“Gladly, m’lady.” With his fingers still buried deep, he hoisted her off her feet and backed her up to the wall. He pinned her there, replacing his fingers with his cock, and ground in deep. She wrapped her legs around his pumping hips and held tight to his shoulders. Then she framed his face in her hands and treated him to a fiery kiss that drove him into a frenzy.
He swallowed her cries as she reached her bliss, then pounded harder and reached his own. Buried inside her, he poured out a long, groaning bellow along with his seed.
Leaning hard against her to keep them both from falling, he partook in the sweetest kisses as their breathing returned to normal. “I believe I now love the garden as much as ye do, my dove.”
Her eyes still closed and her head resting back against the wall, she smiled. “I told ye the garden was a fine sanctuary.”
“As always, ye were right.” He nibbled kisses along her throat, then eased her down to her feet.
Something hit the ground behind him, landing with a wet splat.
“What in the world?” Mila peered around him.
As he turned, he kept her shielded behind him. A small, wet sack that appeared to be seeping blood lay on the ground. The neck of it was cinched closed with string knotted in a bundle of stinging nettles. He sidled toward the door, still keeping himself between Mila and the item. He didn’t have to examine it to know what it held. “Into the keep with ye, love. And dinna come back out until I discover who is behind this.”
“That is the nastiest ill wish yet.” She eyed the thing with disgust.
“Yet?” He turned and locked eyes with her. “There have been others?”
She wrinkled her nose and gave a sheepish shrug, reminding him of a child caught doing something they shouldn’t. “A few. But none as disgusting as that one.”
“A few,” he repeated, concern churning until it blew into protective anger. “And ye never thought to mention thesethreats?”
“I thought if I ignored them, they would eventually get bored and stop.”
He gently but firmly took her by the arm, walked her inside, and closed the garden doors behind them. Before facing her, he pulled in long, slow, deep breaths to keep from bellowing his frustrations. How could she not realize the danger of keeping such things from him?
He scrubbed his face with both hands, then turned to her. “Those that do these things dinna get bored and go away. The ill wishes become more brazen and dangerous until they oust ye from the keep. Or kill ye! That is how those cowards win.”
“I am sorry,” she said in a small voice that convinced him she meant it. “I didna wish to worry ye over something as trivial and childish as a prank of jealousy.”
He blew out a heavy sigh. “Ill wishes are no small matter. At least not here.” He found her attitude about them confusing as well as concerning. “They can become a valid threat. Have ye never known people who do such things? How relentless they can be?”
She turned away, but not before he spied her frown. “I suppose I have. But with Robbie. Not me.” Another vague twitch rippled across her shoulders. “I dinna fear for myself. Just him. And now you, of course. Ye have made me fear for ye as well.”
“Then ye should know how I fear for ye.” He eased her around to face him, leaning in to make sure she looked him in the eyes. “Who else knows of the ill wishes cast at ye?”
She clamped her lips tighter shut. Her determination not to speak flashed in her eyes.
“Grissa.” Frustration exploded from him in a disgruntled huff. “I shall have words with her immediately.”
“Do not scold her, ye ken? I told her not to tell ye.”
“A lady’s maid should bring concerns about her mistress’s safety to the master of the keep immediately.” His voice rose. He couldn’t help it. Thoughts of Mila in any kind of danger crazed him. He paused and bowed his head. “Forgive me. I didna mean…” He pulled her into a tender embrace. “I canna bear it if anything happens to ye. Can ye not understand that?”
“I understand.” And she did. He saw it in her face. “But I dinna think Grissa can tell ye anything that she has not already told me.”
“Well, since neither of ye offered me the common courtesy of being included in those conversations, that remains to be seen.”
Both her brows ratcheted up to her hairline with ahow dare youlook.
“Ye know I am right,” he said, refusing to back down.
“Fine. I will compromise. Ye can talk with her as long as I am present. Agreed?”
“Agreed.” A quick kiss between them sealed the pact but did not make him feel any better. He maintained his hold on her shoulders and lost himself in her eyes. Not only did he need to speak with Grissa, but Mila needed to be made aware of next month’s meeting. Instinct warned him that she would not be pleased.
“What?” She searched his face as though trying to tap into his thoughts.
