Instead, he tucked her face against his chest with his free hand and then held her close as he slid one finger inside of her.
Saidh cried out then, the sound muffled by his plaid and chest, and Greer found himself gritting his teeth and thought that this was the stupidest damned thing he’d ever done. Her flesh had closed around the digit, hot and wet and oh so tight, and he knew that was how it would feel around his cock, sucking him in, trying to keep him there as he thrust again and again, his hips bucking, his cock throbbing.
A sudden sharp pain at his chest was followed by Saidh’s crying out against him and then grabbing at his hand to stop it moving, and Greer realized that he’d brought her to release and she was now sensitive to his continued caress. It also made him realize that he had been humping her hip as he worked to give her that release and was now as hard as a dead hen and aching something terrible.
Heaving a sigh, Greer eased his hand out of her braies and let her skirt drop around her legs again. He then stood still and waited. Saidh was holding him tightly, and Greer knew she was struggling to slow her breathing and regain her composure, mostly because he was doing the same. He was also hoping that if given a minute, his cock would stop throbbing and shrink again, at least enough that he could walk back out to the men as if he hadn’t been doing what he’d been doing in here.
“Still want to punch me?” he asked after a moment, to distract them both.
Saidh gave a laugh and shook her head against his chest.
“Good,” he murmured, running one hand lazily down her back and wondering what the meaning was behind what he’d just done. Greer was not the sort to find his pleasure and leave a woman with none. He always ensured his lovers enjoyed whatever time they spent with him. But this was the first time he’d sought to give a woman pleasure without seeking his own too. Especially when he wanted her so badly that his whole body ached rather than just his balls. She was a lady, of course, which made that impossible . . . so why had he done what he had instead of leaving her to deal with her frustration in her own way?
“I should go fer me ride and let ye get to yer work,” Saidh said suddenly, distracting him from his thoughts. She stepped back out of his arms in a manner that seemed almost reluctant, which Greer liked. But he didn’t like the thought of her out riding alone. However, his aching—and still rock-hard—cock told him that accompanying her would be folly.
“Ye can take me squire with ye,” he decided suddenly.
Saidh paused next to her mare and glanced to him with surprise. “That’s no’ necessary.”
“Mayhap, but ’twould make me feel better to ken yer no’ alone do ye run into difficulties,” he said with a shrug and slipped out of the stall to head for the stable doors. He was halfway to them when the stable master stepped inside and then stopped with surprise.
“Oh, m’laird,” the man said, then glanced down to the items in his hands and explained, “I was just getting a poultice for the horse that cut her leg yesterday. Did ye wish me to saddle yer—”
The stable master paused abruptly, eyes widening as his gaze lowered back toward the items he carried, but paused on Greer’s plaid. He didn’t have to look down to know why. He was aware that he was still noticeably excited, his erection poking out the front of his plaid in a most obvious manner. He supposed he should be embarrassed, but wasn’t. Life, he had learned, was full of such moments for everyone. There was no sense agonizing over them, so he smiled with amusement and said, “I doubt ye’ve a saddle to fit that.”
The stable master blinked and glanced up with confusion, then seemed to get the joke and grinned. “Nay, m’laird. But I could make one special if ye’d like.”
“Reins and a whip might come in more handy,” Greer said dryly.
“Aye, for most men I think,” the stable master said with amusement. “I might no’ be plagued with so many children if I’d had reins and a whip fer me own tarse when I was younger.”
Greer chuckled and continued past the man.
“So, ye’ll no’ be needing yer horse saddled?” the stable master asked, making Greer pause at the door and glance back.
“No’ mine, but I’d appreciate it if ye could saddle Alpin’s pony. He’ll be accompanying Lady Buchanan on a ride.”
“Ah.” The stable master glanced to where Saidh was caressing her mare’s nose in the animal’s stall. He then glanced back to Greer’s slowly lowering plaid and nodded wisely before meeting his gaze and saying, “ ’Tis fer the best it’s the boy who joins her, at least until ye’ve found those reins and a whip.”
“That was me thinking too,” Greer agreed dryly and then the two men laughed and he turned to stick his head out the door to bellow, “Alpin!”
“A lady does no’ climb trees.”
“Ye’ve told me that three times now, lad,” Saidh responded dryly, shifting her foot up to the next branch and hauling herself upward.
“Aye, but ye’re still doing it, so I thought mayhap ye had no’ heard me,” Alpin said sharply. When she didn’t respond to that, he added, “I could climb up there to pick the apples and throw them down, ye ken.”
“Then there would be no one to catch them,” Saidh pointed out.
“I was thinking mayhap ye could stay below and catch them, as a lady should,” he said, sounding much put upon.
Saidh plucked the apple she’d been climbing to and glanced down to see where the boy was before dropping it in his direction. Once Alpin had caught it, and set it with the others they’d already gathered, she started to climb down and asked, “Just how old are ye, Alpin?”
“Nine,” he said proudly.
“Hmmm,” she muttered, easing down another branch. “Ye act ninety.”
“Laird MacDonnell says the same thing,” Alpin announced with disgust.
“Then we are in agreement,” Saidh said cheerfully, easing down another branch.