“Good lass,” he growled, his strokes growing more and more frantic as he chased his own release. “Let me hear ye.”
“Darragh,” she cried, his name sounding like a prayer on her lips. “Darragh.”
“Amelia,” he groaned, the sound in a register so low that it vibrated directly into her chest.
His hips stuttered before he spilled inside her. The sensation of his climax made her gasp, heightening the tail end of her orgasm. He connected their lips, resting his weight on his elbows, so he could hold her face steady.
As they rode out the aftershocks together, Darragh led her through soft, sure kisses. It felt like the beginning of something special. Finally, she didn’t feel like a burden. He made her feel a sense of belonging that was both foreign and exactly what she’d been longing for her entire life.
“I love ye,” she whispered when he broke the kiss.
“I love ye, too,” he replied, sealing it by brushing their lips together one last time.
When he pulled out, she hissed at the loss. He paused long enough to ensure that he hadn’t jostled her injuries before he lay down next to her. She went easily when he pulled her against his chest, relaxing into his protective hold.
“I’ll stay,” she said sleepily, the events from the day finally slamming into her now that she was finally safe.
“I ken,” Darragh replied, pressing his lips to the top of her head. “And I meant what I said. If ye want me name, it’s yers.”
“I would like that,” Amelia said as her eyes fell closed. “I would be proud to bear the name Fraser.”
The last thing she remembered before she fell asleep was the warmth of his lips on the top of her head and the knowledge that for once in her life, she was truly secure.
Epilogue
Three Months Later
“Nearly got it that time,” Amelia said as Isla groaned in frustration at missing a butterfly.
Isla looked up the hill where Amelia was standing. The brilliant colors behind her were nearly enough to take Amelia’s breath away. She’d lived in the Highlands her entire life, and no place was quite as pretty as Fraser Keep.
“There’s nae reason a creature so small should be able to evade me so easily,” the girl whined.
Hazel covered her mouth. From where she was seated next to Amelia, she watched her daughter. The woman wasn’t much for conversation, but Amelia found that she liked it. Moments of silence at the keep were rare.
“Didnae ye know?” Amelia replied with a playful grin. “Butterflies all come out of their cocoons kennin’ how to avoid wee lassies like yerself.”
“I’m nae wee,” Isla shot back.
She glared when her mother began to laugh, but she didn’t let it derail her from her task. Turning around, Isla began creeping toward the cloud of butterflies. Amelia watched as she made another attempt at catching one. As expected, she came away from the attempt empty-handed once more.
Amelia was taking a few last moments of peace before Flora and Lucas’s arrival. Despite her initial hesitancy, she’d become fast friends with the other woman. On the day that she and Darragh got married, Flora’s attendance was the only thing that she cared about.
“Ye’re glowin’,” Hazel said thoughtfully, looking up at Amelia, her head cocked to the side.
“I believe it’s just the lightin’,” Amelia replied, still not quite comfortable with the compliments the staff gave freely.
“Perhaps,” Hazel said without taking her eyes off Amelia. “But ye do look healthy. Seems ye get even better every day.”
“I’ve been healed for over a month,” Amelia pointed out, ducking her head.
The silence stretched between them. Both women watched as Isla continued her impossible task. She’d moved onto lying as still as she could, likely in hopes that one would land close enough for her to grab.
“I do believe I feel better each day,” Amelia admitted. “Nae in the same way as I did when me ribs were still tender. But it does feel as if each day is better than the last.” She went quiet then, contemplative. “I wait every day for it to end. I think that surely the day must be comin’ that I wake up from this dream.”
“Sometimes we’re blessed with our realities from the beginnin’,” Hazel murmured, wrapping her arms around her legs and resting her chin on her knees. “Sometimes we must go through hell to get them. When ye’ve had to fight for yer peace, it’s hard to believe the fightin’ is really over.”
Amelia swallowed around a lump in her throat. She had to look away, lest she end up crying in front of Hazel. It hadn’t happened in so long, and she preferred to keep it that way.
