Page 98 of A Highland Bride Taken

“Ye think so?” he asked, as if he needed her to say it again.

“I ken so. Ye are already a good faither to the boys. Ye would love any child with everything ye have.”

Campbell’s hand came up to cup her cheek, his thumb wiping away a tear. “I’ve thought about it,” he said after a moment. “About what it would be like to see ye with a baby in yer arms. To ken that it is ours.”

A blush suddenly crept up Mabel’s face and down her neck. “Ye have?”

“Aye.” His thumb traced her cheekbone. “I’ve imagined ye in this room, yer laughter, yer… yer warmth filling every corner.”

“Campbell…”

“I’ve imagined a wee bairn sleeping in the cradle, ye sitting here in this chair, humming quietly like ye do when ye think nay one is listening.”

Her vision blurred again, and she let out a shaky breath. “Ye… ye cannae say things like that. I’ll start crying, and ye’ll never forgive yerself.”

He smiled then, small and crooked. “Maybe I want ye to cry. At least then I would ken ye feel the same way.”

“Oh, I do,” she affirmed, her voice breaking. She reached up to touch his face, holding him like she was afraid he would vanish. “I’ve wanted ye. All of ye. I just didnae dare hope.”

Campbell turned his head and pressed his lips to her palm. “I’m tired of holding back. I’ve wasted enough years.”

Mabel was speechless. She leaned in, her forehead resting against his.

After a moment, she managed to whisper, “What if we try, and it doesnae happen? What if?—”

“Then we’ll keep trying,” he interrupted boldly. “And if it still doesnae happen, we’ll still have each other. That’s all that matters.”

She let out a shaky laugh that tasted of tears. “Ye make it sound so simple.”

“It is. It’s just love. That’s all it’s ever been.”

Her heart swelled so fast that she thought it might burst out of her chest. She didn’t even try to stop the tears now. They rolled down her cheeks and stained his shirt.

“Dinnae cry, lass,” he whispered. “Ye’ll ruin me last clean shirt.”

A watery giggle escaped her lips. “Then ye’ll have to let me wash it tomorrow.”

His hand wrapped around the nape of her neck, pulling her closer until their lips were only a breath apart. “I dinnae care if ye ruin all me shirts,” he said roughly. “I just want ye.”

Mabel’s breath caught as he kissed her, slow and intense, as if he had all the time in the world to learn every part of her. She could feel every beat of his heart and every unspoken promise in the way his lips caressed hers.

When he finally drew back, she was breathless, her lips tingling.

Her fingers trailed along his jaw, feeling the rough stubble and warm skin. “Are ye sure about this?”

EPILOGUE

Kissing Mabel always left him feeling as though he was a starved man tasting his first meal, and he couldn’t get enough.

Her mouth was sinfully sweet, warm, and willing, and she made such inviting sounds that had him groaning and burying one hand in her hair, taking care not to crush her with his weight by propping himself on one elbow.

Her body was lush beneath him, and all he could think of was loving her well and properly, as he had longed to do all this time.

His nights had been plagued with yearning for her, and now that he no longer had a reason to deny himself, he felt like he was dying of thirst that only she could quench.

“I need ye, Mabel,” he groaned. “I feel like I may die without ye.”

She whimpered against his mouth, her hands tangling in his hair. “I feel the same, husband,” she breathed.