She struggled against him, lashing out to free herself, and fought toward the surface of her mind. Desperate to escape the hold that he had on her. She did not know where she was or how long she had been there, but she knew that she could not stay. She had to get back. To where? She did not know. She could not remember. But she knew that the longer she dwelled in that never-ending darkness, the more dangerous it would become, and she may never find her way home. She had to keep fighting. She had to get back…
Every inch of her body ached and she winced at the dull throbbing in her head. Catriona struggled to open her heavy eyelids, but when they finally cracked open the light in the room burned her eyes. She turned her head away to shield herself from the light of the candles burning next to her bed. But it was not Gavin's angry face that greeted her.
Liam sat slouched in a chair next to the bed in which she lay, his arms crossed over his chest, which rose and fell with each deep breath he took. His soft rhythmic snoring was oddly comforting.
She struggled to sit up, and let out a soft groan as her aching muscles protested her movements.
“Wha—?” Liam jerked awake, startled by the sound coming from the bed. His eyes locked with Catriona's and Catriona began to shake.
As she stared into his eyes she suddenly remembered the last words he spoke to her. All relief at Gavin’s absence was swept aside, scattered like leaves to be replaced by the pain of Liam’s accusations.
“Ye’re awake,” Liam whispered, sitting up straighter in his chair. “Oh, my God, ye’re awake.”
Liam grabbed her by the hand and brought it to his lips, covering every inch of it in fevered kisses.
“I thought I was going to lose ye,” he whispered into her palm.
She sat frozen with shock as a tear rolled down his cheek and landed on her finger.
“I…” The word came out as a raspy croak. She winced and stopped. Her throat was raw and tender, making it painful to speak.
“Shhh, lass. Save yer strength.” Liam rose from his chair and sat by her side on the edge of her bed. He reached out to her, his hand hovering just out a few inches from her throat and his face clouded over in anger.
“He did that to ye.”
It was not a question. Catriona nodded and raised her hand to the dark purple bruises that Gavin had left on her skin.
“Oh God, Cat. Can ye ever forgive me? I ken I have no right to ask it of ye. I know what I said to ye, the way I’ve treated ye is beyond forgiveness.” His voice broke and his entire body shook as he clutched at the bed coverings. “But I beg ye, I beg ye to give me one final chance to show ye that I can be worthy of ye.”
Catriona shook her head and turned her face away from him as tears rolled down her cheeks. She had heard it all before. How could she trust that he meant it this time? How could she entrust her heart to him again after he had broken it so completely by believing she would deceive him with Iain?
“Please, Cat. Please don’t turn away from me,” he begged. “I can never make right the things I said, and I would understand if ye want nothing more than to see me dead on the floor before ye. But I tell ye this now, I will work every day for the rest of our lives to bring ye nothing but happiness. I would have given my life for yers if he had demanded it of me if it meant that ye would have been safe.”
He grasped her hands in his and held them to his heart. Catriona could feel the rapid beat pounding in his chest as he bent his head to their joined hands.
“Ask it of me and it is yers. Anything. There is nothing too great. All that I have, and all that I am is yers.”
She inhaled sharply as he raised his head and stared at her, unprepared for the fierceness of his gaze.
“I love ye, Catriona. I love ye with every last part of me. I should have told ye sooner. I should not have been such a coward, and a coward I was. But never again.”
Catriona bit her lip as she studied him. Pain warred with hope within her as she listened to his words.
He loved her.
She had been aching to hear those words from his lips for weeks. And now that he had finally said them, she desperately wanted to believe they were true.
“Please, Catriona, I beg of ye. If ye love me, don’t let go.”
Catriona, choked out a sob and wrenched her hands out of Liam’s, only to quickly throw herself forward and wrap her arms around her neck, heedless of the pain.
The room tilted and swayed around her, and for a brief moment she feared she may lose consciousness once more. But she knew in her heart that if she did, she was safe at last in Liam’s arms. He loved her.
“I thought I had lost ye.” He whispered into her hair. His strangled voice was choked with unshed tears. “I was so afraid that ye would not wake up again. When I found ye laying there after what he had done to ye. Oh God, Cat, I have never been so afraid in my entire life. But I promise ye, ye never have to be afraid of him again. He’s gone now, and never coming back.”
