The Laird's Captive Wife(77)

A footstep behind her made her turn, expecting to see one of the grooms. However, it was a very different figure that stood there. For the space of a dozen heartbeats they faced each other in silence.

‘I thought I might find you here,’ he said.

Ashlynn gave Steorra a final pat and came to join him at the entrance to the stall. ‘Iain, what I said before…I’m sorry. I had no right to ask it.’

For a moment the dark eyes registered surprise. Then he sighed. ‘You had the right, lass.’

‘No, an oath like that is sacred. I see it now and I apologise.’

‘Ach, lass, you’ve nothing to apologise for. Besides, there was much truth in what you said.’

Now it was her turn to feel surprise but before she could say anything he went on. ‘I have carried the desire for revenge in my heart for so long it has become part of me. Not one of the better parts, I fear. Even now, I’m not sure I can let it go.’

‘Iain, I—’

‘No, hear me out, I beg.’ He took a deep breath. ‘If ever our paths cross, I will slay Fitzurse, but I’ll not deliberately seek him out any longer.’

Her heart began to beat a little faster. ‘Do you mean it?’

‘I would not have said it otherwise, lass.’ He eyed her keenly. ‘Will that content you?’

It was so much more than she had ever expected that for a moment it was hard to speak. Then she nodded. ‘Yes.’

Iain knew that a week ago, a day even, he could not have made that promise, but for the first time he had glimpsed something he wanted more than revenge. At some deep level he understood that a fundamental change had taken place and that it was due to his feelings for Ashlynn. He should have felt angry or resentful but he didn’t. The feeling was liberating, as though a burden had been lifted.

‘Then let the matter rest there,’ he said.

‘Thank you. In truth I did not expect so much.’

‘I want that future we spoke of.’

‘And I also. I want your children, Iain, and I want them to grow up knowing their father, not hearing about him at second hand.’

He smiled wryly. ‘They’ll come to know me well enough. More perhaps than they’ll like.’

‘I doubt that. It’s my belief you’ll make an excellent father.’

‘Is it so? And what put that thought in your head?’

‘Watching you with your little niece. You have a talent there.’

‘Well, I’ve been practising, ye ken, for the real thing.’

‘God willing, you’ll have the real thing soon enough.’

She stepped closer and reaching up drew his face down to hers for a lingering kiss. When at length they came up for air he saw her gaze move beyond him towards the far end of the building. Instinctively his own turned to follow it and came to rest at the rear on the ladder that led up to the hayloft. Then he gave her a quizzical look.

‘When first I came here you took me on a tour of Dark Mount,’ she said.

‘So I did, lass.’

‘But you never did show me what lies up there, my lord.’

Iain felt his heart miss a beat. Then he grinned. ‘That can soon be rectified.’

They made the ascent and he drew the ladder up after them, before leading her deeper into the loft space. There he spread his cloak on the hay under the eaves. For a moment they faced each other. Then he knelt, drawing her down with him, closing his arms around her. He felt her mouth open to his letting him taste the sweetness beyond while her body moulded itself to his. He withdrew just long enough to unfasten his belt and tunic and discard them. Then he rejoined her, his lips grazing her cheek, moving thence to her neck and throat while his hands raised the skirts of her gown. Ashlynn moved to accommodate him and felt him lift the fabric clear and then the warmth of his hands on her skin. Her flesh tingled in response. She slid her arms around him, running her tongue along his throat, tasting its salt warmth, breathing in the erotic musky scent of the man, letting her hands explore and caress the hard muscled flesh of his back beneath the shirt. The kiss grew deeper. Her hands slid to the fastenings of his breeches and loosened them, stroking the flesh beneath, feeling the hardening response. She heard him draw in a sharp breath, then pushed him back on the cloak and sat astride him, feeling him slide into her, taking the full length of him.

Iain had fantasised about making love to her in different ways and places but the reality far exceeded the dream. Moreover, there was an expression in her eyes that he had not seen before. It was both teasing and mischievous and it sent a wave of heat through his loins. He wanted her, reached for her hips, drawing her down on him, arching into her, thrusting deeper, desperate to answer that mounting fire. Ashlynn smiled, refusing to be hurried, making him wait.