Page 32 of Highlander Lord Of Vengeance (Highland Revenge Trilogy #3)
Esme removed her cloak and shook the light snow from it, hanging it by the door. She watched him in silence for a moment, the glimmer of firelight dancing over the hard planes of his handsome face.
“You’re angry,” she said softly.
His hands dropped to his sides. “Nay. I’m frustrated. There’s a difference.”
She stepped closer, folding her arms against her to warm them. “At Brack? Or me?”
He turned and stepped behind her, slipping his arms around her to stroke her chilled arms. “Never you, but everyone else.”
Esme smiled softly, hearing the sincerity in his voice while enjoying his gentle touch. “You didn’t confide the truth in him about Chieftain Eagan. Do you doubt Brack’s loyalty to Torrance?”
His jaw tightened. “Loyalty can be a fragile thing. But Brack is known to be fiercely loyal to Lord Torrance and if he discovers who I am, he will not hesitate to kill me. And he would no doubt believe that you had a hand in the plan., putting your life at risk.”
A silence settled between them, the fire popping softly as such dire consequences settled in on them both.
With the realization of how precarious their situation truly was, Esme broke the silence. “We are not safe anywhere, are we?”
“Nay,” he admitted. “But I’ll keep you safe and if for some reason that becomes impossible, I will send you away where you will be safe.”
Her eyes turned wide and her voice firm as she turned around in his arms to face him. “I’ll not leave you.”
“Aye, you will if I order you to,” he insisted.
Esme was even more insistent. “We are in this together.”
He tightened his arms he had settled around her waist. “I will not see you harmed, and you will do as I say and that means not going to see the Old Woman on your own.”
“But if it is the only way?—”
His expression darkened. “Nay! My word is final.”
Esme rested her hand on his chest. “I am not fragile. I can do this.”
“Your courage was never in question—” He bit back any further words, then as if he could hold them back no longer, he let them loose.
“Fear like I have never known would eat at me and my heart would never survive sending you off alone. And if you never came back to me…” He took hold of her chin.
“I do not want to live a moment without you, Esme. I have loved you from afar too long and now that you are mine, I intend to make sure you stay mine and let nothing happen to you.”
He kissed her as if it had been too long since he last had and he lingered, having been eager for the feel of her lips.
Her response told him that she was just as eager for his kiss.
And just like him, she wanted more. He could feel it in the way she pressed her body against his and she no doubt felt his desire grow hard against her.
His mouth left hers and he looked into her passion-filled eyes. “Tonight, we seal a vow between Ryland and Esme joining us together us one.”
“Aye,” she whispered and was surprised when his hands began to strip her of her garments. Her hands quickly grabbed his. “What are you doing?”
“I want you naked and myself as well so we may enjoy each other.”
“Is that proper?” she asked, the image of her being so exposed leaving her feeling vulnerable.
“Anything is proper between a husband and wife,” he assured her.
“But we aren’t husband and wife,” she reminded him.
“In everyone’s eyes we are and tonight the only eyes that matter, are yours and mine. But if it eases your worries—” He took her hand in his.
She pulled it away. “If we are to claim vows, I want it done the proper way for all to see and know we chose this. I do not want to take any chance of someone claiming it invalid and separating us.”
“That will never happen,” he said so fiercely that it caused Esme to step away from him.
Ryland reached out slowly, his arm going around her waist to ease her toward him. “I am not Torrance, but I am fierce and will remain so with anyone who attempts to take you from me. I love you, Esme. Trust me, I will never hurt you.”
She leaned into him. “It is going to take time for me not to hear or see Torrance in you, especially since the facade must continue.”
“But not when we’re alone. When we are alone, we can love freely.”
“I am not sure I know how to do that since with Torrance coupling was a duty,” she said.
“With me it will never be a duty. You will realize soon enough that making love is something we both want, enjoy, and cherish.”
“That sounds quite pleasant.”
He smiled. “It is more than quite pleasant, and I can assure you that once you realize it, you will pester me to make love to you often.”
She chuckled. “Are you bragging about your prowess in bed, my lord?”
“I could but I’d rather show you.”
The way he attempted to ease her worry with a light teasing nature, so far removed from Torrance’s cruelty, that it touched her heart.
He brushed his lips over hers. “Let me love you, Esme.”
She returned his faint kiss. “Aye, Ryland, I want you to love me.”
He went to remove her garments again and her hand stilled him again.
“Trust me,” he whispered. “We make new memories tonight.”
His remark startled her. He was right. They needed to make their own memories, and her hand fell off his, and he gently disrobed her.