should still have a saddle,” he said while pulling her arms through the armholes of the dress.
“I’ll not put a saddle on him, Ailean.”
“But, Shalin—”
“Is he mine or not?”
Ailean raised an eyebrow. “I certainly don’t want him,” he informed her before pulling on his clothes.
“Then he’s mine to manage as I see fit.”
“‘Then he’s mine to manage as I see fit,’” he mimicked back to her in a high-pitched voice that had her slapping at his shoulders in a pitiful attempt at an assault.
Laughing, Ailean grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close again. “You have quite the temper, don’t you?”
“Don’t sound so mocking. I do have quite the temper. Few, though, make me angry enough to show it.”
“I’ll have to work on that. I’d like to see you truly angry.”
Shalin’s face fell and she looked a little…terrified. “No, Ailean. No you wouldn’t.”
Before he could ask her more questions, the skies opened up and rain poured down on them. Quickly setting the dragoness aside, Ailean pulled on the rest of his clothes and boots.
While he did, he watched Shalin merely crook her finger to get Nightmare to trot over to her side. Without any further prompting, he lowered himself so Shalin could mount him easily.
“Meet you back at the castle?” she asked, using Nightmare’s hair for reins.
“We’ll be right behind you.” He whistled for Dragon’s Gold. “Stay on the path and head straight home, Shalin. I don’t desire searching for you in this downpour.” Ailean placed his hand on her thigh. “Oiy.”
“Yes?”
“No kiss?”
Leaning down a bit, she kissed him and Ailean felt no cold blowing in from the storm. He only felt warmth and desire, his hands reaching for her automatically.
“No, no,” she laughed. “We have to go.” Shalin sat up straight, her hand stroking his cheek. “Thank you for today.”
He grinned at her, completely unaware that his clothes were already soaked through. “And are you leaving this afternoon?”
Shalin looked up at the sky. “In this storm? Of course—”
“Then we’re not done. We can thank each other another day. For now…”
“For now…what?”
“For now we’ll need to find a way to avoid my family’s involvement. Unless you’re hoping what we do every day turns into a nightly topic of discussion at dinner.”
“Gods no!”
“Between us then?”
She surprised him by looking impossibly relieved and he didn’t understand the bit of resentment that caused. Usually he adored the ones who wanted to keep their involvement between the two of them rather than spreading so many rumors it turned into another edition of those damn books.
“Yes. Between us.”
“Then ride and I’ll see you back at the castle.”
Smiling, she pushed her soaking golden hair off her face and said to Nightmare, “Go.”
And to Ailean’s shock, the beast did just as she’d asked.
What power did this female possess over wild animals?
“Well, she has no control over me, Dragon’s Gold.” When the horse snorted at him, he glared until she looked away.
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