Emilie stared at him for a moment, an aghast expression on her lovely face.
“That’s what ye want to talk about right now?” she scoffed, arching a sardonic brow in his direction.
“What else is there to talk about?” Archer shrugged.
But he knew the answer to that. There were a thousand other things that they could be talking about.
The children. What had happened while she was gone? What had caused him to come back?
Archer was certain that his wife was filled with a plethora of questions.
But all of them would lead him down a slippery road. Because every time the carriage shifted, every time it jolted, Emilie’s body moved.
They were sharing one of the seats in the carriage, both of them sitting on the same side, shoulder to shoulder. So, every time she was jostled about, Archer could feel her.
And every time that Archer could feel her, fantasies about her would rise in his mind.
Desire coursed through him at every moment. The carriage was already too small, making him able to smell her and feel her warmth. And Archer was worried that if he entertained any of the questions surrounding anything deeper regarding them, he might try to take her right there in the carriage.
And if I take her in the carriage, I might well tip it over.
“Aye,” he growled. “It’s what I want to talk about.”
Emilie sighed, but she began to prattle away. She told him about the chores that she did while she was back, and how monotonous they became after. But there was no joy in her words.
She was merely placating him.
The time it took for them to get back to the castle seemed to drag on, and Archer was able to focus on little else except for the closeness between them.
When Castle McGregor finally loomed on the horizon, Archer let out an audible sigh of relief.
“Ye’re that happy to get away from me?” Emilie asked, and when Archer turned to glance at her, there seemed to be a bit of hurt in her eyes.
“It’s nae that,” Archer said quickly.
He paused for a moment, considering how he wanted to proceed. But it didn’t take him long to decide on the truth.
Emilie deserved nothing but the truth, from here on out.
“The only thing I’ve been able to think about this entire carriage ride is liftin’ yer skirts,” Archer murmured, his voice raspy with desire.
He glanced at Emilie, arching a brow at her and holding back a dark chuckle as he watched her cheeks flush.
“It’s definitely hard nae to think about it when ye’re blushin’ like that,” Archer growled.
He watched as Emilie shifted in her seat, and he noticed it the moment she shifted, pressing her thighs together.
“Unless ye want me to lift yer skirts,” Archer offered.
The blush on Emilie’s cheeks deepened, and she laughed as she waved off his words.
“Ye waited too long, we’re nearly back at the castle now,” she said.
“But I could have?” he asked, feeling himself harden at the thought. “If I had brought this up sooner? I could have had ye right here, in this carriage?”
She averted her eyes, looking out the window at the home they were growing ever closer to.
“I suppose we’ll never ken,” she murmured, shrugging one shoulder.