She triedher best to maintain eye contact with him, but eventually, she became too overwhelmed. His mouth kept working though. Even when she rested her head against the grass with her eyes closed, Ryan’s tongue continued to twirl around the bundle of nerves.
The sounds comingout of her mouth grew higher and higher in pitch. Blood pounded in her ears, dulling the noises surrounding her. All of her senses narrowed down to Ryan and the heat that was radiating off him.
“I—”Margaret started, her voice cut off by a moan.
The coilin her stomach grew tighter and tighter. It felt as though she were on the edge of something. And as Ryan’s ministrations became more and more insistent, she realized that he knew she was too.
“Ryan!”she moaned as he pinched her nipple once again, the stimulation enough to hurt.
The bitof pain was the push her body needed. She clamped her thighs around his head as pleasure washed through her. It bloomed from her center, from the place where Ryan was still flicking his tongue through her wetness, and spread all the way to the tips of her toes and fingers.
She gulped in air,whining with each exhale. Each of her muscles contracted harshly, and flames licked through her being, penetrating her all the way to her soul. But Ryan neverstopped, his mouth sending more and more waves of delight over her skin.
Eventually,the pleasure began to morph, becoming sharp. Weakly, Margaret tugged at Ryan’s hair, unable to get her mouth to work. She didn’t need words though. He pulled away from her slowly, his lips and chin glistening with the evidence of her delight.
“Ye taste so sweet,”Ryan growled, his voice dipping into a dangerously low register.
“I… That was…”
“Ye daenae need to talk,”he said, moving up the length of her body to kiss her sweetly. When he leaned back, he ran a hand through her hair tenderly. Softly, he asked, “Are ye tired out now?”
She giggled softly,her eyes feeling heavy with exhaustion, then she nodded. Ryan smirked, grabbing hold of her and helping her to her feet.
“It seemsit’s time to get ye back to bed,” he said, lacing their fingers together as he pulled her chemise back down to cover her body. “If ye’re not ready to run again, I may just have to carry ye.”
Margaret foundthat she wouldn’t mind if Ryan carried her. In fact, she was looking forward to the mad dash back to the castle as long as she was in his arms.
20
It’s been too quiet… Where is me wife? I havenae seen her durin’ the day since I took her to the loch.
It waseasy to attribute it to his own busy schedule at first. He’d been visiting their prisoner daily in an attempt to get more information from him. More of his men had been dispatched to the village in hopes of finding the man’s accomplice. Perhaps if the first wouldn’t reveal who paid him, the second would.
I’m nae hopeful though.The one we have is without a doubt the man we’ve been lookin’ for. There’s a good chance that his partner doesnae ken a thing about it.
Ryan knewthat he’d been distracted by this investigation. Truthfully, he felt as though it were the most important thing he’d done since becoming Laird McGhee. Finally, after a year of searching fruitlessly, he had his first lead on the murder that had made him Laird. It was as if nothing else mattered at the moment.
But after a fewdays of not seeing his wife except for when they retired to their shared quarters, Ryan was quite certain Margaret was avoiding him. He wasn’t completely scarce within the castle. He made appearances at mealtimes and walked the halls and garden to clear his mind. He’d run into nearly everyone who lived here at one point. The only person that he couldn’t seem to catch was Margaret.
He frownedas he marched through the corridors. As he moved, he noticed that it wasn’t just Margaret who seemed to be avoiding him. The maids averted their gazes and quieted their discussions whenever he got too near to them.
Ach,so the rumors havenae stopped even though we’ve been wed. That must be botherin’ her. But could she nae come to me about it?
He managedto catch the eye of one of the maids before she scurried away from him. Crossing the stone floor with his head held high, he noticed the way her cheeks flushed. When he stopped in front of her, it was as if she were unable to meet his gaze.
“Have ye seen Lady McGhee?”Ryan asked, thinking better of interrogating this poor maid about what she’d been whispering about.
Best I takecare of one problem at a time.
If he wantedto know what kind of gossip was being spread, he’d be better off getting his information from Margaret’s maid. Shewas always quite eager to share, even if she was talking to the target of the gossip. It was annoying, but he appreciated that at least one of the maids on his staff was forthcoming.
“Nae since this mornin’,Me Laird,” the maid said, forcing herself to meet his eye. “But I believe Cali said the Lady would be in her chambers. Perhaps she’s still there?”
“Aye, perhaps she is,”Ryan grunted before turning away from her.
If the maid responded,Ryan didn’t hear her. He was already striding toward his wife’s private chambers. That must be where she’d been disappearing over the past few days. He hadn’t bothered checking because he wanted to allow her to have a space that he didn’t invade.
Unfortunately,things had gotten out of hand, and Ryan didn’t have another choice. Once he’d gotten this sorted out, he’d leave the room as her private place. For now, he had to confront her to ensure that she was well.