He cupped her face. “I’m not going anywhere. You are stuck with me.”
“It is you who are stuck with me,” she said.
“Good, then we’re stuck together.”
“Forever?” she asked softly.
“Forever,” he repeated, and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.
“It is done?” Cavan shouted to him when their lips parted.
Ronan nodded. “Send his men to collect him. He will bother us no more.”
“Good, then we can finally all go home,” Cavan said.
“Home,” Carissa whispered.
“Yes, home,” Ronan said, then whispered in her ear, “and when I get you there, do you know what I’m going to do to you?”
She giggled as he poked her playfully, but gently, in the ribs. “Tell me.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist, drew her near, and whispered exactly what he intended to do to her. Her face flushed bright red, her body tingled, and she wished they were already home.
Chapter 38
It wasn’t until later that evening that Carissa and Ronan got to be alone, and only then because they sneaked away. First, Zia insisted on tending their wounds, which only amounted to minor abrasions and bruises. Then Artair and Honora wanted a detailed description of what happened, which Addie happily supplied while wrapped in Hagen’s arms. Later, when Carissa and Ronan were about to take their leave and have a quiet supper to themselves, Dykar and Septimus arrived, and Cavan invited them to the table.
The abduction was discussed again in more detail, and Dykar told them all that a contingent of mercenaries was only too glad to join Sinclare warriors in escorting Cregan and his men off Sinclare land.
Dykar assured them that Cregan would return home, lick his wounds and stay put, knowing he had been soundly defeated.
It was during this constant chatter that Carissa and Ronan managed, separately, to slip away and reunite in their cottage.
A light snow fell as Carissa hurried along, and for a moment she stopped and looked up at the night sky. Clouds kept the half-moon from shining through, and with the air having turned crisper, more snow was bound to fall.
She smiled and drew her cloak around her. This time she and Ronan wouldn’t mind being stranded in a cottage together. They truly would delight in the prospect.
The door to the cottage opened, and Ronan stood silhouetted in the doorway. Her smile grew, for he wore only his plaid, which meant he had been busy undressing.
“Carissa,” he called out, and held his hand out to her. “What kept you?”
She hurried to him, her hand ready to grab his. “I’ve been thinking about how lucky I am.”
He took her hand and swirled her around right into his arms and kissed her. Not hungrily, but lovingly.
“And you’re about to get even luckier,” he said playfully when the kiss ended.
“Promises, promises,” she said, as they drifted together inside the cottage, Ronan shutting the door with his foot.
“Promises, I will always keep,” he said with a gentle kiss, and rid her of her cloak.
Her hands easily found the end of his plaid and in no time she rid him of it, letting it fall to the ground.
“Now that’s the way I like you,” she teased.
“And I you,” he whispered in her ear as he set to work undressing her.
Of course his lips had to trail where his fingers touched, and when Carissa shivered, he moved them closer to the warmth of the hearth and finished until finally they both stood naked together.
“You are so very beautiful,” Ronan said, his hands roaming lovingly over her.
Every part of her body tingled, and she quickly grew wet with the want of him. “I don’t want to wait,” she said, and took hold of him. She chuckled. “Obviously, you don’t either.”
“I’ll not have you only once tonight, woman,” he teased.
“You would disappoint me if you did.”
He laughed as he lifted her about the waist, and she locked her legs around him to rest on his hips.
“I will not disappoint you,” he said, and lowered his lips to her hard nipples.
She dug her fingers into the back of his head as he suckled her and made her moan with pleasure. His mouth continued to torture her until, finally, she could stand it no more.
“I will come here and now, Highlander, if you do not stop.”
He chuckled and, while his mouth continued to feast, his fingers found their way inside her, and in mere moments he had her screaming out in pleasure. But as ripple after ripple claimed her body, he hurried her to the bed and came down on top of her, delving inside to set her flesh tingling again.
She wrapped her legs around him to take him deeper inside her, and it didn’t take long for them both to cry out as they exploded in pleasure together.
When calm returned to them, Ronan rolled to the side, taking her with him to lie close beside him, his arm wrapped snug around her.
She laid her head on his chest and settled contentedly against him.
“Rest, for it will not be long before I want you again,” he teased.
“I will be ready before you.”
“How lucky am I to have found an insatiable wife.”
Wife.
Carissa had never thought to be a wife to a man of her choosing, and she silently thanked the heavens for this miracle.
“Are you all right?” he asked with concern. “You tense in my arms.”
“It is I who am lucky,” she said softly, placing her hand over his heart. “I never thought I would be a wife to a husband of my choice and that he would truly love me.”
Ronan lifted her chin for her to look at him. “Hear me well, Carissa. I love you with all my heart, and I intend to have you as my wife because of that love and for no other reason.”
She had to ask, “You want Carissa not Hope?”
“You are hope,” he said. “You gave hope to me and you have given hope to many. Hope resides in you whether you want it to or not. And I love every part of you, Carissa.”
She smiled. “You can love any part of me anytime you want.”
