“I think that is what frightens me: this
love of ours is so powerful, so different, and so beautiful that I
wonder if it is real.”
“Never doubt that it is, Brianna, for there
is nothing that can prevent us from loving, not even death. This I
promise you. Now say you will wed me, for our love demands it.”
She laughed softly and whispered in his ear,
“I will wed you, Royce Campbell.”
He caught her around the waist and scooped
her up into his strong arms and spun around yelling, “She agrees to
wed me!”
“Stop! Stop!” she cried out on a laugh,
though it sounded more like a whimper.
The door burst open and Moira and Anne
rushed into the room, Ian and Blair entering close behind them.
“Put her down, you fool—she is with child!”
Moira shouted.
Moira cringed at her outburst, recalling how
the same was done to her. Anne had then been the culprit, and now
it was she.
Ian laughed, slipping his arm around his
wife. “A memory recalled,” he teased and kissed her cheek.
Anne sympathized with Moira, knowing how she
felt, though her concern at the time was for Moira, and she
understood that Moira felt the same protectiveness toward
Brianna.
Blair found delight in it all and
grinned.
Royce and Brianna remained silent, their
eyes fixed on each other.
Royce spoke first. “You are sure?”
“Aye, I am sure your babe nestles
comfortably inside me.”
“When?” Royce asked anxiously.
“When the summer is near to ending.”
Ian attempted to usher everyone out of the
room so that his sister and Royce could have privacy.
But before he could, Royce turned to him.
“We wed tomorrow.”
It was Moira and Anne who objected.
“Not enough time to prepare,” Moira
insisted.
“Her dress is not complete,” Anne added.
“What dress?” Brianna asked, surprised.
“It was to be a surprise,” Anne said.
Brianna laughed. “It is.”
‘Tomorrow,” Royce repeated.
Ian took charge. “I think three days’ time
would give sufficient preparation time and be suitable for all.” He
waited for objections. Most important, he waited for his sister to
object; if she did not wish this, he would not grant
permission.
Brianna smiled at her brother and rested her
head on Royce’s shoulder with a yawn.
Ian knew that his sister was satisfied, and
it was obvious she was tired and wished time alone with her future
husband.
Moira realized the same. “There is much to
be done; we’d better get started now.”
They hurried to the door, Moira and Anne
already making plans.
Ian stopped and looked back to Royce. “We
will talk tomorrow.”
“As you wish,” he said, giving him due
respect. “I am happy for you, little sister, and pleased that I
will be an uncle,” Ian offered with a smile.
“I am pleased you are my brother and have
such patience with me. Thank you, Ian.”
Ian nodded and looked to Royce. “Protect her
well.”
“You have my word on it.”
“Then I have no need for worry.” Ian closed
the door behind him, giving them their privacy.
Royce carried her to the bed and placed her
down carefully, then sat down beside her. His hand went to rest on
her stomach. “You feel well?”
“Aye, though I eat much too much, grow tired
too often, and cry much too easily.”
“Eat as much as you want, rest as much as
you want, and cry as much as you want, it matters not to me. What
matters is that you are well and happy.”
“I could not believe it at first,” she
confided in him. “It took me time and being sick in the morning to
completely accept the fact that I was with child. I had so wanted a
child but had convinced myself that it would never be.”
“Your husband is the one who had you
convinced, and as you see, he was wrong.” His hand rubbed her
stomach.
“Our child rests comfortably, and there will
be more to follow.”
She laughed. “I have yet to give you one and
you ask for more?”
“We are in love and enjoy loving. How can
there not be more children?”
She sighed, reaching out to rest a hand on
his. “You are right. We love often and I do not want that to end, I
want us to always love as we do.”
He caught her hand in his and brought it to
his lips, placing a kiss on her palm. “We shall. That is why I have
no doubt other children will follow this one.”
She yawned again.
“You should rest,” he said with concern.
She shook her head. “I am hungry.”
Royce looked at the table where the bread
and cheese lay. “Is that all you wish, bread and cheese? Or shall I
get you more?”
She slipped her hand from his and began to
rub his chest. “It is not food I hunger for.”
He attempted to control his desire—after
all, she was tired—but it did not help with the way her hand
drifted down lower and lower along his body. “You need rest.”
Her laughter was soft and teasing. “I need
you.”
He liked her aggressiveness. “You have grown
bold.”
“I have grown wise.” Her hand settled over
him, and she lightly squeezed the hard length of him.
He could not prevent the moan that escaped
his lips. He had been too long without her, and he desired her as
much as she did him, and that thought ignited his passion even
more.
“I have learned that to deny myself what I
truly desire is foolish. I have denied for too long my desire for
you, and now that we will be husband and wife, there is no reason
for me to deny myself or you any longer. I have the right to want
you.”
“Aye, you have that right and you should
enjoy that right.” He moaned again, for she squeezed him just a
little harder and it felt good, very good.
“It has been too long and I feel much too
needy, but somehow it does not matter. All that matters is that we
make love.”
“Much too long,” he said. “And if you
continue to touch me that way, it will be much too short a time we
spend together.”
She giggled. “I enjoy touching you.”
“And I enjoy touching you.”
“Then can we not touch together?”
His actions were his response. He
reluctantly eased her hand off him and began to disrobe. She joined
him, shedding her garments as quickly as possible.
They stretched out beside each other on the
bed and they began to touch.
His hands took pleasure in her breasts and
she in his chest. Their touches were gentle caresses that left them
wanting more. Their kisses were a blend of softness and eagerness,
and when their hands drifted down to more intimate places; their
kisses took on more passion.
Brianna felt free to feel as she wished and
speak as she wished for the first time in her life. They had loved
before, but now knowing they would be wed and spend the rest of
their lives together because they both wished it gave her a sense
of freedom she had never known.
