“I suppose it is a good thing that I understand how you prefer to have matters settled between us.” She dished up a hearty slice and presented it to him. Her gaze was steady, the plate unwavering. Challenge shone from her eyes, sending heat down his body. Need prickled along his skin, her stance sparking more lust to fill his cock. The organ twitched, swelling to stand up beneath his kilt. She lifted one eyebrow.
“I thought you said your words were for Cullen. Do you suspect me of foul play?”
The conversations near them died abruptly, his men casting worried looks at them. With a frown, she broke off a chunk of pie. She tossed it into her mouth without a thought, chewing and swallowing it quickly.
She deposited the plate on the table, her face turning red.
“I find I have no stomach for meals frosted with suspicions.”
She lowered herself before turning in a huff and flurry of skirts. But she did it artfully as though she was accustomed to holding her displeasure inside.
He found that fact most unsettling of all.
A man should not be able to hurt her feelings.
Anne fought off tears while her feet moved quickly through the tables. Pain filled her. She hissed with frustration when she entered the hallway. She should not care. It made no sense. So what if the man had doubted her cooking? Let him and every one of his men go to bed with rumbling bellies.
Yet it chafed. His suspicions. She had given him her chastity to prove her worth. That gift she might only bestow on one man her entire life. Hurt filled her chest. She didn’t go up the stairs. The chamber was filled with the memory of the night before and that drew more pain from the wound.
The turmoil gave her feet more speed. Walking through the entry doors of the tower, she moved into the bailey. There was much of Sterling that was still a mystery.
Moving across the courtyard, she paused near the stables. The horses snorted in their stalls. The musty smell of hay permeated the air. It was quarter moon now. Little light shone down from the night sky to pierce the night. Along the walls, fires were lit in iron torch cages. They were set along the castle fortifications every twenty feet. There was no lantern left near the stables for fear of fire. The horses were expensive. No one dare risk losing some of them to a mishap caused by the wind.
But enough light drifted down from the walls. Moving into the stable, she marveled at the number of horses. Hundreds of them stood quietly in the dark all in neat rows. Reaching up, she rubbed a velvet-covered muzzle.
“I didnae say I suspected ye of poisoning my table on purpose.” Brodick’s voice was low but she still heard the exasperation in it. “There be a difference.”
“Yet you stood there afraid to touch the plate.”
Her anger made little sense to her but she couldn’t seem to contain it. It bubbled up, spilling out of her. She heard him snort. “What do you expect from me? Am I to sit idle during the day awaiting your return?” She turned on him, pointing a finger at his larger chest. “So that I might spread my thighs to be of service?”
“The idea has merit.” His voice was deep with frustration. He grasped her wrist, tugging her forward. She tumbled into his chest. He locked her against him with a hard arm. “Since we appear to find more peace when we’re fucking, I find that idea very appealing.”
His brogue thickened. A hard hand slapped against her bottom, pushing her hips toward him. His hard cock pressed against her belly.
“That’s what held my attention, Wife. I looked at ye and stiffened up like a fresh-faced lad.”
His lips claimed her in a solid kiss. He demanded surrender but she twisted away from his lips. With a growl he followed her, one hand gripping the back of her head. He plundered her mouth, pressing her lips apart. A hard thrust from his tongue invaded her mouth, drawing a soft moan from her. Delight washed over her, the heat she’d tried to suppress all day igniting. His warm male skin smelled so good. Her hands spread, searching for the button that held his collar closed. She needed to touch him. Wanted to press against him.
“I spent half the day thinking about getting back between yer thighs.”
He didn’t sound very happy about it, either. But his confession pleased her, her nipples tingling behind her stays.
“I thought about you as well.”
The words tumbled past her lips. There was no considering them. The grip on the back of her head softened.
“Och lass, we’ve more than our share of passion, that’s for sure.”
The hand on her bottom began stroking her. Heat moved through her passage in response, hot and heavy need settling inside her. The hard outline of his cock was a teasing torment to her. She shuddered as her clitoris pulsed, hungry for friction.