Epilogue
EPILOGUE
A lonely hoot from a distant owl lingered on the breeze as Astrid leaned on the balustrade. The day had been tumultuous and brutal. As much as she wanted to be able to put everything aside and move on, she couldn’t. That moment had been far too raw, far too painful for her to just set it aside.
Running her fingers through her hair, she stood straight and kept her eye on the torch light burning atop the watch tower. It was a faint, little light that gave her hope that maybe she’d find her way back, even though things seemed bleak.
“Ye look like ye’re carryin’ the weight of the world on yer shoulders,” Thomas noted from behind her. “I have been told that a man was given broad shoulders to carry the load of his family.”
Astrid barely glanced over her shoulder at him, but she enjoyed the fact that he had come outside. She didn’t know if she wanted the company or not, but until she made up her mind, he was welcome to stay.
“What’s troublin’ ye, lass? One would think we lost,” he said as he draped his blanket over her shoulders.
Astrid pulled it closer around her and breathed in his musky scent.
“For a moment there, I thought I did,” she admitted, turning to face him.
Her heart pounded as she dared to look into his eyes. She wasn’t sure what she was going to find lurking in the depths of his gaze, but she had to look.
“Ye shouldnae have worried so,” he said as she curled her fingers into his shirt and clung to it as if it were her lifeline. “Is that why ye barely ate at dinner? Och, lass, I told ye that I could handle yer troubles, did I nae? Have I nae told ye time and again that I’m here for ye always? Ye’re me wife.”
“Aye, and ye’re me husband. But…”
Astrid dropped her gaze as visions of Thomas sinking into the bog flashed before her eyes. Her heart sank as fast as he did under the icy current. She trembled as the memory replayed in her mind.
“I thought I lost ye. One minute ye were there, and the next… When ye didnae come back up… Ye cannae do that to me.”
“Hush, me love,” Thomas soothed as he wrapped his arms around her and cradled her to his chest.
The steady drum of his heart eased her worries, but it failed to chase away the turbulent thoughts plaguing her.
“Nay, why did ye do that? Out of all the ways ye could have killed him, why did ye choose that?” Astrid gasped as she pounded her fists against his chest. Tears pooled in her eyes, the thought of losing him crippling her.
“It was the only way to ensure ye would be safe,” Thomas murmured. “I saw how close he was to ye, and there was nay way he’d have been able to use ye for support. If I went down, he’d have gone down.”
She pressed her forehead to his chest, trying to black out the horrors she had seen. Thomas tightened his grip on her as if it was by his sheer will alone that she didn’t shatter into a million pieces.
“Did he hurt ye?” he asked through gritted teeth.
It was the question that had lingered between them.
Astrid pressed her lips into a tight line and shook her head. “Ye did more harm to me than he ever could,” she mumbled against his chest.
His fingers raked through her hair, sending a shiver down her spine.
“I’m sorry, truly. All I could think about was keepin’ ye safe. If that meant takin’ out Chalium in the process, then that was what I was goin’ to do.”
“And did ye even think about what that would have done to me? Or do ye nae have a clue that I love ye? Me life would’ve been over if anything happened to ye,” Astrid confessed as tears spilled down her cheeks.
Thomas cupped her face in his hand and drew her eyes to his. She didn’t want to look at him. She didn’t want to see the judgment or the rejection that she was sure she’d find.
“Love… me?”
“Aye,” Astrid mumbled with her eyes closed defiantly.
As long as she didn’t look at him, she wouldn’t know just how bad the sting of his rejection would be.
“Look at me,” he whispered, his voice ever so smooth.
She shook her head and tried to turn away from him.
“Astrid, please. I willnae be able to say what I need to say if I cannae see yer beautiful eyes.”
Astrid’s heart raced as she peeked at him through her long lashes, dreading what she was going to see. As Thomas came into view, it wasn’t rejection or ire that greeted her. No, it was pure, unadulterated love.
“When I first saw ye, I thought that I had solved the riddle of the ages. How could I, after all, keep me clan in order and give them the heir they wanted? As much as I wanted to keep love at arm’s length, I couldnae, nae wit’ ye. Astrid, ye’re me everything.”
“Is that right?” Astrid huffed, arching an eyebrow as his words bounced off her. “I dinnae want to be everything. I just want to be yers. Nae Lady McFair or the healer. Just yers.”
“Ye’d have me give up me fortune and name to go run wild through the moors, would ye nae?” Thomas asked, the playfulness in his tone returning.
“It’s the only way a sprite can be free.”
“And that is what ye are, are ye nae? Me sprite. Me wisp of the moors. That is how the world will remember ye. The Lady of the Mist. And I will spread rumors far and wide of yer beauty and how ye overcame this world to transcend to something far more precious.”
Astrid rolled her eyes she tried to stop her smile from spreading, but it was no use. Thomas’s charm was too compelling for her to resist.
He leaned closer, kissing her softly. Astrid’s heart fluttered as he stoked the flames of her longing. The fact that he had come for her, despite everything, and saved her, made her heart overflow with love. She pulled him closer, deepening the kiss as the world faded around them.
