Whisper Read Online Free PDF Page B

been there, I’m afraid it would have turned out very differently.”
    Carly fumed. “I’m telling Daniel. That…that… Breken , should be strung up from the highest beam. How could he?”
    Dearra’s mouth dropped open at Carly’s surprising response. “Carly, how can you say that? I am the one to blame. I went to his room. I teased and tempted him, and ignored him when he tried to caution me. I worked him up to a state where he couldn’t be held responsible for his actions. He was beyond reason.”
    “Hah! What a load of—
    “Listen to me, Dearra. He is responsible for his own actions. Plus, he is the man! I don’t care if you parade around naked, he needs to control himself!”
    Dearra shook her head. “Please, Carly, don’t tell Daniel. He will be so angry. This really is my fault, no matter what you may think. Darius and I just need to work this out.”
    “Humph!”
    “Please, Carly. Promise me you won’t tell.”
    Carly lay down on her bunk and stared at the ceiling without responding.
    An hour later, Carly rose from the bed. “Are you coming to dinner tonight, Dearra?”
    “Not tonight. I think I’d better just eat in here again.”
    “Whatever you think is best, dearest,” Carly said. She patted Dearra’s shoulder gently as she slipped from the room.
    Carly had barely taken three steps when she was yanked, roughly, into another cabin. She recognized the hands that held her close in the dark room and she felt no panic.
    “The two of you have been locked in there for hours! What did she say? Did you get the story or not?”
    “I missed you too, Daniel,” Carly said, barely able to suppress her irritation.
    Daniel took a moment to replay his actions, wrapped a bear-like arm around Carly, and nuzzled his bearded chin into her soft hair. “I’m sorry, Carly. We’ve all been on edge lately, and I guess I just got a little over anxious. Forgive me?” he said, planting fleeting kisses on her eyes and the tip of her nose.
    “See? This is the problem right here. You…you…men, can’t control yourselves.”
    “What?” Daniel took a step away from her and lit one of the small oil lamps secured to the wall. Now that he could better see his angry dove, he felt a moment’s hesitation. He had assumed that whatever had happened between Dearra and Darius had been a minor falling out, one that might be easily mended, but the look on Carly’s face said it was worse than they had anticipated. He listened as she relayed Dearra’s story to him. “Unbelievable! No control at all! I can’t believe it!” he said when she had finished.
    “I quite agree. What are we going to do about it?”
    “I don’t know, sweetheart. I must say, I am surprised to see you so upset about this. I would have thought you would be more sympathetic.”
    “Not a chance! I have never been so angry. There has to be some sort of punishment for this type of behavior.”
    “I feel the same way. This is not something to be taken lightly. What do you think we should do to her?”
    “First off…Wait, what do you mean her ?”
    “What do you mean, what do I mean? Dearra was out of line. You can’t just play games like that with a man. We have our limits. While I agree that it’s a bad situation all the way around, if Darius had…well, if he had crossed that line, I would have had to kill him. Dearra would have had no one but herself to blame if it had come to that. After all, a man can only take so much. Fortunately, for all of us, everything turned out all right.”
    “Tell me, Daniel, do you find it difficult to speak with both feet shoved so firmly into your mouth?”
    “Carly, surely you must agree that—”
    “Agree what? That men are beasts? Certainly. That you can’t control yourselves enough to be trusted, even around women you claim to love? Obviously. That you are a bunch of overgrown children who see, want, and take? Yes, Daniel. I certainly agree with that.”
    “Carly, that’s not what I meant, and you