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Sarah blinked. “Then why did you—?”
“Because I wanted to kiss ye.” Keir held her gaze as he had done all those weeks ago and then slowly lowered his head, brushing his mouth against hers. “I knew I shouldna, but I couldna stop myself.”
Sarah’s breathing quickened. “Why shouldn’t you have?” she asked as her arms snaked around his neck, and she pulled herself closer.
Keir slid his hands over her back down to her waist. “Because I was to protect ye, lass, and I needed to keep a clear head to see ye safe. Yet the more I thought about ye, the more my thoughts became consumed by ye.” He nipped her lower lip. “Ye were all I could think about. Kissing ye was all I could think about, and then, there we were in that little parlor with ye barely an arm’s length away…” He exhaled a slow breath, once again feeling this overwhelming need to feel Sarah in his arms. “We shouldna—”
Footsteps echoed to their ears, and Sarah surged out of his embrace, old instincts taking over. Her expression was one of alarm, but then quickly changed, the heat of embarrassment coloring her cheeks. “I’m sorry. It’s simply…”
Keir nodded and grasped her hand, pulling her onward. Within moments, they made it down the corridor toward Sarah’s chamber and quickly slipped inside, closing the door firmly behind them. Then he spun her around, walking her back against the sturdy wood of the door, and kissed her the way he had not done in far too long.
And Sarah kissed him back, her hands in his hair and her lips as eager as his own. In his arms, she had never been shy. Not after that first kiss in the cabin in the woods.
Keir held her close, his hands trailing up and down her arms. He traced his fingers up the slender column of her neck, gently cupping her face. She felt almost tiny in his arms, delicate and breakable, her head tilted back as he kissed her. “Are ye all right, lass?” Keir murmured against her lips, unwilling to step back. Still, he needed to see her eyes.
“I am,” Sarah responded, her breath coming fast as her hands rose to touch his face, as though wanting to pull him back down to her and resume what they had started. “I’m perfectly fine.” She smiled at him then, and Keir could feel it in every cell of his body.
“Good,” he murmured and kissed her again, rejoicing in the way Sarah’s hands slipped into his hair. His hands settled upon her waist and then lifted her off the ground, holding her between the door and his body, her feet dangling in the air.
Now, they were eye to eye.
Sarah smiled against his lips. “How can you hold me up like this?” she murmured, her mouth brushing against his.
Keir met her eyes, delighting in the slight twitch of her lips. “Ye weigh next to nothing, lass.”
“Dorothea weighed next to nothing when I carried her up the stairs at the inn,” Sarah retorted with a questioning gaze that made Keir smile. “And my arms still felt as though they might fall off after only a few steps.”
Keir chuckled, then slowly set her back onto her feet. “If ye dunna like it when I pick ye up, all ye have to do is say so.” With one hand upon her shoulder, he held her gaze. “Ye know that, lass, do ye not?”
A somewhat puzzled expression came to Sarah’s face. “Are you worried that I… I will not say it if there is something I… do not want?” Her gaze fell from his for a second.
Keir remained where he was, his own gaze not wavering. “Aye, sometimes I worry that ye might feel compelled to do as ye were taught, lass.” He grasped her chin, needing the feel of her skin against his. “I dunna want ye to bow yer head ever again. Not to anyone, ye hear me, little wisp? Ye have a voice, and I want ye to use it whenever ye see fit.”
Tears stood in Sarah’s eyes, and Keir knew that as confident as Sarah had grown over the course of the past months, there was a part of her that still doubted her own worth, as though no one could truly care for her if she did not fulfill the role that had been intended for her. “I promise,” she vowed, her breath shuddering past her lips.
Keir smiled, giving her chin an affectionate pinch. “How do ye feel about finding yerself betrothed yet again?” he asked lightly, not wishing to conjure dark memories. Yet he had to know if she felt any apprehension. “Is there anything that worries ye?”
To Keir’s relief, the look upon Sarah’s face was not one of relived pain. “I don’t simplyfindmyself betrothed,” she told him, her voice determined and a fierce look in her eyes. “You’remychoice,” she told him boldly, her eyes lighting up in a deeply compelling way. “I want you, and I am not afraid. I know you would never hurt me. This,” she stepped closer, her right hand reaching up to cup his cheek, “is what it’s supposed to feel like.”
Keir wrapped his arms around her once more, savoring the feel of her hand upon his cheek. “I’m relieved to hear it, lass, but I needed to be certain.”
“I know,” Sarah murmured before a slow smile curled up the corners of her mouth. “I never thought I’d ever be married.” Her voice was only a whisper, a faraway look suddenly in her eyes. “After all, escaping marriage was the only thought on my mind for so long.” She smiled at him then, before her expression changed once more.
“What is it, little wisp?”Aye, something weighs on her.
Sarah heaved a deep sigh. “When Frederica was born, I suddenly realized that I would never be a mother.” She shook her head. “Before, I only ever thought about protecting myself from my parents’ scheming, and never once about missing out on motherhood.” Sadness and regret rested in her eyes. “It was only then that I realized what I had lost in gaining my freedom.” She blinked back tears, and yet before Keir could say a word, her eyes found his and she said, “Before I met you, I was so certain I could live without love.” Keir could see that there was more she wished to say; her lips, though, remained sealed.
“Do ye wish for children?” Keir asked, taking both her hands within his own.
Sarah nodded, and a lone tear rolled down her cheek. “I do,” she whispered, a question in her gaze.
Keir smiled at her, gently wiping away her tear. “Ye’ll be a wonderful mother, lass. I have no doubt.”
The joy that came to Sarah’s face nearly brought Keir to his knees. “And what of you? Do you wish for children?”
Keir sighed. “Truthfully, like ye, I never thought much about being a father. Though, lately, I found joy in spending time with the girls, watching them discover the world, holding their hands and sharing their joy.” He nodded to Sarah. “Aye, I do.”
Utter disbelief now glowed in Sarah’s eyes as she gazed up at him. “We’ll have it all, won’t we?” she whispered, awe in her voice. “I never expected any of this. I never expected to… find you.” Her hand reached out to touch his cheek before it settled upon his chest, right above his thundering heart. “I never…” Tears clung to her lashes. “All of my childhood dreams are coming true.” She laughed disbelievingly. “Is this real? Would you pinch me?”