“Do you know what that smile of yours does to me?”
She shook her head, and he took her hand and guided it down over him.
“I’m going to have to smile all the time.”
“You may just kill me if you do that”—he laughed—“but what a way to die.”
She climbed on top of him. “I’ll temper my smiles since you have trouble keeping up with me.”
“A challenge?”
She ran her hand over his hardness. “You seem to be up to it.”
He laughed again, but before he could take charge, she slid down over him, and he cried out with the exquisite feel of her.
“My turn,” she said, and proceeded to love him.
They lay snuggled together, Carissa yawning.
“I tired you,” Ronan boasted.
“The night is still young,” she challenged, and yawned again.
“You are tired and need to rest.”
“I have not had enough of you yet,” she said, draping her leg over his and snuggling closer.
Ronan hugged her tightly. “We have the morning and the day after and the day after that. We have forever.”
“That sounds delightful.” She sighed and couldn’t help recall a time she thought differently. “I once believed that I would never have you, that it was an impossible dream, and now I can’t imagine not being with you, not having you hold me, not growing old with you.”
Carissa looked up at him. “That tale your mother made up for me to tell Cregan was so sad. While I suffered greatly when I sent you away, at least I knew that you were alive and well.”
“About that tale, Carissa,” Ronan said with a tender stroke of her cheek. “It was no tale. It was the truth.”
Carissa popped up in bed, her long blond hair falling over her bare breasts as the blanket fell away from her. “What do you mean?”
“My mother told you that you looked familiar,” he reminded. “She finally realized who it was you reminded her of, and had Hagen take her to the village. The woman, Kate, whose fine yarn my mother favored is who she thought you resembled and it was Kate’s sister, Shona, who was your mother.”
Carissa shook her head. “Are you saying that Mordrac truly wasn’t my father?
“That’s right. You are not the daughter of Mordrac.”
“Mordrac killed my father?”
Ronan nodded and reached out and took her hand.
Carissa grasped tightly to him. She couldn’t believe what he was telling her. The news brought a mixture of relief and heartache. And it explained so much. She had often wondered how her nature was so different from that of her supposed father.”
She smiled and squeezed his hand. “I am like my true father.”
“I would say that you are.”
She gasped. “Do you know what this means?”
“What?”
“I have family other than yours. I have an aunt, and she can tell me all about my mother and father. I will be able to get to know them through her.”
“Yes, you will,” he agreed, “especially since my mother has already extended an invitation to our wedding to her and her family.”
“My aunt has a family?” Carissa said excitedly.
“A husband, two sons, and two daughters.”
Carissa squealed with delight.
“They do not live too far, and their village does not thrive well,” Ronan said. “I had an idea how you could help them.”
“Tell me.”
“You have a good-sized mercenary troop, many of whom have grown tired of battle and wish to settle. Why not see who would like to make your aunt’s village their home. With their help and protection, the village could thrive. And, of course, they would come under the clan Sinclare protection.”
“I know many of them who would like that, though others will wish to return to our camp near Everagis.”
“At least they will have a choice,” he said. “Something I think they would all prefer.”
“This is all so unbelievable,” Carissa said, shaking her head.
Ronan reached out and stroked the corner of her eye. “I thought perhaps this news would finally bring tears of joy to your eyes, and yet you still do not cry.”
She struggled to find an explanation. “I don’t know why I have yet to cry. And I don’t know how to explain that it is a sad joy that I feel. Learning that Mordrac killed my father because he wanted my mother saddens me beyond belief, and yet the joy comes from knowing that Mordrac’s cruel nature is not part of me. Happiness mixes with sadness, and yet I feel no tears.”
Carissa drifted back into his arms. “I was once told that when at last I cried, it would be with tears of joy.”
Ronan kissed her softly before she settled against him. “Somehow I will find a way to bring joyful tears to your eyes.”
Carissa sighed. “It has been so long since I cried.” She shook her head. “The tears I remember were sorrowful ones. I have never cried tears of joy. I don’t think I know how.”
“I will find a way,” he repeated.
She snuggled against him. “You make me happy, that is enough.”
Ronan rolled her on her back and leaned over her. “It is not enough for me. I want to give you all I can and more.”
“You want to make me cry?”
He gently touched the corners of her eyes. “I will never make you cry in sadness, but I will see you cry in joy.”
“That’s a tall task you set for yourself, Highlander.”
“There you go challenging me again,” he said with a smile.
“You do well with challenges.”
“I succeed in all of them.”
“This may be one time you don’t,” she said sadly.
He kissed the corners of her eyes. “I promise you that tears of joy will spill from these eyes soon enough.”
“A promise.” She sighed. “Then it will be so, though soon?”
“Trust me,” he said, his smile spreading.
She reached out and pressed her hand to his cheek. “I was taught to trust no one, but you changed that. I can’t say when I began to trust you. It just seemed to follow a natural course, and somehow trust developed on its own. It was there staring straight at me, I only needed to recognize it.”
“Like love.”
