At dinner that night, Ryder smiled over the top of his glass as Meredith caught his eye across the table, rolling her eyes comically at whatever it was that Melissa was talking her ear off about now. She smiled back at him, her lovely face lighting up. She’s so beautiful, Ryder thought, watching as she turned back to Melissa, her face animated as she joined in the conversation. How lucky I am to have her — and how much I would do to keep her and her family safe.
The thought made him pause, for this was not simply an idle thought, but one borne of the fear he had felt when Meredith had arrived back at the castle; her face panicked as she told him of the fire that had destroyed her family’s home.
Someone wanted to hurt them, he knew it as surely as he knew he’d do anything — anything at all — to stop it happening. And yet, therein lay the problem. It had been two weeks since the fire, and he was no closer to working out who was responsible.
“Let’s take a stroll before bed,” he whispered, taking her by the hand as their guests filed out of the Great Hall after another feast laid on by Mrs. MacDonald. “I need to walk off some of that food, I think!”
Meredith looked a little bemused - it was a cold evening for a walk, after all - but happily followed him towards the castle door, calling for Ellen to run and bring her a shawl as she went.
“Look, a full moon!” she said, pointing up to where the moon was just visible, peeking up above the castle parapets. “It’s so beautiful!”
“As are ye,” Ryder said, a little bashfully. Soft words did not come easily to him, and yet, what had happened to her parent’s home had provided a timely reminder that nothing lasted forever. As they walked on through the night, the moonlight illuminating their path up the small hillside that faced the castle, he wanted her to be left with no doubt about his feelings for her.
“It looks even more lovely from up here,” Meredith said as they stopped at the top of the hill, leaning against the trunk of the tree that grew there as they gazed back at the castle, thrown into stark relief against the moon. “Ye must love it so much.”
Ryder wrapped his arms around her.
“It’s just a place,” he said carefully, aware that the subject must be a difficult one for her, given the loss of her own childhood home. Meredith had loved the place she had grown up in and yet had lost it; he had hated his, but here it still stood. He tightened his arms around her, feeling her settle back into them.
“Places daenae really matter,” he continued. “People are the only thing that matter to me. And one person in particular, actually.”
“Is that right?” She turned to face him, smiling up at him in the moonlight, her lips inches from his. This close up, he could almost taste her, and, feeling a sudden and uncontrollable urge to do just that, he pressed his lips to hers, pushing her back against the rough trunk of the tree as he kissed her deeply, feeling her warm body respond instantly to his touch. As they kissed, his body pressed against hers, he felt himself grow hard. He had to have her, and it had to be now.
Feeling his excitement grow, Meredith reached around his body, pulling him closer. Her breath came in short, ragged gasps as he pulled at her clothes, desperate to feel her skin against his. Finding only resistance from the layers of skirts she wore, however, Ryder growled in frustration, then, tearing his lips from hers, he hoisted her up in his arms until her legs were hooked around his waist, his hands fumbling with her skirts to pull her undergarments roughly aside as she ran her soft fingers through his hair, moaning softly as she felt his fingers brush her skin.
He couldn’t wait any longer. His lips were against her neck, the musky scent of her making her impossible to resist, as, in one swift movement, he thrust his way inside her, making her cry out in pleasure. He silenced her with another kiss, his arms tightening around her as she finally pulled away, burying her face against his neck as he continued thrusting, enjoying the feel of her hot breath against the skin of his neck.
“Sorry,” he gasped, at last, his face flushed as he exploded inside her, unable to hold back any longer, “I dinnae mean that to be over so quickly.”
“It’s nae matter,” she whispered as he lowered her back to the ground. “There will be many other chances for us.”
Without realizing it, she had echoed his own thoughts on their wedding night. But as they walked back towards the castle, her hand tucked safely in his, Ryder found himself once again feeling uneasy. On their wedding day, he had felt as if they had all the time in the world, but the subsequent events involving her parents and their castle had changed that, leaving an ever-present threat hanging over them.
He still did not know who was behind the burning of Quinn Castle. All he knew was that whatever it took, he would find out. And then he would make them pay.