“Aye, and it’s called halting your madness so you willnae get hurt.” He bounded in behind her in one swift jump, wrapped his arms about her waist and gripping the reins, nodded at Duncan and Ella now mounted on their own steeds. “Let’s ride.”
“Oh, you are so beyond infuriating.” And right now she was too damn tired to keep arguing with him, so instead she leaned back against his chest and sank into the undeniable warmth of his hold as he thrust his knees into his destrier’s flanks and rode toward the inn after Duncan and Ella.
So much for Cherub’s decree that they were soul bound. Even though ’twas true, it had made little difference to Coll when she’d said it. Damn his unbending honor and inability to accept a bond had formed between them.
“You’ve gone suddenly quiet. Is all well?” He nipped her ear from behind, his voice a husky murmur. “You’re one of my dearest friends, Fiona. I hate to see you so upset.”
“You believe we’re just friends?” Shuffling around, she glared at him some more.
“Aye.” A firm nod.
“You’re fighting our bond, telling yourself it does no’ exist, and I want to be more than one of your dearest friends. I want to be your mate, your wife, your lover and the keeper of your very heart and soul.”
“Then you strive for too much.” He looked ahead and urged his horse to a faster pace. Duncan and Ella galloped several horse lengths ahead. They rounded the bend in the trail and disappeared through the gates into the tavern’s inner courtyard.
Stubborn, stubborn man. Goodness. In the past, whenever he’d decided to dig in his heels in such a way, it had always been near impossible to make him change his mind. Which was right now the case as well. “I detest that you willnae see reason.”
“As I detest that you willnae either.” He slowed his horse and trotted through the tavern’s gates and past an herb garden. The fragrant mint and wild garlic swirled within the night air then wafted away as they clomped across the gravelly yard to where Duncan and Ella had already dismounted next to stables.
A stable hand ducked out from within the darkened interior and took Duncan and Ella’s horses then steered their mounts inside.
Duncan swept one arm around Ella’s waist and guided her across the front yard and through the inn’s door with its low hung eaves and stony facade.
Behind her, Coll brought their mount to a halt near the corral, tossed one leg over and landed on the ground with a thump. Hands on her waist, he lifted her free and set her down between him and his horse. Keeping her firmly close, he tossed a coin to the lad and muttered, “See that these three horses are well cared for. Ensure they have an extra hand of oats as well. They’ve been ridden hard this day.”
“Right away, my laird.” With splotchy red cheeks and grass-strained elbows, the boy wearing brown breeches and a tunic with the sleeves rolled up, guided their horse into the stables.
“Inside with you now.” Coll picked up her wicker basket where Duncan had set it down near the round corral post and with their bags strung over his shoulder, he gestured her toward the tavern.
She grasped her red skirts and walked around a lanky brown-haired dog in the center of the yard and ducked inside under the eaves. Inside the main room, a fire blazed within the hearth, a most welcoming heat which she embraced after the chill of the night outside.
Behind her, Coll stepped in and ran one hand gently down her back. “Have you been here afore?”
“Nay, but ’tis so quaint and lovely.” Wooden screens separated the central tables where patrons partook of the hearty stew and tankards of ale. Soft chatter filled the roomy space with its latticed windows overlooking the rolling moors and the meandering length of Loch Carron beyond. In the moonlight, the darkened waters glistened a golden hue.
“I’ve stayed here once afore, on one of my trips to the markets,” Ella said as she tucked a lock of her glossy brown hair behind one ear. Duncan dipped his nose into her locks and kissed her lobe. She giggled and curled one hand around the back of his head, murmured. “I take it you’d like a room for the night right now, my mate?”
“I’d sleep with you anywhere, in a bed or outside under the stars, although only once I’ve fed you.” Duncan nipped her lips. “Your belly is rumbling and you must be hungry.”
“That,” Coll bit out in her ear, “is the mated bond, one which we dinnae have.”
“So you say, and so I disagree.” She gave him her own biting words back, wished she could nip his ear too.
Coll stalked across to the bar where the innkeeper, a stocky man with loose breeches and a plaid tossed over one shoulder, dried tankards with his cloth. “Gordon.” Coll acknowledged the man with a firm nod and hand extended. “’Tis good to see you again.”