Epilogue #2
“It isnae.” She looked at the fire. “I have been thinking that I dinnae know what comes next. For me.” She paused for a second.
“I know what I want. I think I’ve known it for longer than was entirely sensible.
But I’ve spent my whole life having the next thing decided for me, and I find I dinnae quite know how tae decide for myself. ”
Silence settled between them, comfortable rather than empty.
“What is it that ye want?” he asked.
She turned to look at him. He was watching her without performance, his blue eyes clear and patient in the firelight, and she thought again, as she had thought on a moorland road and in a cold cell and in a ruined chapel, that this was the version of him she trusted most. The one without the charm deployed as armor.
The one that simply looked at her and waited.
“This,” she said. “Whatever this is.”
Something in his expression softened. “Even with the inconveniences.”
“Especially the inconveniences.”
He was quiet for a moment. Then he reached into his coat and produced a length of cord, plain, unadorned, the kind of thing a man might carry for any number of practical purposes, and held it between them. His eyes did not leave hers.
“I wasnae raised with much,” he said. “No lands. No name worth the speaking of. I dinnae have a great deal tae offer ye in the way o’ the things ye were taught tae want.
But I find I want tae offer ye what I have.
Which is-” he seemed to debate this briefly, “-considerable loyalty, acceptable competence in difficult situations, and an honest account of myself, which is nae always a flattering one.”
Merith looked at the cord in his hand. She understood what it was. A handfasting… old as the hills they were sitting among, older than any ceremony or chapel or arrangement her family might have approved.
A promise made between two people with nothing but their own word to bind it.
“I would also steal fer ye,” he added, with a gravity that was entirely undermined by the look in his eyes. “As I believe I have already demonstrated.”
She laughed, quietly, and reached out to take one end of the cord. It was rough against her palm. She wound it once around their joined hands the way she had seen it done, years ago, at a tenant’s celebration on her family’s land.
“Aye,” she said. “I’ll have ye, Lachlan Reid. Inconveniences and all.”
His hands tightened around hers. “And I’ll have ye, Merith Donalson.” His voice was quieter than she had ever heard it. “With considerable gratitude.”
Locke lifted her hand and pressed a kiss against her knuckles. The gesture was unexpectedly tender for a man who had once ridden headlong into danger with a sword in each hand.
“Ye realize,” he murmured, “that this is the most reckless thing I’ve ever done.”
“Even more reckless than stealing a lady from her wedding?” Merith asked with a smile.
“Far more,” he replied, brushing his thumb softly over her skin.
Then, he reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. His gaze remained on her face as though he was afraid it might disappear if he looked away.
“Merith,” he breathed.
The way he said her name made her heart ache. She leaned forward first.
Their kiss was unhurried, carrying all the things neither of them seemed able to put into words. The longing of these last days… the fear of what waited beyond tomorrow… the hope that somehow this moment might last forever.
When they drew apart for breath, his forehead rested against hers.
“I love ye,” he whispered.
The words stole her breath and tears pricked at her eyes. “And I love ye.”
He kissed her again, no longer holding himself back like he had last time. Merith answered his kisses with equal enthusiasm.
Eventually, she felt his hand sliding down and around her waist to pull her closer. At that moment, she didn’t care about anything around them. All that mattered was this moment.
Locke pulled her into his lap, grabbing fistfuls of the fabric of her dress. She could feel the urgency in his every touch.
Merith smiled against his mouth and allowed her hands to travel down his chest, feeling the heat of his skin beneath. To her pleasure, he released a deep groan.
It didn’t take long for Merith to end up on her back with Locke on top of her. It happened so fast that she couldn’t remember what had happened in the moments leading up to it. But she supposed it didn’t matter.
Locke began to trail his kisses down her neck and stopped when he reached her collarbone. He glanced up at her and when their eyes met, she watched them darken.
Merith gave him a small smile and grabbed the hem of his shirt before pulling it upward. He let her.
The fire from the hearth bathed his body in a warm glow. She could see the sporadic scars across his chest, reminding her of the life he had led before they ever met.
Next, it was Locke who grabbed Merith’s dress and slipped it off her body. He did it like he had done it countless times before. She would have been shy if it wasn’t for the look in his eyes. They swept over her skin, looking at her like she was the most beautiful thing that ever existed.
Merith had to pull him back down, and when the distance between them disappeared, it felt like she was on fire.
It became harder to breathe. It was almost impossible to think. Locke dominated her thoughts and he wasn’t going to leave her head anytime soon.
She felt him reaching down to remove his breeches as he kept peppering her neck with kisses. He didn’t waste any time at all. Within seconds, Locke positioned himself at her entrance, and she knew he was holding himself back.
Not wanting to wait any longer, Merith decided to make the first move. She arched her hips upward, taking control. Locke groaned against her neck as his length filled her within seconds.
She tipped her head back at the feeling, knowing that she wasn’t going to be able to keep herself quiet. However, she had a feeling Locke didn’t want her to stay quiet either.
The feeling became overwhelming when Locke began to rock his hips. Merith wrapped her arms around him, urging him to keep going.
“Dinnae stop,” she gasped.
His thrusts became harder, and at that point she knew that nothing was going to stop him. His strong arms pulled her closer to him and he buried his face in the crook of her neck.
Merith moaned as she raked her fingernails across his shoulders. That seemed to encourage him more. He buried himself deep inside of her, holding her hips in place.
It was a feeling unlike any other. It came over her in waves, until she felt like she was never going to come back down to earth.
Locke stilled shortly after, growing heavier above her.
They stayed like that for a long time, trying to catch their breaths.
She was not thinking about anything but him. There was only this. Only him.
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