Catriona pulled back from him and looked around the room. Only now fully realizing that she was back in her bedchamber.
“You… came… for… me…?” she said slowly, struggling with every word.
“Aye lass, I came for ye. I would have given my life for ye.”
She closed her eyes as he gently brushed the hair away from her face.
Hope rose within her at the feel of his gentle fingertips across her sensitive skin, and she knew that no matter what may have come between them before, her heart belonged to him and him alone.
And as she opened her eyes to gaze into his, she saw the same love and need echoed back at her from within him.
Catriona raised her hand to Liam’s cheek and smiled.
“I… love… you… too…”
Epilogue
The Highlands, Scotland
Early Summer, 1620
The gentle ripples on the surface of Lock Oich glittered in the afternoon sun, and Catriona inhaled deeply, savoring the rich deep scent of grass and dirt that was still slightly damp from the rain the night before. A breeze cut through the glen, tossing her hair across her face, and she smiled, brushing it away gently.
“Ye're meant to be holding still,” Liam told her, though he did not look up from the large sheet of paper he was sketching on.
“I am holding still.” She laughed, as the wind tousled her hair again, and once more she brushed it away from her face.
Liam looked up and raised an eyebrow at her. “Ye call that holding still, do ye?”
“It's not my fault that it's so windy out here today. I'm holding mostly still. If I remember correctly, it was you that insisted my hair be loose.”
“Aye well, ye look lovely with it down around yer shoulders like that.”
Her body flushed warmly as his eyes trailed down over her curves and then back up to hold her gaze. She was still getting used to the way he complimented her so readily, and the look of desire that flashed in his eyes when he looked at her. A desire that she felt echoing inside her, making her want to reach out for him and have him take her up in his arms.
She blushed and looked away, breaking their eye contact, but a smile touched her lips.
“Do ye think...” she cleared her throat gently and looked back at him once more. “Do ye think that our children will have an affinity for drawing?”
“Our children?” His brow furrowed.
“Yes.” She nodded and placed a hand gently on her stomach, to the secret she held there, a wide grin spreading across her face. “Our children.”
“Catriona, are ye...? Are ye telling me that ye're...?”
She nodded her head enthusiastically and a laugh burst forth from her chest. She had not known when the best time would be to tell him, but she could not hold it back for any longer. “Yes! Yes, yes I do believe I am.”
Liam let out a whoop and tossed his sketch pad aside, knocking over his container of charcoals and paints as he dove towards his wife and gathered her into his arms.
“Oh!” Catriona l
et out in a gush of air as he landed squarely on top of her and covered her face in frantic kisses.
“Ye're pregnant?”
“I am.”
“Ye're pregnant!”
“I am!” she shouted with a laugh.
He placed his hand on her stomach and let it rest there, imagining the tiny child that was even now growing inside of his wife. “Our own wee bairn,” he whispered.
He gazed deep into her eyes with such love and tenderness that Catriona felt so overwhelmed tears began to well up in her eyes.
She wrapped her arm around him and pressed a kiss to his lips, filling it with all of the joy that she felt.
“Aye,” he said, pulling back from her slightly. “Aye, I think they will love to paint. And we'll bring them here, to the banks of Loch Oich. And I'll tell them the story of how I was staring into their mother's eyes, eyes as blue as the loch itself, when she told me she was pregnant, and gave me the greatest gift of all.”
Thank You For Reading
I hope that you enjoyed this book. Keep watching my website to find more of my work, and don't forget to sign up for my newsletter in order to find out about new releases and get access to exclusive stories! If you enjoyed this book, please consider taking a moment to leave a review. Thank you.
- Stephanie
Website
www.StephanieMarksBooks.com
Newsletter
Sign me up!
Also by Stephanie Marks
~THE VANESSA KENSLEY SERIES~
BLOOD AND HUNGER
SANGUINE MOON
~THE CLAN MACGREGOR SERIES~
CLAIMED BY THE HIGHLAND WOLF
TAKEN BY THE HIGHLAND WOLF
CRAVED BY THE HIGHLAND WOLF
~SILVERLAKE CITY STORIES~
HIDDEN FALLS
HUNTING CRIMSON
~STAND ALONE NOVELS~
WOLF OF MY HEART
Highland Promise: The Daughters of Clan Drummond Page 20