“I will give you two some time alone.” Florie squeezed my hand affectionately and left, but not before telling Declan, in passing, that he'd best see that I ate to regain my strength.
She had barely closed the door before he was in my arms after I held them out to him, desperate to hold him again and feel his warmth and vitality. I held on tightly as he sat on the bed and gathered me against him, holding me gently, clearly worried he might hurt me. We stayed just like that for a time, breathing in each other’s scent. Cherishing these moments we thought lost to us. A life that should have been snuffed out in that tavern with the thrust of a poisonous dagger.
“You dinnae know how much I feared losing you, lass,” he rumbled in my ear, cradling the back of my head as I suspectedhe often had when I hovered on the edge of the afterlife. “How verra close you came time and time again.”
“Yet here I am,” I whispered, my throat thick with emotion. “Alive and well, thanks to you and all the kind souls who nursed me back to health.”
And perhaps even my sisters, rallying me back from the brink of death into Declan's arms from across the cold, dark seas between us. I made no mention of that, though. Someday, but not right now. This moment was for reconnecting with the love of my life and for new beginnings.
“And thanks to our gods,” he murmured, ever grateful for my being here, invoking an all too familiar warmth at my chest. When he pulled back, I was shocked to discover it lingering in my cross even though my talisman hung around his neck.
“All of our gods, it seems,” he added.
“’Tis a good place for it,” I said softly, fingering my talisman, feeling it warm against his chest.
“As is this.” He did the same with the cross, his gaze lingering on it before his eyes rose to mine and, much to my surprise, he spoke in my language. “A bridge of sorts betwixt us that I dinnae doubt will forever guide us.” A little twinkle lit his emerald eyes, and the corner of his mouth curled up. “My wee heathen wife.”
Recalling what he had called my people at the beginning, I met his small smile, only to remember what had brought his religion to me. Why this cross of protection hung around my neck.
“Oh, husband.” I pressed his warm palm to my cheek and leaned into his touch, blinking back fresh tears. “I am so sorry about your father. He was…”
“At peace in the end,” he assured softly, his voice rough with just as much emotion. “At peace because he knew we had found love together in the end, and you would survive. ‘Twas mymother’s name on his lips in his sleep when he breathed his last breath. Her waiting arms, I dinnae doubt he went into.”
“I do not doubt it either,” I said softly, certain such things happened. “Not at all.”
We said nothing for several moments, taking the time to remember Lachlann fondly before he revealed that his father knew he was learning to speak my language, so that he could further help me in my endeavors as time went on.
“No doubt youdidlearn my language.” Shaking my head, I marveled at how far Declan had come. “And so fluently in little time.”
“Aye.” Touching my talisman, he told me what it had done for him. How it helped him understand my native dialect, aiding him in communicating with the Norsemen as they got me home. “Since then, they have been teaching me and I them my language, so that they might better get on in their new country. And, aye, I would say the talisman has helped me pick things up quickly.”
“You are fond of these Norsemen,ja?” I smiled at the warmth on his face as he spoke of them. “You get along well?”
“Ja,” he said, “Aye, how could I not, given all they have done for me?” He caressed my cheek, his gaze falling to my lips. “Us.”
“Us,” I murmured, my gaze dropping to his as well before he closed his lips over mine and I lost myself all over again to his kiss. The feel of him against me. In my arms again. His tongue against mine.
Or at least I was lost until
a little gray pup scurried up between us, only for Oksana to grab him by the scruff of his neck and plunk him back down with his brothers and sisters.
Smiling against Declan’s mouth, I pulled back and looked at the six fondly. “Oksana is a good mother, aye?”
“She tries to be.” He grinned and shook his head, eyeing the pups just as fondly. “Though ‘tis safe to say they are wee hellions and dinnae make life easy for her. Both she and I gave up trying to keep the grey one away from you, so I allowed the lot of the blasted beasties on the bed whilst you recovered.” He shook his head. “Still so young but such bloody energy!”
Remembering my previous husky litters, I couldn’t help but chuckle at what was coming as they aged. At least for the first four winters or so. Add in Sten's potential wolfen blood, and things were bound to be interesting. I sensed, despite the huskies appearing perfectly normal, that their offspring would carry a trace of Sten and his ilk far into the future, making huskies a unique breed indeed.
“Oh, their energy is something to be sure,” I agreed with Declan, already bracing myself for years of delightful mischief and mayhem.
“You need to eat and rest, lass,” he counseled as I rested back against my pillow when a wave of exhaustion washed over me. All I wanted was to remain in his arms and pick up where we’d left off in the cold, snowy woodlands of the north, but I knew I wasn't healed enough yet for that.
“Ja, mayhap some food and rest is not such a bad idea,” I relented, fighting back a yawn. “As long as you stay with me and catch me up on everything that has happened whilst I was recovering.” I glanced at the snow falling outside. “How much I missed since we returned.” There was no stopping a sad sigh because I knew how much his new status had cost him. “Since you became chieftain.”
“Much,” he said softly, the look in his eyes different when they met mine again. Wary, if I did not know better. “Verra much, indeed.”
Chapter Twenty
-DECLAN-
