Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
Anna awoke in a sweat. She grumbled softly as she moved to toss the blanket aside. Only then did she realize she was being restrained.
At her stirring, the restraints tightened, and a low growl hit her ear. "Would ye stop shiftin' around? It's far too early."
The sound of Hugh's voice made her body tense for a beat. Then, when she realized just how safe she felt nestled in his arms, she melted back against him. His breath was warm against her neck, his strong forearms wrapped around her middle, keeping her from going anywhere else.
"The sun is up," she said, as if that meant anything.
"Aye, but that doesnae mean we have to be."
Anna was inclined to agree. As the fog of sleep dissipated from her mind, she realized just how comfortable she was. It would be sinfully easy for her to slip back to sleep, to ignore the tasks that came with the day.
"Won't the staff begin to wonder where we are?" she asked finally, her logical mind winning out.
They couldn't lie around all day. The information that Hugh had revealed after being delivered to her room was too pressing to ignore. She needed to begin working on her plan, and she was sure that Hugh needed to figure out his next course of action.
"Ach," he growled, tightening his arms around her once again. After a few seconds, he released her and rolled onto his back. "I'm more worried about me council comin' to sniff around."
She nodded, carefully pushing her sleep-soft body into a sitting position. As she stretched her arms toward the sky, she asked, "Do you remember much of last night?"
Hugh grunted in affirmation, staring at the ceiling for a few beats before he said, "Aye, I remember everythin'. Callum made me out to be pished, and perhaps I was a bit. But I had me wits about me. I let the dobber bring me up here to keep from stirrin' trouble and startin' rumors with the staff."
"That's… an intelligent play," Anna said gently.
"If I'm goin' to protect ye," he muttered, pushing himself up. "I'm goin' to have to try me best to follow the rules they set."
She watched as he rose to his feet and shook the stiffness of slumber out of his limbs. Each one of his muscles rippled as they were forced into wakefulness. It was impossible to tear her gaze away, impossible to ignore the way something warm twisted itself into knots in her stomach.
Images of him kneeling before her flashed through her mind.
She remembered the way his mouth felt against her most sensitive parts.
The way he'd essentially taken control of her body and made her feel the most intense pleasure she'd ever experienced.
Her thighs pressed together in an attempt to quell the growing heat between her legs.
He turned back to her then, the frustration on his face palpable.
It cooled the fire growing inside her, but didn't extinguish it completely.
Sounding as though it pained him, he said, "I apologize for me behavior last night.
I shouldnae have settled in yer bed like a drunkard.
I should have asked ye before holdin' ye like that. "
"I don't mind," she said, the words flowing out before she could stop them. Her face grew warm, and she looked down at the blanket as she spoke. "If you're worried that I regret anything, I don't." She swallowed, lifting her face to meet his eyes. "I do not regret marrying you, Laird McDonald."
The declaration made something in Hugh's gaze darken. He stared at her, the way she was sitting comfortably among the sheets. It made her acutely aware of the fact that she wore only a nightshift, but she didn't move to hide herself away.
When he looked at her, her insecurities didn't matter. It had taken time, but she had finally accepted that he wasn't lying to her about his attraction. Now, she was learning to sit with it, to enjoy the attention he gave her.
"And I daenae regret marryin' ye, Lady McDonald," he said, holding himself still like a predator ready to pounce on prey. "Me only regret is nae makin' time to have ye alone."
A thrill ran through her at the low timbre of his voice. It disarmed her, and she had no desire to put her defenses back up. She shifted closer to him, her body leaning in as if to beg for his attention.
"Then why don't you start now?"
She knew that saying it was risky, that it could shatter the delicate balance between the two of them. But she didn't care. She thought, perhaps, she wanted to push it to the point of breaking, to see what lay at their feet after they'd taken each other apart.
Hugh didn't bother with a response. He was back on the mattress with her in an instant, his hot mouth pressed against hers. She squeaked with surprise before returning his kiss with just as much enthusiasm.
One of his hands came to cup her cheek and hold her steady as the other began roaming her body over her nightshift. Each place he touched felt as if it were being claimed by him. The curves that sometimes felt like a burden were now the parts of her that Hugh desired most.
When his touch slipped under the soft linen fabric, it was as if the entire world became brighter. His exploration was firm, but not rough. Fingertips tickled parts of her that had only ever been touched by a flannel and her dresses.
He mapped the underside of her breasts, the soft expanse of her stomach, and the ticklish curve of her waist. Anna whimpered into his mouth, arching into the contact. Then, the calloused pads of his fingers inched over the swell of her chest.
His fingers clamped down on the pebbled nipple. It was as if she'd been shocked, her body jerking violently as the sensations tore through her. A mounting pressure gathered between her legs, impossible to ignore.
"Hugh," she gasped against his lips, breaking the kiss as her head fell back onto the pillows. "Hugh!"
"Ye like this," he said. A statement, not a question. "I'll bet ye like this, too."
He shoved the shift up, the fabric collecting atop her breasts and scrunching in her armpits. As he shifted away from her mouth, he kept the burning hot eye contact. Slowly, seemingly watching for her reactions, he lowered his head, his tongue flicking her dusty pink nipple.
The sound that escaped her lips was so foreign to her own ears. It was a mix between a cry of relief and an overwhelmed yelp. She pressed harder into him, her body begging for more before her brain even registered what was happening.
Hugh took the permission, taking the entire bud into his mouth. He sucked softly, the tip of his tongue swirling around the center of nerves. And, when her hips twitched upward, the hand that was still holding her cheek steadily snaked down between her legs.
Fingers stroked through the slick wetness gathering between the silky folds, a sensation she hadn't even realized was building.
Desire crackled through her, and the last fragments of her conscious mind slipped away.
