“Me Lady,” he said, crossing to the bed. “I’m glad ye are awake.”
“I daenae remember fallin' asleep,” she croaked.
“Nay, that’s how it works when lovemakin' is done properly.”
He had a cloak wrapped around his shoulders, and he dropped it to the floor as he settled next to her. The sight of him naked made her head swim and her vision gray around the edges again.
It’s like I’m nay longer rooted to the earth.
She studied the ridges in his abdomen.
It’s like I’m floatin’ above it all, driftin’ on me own private cloud.
“Me entire life, I never imagined bein' with a man like that,” she murmured as they lay in bed. She pressed her hand to his chest, traced the shape of it with the tips of her fingers. “Ye ken how the ladies who have been bedded talk about it. Most of them make it sound like it’s just somethin' we have to do to keep the men happy.”
“Most men daenae care how lasses like the act,” Leo admitted, and she was surprised at how disappointed he sounded when he said it.
“I suppose if they get what they want, what difference does it make to them what we want?”
Leo wrapped her in his arms and trailed his fingers over her skin, lifting the goosebumps that had only recently receded. “That might be most men, but for me, what I want is more than just me own pleasure.” He kissed her, softly this time, a delicate press of his mouth. “I want to see me woman writhe and moan under me power.”
“Still a man, are ye?” Beatrice laughed.
But the thought sent a tingle to her core.
“I daenae want a lass who has to be forced into going to bed,” Leo said. “If ye enjoy yerself, then ye’ll want it as much as I do.”
“I do, Leo.” She pressed a hand to the side of his face and kissed him deeply. “I really do.”
“And that is why we belong together, Bea. Despite how much I resisted marriage, it was the right lass who brought me to it.”
He kissed her on the forehead and then lay back against the pillows.
Beatrice sighed and draped herself over him. Heat still simmered inside her, tremors rippling under her skin and begging for his touch to bring them to the surface. But there was also satisfaction, completion. She stared down
the length of his body, at his strong legs and soft cock, and let her mind drift.
I tried nae to succumb to fate, but in the end, it found me. I did me best to run from destiny and instead ran headfirst into it.
EPILOGUE
Beatrice was already beyond grateful for Violet and everything she had done for her, but as the next few days plodded along and the handfasting ceremony drew closer, it was a relief to have someone like her around. The servants’ chatter and million suggestions were driving her mad.
“If she wants a marriage like the rest of ye, she’d marry yer husbands and be done with it,” Violet scolded them, chasing out the latest pack that had descended into Beatrice's chambers.
“Thank ye, Violet,” Beatrice sighed, pressing the heels of her hands into her eyes. “I was losin’ me mind tryin’ nae to yell at them.”
“I ken they’re excited, and I ken they want to be helpful, but we daenae need to hear every little thing they have to say.”
Violet held up the gown the seamstress had sewn for Bea. It hung to the floor, sweeping a long length of skirt behind it.
“I’ve never worn something so beautiful.” Beatrice rubbed the material between two fingers. “It might be too elegant for someone like me.”
“Nonsense. Just because ye’re marryin’ me barbarian of a brother doesnae mean ye arenae elegant.”
Violet helped her into the dress and fastened up the back of it.
Together, they faced a long mirror, and Beatrice was startled by the woman staring back at her. She was used to being called beautiful, and it was no surprise when she saw herself that way, but the woman staring back at her was a different type of beautiful. There was a sparkle in her eyes, shaping the contours of her cheeks.
