As she took hold of his shoulders, she moved her lips against his. She poured every thought and doubt that she'd had since arriving into the kiss, and Hugh soothed each one of them in response. She whimpered into his mouth, a sound she was unable to stop.
He swallowed the sound greedily, taking it as though it were his right. And as she willingly offered more gasps and sighs, she thought that maybe it was his right. She liked the sense of ownership Hugh held over her. Everything she was giving, she was giving gladly.
"Ye daenae understand how badly I've wanted another taste of ye," he said, his voice a register lower. It sent a wave of white-hot, unpredictable pleasure through her. "I've had to stop meself from findin' me way into your quarters at night."
Anna gasped as he redirected his kisses, targeting her throat and jaw. Her brain barely caught on to what he said. Her knees buckled, and Hugh caught her without breaking his thorough worship of her neck.
"I…" she began, stopping for a moment to let out a low moan. "I did come to your room on the first night, but the door was locked. I thought you regretted what we did."
"Ach, Anna. If ye would have just knocked on me door," he said, stopping to breathe heavily against her neck, "I would have pulled ye in, and I wouldnae have been able to stop meself."
"I wouldn't have minded," she said in a slurred rush. "I… Hugh, I think that's what I wanted."
Hugh's next reply was cut short, the horses in the stables braying nervously and stomping their hooves. He looked down at her, his expression serious. "Stay here. I think we are not alone."
Hugh entered the stables, his protective nature flaring as he searched for the intruder. Anna had been in such a vulnerable position, so soft and pliant against his body. The thought that someone else may have seen or heard was unacceptable to him.
As soon as he stepped fully into the space, he saw the source of the commotion. At the other end of the building, Callum was being bullied by Nuggle. She nipped at his clothes, stomping in agitation.
"Ach, Callum," Hugh said as he hustled over to his advisor. "Ye're upsettin' Nuggle."
"Nuggle is upsettin' me," Callum replied, finally getting himself out of her biting range. He adjusted his clothes, swiping at a drool-darkened spot on his shoulder. "Ye must get her undercontrol, Hugh. She cannae be allowed to harass yer staff in this way."
Hugh grunted, "She's a horse, Callum. I cannae reason with her. She wouldnae understand if I tried."
"Then perhaps we need to discuss boardin' her somewhere else," Callum said, still disheveled despite his attempts to put himself back together. "She makes it dangerous for others to come into the stables."
Ignoring Callum's protests, Hugh stepped forward to stroke the horse's neck. "She doesnae mind the groom. And she likes Anna and me." Nuggle snorted happily. "Callum, ye're the only person who ever seems upset about her antics. Perhaps ye're the problem."
The assertion changed Callum's demeanor almost instantly. He straightened out fully, poorly concealed disdain worming its way into his posture. It was almost as if he were trying to make himself taller, trying to intimidate Hugh.
"Well, what did ye come sniffin' around for?" Hugh asked, having no patience for whatever game Callum was playing. "I was in the middle of givin' me wife a ridin' lesson."
Callum stared up at him, unimpressed. "Is that we're callin' whatever it was the two of ye were doin'? Both yer horse and her filly are still in their stalls."
"I daenae have to explain meself to you," Hugh countered. "Now, did ye just come to spy on me or did ye have somethin' important to say?"
"I did have somethin' to say before yer beast started in on me," Callum said, glaring at Nuggle, who seemed completely unbothered by his dislike. "I just got out of a meetin'. We've been discussin' yer behavior lately."
"Ach, so ye're havin' more meetings without me," Hugh said with vitriol. "I'm yer Laird. I should be privy to all the meetings ye're havin'."
"Well, I'm tellin' ye now, am I nae?" Callum challenged. "The meetin' was called to discuss yer behavior. I'd like to speak with ye about it privately." He looked warily at Nuggle. "Anna is still around, and I daenae trust yer beast to behave."
Hugh scrubbed his hand over his face, not bothering to hide his frustration. If he weren't concerned about his wife overhearing this discussion and stressing herself out, he might have insisted that Callum tell him here. Now, though, he needed to look out for Anna's mental well-being.
"I'll meet ye in me study," Hugh said, waving Callum off and returning to where Anna was waiting.
"Is everything all right?" she asked, her eyes wide.
The flush that seemed to be permanent just a few minutes ago had faded. Now, she was pale, her breathing shallow. The threat of being caught in a vulnerable position clearly troubled her.
"Aye, ye daenae need to worry about a thing," he assured her, reaching out to fix the places where her hair had fallen into her face. "Callum just needs to speak with me. All that noise was because Nuggle decided to play her tricks on him."
"Oh," she said, though it didn't seem as if that did anything to quell her panic. "Well, I suppose that explains the noise, then."
Hugh grunted, glancing back toward the stables. He said, "How about ye spend some time with the filly while I speak with Callum? Ye and I will find some time to ride together soon. I promise ye that."
Anna smiled, the commitment doing exactly what he'd hoped it would. As a cool gust of wind whipped around them, she said, "Yes. I'll see if I can get to know the darling. She still needs a name."
