Guardian of Darkness Read Online Free

glanced as her as he plopped down at the edge of her bedroll to avoid sitting on the smashed grass beneath his feet.
    “You may return to sleep, my lady, truly,” he said, now toying with a blade of grass by his boot. “I will not threaten you.”
    Carington did not move. She continued to stand there, eyeing him.  His back was to her.  Suddenly, a light appeared in the emerald eyes, something of brilliance and bad judgment.  She was closer to the tent flap than he was. Moreover, his back was to her. He probably would not even see her leave until it was too late. Very slowly, she took a step in the direction of the tent flap.  Then she took another.  But Jory suddenly threw himself at her before she could bolt from the tent and the battle was on.
    He had a good hold of her, but Carington was a fighter.  She hissed and scratched like a cat, battling the knight for all she was worth.  In the course of their struggle, she tripped over the long tartan and fell onto her back, taking Jory with her.
    He landed on top of her, listening to her grunt, imagining in his sick mind that they were pants of pleasure. It had been a long time since he had heard such things. He trapped her with his legs, holding her arms fast, watching her porcelain-like face contort with struggle.
    “My lady,” he breathed, his face very close to hers. “Why do you fight so? There is nothing of the English that should frighten you so.”
    Not only was she angry, but now she was terrified.  Her second escape attempt was thwarted before it began, and now apparently with far more ghastly consequences.  She was too small to battle with him, too small to give him a good fight. His weight was smashing her.
    “Get off me, ye foul beast,” she grunted. “Take yer hands from me.”
    Jory was not even struggling with her anymore; he simply lay on top of her, feeling her squirm beneath him. It was horrendously exciting.
    “Nay, lady,” his tone contained both menace and seduction. “You have been caught at escape again. You must be punished.”
    “Ye’ll not lay a hand on me,” her struggles increased. “Get… off!”
    Her last word was punctuated by bringing a knee up, aiming for the male groin.  She made weak contact, enough to cause Jory to transform from one twisted emotion to the next with blinding speed.
    “Unwise, lady,” he squeezed her wrists so tightly that she let out a squeal of pain.  “If you are going to play with unfair tactics, then so shall I.”
    Horrified, swiftly slipping into panic, Carington had no idea what he meant. But she quickly found out.
     
    ***
     
    Creed stood in his brother’s tent watching Ryton remove a few pieces of armor so he could obtain a moderate amount of comfort when he lay down to rest.  Creed was still not pleased with his orders and, consequently, with his brother at the moment.  He sighed heavily, standing half-in and half-out of the tent.
    “What is it?” he demanded quietly.
    Ryton glanced up at him. “What do you mean?”
    “Jory said you wanted to speak with me.”
    Ryton’s hand paused on a leather fasten near his arm, his brow furrowed. “Speak with you? I did not.” He resumed working on the fasten. “But Jory and I were speaking just a few moments ago. I asked him to remind me to speak to you about the lady’s mount.  But it could just as well wait until tomorrow.  It was not necessary to send for you.”
    “What about her mount?”  Creed asked, weary and the least bit perturbed.
    Ryton yanked off the breastplate that had been restricting him for the better part of the day.  He handed it off to a hovering squire.
    “That big blond horse she brought with her,” he said. “I am not entirely sure she should be riding it. ‘Tis a big beast with male instincts. It has been biting at everything that moves, including the destriers. It gave Stanton’s charger a nice bite on its flank. I would hate to have the spirited thing somehow gnash her before we reached