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“That all depends on what I’m supposed to be ready for?”

He grinned again. “Ye’ll see.”

“Oh, my God, you are so frustrating.”

Domhnall only chuckled, and then lifting his hand, he knocked on the door, where a lovely Yule wreath had been hung.

James Boyd appeared from behind it, his lined face betraying his many years, his fingers blackened with ink.

“Good day tae ye, James,” Domhnall said.

“Me laird,” James replied, bowing reverently. “Please. Come in.”

Domhnall introduced Katherine and James to each other. With the pleasantries over, James then turned and led them inside. Asusual, with these small abodes, Domhnall had to bend his head to fit through the doorways.

It was as they arrived in the main room, that he heard Katherine gasp, for before them sat all the tools of the old man’s trade.

“I am getting a tattoo?” she whispered with surprised delight.

Domhnall smiled. “It is the last thing on yer list.”

He watched her face as that same realization came to her, and then turning to him, she said, “I can hardly believe it. I have wanted it so much for so long, but I never imagined I’d ever get the opportunity to do it.”

“I always keep me promises, Katherine.”

“Please, sit,” James said, gesturing to the chairs beside them.

He then turned and began preparing his tools, while Katherine, who slowly lowered herself down while watching the old man, now looked more than a little terrified.

After another minute passed, James then turned to Katherine.

“Now, me lady. What image is it that ye’re looking fer?”

Katherine paused for a moment, glanced at Domhnall with a slight smile, and then turned back to speak with James. “I don’twant an image. I’d like a word. I’d like the word fire tattooed on my skin.”

“Very well.” James nodded. “And where dae ye want this word?”

Pulling her sleeve back, Katherine pointed to the inside of her forearm. “There.”

The old man nodded again.

Upon hearing her request, Domhnall felt a warmth travel through his body, a feeling of connection towards her that if asked to explain, he knew he could not put into words. When Katherine turned to look at him, her face glowing at her decision, Domhnall beamed a smile at her, the love he felt for her pulsing out of every part of him.

Of course, he knew why she desired the word. It was the reason he was experiencing the sensations that now flooded through him. He was reminded of that day they had spent in the cave, when they talked about their love being like the fire. But it was so much more than that.

She had expressed her intensity of how much she loved him, trusted him, and wanted to be with him. It encompassed the fierce passion they both shared for one another. But he was also aware that it symbolized the strength that had grown inside her since her arrival in the Highlands. Gone was the cramped and closed-in English lady. She had abandoned that hampering shroud and now lived with the knowledge that she was free from all the restrictions that had held her back her whole life.

Over the next half hour, Katherine winced and groaned as the needle pierced her skin over and over again. While Domhnall held her hand to try and comfort and support her, it took all his strength not to put a stop to it. The only thing that held him back was the knowledge of how desperate Katherine was to have this last item on her list completed.

Afterwards, when it was all over, Domhnall paid James, and even though she was still clearly in pain, Katherine landed a kiss on the old man’s cheek and thanked him profusely.

“You will never know how happy you have made me,” she told him, before they bid him farewell and left.

As they rode back, Katherine was still suffering.

“We need tae get Enya tae tak’ a look at that,” Domhnall said.

But Katherine shook her head. “I’m fine. The pain will pass.”