“You’re right,” she said with a nod. “Like love. Suddenly you realize it’s there staring you straight in the eyes and tearing at your heart.”
“And love has you and won’t let you go,” he said with a kiss.
Carissa stared at him for a moment.
“You don’t agree?” he asked with a raise of his brow.
“No, I mean yes, I mean…” Carissa smiled. “I was thinking that you have proved Mordrac wrong. Love not only endures, it conquers hate.”
“That loves does,” he agreed. “And it’s time for us to—”
“Make love again.”
“You’re not too tired?”
“I am, but I want you more than sleep,” she said, and kissed him with the desire of a woman for the man she loved, and it set his soul on fire.
They joined eagerly and impatiently, yet didn’t rush. They wanted this joining to last, to linger in every touch, every kiss, every moment of pleasure.
They explored each other with their hands and with kisses and nibbles and laughter and sighs. It was a cherished joining, a beautiful memory that would linger long in their minds.
When finally they found it too hard to deny themselves, they came together in a frenzied rhythm that had them catapulting in a climax that left them both completely breathless as ripples of pleasure burst over their damp, tingling flesh.
And then they finally slept.
Chapter 39
“Are you sure of this wedding gift?” Zia asked.
“I couldn’t be more confident,” Ronan said.
“But mother has offered you the emerald necklace she wore on her wedding day to give to Carissa,” Zia said.
“I will not do what Mordrac did to her. Dress her in fancy jewels for all to admire,” Ronan said. “I know this gift will bring great pleasure to Carissa.”
“All right,” Zia agreed with a smile. “You obviously know what pleases your future wife, and I will have it ready.”
Ronan leaned down and kissed her cheek.
“Hey, what are you doing with my wife?” Artair teased as he joined them in Zia’s healing cottage.
“Thanking her for the perfect wedding gift to give to my wife,” Ronan said.
Artair slapped his brother on the back. “A few more hours, and the last of the Sinclare brothers marries.”
“I can’t wait,” Ronan said with a broad smile.
“It will be here too soon,” Zia said, hurrying to grab her cloak off the peg. “There is much to do. I will see you later.” She gave her husband a quick kiss, then stopped, grinned at him, and gave him a kiss he wouldn’t soon forget. She left the cottage with a grin.
Artair turned on his brother. “Damn, why did you have to be here?”
Ronan laughed. “If I have to wait until tonight, so do you.”
“Let’s go find Cavan and Lachlan and make sure that they’re suffering too,” Artair suggested, and Ronan agreed.
Carissa hugged Addie as the woman tried to help get her into her wedding dress. “I cannot thank you enough for all you have done for me, but I am particularly grateful for having my aunt and her family here to share this very special day.”
“They are very nice people,” Addie said, finally getting Carissa’s arms into the long sleeves of the dark green velvet gown.
“I am sure Aunt Kate is just like my mother, and Uncle James is delightfully funny and then there is Cowan, so intelligent for ten years old and Wallace, who is an excellent bowman at fifteen, and oh, sixteen-year-old Colleen has her mother’s skill with yarn and twelve-year-old Aggie chatters
all day! I love them all.”
“As I’m sure they love you.”
A knock sounded at the door of Ronan’s bedchamber, and it was Addie who cried out, “If it is a man, go away.”
The door opened, and Kate peered in. “May I enter?”
“Of course,” Addie said, waving her into the room. “It was men I looked to chase away. They have no business here now.”
Kate agreed, though her smile faded. “You have a gown. I thought since it has only been two months since the wedding was decided that there would not be time to stitch a gown.”
“Addie had this fitted for me from one of her older gowns,” Carissa said, realizing yet again how much she resembled her aunt and, therefore, her mother. The thought filled her with loving warmth.
Kate stepped forward. “I took the liberty of bringing your mother’s wedding dress with me. Shona stitched it herself, she was so talented with needle and thread. You are your mother’s size, and I thought you might like to wear it.”
Carissa reached out and took the folded white wool she had thought a shawl at first glance. When she lifted it, the garment fell to reveal the most gorgeous gown she had ever seen.
Even Addie gasped. “That is stunning.”
Kate lifted one of the long sleeves and gently touched the handsome embroidery along the edge. “Your mother worked on this dress day and night, and when her wedding was done, she washed it with gentle hands, and after it dried by the fire, she wrapped it away with plans to give it to her daughter.”
The wool was so soft Carissa could not stop touching it.
“Your mother was wed in the winter, just like you are about to be,” Kate said.
“You must wear your mother’s dress,” Addie said, already pulling the green gown off Carissa.
“You don’t mind?” Carissa asked.
Tears clouded Addie’s eyes. “I would want the same from my daughter. We will give your mother what she wished.”
Carissa hugged the woman again. “Thank you.”
“Let’s get you done,” Addie said. “Kate, you help her dress.”
Kate gave Addie a thankful nod for allowing her the privilege and joy of helping her niece on this very special day, while Addie continued to wipe tears from her eyes.
The Highlander's Forbidden Bride Page 26
