Chapter 11
Declan closed the door to Aura’s cottage relieved to be alone with her away from the cleric and his dangerous words.
After hanging her cloak on the peg, she picked something up off the table, went to him and took his hand to place the object in his palm. “You need to carry this with you.”
He looked at the hag stone. “You should keep it. You found it.”
“Nay, it is meant for you, and do not argue with your wife,” she said with a soft chuckle.
He chuckled himself. “I suppose that isn’t a good way to begin a marriage.”
Her smile faltered and she turned away from him. “I’ll fix us a brew, and you can finally tell me what happened with the witch.”
Declan reached out and took hold of her arm, stopping her. “Is something troubling you, Aura?”
She laughed softly again. “Where do I begin? Leaving the home I loved, my garden I worked so hard to cultivate, a failed abduction, an unexpected marriage, and now a cleric who believes I may be a witch.” She didn’t mention the kiss.
It was the least of her issues, yet it was at the top of her list.
“I am truly sorry for the upheaval I have caused you. If we cannot settle this soon, I will release you from the marriage.” His remark was like a punch to his gut. He didn’t want to release her from the marriage just yet.
Maybe never.
While that thought surprised him, it was not unwelcome.
“Let me tell you about the witch,” he said, and they sat at the table while he detailed what happened at the ring of stones.
“She appeared from the whirlwind?” Aura asked.
“It seemed that way and she was adamant about you and I never returning there. I got the feeling she didn’t want to be there herself.”
“That’s interesting,” Aura said, her brow scrunching.
“How so?”
“The ring of stones reeked of dark magic but if the witch was uncomfortable there then she does not practice dark magic.”
“Then why curse me as she did?”
She smiled. “You forget it was a wish.”
“It feels like a curse.”
“Or possibly a lesson.”
“And if I knew what that lesson was, I would learn it posthaste. If she shows herself to me again, I will ask her if it is a lesson.”
“She will not tell you. It is your lesson to learn.” She nodded to the hag stone he was absent-mindedly rubbing in his hand. “That is a powerful talisman of protection. Keep it with you at all times.”
A knock sounded at the door.
Declan motioned her to sit when Aura went to stand and answer it.
He went to the door and opened it. He stopped the smile that rushed to his lips and kept a stern expression, seeing Hamish’s and the cleric’s arms entangled around their shoulders, one supporting the other as they swayed in front of him.
“The cleric has come to apologize,” Hamish slurred. “Everyone defended Aura and told him what a good woman she is and how happy they are that you chose her as your wife. And that she was unselfish in accepting your offer and saving you from a lonely, bitter life.”
“She is a saint,” the cleric said, slurring every word.
“That is wise of you, Cleric,” Delcan said, keeping his expression stern while fighting back the amusement that had a chuckle tickling him.
“Now come back to the keep,” Hamish said. “Everyone wants to wish you both a long, happy, fruitful marriage.”
“Aye,” the cleric said, “and that fruitful part will start with the consummation of your marriage tonight. I expect to see the bridal sheet tomorrow morning as proof.”
The keep was quieter now, the voices from the hall reduced to the occasional murmur, a clatter of dishes, the distant bark of laughter as the servants cleaned up after the unexpected celebration.
Freyda had gotten a drunken Hamish home with help from a friend and Declan had two men carry the passed-out cleric to an empty cottage to sleep.
He now faced the dilemma he and Aura had had no chance to discuss since leaving her cottage. What do they do about the proof of consummation?
“I think it is best if you remain in my bedchamber tonight. I can easily see that blood is left on the sheets to please the cleric. But only if it appears that you shared my bed tonight,” he said as they reached his bedchamber.
“Aye, that would be the wise thing for us to do,” she agreed, though after taking a few steps inside the room and seeing her nightdress spread out on the bed waiting for her, her steps faltered.
Declan took hold of her arm to steady her. “I did not think you drank that much wine.”
She turned, her gaze settling on his face, mostly his lips, the memory of his kiss poking at her. “Nay, I didn’t.”
