Page 35

Sky stood. “I am eager to see my husband who waits, I believe, impatiently in the bushes, so follow me and I will leave more berries for you where no one will disturb you. I will be right back, Slayer.”

He shook his head. How did she know he was there?

“Do not go far,” he called out as he made his way to the stream, and she disappeared into the woods, the fox keeping pace with her.

“I won’t,” she called back.

He kneeled at the water’s edge and scooped up a handful of water to scrub away the last vestiges of sleep. He heard her approach as he wiped his face dry with the hem of his plaid and smiled when he felt her hand rest on his shoulder. He quickly snatched her around the waist and brought her down into his lap and kissed her to satisfy the ache of missing her lips since he woke this morning.

She tasted sweet from the berries she had eaten, and he ran his hand up one sleeve to stroke her arm, aching to feel her soft skin. He told himself it would do until he could get her naked again, but he found his desire for her could overwhelm him quickly and he had to be careful and not chase after her like a barbarian who could not control himself.

Sky eagerly returned his kiss and sighed contentedly when it ended. “I never imagined I would enjoy kissing so much.”

“Me. Only me,” he ordered with a fierce scowl and got annoyed when she scrunched her face in disgust, thinking she did not agree.

“That is a terrible thought.” Disgust grew on her face. “I only want your lips on mine. I could not stomach another man kissing me.”

A smile hurried to his lips, but a sudden thought stopped it short of surfacing. “I am glad to hear that, but tell me, Sky… are you all right? Did I hurt you last night?”

A soft smile lit her face. “I am good, and you did not hurt me.” Her cheeks blushed pink. “I quite enjoy coupling with you.”

“Then you don’t mind if we do it often?” he asked teasingly.

She chuckled lightly. “It is my duty.”

“Nay,” he ordered firmly. “I never want you to couple with me out of duty, only out of desire.”

“Will you do the same? Couple with me not out of duty but out of desire?”

He did not stop his smile from surfacing. “Believe me, wife, it will definitely be out of desire.”

She was shocked that he desired her, and it filled her heart with joy and hope for the future.

“That makes me happy to know,” she said.

He did not mean to voice his thoughts, but he did. “I never make people happy, just the opposite.”

Sky kissed his cheek, wishing his smile would remain on his face. “Well, you fill me with joy, and your smile makes my joy that more joyful.”

“A smile is not something you will see on me often,” he cautioned. “Besides,” —he poked at her stomach— “you smile enough for the both of us. So, did you save any of those berries for me or did you give them all to the fox.”

“I saved you plenty.”

“Good,” he said, easing her off his lap and onto her feet, then standing. “We will take them back to the cottage to enjoy while we talk.”

“Aye. I would like that. You can tell me about your nightmare. My mum always made me tell her about any nightmare I had. She insisted the only way to be rid of them was to talk about them. That if I kept them hidden, they would only grow stronger along with my fears.”

He took the basket from her as they walked and munched on the berries. “Did you have many nightmares?”

“I had a recurring one when I was young. Perhaps my mum was right about talking about the nightmare since I haven’t had it in many years.”

“Tell me about it,” he urged, eager to learn all he could about his wife.

Sky had shared the dream with only her mum, yet she felt a need to share it with Slayer. “There is a woman dancing before a blazing fire. She is beautiful and she holds a dagger in her hand. I hear chanting and drumming. Though I fear getting too close to her, I cannot help but continue to walk toward her. When I am not far from her, she stops dancing, glares at me, and turns into a wolf. That is when I wake up screaming.” She shivered at the fearful memory.

Slayer snuck his arm around her, seeing how the retelling of the nightmare frightened her. “I will not let any wolf get you.”

“I believe it is the reason I have been hesitant to make friends with the wolves I sometimes see in the forest.”