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“So have I,” she replied confidently. “I ken what I am up against.”
“So ye think ye can win?” he asked, folding his muscled forearms across his chest. Keira’s attention diverted towards them as they flexed from under the thin cloth of his shirt, but she quickly removed her gaze and looked at him once again.
“I am certain I will win,” she replied smugly, and Christian shook his head as if laughing. “Do ye nae believe me?”
“Of course I believe ye, me lady,” he replied, turning serious, but Keira knew he was still just messing with her. “Ye are a fierce warrior, a prized knight, a mighty soldier, a skilled rider. What is chess for ye?”
Keira rolled her eyes, knowing perfectly well that he was referring to her training. For the past few days, Josh, him, and a few other soldiers had been training her in the art of combat and riding. Christian had mostly always been there overlooking it all and had been quite understanding about the difficulties she had been facing.
The truth of the matter was that Keira was not a natural in it, and it was taking her ample time to learn. She knew Christian was not making fun of her since he had been nothing but supportive throughout the process up until now. He was just being a little competitive, and she found that amusing. He could treat her like a friend above all, which never dulled their conversations.
“I might nae be all of those things, but I have been playing chess with the most skilled of players since I had gained consciousness, and ye will nae believe the things I can do,” she said, tilting her chin up defiantly.
“With all due respect, begin,” he motioned towards the board, and she nodded. Before she could make the first move, he suddenly held her hand and looked at her. “But wait.”
“What’s wrong?”
“If I take away a pawn, what do I get?” he asked, appearing serious. She had already thought about him asking for something as well since it was only fair.
“Ye can ask me a question as well,” she suggested, but he immediately shook his head.
“I do nae want to ask ye questions,” he replied, “I want somethin else.”
“What?” she questioned suspiciously; the mischievous grin on his face could only mean trouble.
“If I take yer pawn, ye will remove an item of clothing,” he replied with a glint in his eye, and she could not help but be surprised. Surely, he didn’t mean it.
He continued to stare at her, his strong forearms folded casually over the table as he leaned in closer to her. She immediately counted the amount of clothes she was wearing in her head and knew it would only take five pawns to get her naked, but she was confident the game would never reach there. She was certain of her win.
Although, the idea of being naked in front of him was more appealing to her than she wished to admit. She wondered if Christian would be affected by her the way she would be affected by him if he began to strip, and perhaps this time, he would finally kiss her again. She certainly missed his mouth on hers.
“Accepted,” she replied confidently.
“Truly?” he asked as if he had expected her to rebel against it.
“Ye are the one who is going to be losing his pawns, Christian. Not me.”
“We will see about that,” he winked, “who will be losing pawns, and who will be losing clothes.”
They finally started the game, and with every move they made, she could sense he had not been lying. He truly was a marvelous player and knew what he was doing. He understood the rules of the game and knew tactics that would draw toward his win. Although, she could still sense most of his moves even though some went by unpredictably. He was a risk-taker; she could see that now. But she was a risk taker too, and that made this game interesting for both of them.
“Ah,” she smiled at him as they both looked down at the board. He knew his pawn would go down with her move, and she leisurely hit it, placing her own on the board triumphantly. The mere fact that she had been the first to draw blood made her ecstatic, and he smiled as he saw the grin on my face.
“Do nae gloat, Keira,” he said, appearing calm, “ask yer question.”
“How were yer days at the gang? Ye know, when ye were a little boy? And how did ye even manage to become the leader? I can only imagine how it must have been for you…” she asked, immediately getting to the point. Keira had sensed he was an excellent player, and she had no time to waste with her questions. She already knew what she needed to know about him.
“Ye have thought this through, haven’t ye?” he asked, amusement lingering in his voice.
“I have,” Keira agreed, “now answer.”
“It was nae easy at first since I was new, and everyone knew that I had been turned out of the house by my faither, who was the laird. Although I was a strong and intelligent leader at the time sensed it quite early on and kept me close. Everyone quite liked me and eventually began to love me as their brother. I was accepted soon enough and became a part of them all. As brutal and vicious as them all. Perhaps even more so. People all over the area feared and respected me, for they knew what I was and who I was. Hence, when we needed a new gang leader, I was chosen via consensus of all. Those were some of the best days of my life,” he replied.
Keira had been staring at his face as he spoke, as he was staring at the wall behind her. She knew he was imagining those days, that time. He was imagining the pain and the suffering which had turned into the glory he had achieved eventually. Although, she could sense something soft about him when he talked about that life. And she knew it had not been terrible. Christian was strong enough to endure anything life threw his way, and he had endured this too.
“Do ye miss it?”
“That life?” he asked, still lost in the trance of the memories. “I remember it fondly, but I have a better life now,” he replied and immediately shrugged his shoulders, his attention returning to Keira.