And she loved the thought that she could be
so free and safe with him.
“I want to taste you.”
He moaned at the image her remark produced.
“And I you.”
“Is it possible we can do so at the same
time?” she asked eagerly.
“Anything is possible if it is desired
enough.”
“I desire you.” She kissed him like a lover
in need.
When their lips parted, he moved down over
her and positioned them so that they both could enjoy each other,
but at first taste he knew they could not last long. And it was
with her pitiful moan and the rush of his name to her lips that he
moved over her and entered her with a swiftness that surprised but
satisfied them both.
He slipped his arm behind her back and
brought her chest to his as he drove into her with strong, hard
thrusts.
She clung to him, the feel of him sending
her tumbling over the edge of sanity. She did not want him to stop;
she wanted him to go on and on and on until he was left completely
breathless.
And he did.
She cried out to him in the end, wave after
wave of pleasure washing over them both, and she realized without a
doubt that life would be nothing without him. They belonged
together.
He took her in his arms and held her until
their breathing slowed.
“Hungry or tired?” he asked, his breath a
bit labored.
“Both.”
He heard the tiredness in her response. “Eat
and then sleep?”
“Eat. I am famished.” The thought of food
restored her energy.
“More than bread and cheese?”
“Much more,” she answered with a laugh.
“Then I will see to a feast.”
“Then you will truly be my hero.”
“You are to impress,” he said with a tender
pat to her backside.
She yawned and stretched, moving away from
him to roll on her stomach.
He leaned over her. “You are all right?”
“I feel wonderful. I had not thought that
making love could be so grand. We must do it often.”
“As often as you like,” he assured her with
several kisses to her shoulder. “Now I get you food.”
“Please,” she said, sounding as if she were
starving.
He dressed and left the room, returning soon
with a small feast.
She had slipped on a robe while he was gone
and sat by the fire waiting. Her thoughts had been happy ones. She
had made a choice, a good choice, and was pleased with her
decision. Life would go on and for the better. She would allow
herself to love and live as she had not done before, and she felt
relieved, relieved that she had the strength not only to go on but
to live a full and content life.
They talked and laughed as they ate and made
plans for the future. They even discussed names for their
child.
“If a boy I would like to name him after my
father—Connor.”
“A strong name, I like it, but what if a
daughter?”
He thought, knowing the name he wished, but
feeling if he chose a son’s name, she had the right to choose a
daughter’s name.
“Your grandmother, what was she called?”
“Breda,” he said softly.
“Then Breda it shall be,” she said, reaching
for another piece of cheese and bread, the meat pie not filling
enough.
He was speechless for a moment. “There is no
name you wish to give a daughter? Your mother’s name?”
She shook her head, finishing the piece of
cheese. “I think a daughter would do well with your grandmother’s
name. She meant much to you, as would a daughter.”
He was about to kiss her in appreciation for
her thoughtfulness and because he loved kissing her when she
suddenly yawned.
“You should rest now,” he insisted, clearing
away the tray of food on the bed.
“You will stay with me?” she asked,
snuggling beneath the blankets and yawning again.
“Always,” he said, kissing her forehead, and
then depositing the tray on the small table before climbing into
bed and cuddling up against her. “I will always be with you, and I
will forever keep you safe.”
“I am happy,” she said on a yawn. “Finally
all is settled and we will live happily together.”
“For always and always,” he whispered in her
ear.
“Always does exist, does it not?” she asked
anxiously. “Nothing can rob us of this happiness, can it?”
“Nothing, I will not allow it.” He was
adamant. “You and I are meant to be together. We will be husband
and wife in a few short days. There is nothing that will stop us
from wedding. Nothing.”
Brianna shivered. “I pray it is so.”
“It is so, worry not,” he said with a gentle
squeeze.
“Now sleep and rest, for there is much for
you to do before our wedding day.”
She moved as close as she could against him
and attempted to still her fears. Rational or not, they haunted her
and she could not ignore them. And she silently prayed that all
would be well.
Gray skies greeted her on her wedding day,
but it seemed as if the sun shined brightly in and around the keep.
Everyone was busy, each in their own way preparing for the
wedding.
A grand feast was to be held in the great
hall, and all were invited. There would be eating, drinking, and
merriment, for everyone was happy for Brianna and Royce.
Moira and Anne were insisting that Brianna
rest before the ceremony and celebration, but she was not tired.
She felt full of life, and she felt happier than she had been in a
very long time.
She did, however, feel that she needed time
alone, and she had slipped on her fur-lined wool cloak, pulled up
the hood, and sneaked out of the keep. She walked the narrow,
barely detectable path to the stream that ran not far from the
keep. It was a path she and her brother had traveled when either
were troubled and in need of solitary time or time together, just
the two of them. It was the place where Ian had informed her of
their parents’ passing and where he had told her that Arran’s
escape had been successful. She came here now to lay her past to
rest.
A snap of a branch caught her attention, and
she did not need to turn and see who had followed her. “I expected
you.”
Ian walked up behind his sister and slipped
his hand in hers. “I could always tell when you needed to come
here.”
They strolled along near the stream.
“This is what you want?” Ian asked.
She had expected the question from him. He
wanted to make certain that she was certain. She laughed. “I must
admit that a few days ago I probably would not have been able to
answer you, for I simply had no answer. My heart knew what I
wanted, but my emotions ruled and I could make sense of
nothing.”
“Not so now?”
She smiled. “Now I know for certain what my
heart has attempted to convince me of. I love Royce and all my
fears and doubts will not change my feelings for him. So my answer
is aye, I wish very much to wed Royce.”