Page 29 of Saved by the Cruel Highlander (Lairds of the Loch Alliance #1)

EPILOGUE

Two Weeks Later

“ I ken it was only a simple handfastin’ ceremony, but it was the best one I have ever attended, and that was because of ye, Lady McAllister,” Elias said.

“Lady McAllister? Me goodness, I am Lady McAllister now, am I nae? I still cannae believe it.”

Holly and Elias stepped into the Great Hall to rapturous cheers. The ceremony had been simple, with only close friends and family present, but the party afterward included everyone who could fit into the Great Hall and the surrounding rooms.

Elias led Holly straight to the head table and stood behind it, her hand cradled in his. He wore a great kilt in the tartan of his clan. The finest wool was used to weave it specially for the occasion. He wore a cream shirt with a velvet waistcoat and doublet above. A brooch secured the tartan sash over his shoulder.

Holly wore a cream silk dress adorned with golden thread and crystals to look like precious gems. The color of the dress was vivid and brought out her eyes; the high neckline of the dress hid the quickly fading bruises. The sleeves were made of lace, and she wore a golden Luckenbooth gifted to her that morning by the Laird.

Amid the cheers, the Laird finally gave them what they wanted and kissed his wife. He wrapped his hands around her waist and bent her back to explore her mouth with his tongue and move his lips over hers. Holly laughed as she was pulled back up.

The newly married couple sat down at the head table as the drinks were brought out. Holly coughed at the sight of Laird McKinnon at the table beside them, and he waved. He had protested that the favors were even, but sitting at the table so near the front of the hall, he looked distinguished.

There was a feast. Whole roasted pigs were brought out, and accompanying them were large roasts of venison and beef. Platters of parsnips, potatoes, carrots, and beetroot joined the fray, along with bread, fruits, cheese, and enough to make one full just by looking at it all. Whisky, wine, mead, water, and fruit-suffused honey drinks were there to wash everything down, and that was before the desserts were brought out.

The Lairds of the neighboring clans took the time to approach the head table one by one to congratulate the couple.

“Congratulations,” Laird McDougall boomed, holding out his hand to shake Elias’s. “I’m honored that ye asked me to help with yer wee problem and me favorable seatin’ arrangement at yer celebration.”

“Aye, the McDougalls and the McAllisters have always been fierce allies, and I ken they always will be,” Elias said.

“Congratulations,” Laird McGregor said, approaching the table next, his voice thick like syrup but flowing like a breeze through the trees. He looked up and down the table, where Cole and Cassandra also sat. “Is that the lad?” he asked.

“Aye,” Elias replied.

“I heard that ye’ve given him yer name,” Laird McGregor said.

“Aye, what ye have heard is true. The lad is a McAllister from now on.”

Holly squeezed Elias’s hand under the table.

“Aye,” Laird McGregor said, looking down the table to where Cole sat with Cassandra.

“Do ye have somethin’ to say about it?” Elias asked. “‘Cause if ye do, I?—”

“Nay,” Laird McGregor said. “I’m wonderin’ who the beauty with him is. Nae his maither, then?”

“Nay,” Elias said with a chuckle. “Cassandra is our healer and a woman who’s been burned previously. I can introduce ye, but she might nae want anythin’ to do with ye or any man.”

Laird McGregor laughed. “Och, just introduce me to the lass. I’m sure me natural charm will win her over.”

Elias did just that, and Holly watched for the look on Cassandra’s face. Cassandra gave a warm but guarded smile.

Then, Elias was back, and they ate and drank together, talking to far too many people to remember. At some point in the festivities, Elias stood up and took his wife’s arm to lift her from her chair. He picked her up, much to the amusement of the gathered guests, who cheered as he carried her out the door.

“Where are we goin’?” Holly squealed.

“Ye’ll see,” he replied.

Holly had been having so much fun that she hadn’t realized how late it had gotten, and when they got to the Laird’s bedchambers, she knew exactly what would happen. Wild horses couldn’t have dragged her back to the feast at that point.

It became a flurry and a fury at that point. Holly could remember the Laird kissing her, and her tongue dueled with his as their hands ran over each other’s bodies. They tore at each other’s clothes, but Holly didn’t mind that when there were far better things to think about.

When the Laird’s thick and heavy kilt fell to the floor, time stood still. She finally got to see what she had longed for ever since that morning on the loch.

She looked down at the Laird’s throbbing member, and it took her breath away. She didn’t dare touch it, rooted to the spot.

Elias only smirked at her and removed her undergarments, lifting her so she wrapped her legs around him and he could carry her to the bed. A wall of warmth pressed into her as she held her soft body to his hard torso.

“So, are ye well enough for me to lie atop ye now?” Elias asked.

Holly smiled as she lay on the bed, looking up at the naked man towering above her, his thick manhood ready to plow her garden.

“Aye, I’m well enough,” she replied.

Elias smiled. He placed a knee on the bed, then another, and worked his way up to her, kissing her body until he reached her lips, at which point they kissed fully.

It became a blur again as his hands worked her over, massaging her breasts, stroking her slick folds, moving gently up her sides, cupping her cheeks, running through her hair, worshipping every inch of her body.

And then he shifted his hips and used his hand to guide himself into her. He slid inside easily, filling her up, and she almost fainted from the pleasure. She moaned and threw her head back, arching her back and reaching out to grab onto the sheets as tightly as humanly possible.

As he rocked his hips, she experienced pleasure she had never thought possible, and wave after wave of euphoria ran through her. Each wave passed through her chest and left her mouth with a gasp. She felt him quicken and pulse inside her, and her walls rippled over and over, embracing his thick shaft.

The Laird growled, and a sudden warmth filled her. It triggered her release, and she lost control of her body as the feeling shot through her. She shook and writhed under him. She made noises that sounded as if they came from someone else. Explosions rang out inside her stomach, and then the feeling doubled, and she thrust her hips up, holding them there as her entire body shook.

“Aye! Och, Aye!” she shouted at the top of her lungs before flopping onto the bed like a fish as waves of pleasure washed over her. “Och, me goodness!” she gasped. “I want more. Was I good enough for ye? I couldnae hold on for longer. I didnae think it could feel like that. “If we try again, I could?—”

“Shh,” the Laird soothed. “This is only the start. I’m goin’ to make ye feel things tonight that ye never thought possible. Are ye ready for that?”

“Aye,” Holly whispered. “I love ye, Elias.”

Elias moved up the bed and kissed her. “I love ye, too, Holly.”

The End?