She smiled. “You do know me well.”
“I think perhaps I should get to know you even better,” he said, his hand roaming down over the gentle curve of her hip.
“Not fair. You know I cannot resist you and you know we must find the mercenaries to find out who hired them to abduct me or there will be more attempts to do so,” she warned, annoyed her body was responding to his caresses and knowing it would not be long before her hand roamed over him. And she knew the exact spot she intended to caress.
“We can discuss it later,” he said, leaning down to nibble at her neck.
She knocked the wood bowl, with what little food was left in it, off the bed as she worked her hand down his body to settle over his already erect shaft and stroke it gently, teasingly.
“Your word on something, husband,” she said, feeling him grow hard in her hand.
“Anything,” he said, his hand going to caress her breast.
“You will take me with you when you go hunt for the mercenaries.”
His head shot up from where he nibbled at her neck. “You will not—”
“AHA! I knew it,” she said, poking at his chest. “You plan to go find them without me.”
“Listen to me good, wife,” he ordered. “There is no way you are going with me when I go after the mercenaries.”
Annis sat straight up. “And who will you entrust to keep me safe?”
Brogan went to respond and stopped, struggling to find an answer.
“There is no one,” she challenged.
A thought came to him, and he spoke it before giving it any consideration. “I will take you to my family’s keep. You will be safe there.”
She laughed. “I would rather be locked away in the dungeon.”
“That can be arranged,” he threatened.
“You would not dare,” she warned, poking at his chest again.
He grabbed her finger. “I gave you my word I would keep you safe and I will do it no matter what it takes.”
“Then your word settles it. You will take me with you since you said yourself that I am always safe when I am with you.”
He shook his head. “You tricked me, wife.”
She grinned wide. “I did and you will keep your word for you are an honorable man.”
He smiled, a wicked smile as he eased her back on the bed. “Now let me repay you in kind.”
Annis chuckled softly. “Be careful or you may find yourself tricked again—though this time you might enjoy it.” Her hand shot down and grabbed his shaft firmly.
Brogan gasped and Annis chuckled.
24
An overcast sky greeted them the next morning and lingered as they walked to the village.
Brogan kept his hand wrapped firmly around his wife’s, not that he had to. She gripped his hand with a strength that surprised him and made him realize her intention. Any assailant would be forced to pry her hand out of his to separate them. It made him worry a little less, but only a little.
“We need to see to those mercenaries, so they do not slow down or interfere with our quest,” Annis said.
He had recognized from first meeting Annis that she had a sharp mind. And as always, she approached most everything as she did when constructing a dwelling, piece by piece. So, any advice she offered he gladly considered.
“I was thinking,” she said and glared when he smiled at her. “Why are you smiling?”
“I feel lucky to have you as my wife,” he said and raised their locked hands to kiss hers.
Annis stopped abruptly. “Lucky! If you feel lucky perhaps the curse has been broken, or could it be losing its power?”
“Lately, I have been happier than I can ever remember,” he said, the thought surprising and he tugged her hand to continue walking.
“Find the lass and all will come to pass,” Annis repeated what the witch had told her. “What if the witch means something different?”
“What else could she mean?”
Annis shook her head. “I do not know. Maybe something has already been set in motion and by the time we find the MacWilliam lass all will come to pass. What I do know is that we should be careful who we trust.”
“I agree. A good sum of coins can tempt the most loyal man or most any stranger,” Brogan said, the thought sparking his anger.
“We will see what the mercenaries have to say,” Annis said.
This time Brogan stopped abruptly. “You should not go with me.”
“Why not? We simply offer them more coin not to take me captive.”
“You do not think like a mercenary. Such a ruthless man would not only take our coins but turn around and take you captive anyway and get even more coins,” he explained and watched her brow scrunch in concentration. He started them moving once again, the open area around them leaving them much too vulnerable for a surprise assault.