“Haidar set the difficult task.” —he turned silent for a moment— “I accomplished it. He had no choice but to free me since he gave his word.”
“What was the task?”
Rhys turned on his side. “That my wife, I will never tell you. And with your curiosity settled we will never speak of these things again.”
She poked him in the chest, smiling. “Remember what I told you aboutnever.”
“And remember I told you that my word is law.”
She let her hand drift over his chest and down along his stomach as she spoke, “And I am to obey.”
He laughed. “Something you have yet to succeed at.” His laugh faded when her hand slipped further down to take hold of him. He shut his eyes when she kissed his chest while her hand brought him to life.
He loved the feel of her lips on him and the way she squeezed him tight and tugged on him, making him grow ever harder. Her kisses turned to nips and fueled his need for her even more.
It was when he watched her face dip between his legs that he reacted. He grabbed her and yanked her up against his chest. “You will not take me in your mouth.”
“Why?”
“I will not have you learning that skill...yet.”
“Because of what Haidar said to you about teaching it to me?” She shook her head. “I will know the taste of you and you alone and I will not let that evil man stop me from loving my husband.” He looked ready to deny her and she quickly kissed him. “Please, Rhys, let me do this. Do not let him take this from us.”
He kissed her gently and nodded, and she smiled. It was not long after that the Dragon let loose a tremendous roar.
They spent the rest of the day in bed, had supper brought to their chamber and the Dragon fell asleep long before his wife. When she was sure he slept soundly, she eased herself out of bed.
With light footfalls, she went to the fireplace, grabbed a slim piece of kindling from the basket and poked at the ashes with it. It took a few minutes to find what she searched for and she glanced now and then at the bed to make sure her husband slept.
Finally, she found it and used the kindling stick to drag it out from the embers. She let the ring sit on the hearth stone to cool before picking it up and wiping it off. She knew it would not burn; it was not meant to.
She looked over at her sleeping husband. He had not asked her about the ring when he saw it. Why? He had no way of knowing who had given her that ring. It could have belonged to her mother. He knew the ring when he saw it or else he would not have told her that she needed it no more.
She slipped it back into its hiding spot and walked over to the bed and looked down at her husband sleeping soundly, and whispered, “Quinn.”
CHAPTER 26
Rhys sat by the hearth in the Great Hall alone. He had woken and not been able to return to sleep and so he had left his bed not wanting to disturb his wife. Sunrise was a couple of hours away so not a soul stirred in the keep, except for those guards he had posted that no one could see.
For the moment his wife was safe, but not for long. Haidar was bent on revenge, nothing would stop him. Rhys had known this time would come, though he had planned differently for it. Haidar would have been seen to before he wed Heather, so that Haidar could not use her against him, but her betrothal to Rogan MacClennan had forced him to change his plan. Her abduction had been necessary to prevent her from wedding MacClennan, and the unrest between the McLauds and Macinnes also altered his plans even more.
The time would come that he would see Haidar dead. His concern was that the evil man would find a way to capture his wife and it might take Rhys time to reach her. Minutes mattered with Haidar, for Rhys knew far too well the hell the evil man could put someone through in a very short time. And he could not bear to think of what he would do to Heather.
Rhys shook his head as a smile surfaced. Only Heather could break through his dark thoughtsand make him smile, something he never thought he would do again. But the one thing she did that had truly surprised him was that she had awakened his heart. And damn if he was not feeling what it was like to love again.
He leaned forward on the bench, bracing his elbows on the tops of his bent knees and locking his fingers to rest his chin on. Truths could be painful and he did not want to hurt her, but he could not let her continue to believe that Quinn was alive.
It was in a dark, dank cell, the groans of dying men surrounding him and the stench so bad it made you want to die that Quinn took his last breath. He was gone; he would never return to Heather.
It was the Dragon who would protect her, make love to her, give her many children...love her. She had penetrated his darkness and to his surprise had infused it with light and love, an impossible feat, and yet she had managed to do it.
The sound of footfalls entering the room broke through his thoughts and he waited as they approached him quietly. He listened to her every movement and when she was close enough, he turned, his arm stretching out to snag his wife around the waist and hoist her over the table and onto his lap.
Heather laughed softly. “I thought for sure you had not heard me.”
“I will always hear you.” He kissed her briefly, though with strength that left her wanting more.
“You think that a kiss?” she chastised with a twinkle in her eyes. “Or perhaps the Dragon’s wife exhausted him last night and he is just notupto it.”
