Epilogue
It was today.
The binding ceremony was to be held under the open sky, just as Edith had imagined it would if she were ever to wed.
The sun poured in through the window, warming the stone walls of her chamber until the room glowed softly with golden light.
She could hear pipes beginning to play somewhere in the fields beyond the castle. Hallow was awake, and the people were gathered, waiting for the ceremony to begin.
She looked at herself in the polished mirror, her fingertips gliding over her pale green gown for what must have been the tenth time.
“I have never seen ye admire a dress so much,” Scarlett said, coming behind her. “Ye look like the perfect bride, me friend.”
Edith smiled, looking at her friend through the mirror as she arranged petals of wild lavender into her hair. Violet had braided it into a crown earlier, leaving out small auburn locks to frame her face.
“They suit ye,” Scarlett said, referring to the petals in her hair. “Ye already ken that.”
Heat rushed into Edith’s cheeks.
She had finally confessed it to her best friend a few days ago, admitting that Aaron had said the wild lavender suited her. That was the reason Scarlett had insisted on placing the petals in her hair for the binding.
Perhaps it is me fault.
“Scarlett…”
“What?” Scarlett teased. “I merely speak the truth.”
Edith laughed, and her friend joined in, the sound of their happiness filling the chamber.
Not very long ago, Edith had been imagining a different life for herself. A life spent alone in the Lowlands, with her love for herbs and the occasional company of patients who needed her help.
She had not considered marriage beyond a kindness she might earn, a way to bear children for a man who would take her in without a dowry.
She had never imagined that it could be beautiful in this way. Aaron waiting for her among his clansmen, openly wanting and accepting her. She had never imagined her heart racing with joy simply because in a matter of moments, she would be walking toward him.
Scarlett squeezed her shoulders gently. “Are ye nervous?”
Edith considered the question. Her hands were trembling, and her heart had scarcely settled since dawn.
“Aye,” she whispered. “But I have never been more certain of anythin’ in me life.”
It was the truth. She knew for a fact that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Aaron, and Scarlett knew it too. Her dear best friend.
She put her arms around Edith, hugging her from behind. “I always prayed me braither would find someone who looked at him the way ye do.”
Edith smiled, her throat tightening slightly. “I fear I look at him rather shamelessly.”
Scarlett laughed. “Aye. And so does he with ye.”
A soft knock sounded at the door before it opened, and Violet stepped inside with a bright smile on her face.
“’Tis time.”
Edith’s heart skipped a beat.
Already?
She had known this moment would come all morning, yet hearing the words aloud made everything suddenly feel real. Her fingers went to the silver medallion resting against her collarbone, and she closed her eyes, deeply inhaling before opening them again.
Och heavens.
Her stomach fluttered with excitement as she rose, and Scarlett stepped back, clapping her hands together with unmistakable satisfaction.
“There.”
Her pale green gown flowed softly around her, the wild lavender woven in her braid filling the chamber with its familiar scent.
“He is done for.”
Edith blinked. “What?”
“Me braither.” Scarlett’s grin widened. “The moment he sees ye, he will forget every word he has to say.”
Violet laughed softly. “I wager he has forgotten his words already.”
Edith laughed with them, warmth rushing to her cheeks.
“Ye both exaggerate,” she said.
Scarlett linked arms with her, ready to walk her to meet the man who would soon become her husband.
It was the hardest wait of his life.
Aaron stood beneath the binding arch, his hands clasped behind his back to hide the faint tremor that refused to leave him.
He was a Laird. He had stood before countless councils and wagered with men twice as powerful as him. And yet the thought of Edith walking toward him made his heart beat harder than any battle ever had.
Nothing else mattered to him. Not the warm sunlight, not this music, not even the gathered people. His eyes remained fixed on the path leading from the castle, where he knew she would soon appear.
Saints.
He forgot how to breathe the moment he caught a glimpse of her.
She stepped into the sunlight with Scarlett at her side, her pale green gown stirring softly in the morning breeze. The entire world faded around them, leaving only him and her.
Beautiful.
The word was painfully insufficient.
Edith looked exactly as she always had. And yet, today, she was walking toward him, more radiant than any woman he had ever seen.
