Lachlan reached down and tenderly rubbed a silky strand of blond hair between his fingers before he eased it off Terese’s cheek. He was relieved to see her there. He was tired, no exhausted, more from his endless and, it seemed fruitless, search for his brother. When Evan excitedly informed him that he thought he had picked up a track that he believed would lead them to the mercenary camp, he followed him, with considerable enthusiasm and hope. Unfortunately, it had taken them nowhere.
He hadn’t a chance to inform Terese of his sudden departure, since he hadn’t wanted to interfere with her meeting. He knew that she would come to him later and they would make love throughout the night.
But now?
He simply wanted to sleep. He felt exhausted and empty. Would he ever find his brother? The question and endless disappointment irritated him. However, finding Terese in his bed gave him a sense of peace, and all he wanted to do was crawl beneath the blanket and wrap himself around her. He stripped off his clothes and slipped under the blanket, easing against her. She was so soft and so warm and there was the scent of her; earthy and fragrant.
She turned in his arms. “You’re home.”
Her words hit him in the heart, for to her he was home, a place of belonging and love. And he felt the same; he was home here in her arms. While it filled him with joy, it also frightened him, for he repeatedly worried that she would not leave Everagis and he could not remain here.
“I’m home,” he said and kissed her cheek.
Her lips sought his mouth and she kissed him softly and sweetly and it was enough to spark his passion. He returned the kiss and soon their hands were roaming, touching, and their bodies drifting closer and closer until the only way they could get closer was…
He entered her slowly and their rhythm was gentle and loving as if their need was to never let each other go. Their passion built slowly, steadily, strongly until they both cried out in an explosive climax and collapsed wrapped around each other.
They snuggled in each others arms too tired to talk and so content that sleep claimed them instantly.
Lachlan woke with the scent of Terese filling his nostrils and he turned to nestle around her only to find her gone. He sprang up in bed and looked around the room, thinking she would be there somewhere, but it was empty; he was alone.
He didn’t like the sensation that rushed over him, almost as if she left him, ran away, and he jumped out of bed and hurriedly dressed in his shirt and plaid. Last he remembered they had been wrapped around each other after a quick but loving coupling. He never expected her to be gone when he woke. She often woke him in the morning, her hand laying claim to him and enticing him, not that he needed that much tempting. He was more than willing at any time of the day or night.
Even last night when he had been too tired and crawled into bed, once she had turned in his arms and kissed him, her hard nipples brushing across his chest; he had sprung to life.
He had expected to talk with her this morning. There were things he wished to discuss. Being it was well past sunrise she wouldn’t be in her usual spot on the hill. More than likely she’d be busy with chores and so he went in search of her.
Gray clouds hovered overhead promising rain sometime today and though rain was needed to nourish the seeded fields, he much preferred the sun. He stopped to speak with Boyd, letting him know that once the shelter the men were working on was finished, they were to do no more.
Boyd smiled and slapped his thigh. “Damn, we’re headed home soon, aren’t we?”
“Just do as I say,” Lachlan said and headed to the common shelter. He had no designated departure time set, but he knew that soon, very soon he would need to discuss it with Terese, at least the possibilities. And the thought scared the hell out of him.
What if she refused to go with him? He couldn’t believe that a possibility. He sensed that she loved him and after last night he believed it even more. In two or three weeks at the most, he should be able to set everything right so that she would be looking forward to returning home with him, especially when he asked her to marry him.
The thought still set his heart to thumping madly and his stomach churning like he had drunk too much ale. He hadn’t thought love would claim him just yet. Truthfully, he hadn’t thought love would claim him at all. He had planned on eventually picking a woman who would suit his needs and wedding her. Now, however, he could see the benefits of loving the woman you wed, and he felt lucky to have found the perfect woman for him.
He even understood his brothers’ attachment to their wives, though he’d never admit that to them. They would tease him unmercifully and that he could do without.