Page 41

“Ah, Aileana, I cannot get enough of you,” Duncan said, finally, releasing her hands to brush her hair back with his fingers. He pressed another kiss on her forehead, murmuring, “But before I give in to the pleasures of loving you again, there’s something I must do first.”

Surprise edged through the happy, sensual haze Duncan had woven around her with his kisses and his touch. She sat up a little as he slid off of her and out of bed to pad across the chamber toward one of the massive wooden chests that stood along the wall.

The afternoon sun streamed between the edges of the tapestries, making his naked skin tawny and his honey-brown hair lit with gold.

He moved with an inborn grace, his muscles sleek and powerful, even in the simple act of walking, and Aileana smiled at the shiver that tingled up her spine.

But when he turned to face her, having found what he’d sought, she felt a rush of love so strong that, were she standing, she knew her knees would have failed to support her.

She tucked the cover under her chin, trying to get a glimpse of what he held in his hand, as he came back to bed and slid under the blankets.

“What is it?” she couldn’t resist asking.

“You’ll be seeing soon enough.”

Aileana’s curiosity spiked. “Aye? And why is it such a secret, then?”

“It’s not so much a secret, really.” He slid closer, and she felt a delicious tingle when his naked thigh brushed against hers. “At least not one meant to be kept. It’s meant to be given,” he said, grabbing her hand under the blanket.

Then, pulling it above the covers, he dropped something heavy into her open palm.

Something round that had warmed in his grip.

She stared at it, gasping. It was a ruby ring, delicately made, with a smooth band of gold that glinted in a shaft of afternoon sun.

And it was very old by the looks of the black edging on the heavy gilded pattern near the gem.

She took it between her fingers and turned it this way and that to examine it more closely.

“This cannot be your ring, Duncan. It is too small.”

He nodded. “You’re right. It would never fit my finger. It belonged to my mother, given to her by my Da. I remember her wearing it when I was a child, as she stroked my brow till I fell asleep.” Then his voice quieted. “Only one other besides her has worn it since, and then but for a single day.”

A bubble seemed to rise in Aileana’s chest, preventing any air from coming in or escaping. She just looked at Duncan, questioning, uncertain.

He gave her a look that was almost pained with its intensity. “It is my betrothal ring, Aileana. It has been in my family for generations, and I’m giving it to you now because I’m asking you to be my bride.”

She felt almost incapable of speaking, but she managed to stutter, “You—you want me to marry you?”

“Aye, if you’ll have me. You once offered that very choice to me several months ago, and though I know much has changed since then, I am hoping that you’ll still consider it.”

She sat silent, frozen in the cascade of emotion that overwhelmed her. It was what she’d secretly longed for, and yet…

Her hand, cradling his ring, began to tremble, and she lowered it to her lap.

“Why do you not answer?”

She shook her head, struggling to find her voice. “I—I don’t know what to say. It is so sudden…”

“What’s happened today is sudden, perhaps, but not the possibility of a union between us.

” His expression looked serious, as if he were steeling himself for something more.

“I want you to know that I do—that is I—” He shifted his gaze away from her for a moment before glancing back to finish, “The truth, Aileana, is that I care about you, deeply. More than I have for any woman since Mairi. Tell me that you’ll be mine in name as we are in body. ”

Aileana swallowed the sudden rush of pain; he hadn’t—he couldn’t say he loved her.

That didn’t seem too much to want, did it?

He’d loved Mairi, she knew that. Dragon’s breath, it seemed she’d suffered the sin of the woman’s death a thousand times over.

But could Duncan ever allow himself to love again—and could she live as his wife if he didn’t?

“What of the feud between our clans?” she settled on asking him hoarsely.

“A marriage between us is the solution your own brother proposed that day at Dulhmeny. He will support this as a means of mending the rift. My overlord, the MacKenzie, will as well. You have nothing to fear from that quarter.”

She nodded but remained silent. His assertion was undoubtedly true, but there remained another dark shadow over them, still. A stumbling point even greater, perhaps, than his love for Mairi or their clans’ feuding, and she couldn’t accept his proposal until she’d acknowledged it.

“And what of the Ealach ?” she whispered, her throat tight. “Will you still wish to take me to wife if I continue in my refusal to give it over to you?”

For a moment she wasn’t sure that he would answer, and her heart plummeted anew when he averted his gaze. A muscle near his temple twitched before he breathed in and exhaled in a deep sigh.

“Aye, Aileana, I intend to marry you even so,” he said firmly at last. “I want to be with you, lass, with no more anger or bitterness or contention between us. I want to be with you under the law, as your husband. You deserve no less. We’ll find a way through this last trouble as well, and we’ll do it together. ”

Heat rose behind her eyes. His offer of marriage didn’t depend on getting back the Ealach .

He cared for her; he’d said the words earlier, but this proved it.

And it was enough for now. More marriages than not were based upon friendship respect, affection…

and if the couple was fortunate, physical attraction.

They had that aplenty—this afternoon had made that very clear.

The caring he felt might deepen to love in time.

Until then, she’d just have to love him enough for both of them.

With a bittersweet smile, she cupped his jaw, brushing her hand back into his hair before settling her palm gently on the back of his neck.

“I accept your proposal, then, Duncan MacRae. I can think of nothing that would make me happier than to become your wife.” She tipped her face up, sweeping her lips across his, tasting… loving him as no words could.

With a murmured endearment, Duncan returned her passion, easing her back against the pillow. Her hair fanned out beneath them, releasing her sweet scent, and he buried his face in her neck.

Suddenly, his kisses stopped. “Wait,” he murmured against her, his voice husky with desire. He pulled back, and from his expression she deemed that whatever had intruded on the seductive magic he’d been weaving was something very important.

“What is it?”

“There is still one thing left to do.”

Aileana felt his hand close over hers again, felt him slip the ring over her finger. Its contours were heavy and smooth. As solid and strong as Duncan himself, she thought, her heart giving a little twist.

“We’ll speak the words before a priest later, but as of this moment, I consider myself yours, Aileana MacDonell.”

Tears threatened to choke her again, and she swallowed hard. Her smile was tremulous as she whispered, “I am yours as well, Duncan MacRae. I belong to you and no other, from this day forward.”

When he smiled and leaned over to take her mouth in another kiss, spiraling them into renewed passion, Aileana knew that whether or not Duncan realized it yet for himself, she’d finally found the answer to what she’d been seeking all of her life.

She knew, suddenly, that the desolation, the emptiness, the hurt—all of the pain she’d felt in her lonely childhood was part of her past, now.

She’d found a comfort and sense of belonging far more wonderful than any she’d ever dared to imagine…

For she knew that in Duncan’s arms she’d finally come home.