He smiled, and she smiled back as their gazes locked, neither of them looking away even once.
When she reached him, he stepped forward. He took her hands in his own without hesitation, his thumb brushing gently across her knuckles.
“Ye look…” Words failed him.
Edith smiled, soft and patient.
Aaron let out a quiet breath, his gaze searching hers before settling on the lavender woven through her hair.
“Perfect,” he said at last, his voice scarcely above a whisper. “More perfect than I ever imagined possible.”
The ceremony itself passed in a blur of warmth—Scarlett crying openly throughout, and Caelan standing beside Aaron as Robert guided them through the ancient rites of the binding.
When the binding cloth was finally wrapped around their joined hands, sealing their vows, Aaron felt something inside him settle with a certainty he had never known.
For years, he had convinced himself that duty alone would be enough. That a Laird needed only his lands, his clan, and the responsibilities entrusted to him.
But now, standing beside Edith, her hand bound to his, he realized that he had more to live for. And he had found the person with whom he wished to spend the rest of his life.
The feast stretched long into the evening, filled with music, dancing, and the unmistakable joy of a clan celebrating not one but two unions. Caelan formally declared his intentions toward Violet before the gathered clans, eliciting endless cheers and Scarlett’s triumphant satisfaction.
By the time Aaron finally led Edith away from the celebration, the stars had claimed the sky, and the laughter had softened into something distant behind them.
They climbed the stairs to the east wing, Aaron never once letting go of her hand.
He paused outside the door to his chamber, his hands coming up to cradle her cheeks. His heart was still beating the same unsteady rhythm that had plagued him beneath the binding arch.
Ye are mine.
Warmth spread through him as he looked into her eyes.
Truly mine.
“Are ye ready?” he asked her softly, his voice carrying none of the control he had spent fifteen years perfecting.
He wanted her. He craved her. There was no point in hiding it.
Edith shivered, though the corridor was not cold. She nodded shyly, following him inside.
His chamber greeted them with warmth—candles already lit, casting soft golden light over the stone walls. The bed was neatly made by hands he suspected belonged to Violet.
And the scent…
He breathed it in as the door closed behind them, recognizing it immediately.
Wild lavender.
Edith noticed his reaction, and a small, satisfied smile touched her lips.
“I asked Violet to fill yer chamber with it,” she admitted. “Ye seem to fancy the scent.”
Aaron looked at her.
“I fancy it,” he said quietly. “I have fancied it since the very first time I held yer hand in me study. But I like ye considerably more.”
Her breath caught, color rising in her cheeks even after everything they had shared.
He kissed her then, slow and deliberate, his hands finding the laces of her gown with a patience that cost him considerable effort to maintain. He wanted this moment—all of it—to belong entirely to her. To be as gentle, as unhurried, as reverent as she deserved.
He drew the fabric from her shoulders slowly, pausing more than once simply to look at her, to memorize the way candlelight caught her skin, the freckles across her shoulders he had spent weeks pretending not to notice.
“Ye are starin’,” Edith whispered, though she made no move to cover herself.
“Aye,” Aaron admitted, his voice rough. “Ye are stunning.”
Edith smiled. She looked away, her face flushing as his hands came to her waist, the thin fabric of her undergarments barely a barrier from her skin.
He leaned in again, slower than he had the first time, and she rose on her tiptoes, her lips meeting his in the softest kiss. Her eyes fluttered shut, and he kissed her back, more fiercely this time.
Her lips were soft and plump, and her breath was fresh as his tongue slid into her mouth, dueling with hers.
His hands roved over her body as she melted into him, coming to cup her breasts, and he felt her nipples pebble his palms.
His member stiffened as heat traveled down his body, straining against the confines of his trews.
It was time.
He pulled away from Edith and unfastened his tunic, his gaze remaining on her as he slowly undressed himself.
His fingers found the belt at his waist, and he unbuckled it. The heavy folds of his plaid loosened, slipping from his shoulders before pooling soundlessly at his feet. When he stepped out of it, nothing remained but his trews.
Edith’s eyes widened, her throat bobbing as she swallowed, unable to look away from him.
