“I am forever grateful, my lord, and I will work hard to be a good member of the Clan Macardle,” Eleanor said.
“I have no doubt you will,” Sorrell said. “Now let’s get you a cloak and I will relay the message you are to give to James and my sisters, though the message to my two sisters, Willow and Snow, is to be given only to them.”
Sorrell wanted to let her sisters know that she did well and she missed them. And since an explanation as to why she was sending Eleanor to them would reveal the attempt on her life, she wanted to make sure her sisters knew she was unharmed and well-protected, saving them from worry.
“I understand, my lady,” Eleanor said. “I will make certain they alone receive it.”
It was only a couple of hours after sunrise that they finally took their leave of the abbey. Sorrell sat atop Ruddock’s horse snuggled against him. She needed his warmth today, the strong wind making the chilled air feel colder.
“How long until we reach Northwick land?” Sorrell asked.
“Two days if there are no delays and we maintain our pace, then almost half a day to reach the keep.”
“Your father awaits our arrival?”
“My arrival. He has yet to learn I have wed,” he reminded.
“What do you think he will say about you bringing home a wife?” she asked, having wondered what kind of welcome the news would receive.
“Are you concerned how my father will receive you?” Ruddock asked.
“Do you really think it matters to me? I care not for me, but how he treats my husband is a different matter.”
The wee lass could touch his heart with just a few words. “Ever the defender, wife.”
“Forever will I defend my husband and family.”
“Of that I have no doubt.” He bent his head to kiss her when a crack of thunder sounded as if it had struck the earth with a mighty sword, startling them both.
“Not more rain,” Sorrell groaned, knowing a heavy rain would slow them down.
And it did.
Rain continued to follow them. The third day of their journey found them seeking shelter by mid-day, the rain too heavy to continue. They found a cottage, battered and worn, not truly habitable, but sufficient enough to shelter Sorrell and Ruddock.
Sorrell was grateful the fireplace, small as it was, remained intact and that her husband got a fire going. She was also grateful that her husband had sheltered her against the rain the best he could with his body and cloak. Her garments were damp compared to his.
While they settled inside the dilapidated cottage, his warriors settled under the branches of the large trees that surrounded the place.
“I will be glad when this journey is done,” Sorrell said, attempting to warm herself in front of the fire. “I would think your warriors feel the same.”
“They are well trained to withstand the weather,” Ruddock said, slipping out of his wet shirt.
Sorrell stared at his naked chest. She hadn’t seen it since their wedding night, though she had rested her head on it the last two nights.”
“It will probably take us an extra day to reach home, longer if this weather doesn’t improve.”
Sorrell smiled. She caught the flare of passion in his blue eyes and how he was doing his best to keep his thoughts busy on things that wouldn’t ignite it any further. She thought of teasing him, but she’d only be teasing herself as well.
Lovemaking would have to wait, not a thought that pleased her.
He squeezed the rainwater from his shirt and draped it over a broken chair he’d placed close to the fire.
Sorrell tried to keep her eyes off him but it was impossible. The light from the fire’s flames had his damp chest and back glistening and highlighting his hard muscles, which only flamed her own passion.
She focused to keep her attention on her hands, holding them out to the warmth of the fire, not that she needed any more warmth, since her body had begun to heat just from the thought of her husband sinking his manhood deep inside her.
Don’t think about that. Don’t think about that,” she chastised herself silently.
It amazed her that she had found making love to be so wonderfully satisfying that she hoped to enjoy it often. She had worried that it was something she might not like and it would become more a duty, a chore as some women claimed, that she would have to endure.
That she had to endure the lack of it was surprising and frustrating, and if she didn’t get her mind off it soon she’d beg her husband to quench her need.
She jumped when he stood next to her, though not close enough for them to touch, a good thing at the moment, and hurried to think of something to say that would drive this unquenched need in her away.