“I love ye, Astrid,” Thomas whispered between his hungry kisses. “Ye should ken that. Every smile ye gave someone else, I was jealous. Every conversation ye had and time ye spent wit’ me family, I wished ye were spendin’ it wit’ me.”
He scooped her up into his arms and carried her into his room.
Astrid opened her mouth to protest but closed it quickly as he laid her gently on the bed. Watching as he took off his shirt, she scooted to the headboard and untied her bodice. She pulled off her skirts as he let his breeches fall to his feet.
She shifted down the bed, sinking into the feather pillows. Thomas nudged her legs apart and settled between them. She dug her nails into his back as he entered her. A low moan escaped her lips as Thomas sank into her to the hilt. To her surprise, her body welcomed him.
“I love ye, Astrid,” he whispered as his pants grew heavy in her ear. His hot breath caressed her cool skin and set her ablaze.
The world could fall apart, Laird Chalium could still be alive, some volcano could be threatening her very existence, but she didn’t care. It was Thomas she cared about. It was the feel of him inside her that she cared about. He was a part of her. A piece of her soul.
“And I ye, Thomas,” she managed to get out as he lowered himself over her, his weight pinning her to the mattress.
“Do ye? Really?” Thomas asked, panting for air.
Astrid watched his eyes roll to the back of his head. If it weren’t for the smile playing on his kissable lips, she would have thought something had gone wrong. His body trembled, and she felt a hot rush inside her.
“Aye,” she said. “I do.”
“I’m sorry,” Thomas murmured, pulling out of her.
Astrid looked at him as he wrapped his arms around her. She played with his hair as she listened to the crackling of the fire.
“For what? Ye have nothing to be sorry for,” she said as his grip on her tightened.
“For makin’ ye worry about me so,” he answered. “I should have found another way to take care of Chalium.”
Astrid wrapped her arms around him as tight as she could and squeezed. It wasn’t like him to apologize, let alone understand that his actions had consequences.
He pulled in a deep breath and let it out quickly. “Thinkin’ back on it, I was foolish. It was sheer luck that I found a way out without bein’ killed. I’ll never do that again.”
“Well, let’s hope that we dinnae have any reason to go back to the bog,” Astrid said.
“How many enemies do ye have, woman?”
Astrid shook her head. “I have none, thanks to ye.”
“How about we make a decree and keep people away from that place,” Thomas suggested.
“How many people do ye think are goin’ to venture in there because they think it’ll be a good idea? Give people more credit.”
“Ye went out there. Out of all the places ye could have picked, ye chose that one. Why? Did ye even think of the dangers it posed?”
Astrid paused running her fingers through his hair as she mulled over his words. By all accounts, he was right. She had picked the bog for a quick death. How was she to know that Laird Chalium would be so at home in such a gloomy place? The fact that he died there was a bit comforting. At least no one would stumble upon his body.
“I wasnae thinkin’,” she conceded. “I just wanted a place that would leave nay evidence. I couldnae bear ye findin’ my remains. I couldnae imagine findin’ yers. It’s something I dinnae ever want to come across.”
“Because of yer sister?” Thomas asked.
Astrid nodded her head. “I found her hangin’,” she whispered. “If it had to be me or Melody, I wouldnae change a thing.”
“I’m sorry ye had to deal wit’ so much for so long on yer own. But ye have to ken by now that ye’re me home, Astrid. Ye’re the one thing that brings me peace at the end of the day. I can give up the lairdship and everything I own so long as ye’re at me side, lovin’ me.”
“And I do love ye, Thomas. Ye stole me heart. Against me best efforts to keep me wits about me, ye came in and picked me up. I’ve never come down since.”
“I wouldnae say never,” Thomas said as he looked over her bare breast and pinched her hardened nipple. “I’m sure there was a time ye thought all was lost.”
“Nothing is ever lost,” Astrid sighed. “It’s just misplaced for the time being.”
“Is that so?” Thomas asked as he started kissing her stomach. His kisses tickled, causing her to squirm under him. “Is there something wrong? Ye are a bit wiggly this evening. If I didnae ken any better, I’d think ye had fleas in yer bed.”
Thomas propped himself up on his elbows and climbed over her. A playful, mischievous grin played on his lips and he leaned down to kiss her.
“But seein’ as how this is me room, I assure ye, Me Lady, that I dinnae have fleas. At least me healer would have told me if I had. She was the last person to see me bare, and I’m certain she would have mentioned it,” he rambled between light kisses down the curve of her neck.
“Fleas? That’s what ye want to talk about right now?” Astrid scoffed as she looked at him with bewildered eyes. “While we’re in bed, naked?”
“Aye.” Thomas chuckled as he pressed a kiss to her neck once again. “Pesky critters that we should get rid of as soon as we can—they’ll be horrid come summer.”
“Thomas.” Astrid giggled as he mimicked the bite of a flea on her nipple.
Her mouth dropped open in shock as he wiggled his eyebrows at her.
“Dinnae tell me ye didnae like it even a little,” he said, flashing her a crooked grin.
“I can say I didnae.”
“Well then, that willnae do. Nae at all,” Thomas purred as he bent his head to steal a kiss.
His manhood throbbed against her leg, begging for entrance once again.
Astrid opened her legs and welcomed him in, knowing she was home and safe.
The End?