He smiled in satisfaction at the look on her face.
“Are ye ready?” he murmured against her skin once he had closed the gap between them.
A soft breath escaped her lips, her hand coming to rest against his broad, muscular chest.
“Edith,” he murmured again, his mouth brushing her breasts. “Are ye ready?”
His fingers pinched her nipple, and she gasped. “Aye.”
That was all he needed.
He scooped her up into his arms, carrying her the short distance to the bed before placing her gently in the middle of it. Then, he crawled slowly between her legs.
“Relax,” he breathed against her stomach as his hands slid up to her chest.
Edith moaned, her breath quickening.
Aaron kissed her breasts through the thin fabric of her undergarment, moving down until he reached her navel, his hands firm on her waist. Her scent was intoxicating, drying out the back of his throat even in the warmth of his chamber.
“Aaron, please,” she whispered, her hips bucking.
He immediately knew what she wanted. He had done it to her in the carriage, and she had thoroughly enjoyed it.
He slowly parted her legs, inhaling the smell of wild lavender as it drew him closer to her sex. Then, his lips descended on her wet folds, tasting her.
It was as though he were a beast newly released from its cage. He kissed and licked her with all the vim in him, drinking her in until the last of his restraint snapped.
Edith’s fingers tangled in his hair, and he found her bud, sucking hard on it until she could no longer muffle her screams.
Her hips bucked violently against his face, despite his firm grip on her waist. His tongue found her entrance and plunged into her, and her inner walls rippled, tightening around him.
He could feel her climax building.
Her body tensed under his touch, and when he looked up at her, she was glowing like the sun.
Heavens.
Aaron pulled back, his lips parting slightly as he looked at her. He could not articulate his thoughts. He could hardly even arrange them.
Edith opened her eyes then. Her gaze said a million words as she looked at him—a tale of love, want, and desire. Her lips pressed slightly together as she raised her head, a shiver racking through her.
“I want ye.” The words slipped past Aaron’s lips, rough and unrestrained.
Edith nodded, her fingers curling around the hem of her undergarment, now gathered at her waist. She tugged it slightly upward.
Nay.
Aaron’s hand came over hers. If he saw her fully naked body now, he would lose his mind. He did not want that yet.
“Wait,” he whispered when she looked at him. “I shall have to show ye first.”
She swallowed, her eyes lingering on his rock-hard member before returning to his face. She swallowed as he moved closer, her body stiffening as his manhood pressed lightly against her entrance.
She was warm. So temptingly warm that it took every bit of his restraint not to push into her at once.
She gasped as he entered her slowly, her trembling hands grabbing onto his shoulder. Her nails dug into his skin as he slid deeper into her, and he stopped, holding himself in place until she adjusted to his size.
Then, ever so slowly, he moved inside her.
A moan escaped her as he thrust into her, keeping his pace slow even as her hands roved over his chest. Edith wrapped her arms around his neck as he kissed her deeply, their tongues dancing against one another in a battle that had no victor.
It was the most intense pleasure Aaron had ever felt.
His hand slid up the front of her flimsy undergarment and removed it at last, ripping the fabric in one quick motion.
Saints.
Edith was gorgeous. A goddess, if such a word could ever be used to describe a human. Her breasts bounced as he thrust deeper into her, and the sight shattered his control.
He pounded into her, his thrusts becoming faster and deeper, and she bit her lip to stifle her screams.
“Aaron,” she moaned loudly as he felt her beginning to approach her climax.
Her hips ground against him as he thrust into her. Every inch of her body trembled, and her eyes rolled to the back of her head.
“I love ye,” Aaron groaned as she climaxed, his own body shuddering as he spilled into her.
He collapsed on top of her once it was over, then rolled over onto his back so as not to crush her. Edith panted beside him, her body glistening with sweat in the dim light.
The candles had burned low. The scent of wild lavender settled warmly around them both. Edith curled up against his chest, her fingers tracing idle patterns on his skin.
Aaron basked in her warmth, certain that he could lie like this for the rest of his life and never tire of it.
“Aaron.”
“Mm?”
“I love ye too,” she said quietly. “With all me heart.”
The End?