It felt as if she were no longer in control, as though she'd handed herself over entirely to Hugh.
She supposed that she had. Ever since this massive Highlander had appeared on her father's doorstep, she had let him have her. Even before then, when she first wrote the letter that brought them together, she had handed herself over to him.
Hugh's fingers plunged deeper, two of them pressing into her tight heat. The stretch was delicious, and surprisingly not enough. She wanted more. She wanted all of him.
As he pistoned his digits in and out of her, he lifted his head from her breast. His handsome, chiseled face tilted up toward her, a smirk stretched over his mouth before he blew hot air over the pebbled nub.
She shivered hard, a rush of wetness flowing from her.
The sound of his fingers stimulating her grew louder with the additional lubrication.
"Ach, ye're the most delectable thing that I've ever seen, Anna," he growled, shifting to position his mouth over her other breast.
This time, his mouth isn't as gentle. His teeth grazed the oversensitive flesh, making Anna writhe beneath him. Then, he shifted his hand inside her, bringing his thumb up to rub against her clit.
Delight coiled in her belly. The sensation from when he had knelt before her and worshipped her with his mouth came back with a vengeance. The intensity of his mouth on her breast and his hand between her legs was nearly too much.
"Hugh," she whimpered, rolling her hips up before pulling them back when it was too much. "Please."
"Go on, me Lady," he growled against her skin. "Let me hear ye. Ye can let go. I've got ye."
His encouragement was all she needed. Her body released, a shaking and intense orgasm gripping her. The air was sucked from her lungs, and her limbs locked up, her fingers tangling in the sheets beneath her.
Hugh guided her through it, his mouth still on her breast, his fingers and thumb still working her most private places.
She felt his gaze fixed on her face, drinking in every flicker of her reaction.
It went on longer than the first time, waves washing over her again and again, and he was the one conducting it.
As her climax began to wane, he withdrew his fingers. Slowly, letting Anna have a moment to catch her breath, he pulled himself up to loom over her. When his lips met hers, a new kind of bliss settled in her bones. She knew, without a doubt, that this was precisely where she was meant to be.
"Now," Hugh murmured, his voice husky. He lowered his hips, letting her feel the depth of his arousal. "I'm goin' to properly claim ye. Ye're mine, Anna. And now ye'll feel it."
But, before he could do a thing, there was a sharp series of knocks on the door of her chambers.
Hugh nearly roared with frustration at the interruption. It seemed that every chance he had to be alone with his wife was snatched away. Forcing himself out of bed, he imagined all the ways he would punish whoever had dared to disturb them.
"What do ye want?" he demanded as he opened the door, before he even saw who was standing before him.
Callum looked entirely unimpressed, though it was clear that Hugh's tone did inspire a bit of fear. The man leaned slightly to the side, taking in the appearance of Anna, who had hastily covered her body. When he straightened, he raised an eyebrow at Hugh.
"I was comin' to check on ye," Callum stated. "Ye drank quite a bit last evenin'. I wanted to make sure ye werenae dead."
"Ye ken that I wasnae as pished as ye're claimin'," Hugh spat, his fingers tightening on the wooden door. "Now, if that's all ye came for, I'll ask ye to get back to yer other duties. We were in the middle of somethin'."
"Ye shouldnae let a woman distract ye from yer duties," Callum said, still unmoving. "I didnae only come to check on ye. I've also come to inform ye that ye must meet with yer people and hear their demands."
Hugh's eyes narrowed. This was likely another one of the ploys that his council had put in place. They were trying to undermine him and sow public doubt. He was sure that any questions raised would be meant to paint him as unable to lead.
"I will meet with them," he said, picking each word carefully.
"And I'm nae shirkin' me duties to spend time with me wife.
Part of me duties are keepin' her happy and supportin' her as she eases into performin' her own tasks.
And, how else do ye expect me to produce an heir if I'm nae spendin' time with her? "
Callum's face twisted, looking as if he'd just taken a bite out of a particularly sour citrus. "There's nay place for sentiment when ye're the Laird."
"Perhaps ye think there should be nay place for it," Hugh said, already moving to slam the door in the man's face, "but I love me wife. And I can manage lovin' this woman and performin' me duties. Yer information is appreciated."
Before he disappeared from view, Hugh caught the look of disgust on Callum's face.
It was as if the man couldn't fathom caring about another person.
Or, Hugh thought darkly as he stalked back to Anna, perhaps Callum saw love as a weakness rather than the all-consuming fire that drove Hugh to better protect the castle and his people.
"The bastard's timin' is impeccable," Hugh grunted, sitting on the edge of the mattress. "Always seems to ken when things are about to get interestin'. If I didnae ken any better, I'd believe he had eyes in the walls."
When Anna didn't respond, he shifted his gaze to her. She was staring, pink-cheeked, her lips parted slightly. Her hands gripped the sheet she was holding over her body.
"You…" she began, trailing off as she lowered her head to look at the pattern of the blanket. "Did you mean it? What you said about me?"
"Of course I did," Hugh said fiercely, reaching forward to grab her delicate chin. "I didnae say a single thing I didnae mean, Anna. Do ye understand?"
"I do," she whispered, her lashes fluttering as he leaned in.
The kiss he gave her was short, but claiming. It was a promise that his love for her was true and that he'd do whatever he could to protect her. When they parted, he loosened his hold but didn't let go.
"Now, I'm goin' to get meself ready for the meetin'. Ye should get yerself ready and have some breakfast in the great hall, aye?"
"Yes," she confirmed, leaning toward him as he finally released her. "I'll do that."
"Good," Hugh said, standing and giving her one final look. "I'll take care of ye, Anna. Nay matter what. And we'll finish what we started."