When he started to pull away, she whimpered in protest.
“Ye need to rest.”
She shook her head. “I need ye.”
The words hung between them. She was acknowledging she needed him—he could not deny her.
Dragging an open palm along her lush curves, he cupped her firm bottom to shift her closer. The passion rushing through him required release, and he kissed her with abandon. His hands slipped beneath her chemise to cup her bare bottom.
“Ye’ve a fine arse.”
In response, she leaned up and over him, giving him better access to her curves.
Darragh groaned, her weight heavy on him and her thigh rubbing his manhood. This could definitely be his undoing.
“I’m not… I don’t know…” Why was he still fighting something he wanted more than his next breath? He groaned right before he pulled her the rest of the way on top of him. Her light weight was a blessing against his heated stiffness.
“I would like to take ye again.”
“Aye.” Her eyes were open now, a smile on her face as she looked down on him. She stretched to kiss him again, grinding her hips into him at the same time.
Her answer surprised him, but his hand was already slipping betwixt her thighs and he was beyond talking. He tucked his head into the curve of her neck. That alluring curve he’d been in too much of a hurry to truly appreciate their first time. Was that the problem? Had he moved too quickly? He slipped his finger along her wetness as he nipped at the sensitive flesh beneath her ear. No, she had been just this ready. He had not taken her unprepared.
Brighit’s strangled groan, barely heard above the winds overhead in the trees, urged him on, but then her hands were pushing against him, trying to break his hold.
“Someone’s coming,” she whispered.
As if waking from a deep sleep, Darragh struggled to get his bearings and make sense of the sounds around him. The rustling of disturbed leaves.
“Darragh?” Terrence’s quiet call cut through his lust. Darragh cursed, hitting his head in his haste to move away from his wife, and cover her with his mantle.
“Will they accommodate us?” He was happy his voice didn’t betray his frustration, but he rolled his eyes at Brighit. She giggled, pulling her chemise down and over her hips before scooting deeper beneath the covering.
Terrence’s face appeared in the doorway. “How is she?”
Brighit’s eyes widened more. “Better. I am… better.”
“Well?” Darragh sounded about as irritated as he felt.
His friend hesitated only a moment. “They are expecting ye. They’ve pulled the carriage from the mud and laid down some branches to ease it over the worst of the trail.”
“Good. We will be out anon.”
Terrence flashed a smile and was gone.
Darragh roughed up his hair. “Not the best timing, that one.”
“Wait.” She pulled on his arm when he would have left her. “Thank ye for caring for me.”
He nodded and helped her pull on her nearly dry gown. When he cradled her in his arms to carry her out, he was humbled by the rightness of her being in his arms. A sense of pride filled him—his wife had a fierce passion, and now that they were getting beyond whatever issues had stood between them, he felt certain their relationship would only grow stronger.
Darragh carried her to the carriage and settled her inside. “I’d prefer to ride with ye, but ye’ll stay drier in here.”
“My thanks.”
He gave a dubious look to the men around him, and said, “Are ye certain the carriage will get there?”
After the way things were moving along in the lean to, Darragh was in no hurry to be separated from her. Especially not if they were doomed to get stuck in the mud.
