Scarlett’s temper spiked. “Ye cannae simply forbid me. I’m yer wife, not a bairn ye scold from the fire.”
Robert leaned in, his voice brushing her ear. “Ye’re Lady of this Clan. And Lady of this Clan doesnae vanish onto the road alone like some farm girl on a lark.”
Scarlett’s pulse hammered. The closeness, the authority in his tone, it made her furious and hot all at once. “Perhaps I want to vanish,” she snapped. “Even lasses with titles deserve a taste of freedom.”
His eyes darkened, and for one terrifying, thrilling moment, she thought he might kiss her just to silence her. Instead, he stepped back a fraction, enough to drag her mare forward. “Up ye go.”
“I daenae need help,” she muttered, shoving her skirts higher. She caught the saddle with one foot, tried to swing the other over, and squeaked as Robert’s hands locked at her waist.
“Robert!” she yelped, breathless as he lifted her clean off the ground and placed her astride like she weighed nothing at all.
“Better?” he asked, looking up at her, his expression maddeningly unreadable.
Scarlett’s cheeks burned hot. “I could’ve managed.” “Aye,” he said, “but not fast enough.”
She barely had time to recover before he swung into the saddle behind her. The jolt of his weight pressed every inch of his chest against her back, and his thighs bracketed hers. Scarlett went rigid.
“Ye… what?”
“Ye willnae ride alone,” Robert said with his voice final.
Scarlett clenched the reins tighter, refusing to let him hear the way her breath hitched. “I never asked ye to come.”
“Ye didnae need to.” His hand settled on her hip, steadying her. “I’ll see ye safe, whether ye like it or nae.”
She stared hard at the mare’s ears, willing the flush from her cheeks. But every breath, every subtle shift of the horse pressed her tighter against him, and she could feel it, hard, insistent, the proof of his body’s betrayal against the small of her back.
Scarlett bit the inside of her cheek, furious with herself for the heat that coiled low in her belly. This is madness. Utter madness.
She tried for sarcasm though her voice wobbled. “Och, saints, this will be the longest ride of me life.”
Behind her, she felt rather than heard his chuckle. “Aye. But ye’ll be safe. And that, Scarlett, is all that matters.”
Her heart thudded traitorously as the horse jolted into motion, carrying them out into the fading light.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The mare’s hooves drummed steadily on the packed dirt road, the rhythm echoing the frantic beat of Scarlett’s heart. Every sway of the horse pressed her more snugly against Robert’s chest, and no matter how she tried, she could not lean forward far enough to escape the heat of him.
“Ye daenae have to sit so stiff,” Robert murmured near her ear. His breath stirred the fine hair at her temple.
Scarlett scowled at the horizon. “I’d rather sit stiff than melt into ye.” “Ye say that,” he drawled, the corner of his mouth brushing her hair, “but ye’ve nae protested the last mile.”
She bristled. “Because I’d like to keep me neck in one piece. If I so much as twitch, ye’ll scold me for throwing us off balance.”
Robert gave a low hum. “Och, so it’s fear, not stubbornness.”
“Fear?” She twisted her head just enough to glare. “Of what? Of ye?” He didn’t flinch. “Of wanting me.”
Scarlett sucked in a breath, nearly choking on it. “Arrogant brute.”
He only chuckled, deep in his chest, the sound vibrating through her spine.
She turned forward quickly, her cheeks blazing hotter than the afternoon sun. Silence stretched for a while but not a comfortable one. Every so often, she felt his gaze dip to her jaw, her neck, and then the quickening flutter of her pulse there.
Finally, to keep her mind from unraveling, she asked, “So tell me, husband, do ye haunt the stables every night, or was I simply blessed with poor timing?”
Robert’s lips quirked against her temple. “I haunt wherever Me Lady decides to cause trouble.”
