“Here, take them,” he told her, and she hesitated.
“I’ve never…”
“I’ll be in control, dinnae fash,” he promised her, his breath tickling the back of her neck. “Ye’ve nothing to worry about. Now, come, take the reins.”
She finally did as she was told, locking her hands around the leather. He drove his feet into the side of the horse, and it began to walk towards the large archway that led to the wild hills beyond.
It was the first time she had set foot outside of the Keep since the wedding, and she had to admit, Glen Finnian was a rather beautiful place by the light of day. She regretted that she hadn’t thought to explore it sooner. As Camron instructed her calmly from the saddle behind her, she found her gaze drawn by the heather-studded hills, the flashes of purple and yellow and red where a few flowers had appeared amongst the grass, the sound of the burn trickling beside the road as they explored together.
“See, ye can take her to a trot now,” he murmured, his face close enough to her that he did not have to speak too loudly.
As she felt his warm breath on the back of her neck, she could not help but think of how far they were from anyone else; how easy it would have been to just sink back against him and allow him to take control.
“And how do I?”
“Use yer heels,” he remarked. “Dig into her sides a little, she’ll ken what ye mean.”
She did as she was told and let out a slight squeal as the horse picked up the pace. But she clung tight to the reins and allowed him to take the lead. The feel of the wind in her hair wiped any sense of panic from her system as she allowed the sense of freedom to rush through her.
It had been so long since she had felt this way, as though she were entirely undone from the stress of the days that had passed. The skies seemed to stretch out in an endless blue above her, so enormous it made her a little dizzy, but the feel of his arms around her pulled her back down to earth once more.
He hooked his head over her shoulder slightly so he could get a better look at the path ahead of them, and she allowed her back to rest against his chest, where she could feel the thump of his heart through his shirt. She wondered, for a moment, if he could feel the way her own pulse quickened when he was this close to her, as it had when they had danced on the day that they had met.
“This way,” he murmured to her as he guided the reins slightly and turned off the main path.
“Where are we going?”
“Ye’ll see.”
There was a tone of amusement in his voice, like he was keen to show her just how much more of this place there was, and she could do nothing but let him take the lead. The horse slowed toa walk as he tugged on the reins once more, and soon, she found herself in a small valley, where the burn flowed out into a larger pool. Moss climbed the rocks on either side, and a few flowers sprouted from the fallow earth at the horse’s feet as he drew them to a halt.
Once he had secured the reins to a nearby tree, he offered her a hand to help her down, and she took it, dropping to the earth below with a slight wobble. Laughter bubbled from her lips as she caught herself, and he grinned. She could have put her unsteadiness down to the riding, but she knew it was more than that. No, his closeness was the thing that made it hard for her to think straight.
“Ye’re no’ bad, given that ye’re new to it.”
“I dinnae ken about that,” she replied, as she made her way to the edge of the pool and dipped her fingertips beneath the surface.
Ripples swayed out beneath her, shattering her reflection, and the sun glinted from the crystalline water. She could feel him watching her, the weight of his attention almost more than she could bear. A million questions nagged at her mind, and she wished she had the nerve to ask a single one of them. Like why he seemed so keen to impress her the night before, or what exactly it was that had led him to agree to take her out riding, and if it had anything to do with the way she looked in her new outfit.
“Ye’re not worried that I’ll try to run away from you?” she joked as she straightened up again, making her way over to the horse and planting a hand on her neck. “Now that ye’ve given me the means to do so…”
He chuckled, moving to her side and covering her hand with his, a possessive grip that gave her little space to move.
“Let me make one thing very clear, lass,” he remarked, his eyes hardening as they met hers. “Try all you want, wife. But you will never escape from me."
Her breath hitched; her heart danced a drumbeat in her chest. She wanted to argue, but that would have meant coming up with some reason she should want to get away from him, when, at that moment, she wanted nothing more than to stay. His fingers closed around hers, and he drew her hand to his lips, brushing his mouth against her knuckles in a touch so tender she would never have imagined him capable of it.
“And what exactly do ye mean by that?”
“I’d rather show ye than tell ye,” he murmured.
And, as he brought his hands to her face, she knew that whatever defenses she had put up to keep herself from falling for him had well and truly vanished. Her eyes drifted shut in the moment before his lips found hers, and, finally, she sank against him, the air blurring the distance between them.
He kissed her slowly at first, carefully, as though making sure that he did not rush her into anything she was not yet ready for. And, as her hands found his shoulders, she marveled at the strength of him and the restraint he had shown in not taking her when they had first married. He could have had anything he wanted from her, any time he had craved it, but he had allowed her to come to him. And something about that only made her crave him more.
Her tongue brushed against his lips, silently speaking the things she had been too afraid to say out loud. His hands coming to her waist, he pushed her against a tree, his mouth ravenous as his hands traveled all over her body. She gasped as he gripped her thigh, lifting it so that he could push himself against her.
“Ye’ve teased me long enough, lass,” he murmured against her lips, the words almost dangerous if they were not so impossibly thrilling.
