There, perhaps, was the crux of it. Niall wanted Annie like he’d never wanted any other woman. As irritating as her tenacity could be, he enjoyed sparring with her. She was opinionated, but those opinions were well thought out. Annie didn’t back down from an argument or from much else either. He admired her spirit and her spunk, even if it did cause him more than an occasional headache.
And he knew damn well he was lying to himself if he thought one time was all he would need. He wanted Annie in his bed every night, having hot passion explode between them, then lying with naked bodies entwined as they slept. He wanted to wake up to her every morning and start the day by sucking her nipples to hard peaks and then plunging between warm, wet thighs. His cock hardened.
“They are leading our horses down the plank,” Annie said from behind him.
He swiveled, careful to make sure his coat was shielding his wayward shaft. He’d been so lost in thought he hadn’t even realized they had docked. “Aye. We’ll give the animals a few minutes to get used to solid ground again and then we’ll be off.” He looked up at the sun’s location. “We can probably make Crianlarich by nightfall.”
“A night at an inn would be wonderful,” Annie replied. “Even though the captain gave me his cabin, I doubt I will ever get used to the movement of a ship.”
Niall grinned. “At least ye did nae turn green around the gills this time.”
She nodded. “There is that. I will be glad, though, when we get to Glasgow.”
He started to say, once more, that she would be better protected as his wife, but decided to hold his peace. Perhaps tonight, settled in front of a warm fire at the inn, a hearty meal, and a tankard or two of ale, Annie might be more amenable to listening to his proposal.
The cook gave him a small sack filled with the biscuits sailors called hardtack along with some surprisingly soft cheese and dried venison. Twenty minutes later, Niall turned their horses onto the path inland.
“Are ye sure we will make the village by nightfall?” Annie asked several hours later as the sun was past its zenith.
Niall glanced up at the sky. “’Twill be close.”
“How close?”
“Perhaps by an hour or so. We may need to make camp tonight.”
Annie gave a soft sigh. “I would rather ride an hour in the dark if it means having a soft bed and a good meal.”
Niall would too. Lying on cold, hard ground bundled in all their clothing with no fire and only meager food offerings was not conducive to persuading Annie to see reason, but it would be safer. “Riding after dark is dangerous.”
“’Tis a moon out for the horses to see the way, and the road is dry, nae rutted,” Annie replied. “And we didnae hear of a single brigand in the area when we rode north.”
That was true. If they could make the inn… “We’ll wait and see how close we are when the sun sets.”
Annie nodded and they rode on in companionable silence, stopping once to rest the horses and give them a drink at a burn. Annie had even suggested they eat their meal while they rode in order to get to the inn. Still, dusk settled, and by Niall’s estimation they were still a good ten miles from Crianlarich. As much as he didn’t want to stop, he slowed his horse. “’Tis another two hours to the inn. We had better find a spot to stop.”
“Nae! There is nae even a crofter’s cottage about. I doona want to sleep outside,” Annie said and then reached over to put her hand on his arm. “Please, Niall. Let’s ride on.”
Hell. He didn’t think Annie had ever asked him for a favor before. How could he refuse? Niall looked down the road. The moonlight clearly lit a path, and Annie was right that there had been no reports about highwaymen in the area. He smiled to himself as another thought came. Maybe once they reached the inn, he could insist Annie have a hot bath before dinner and he could order a bottle of wine if the proprietor had one… Niall nodded. “Let us continue, then.”
Annie looked happy enough to kiss him, and he was tempted to sidle his horse closer and reach over to draw her to him and do just that, but Annie had kicked her horse to a canter and was already several yards ahead of him.
“Wait!” he called as she rounded a bend and temporarily disappeared from sight. He muffled a curse as he nudged his own horse to a run. When he caught up to her, she was definitely going to get a lecture on not only galloping at night, but also on putting distance between them. Annie Ferguson had to be the most perverse, stubborn female he had ever met…
As he rounded the bend, large black forms suddenly emerged from both sides of the road, closing him in. Before he could draw his sword, something hard and solid struck him from behind and the last thing he remembered was falling from the saddle.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Annie stared at the dark figure on horseback blocking her path. She couldn’t make out his face since a hood partially covered it, but the moonlight reflected off the steel blade he held in his hand. Brigand. She wheeled her horse swiftly, only to find another dark-cloaked rider behind her. He didn’t make a sound as he grabbed her reins. Annie thought to reach for the knife in her boot, but the man was pressed too close to her leg to maneuver.
Where was Niall? She hadn’t been that much ahead of him… At the sound of pounding hooves, she breathed a small sigh of relief. As soon as he distracted the two men, she could reach for her own blade.
But her hope was short-lived. There were several horses galloping toward her, one of which was riderless. As they came closer, she recognized Niall’s gelding. Her stomach suddenly felt as though she’d swallowed lead.
“Is the guard dead?” the brigand holding the knife asked.
“Aye. He hit his head hard on a rock,” one of the three others replied. “We threw the body into the ditch.”
Annie’s heart stuttered in her chest. Niall was dead? She felt the blood drain from her head and the world started to spin around her. She clutched her saddle and struggled to breathe. Niall couldn’t be dead. No. No.No.