He knew women well and he knew that look in her eyes. She wanted him to kiss her, or was it him who wanted to kiss her?
Usually, it wouldn’t matter to him. He would just kiss the woman. But he didn’t want to make a mistake with Aura, do the wrong thing, push her away, and never have a chance to make it right.
So, instead of plunging ahead and kissing her, he said, “I apologize again for kissing you and sorry you didn’t enjoy it—”
“But I did,” she said, a look of surprise turning her eyes wide that he should think that. “I did enjoy the kiss. It just surprised me since… I’ve never been kissed.”
A slow smile drifted along his face. “Then you wouldn’t mind if I kissed you again?”
Aura smiled as well. “Nay, I wouldn’t mind.”
His hand fell away from her arm to join his other hand he rested at her waist. He eased her up against him and brought his lips down on hers.
Magic.
He had no other way of explaining it since he had never known such pleasure when kissing a woman before now…
before Aura. It stirred a feeling deep inside him, in a place he had never felt before and as the kiss continued that feeling grew stronger, gripped tighter, and he knew he never wanted to let her go.
Aura sighed softly when the kiss ended. “I never knew how lovely and pleasurable a kiss could be.”
He kept his hands resting at her waist. “Then you wouldn’t mind if I kissed you often?”
Her breath caught at that, robbing her of a response.
“It surprises you?”
Was he asking her or himself since he never expected to enjoy it as much as he did? Nor did he expect to want to kiss her often, but he did. He wanted endless days to not only kiss her but to—
“Aye, it does,” she said, interrupting his musings as she stepped away from him.
He was glad she did. He needed a bit of distance to make sense of what he was feeling. What was grabbing at his heart and twisting it? That had him thinking a thought that shocked, yet pleased him… keeping her as his wife, sharing their life together, and finding love with her.
“But then this whole situation,” —she shook her head— “couldn’t be any more shocking. At least, I thought it couldn’t be.”
He didn’t let the crazy thought linger. He spoke his mind. “Well, to prove you wrong, here’s a thought. What if I suggest that I wouldn’t mind having you as my wife… forever? That is, if you’d have me as your husband.”
“Where did this suddenly come from?” she asked, thinking he couldn’t shock her any more than he already had—but evidently, he could.
“Somewhere inside me,” he said with a shrug.
“I can’t logically explain it. I can only tell you how I feel, how I’ve been feeling since I have never felt this way before now…
before you.” He smiled. “And I don’t want to lose it…
I don’t want to lose you.” He scratched his head and shook it.
“I can’t make sense of it, and I don’t want to. I have feelings for you, Aura.”
“They could simply be feelings of gratitude for me helping you.”
He chuckled deeply. “What I’m thinking I want to do with you has nothing to do with gratitude.”
Her cheeks flamed red. “That could be because I am the first woman who has been able to stand upright in front of you in some time.”
“I don’t believe so, since right now I’d rather you be on your back with me on top of you.”
She glanced at the bed and moved away from it. “It is nothing more than a need that requires satisfying.”
“Then tell me why you feel it as well?” he challenged.
Aura had been trying to ignore it, but unsuccessfully. The tingle along her flesh, the quiet throb between her legs, and an urge far stronger than she had ever felt. She felt as he did, only she didn’t admit it.
“I can see the passion spark in your eyes, and it sparks within me as well. Let’s seal our marriage vows and commit to each other and build a good life together.”
It was crazy and yet it felt so right that he would fight for it, fight to keep her as his wife.
“Maybe you are the one who had too much wine,” she said, thinking this was nothing more than madness and if she surrendered to it, tomorrow he could regret it.
“Nay, I have never been clearer on something I want, and I want you.”
“Tomorrow may bring re—”
“No regrets only the start of our future together.” He went to her, his arm hooking her around the waist and pulling her up against him. “No more thoughts. No more explanations. No excuses. No wasting time. We seal our vows. Commit to each other. And join as one never to be parted.”
Only love could make such a strong commitment, never to be parted, and it told her all she needed to know.
“Never to be parted,” she said with a nod, accepting his commitment, accepting the chance at love.