of lust toward him and it was equally irritating that he’d commandeered the conversation and totally missed my point. He stopped walking and turned back around to face me as I caught up with him.
“Jist what is yer bludy question, lass?” He sounded exasperated.
Well, I was just as exasperated. “If you’re so obviously attracted to me, and your instincts want to have sex with me, then why didn’t you when you had the chance?”
“Why didnae I?” he repeated, obviously confused.
“Stop answering my question by repeating it!” I yelled back at him. “I’m talking about the time when I asked you to have sex with me before we entered the Underground City? Remember?” Since I was a virgin, in the eyes of the Underground City, I was considered innocent. And as Tallis had explained to me and I’d experienced firsthand when I’d set foot in the Underground, my innocence had nearly cost me my life. In my mind, if Tallis had taken my virginity, I would have been much safer in the Underground.
Tallis shook his head. “’Tis nae as simple ah question as that, Besom,” he said as he started forward again. I had to move more quickly to keep up with him. And keeping up with him was paramount because I wanted to understand where he was coming from. My question deserved an honest response. As far as I was concerned, Tallis’s refusal to have sex with me indirectly risked my life.
“Why not?”
He didn’t turn to look at me but kept his eyes trained on the rough wilderness that lay ahead of us. “As Ah told ye before, Ah carry mah own weight oopon mah shoulders, lass. Ah cannae add ye to it.”
I frowned at him, and his argument, which made no sense to me. “But you wanted to have sex with me? Even then?”
He nodded and slowly breathed out deeply, becoming clearly irritated. “’Course Ah did! Any man would.”
“You make no sense at all!” I said, crossing my arms over my chest defensively. If Tallis could have pulled the stick out of his ass (as Bill would say) and taken my virginity, I would have been much safer in the Underground City. As it stood now, my virginity was a dangerous commodity.
“Ah am atonin’,” he said, glancing over at me with a shrug. “Ah am makin’ amends fer the wrongs Ah’ve committed, lass. An’ in mah mind, takin’ yer virginity would be addin’ ta an already long list.”
“Even though it could actually save me?”
“Aye.” He nodded. “’Tis not mah place.” Then he sighed. “An’ if ye recall, mah blood did a damned good job o’ savin’ ye anyway.”
He was referring to the first time we went into the Underground, and because of my innocence, my body immediately began dying. Tallis had to cut himself and force me to swallow his blood in order to pollute me with his lack of innocence which had, in turn, allowed me safe passage through the Underground City and kept me from dying. So I guessed he had a point.
We walked the remainder of the way to Tallis’s house in silence. When we reached the shack, the Grevels disappeared into the undergrowth. Tallis opened his front door and we both walked inside. Bill was asleep in front of the fireplace, snoring.
***
I didn’t really know what to expect of my first visit with my personal trainer, but I certainly never foresaw the situation that now faced me. Tallis, Bill, and I stood at the entry of what seemed to be a warehouse. The room was maybe forty feet wide by thirty feet long and the ceiling had to be twenty feet tall. The room featured a roll-up garage door-like opening at the opposite end from where we stood which revealed the forest scenery on the other side. Yes, the structure was randomly located right in the middle of the Dark Wood, with nothing but trees on either side of it and not even a road to access it.
Tallis strode into the room, stepping over a man who appeared to be passed out in the doorway. At first, I thought he was dead, but the gentle rolling of his chest told me he wasn’t. The extent of Tallis’s interest in him was no more than a quick glance as he stepped over the man. I followed him, and figured the guy must have been okay because no one else seemed concerned.
“Looks like someone partied too hard,” Bill said with a chuckle as he glanced down at the man. “Carpe noctem, eh, dude?” he asked with another chuckle before looking up at me again. “I don’t know ’bout him, but I got me a hang under,” he continued as I frowned and he decided to explain. “That’s like when you haven’t had too much to drink the night before, and instead o’ havin’ a shit-tastic mornin’, you feel better than normal.”
“Nice, Bill,” I said shaking my head, and figuring I had much better things to focus on. Scanning the room, I noticed it was comprised of some exercise machines, lots of free weights, and other contraptions I didn’t recognize. A few machines looked somewhat familiar even though I’d never really been a gym zealot. Several New Year’s resolutions were about the only occasions that got me into a gym, and I lasted maybe a month or so before the call of the elliptical, or the treadmill, fell on deaf ears.
“Dude looks like he’s gonna pass the hell out,” Bill whispered, pointing to a guy who was running at breakneck speed on the treadmill, the sweat pouring off his forehead and onto his already saturated clothes. “Calm that shit down, man,” he called out. “You’re gonna give yourself a heart attack, yo.” But the man didn’t respond. Instead, he continued to stare straight ahead without breaking his gait. Bill looked back at me and shrugged. “He’s a beardo anyway.”
“He’s a what?” I whispered, afraid the man might overhear us.
“A weirdo with a beard,” Bill answered. I could only shake my head with wonder at where he came up with this stuff.
“Bladesmith,” a man said in a deep voice as he approached Tallis. Neither of them smiled, although Tallis nodded his head in a weak semblance of a greeting. The man was probably six foot three inches and must’ve weighed two hundred ten pounds or so. But none of it was fat. The guy was ripped—as in, his biceps were as big as my head. His skin was the color of dark chocolate and if I had to guess his age, I would’ve said he was in his early thirties. He was dressed in a dark grey T-shirt and black shorts that ended just below his knees.
“Ael,” Tallis said.
Ael nodded, turning his attention first to me and then to Bill. That was when I noticed his red eyes appeared to glow. His hair was cut short and on one side shaved close to his head in a flame pattern. After studying Bill, he glanced back at Tallis. “Who am I trainin’? Red or
Jack Black?” he asked. I noticed his canines were long and sharp.
Bill immediately started chuckling as soon as he realized Ael was referring to him. “Shit, that’s a good one. Jack Black is like my hero, yo!”
Ael eyed him, but frowned and crossed his arms against his chest while looking at Tallis for a response.
“Ye will be trainin’ Lily,” Tallis answered as he inclined his head in my direction.
Ael nodded, turning his full attention to me, as if he were taking stock of me. Then he addressed Tallis. “Twelve to fifteen weeks tops before she’s in shape. We’ll plan on addin’ six ta eight pounds of muscle an’ I expect her here three times a week.” Then he took a breath. “You bring them shoes, Bladesmith? I require payment up front.”
Tallis nodded and removed the pack he’d been carrying over his shoulder. He loosened the knot but kept the bag closed as he searched inside it, before producing a box of shoes. He handed the shoes to Ael who eagerly accepted them. Ael opened the box and pulled out a pair of red, white, and black argyle Air Jordans. He nodded, obviously pleased to see them as he inspected the sides of the shoes where the letters “AEL” stood out in block type. A smile brightened his face. “You got ’em right, Bladesmith,” he said before facing Tallis again.