“I ask for your word not for me, but for Willow,” James said. “It would not bode well for her if you simply leave without an explanation. I will not see her hurt and humiliated in front of her clan and in front of Lord Tarass and also when Lord Ruddock learns of it.”
Willow had been so willing to leave with her husband that she hadn’t given the consequences of her actions thought of what it might have done to others. And the thought upset her greatly.
“I would never do anything to intentionally hurt Willow,” Slatter said.
“It’s never what we do intentionally that hurts. It’s what we don’t do, but what we should do. I could care less what happened to you except that if anything did happen to you, I know how much my sister would suffer. And my sister has suffered enough already. So I ask again, will you give me your word that you will remain here and see this matter settled?”
“I will see this matter settled, on that you have my word. As for remaining here, I don’t know if this matter will take me away to see it settled and, therefore, I cannot give you my word.”
“At least you give me the truth this time,” James said. “I will have men leave tomorrow to escort your people here. And you know that now I have no choice but to place extra guards around you.”
Slatter nodded.
“We should return to the keep before someone searches and cannot find you,” James said.
Willow didn’t hesitate, she walked past James and didn’t stop, a worry creeping through her that she couldn’t stop. It didn’t take long for her husband and James to catch up with her and when her husband went to take her hand, she moved away from him.
“I need to return this food to the kitchen,” she said, holding up the sack, not bothering to glance at either man.
She hadn’t thought that her husband would leave and not return to her, but listening to what he said to James gave her pause to think about it. If he could tell her he loved her and leave without a word, what would stop him from ever doing so? Would he wake one day, tell her he loved her, and be gone forever? What if she got with child and he left them both? Was she a fool for believing him more honorable than he actually was? Had she let love blind her to the truth?
After she was done in the kitchen, she went to the Great Hall to find her sister to let her know she wasn’t leaving and stopped when she saw Slatter talking to her. He caught her eye and she could tell he was there purposely waiting for her.
She stopped Eleanor who was about to rush past her to James. “Would you tell Snow that I’ll see her in the morning?” And before the young woman could respond, Willow hurried off.
Willow went to see how Sara was doing.
“Has she stirred, Carna?” Willow asked, after entering the room and going to rest a gentle hand on the old woman’s brow and glad to find no fever.
“She has and she drinks the brew each time. She does well, I think.”
“She does and you do well watching over her. I will look in on her in the morning.”
Willow made it seem that she was retiring for the night, but that wasn’t her intention. She wanted some time alone to think, something she feared she hadn’t done enough of lately. She had allowed her heart to rule and she didn’t know if that was a good thing. Being sensible had always served her well and she hadn’t been sensible since the day she was dropped in the hole with Slatter.
It was time to be practical about her circumstances before it was too late, before she foolishly fell into bed with him, sealed their vows forever, and possibly got with child. She had to come to terms with what she believed since she had met Slatter or she had to let him go.
She went to her mum’s solar where she’d always found peace. She added more logs to the low flames to chase the chill that had settled in the small room, slipped off her boots, and curled up in one of the chairs to think.
“How long did you intend to avoid me?”
Willow sighed, not glancing at the open door where her husband stood. “I was hopeful it would be a bit longer.”
“I’m not going away,” Slatter said.
Willow turned and looked at him. “But you were going away and without me and without telling me. It took my brother to make me realize that I could wake any day and find you gone, without even a good-bye.”
Slatter entered the room, his steps slow, his manner relaxed. “I’ve warned you that I wouldn’t make a good husband.”
“Then why tell me you love me?” She tilted her head back and shook it. “Or did you tell me because I had told you that I love you?”
He walked over to her and leaned over her to look her in the eyes. “I didn’t say I loved you because you had said it. I told you I love you because I do love you. I may lie more than other men, but I didn’t lie when I said I love you.”
She drew her head forward as she got out of the chair and turned to face him. “How do I believe you when you admit that you lie?”
“How do you question me now when I never hid who I was from you?”
She shook her head again, nothing making sense to her. “I don’t know. I suppose I believed that we could do well together.”
“That I would change?”
She stared at him, shaking her head again, though slowly. “No, people don’t change easily. I learned that seeing my da grow ill and change through no fault of his own. I’ve also seen people change due to tragedy in their lives. I feel I changed after losing my parents. I found myself becoming more responsible, feeling the need to be a parent to my sisters. I wasn’t looking for you to change. I was hoping the man you let me catch glimpses of would eventually reveal himself, the one that’s somewhere deep inside you that you keep hidden, for whatever reason.”
Slatter took a deep breath as if fortifying himself. “There is no other man inside me.”
“That’s not true and you know it. I feel him in the way he takes my hand so gently and lovingly in his. I feel it in his arms every time they wrap around me and make me feel as if I’ve come home. I feel it in his kiss that tells me more than words ever could how much he loves me and I felt it in the way you wed me—a stranger—to save me from a terrible fate.”
“You don’t know what you’re saying,” he argued.
“Actually, I finally know what I say is the truth and I do know that I love that good man with all my heart and as foolish and insane as it may seem I will love the other man who lives the lies until he realizes he doesn’t have to lie anymore.”
Slatter shut his eyes for a moment, his hands fisting at his sides. “I’m not who you think I am. I am not a virtuous man.”
“I don’t believe you.”
He stepped closer to her. “Believe me, Willow, when I say I’m not a noble man.”
“You are a decent man and nothing can make me believe otherwise.”
He stepped closer, his arm coiling around her waist and drawing her close. “I’m telling you now—the truth—I’m not a moral man and one day you will learn that and it will be too late for you to walk away. So I’m giving you a chance to walk away now. If you don’t I’m going to take you to our bedchamber and seal our fate. You’ll be mine, bound to me until the day you die, bound with the lies and all that comes with them.” He leaned down and whispered in her ear. “Leave while you can, mo ghaol. Don’t let the devil get you.”
Chapter 18
Willow smiled softly and whispered, “I’m not afraid of the devil.”
“You should be,” Slatter said and scooped his wife up so fast that she gasped. “You just sealed your fate, wife.”
He was wrong. Their destiny had been sealed the day she had been lowered into that pit.
He carried her to the bedchamber and, once inside, placed her on her feet. He barely shut the door when he began to disrobe. Willow on the other hand stood there, not moving, her eyes focused on his every movement.
He was an exceptionally well-built man, his body sculpted perfectly with every muscle and curve defined. It was humorous to her, though, that with such a
beautiful body, it was his hands she favored the most. They were long, lean, and held such strength yet were tender. She loved when his hand closed around hers and held it strong, or the way he placed it to rest at her lower back at times, and she especially liked when his hand captured her face and held it still for him to kiss her.
“Do you need me to undress you?” he asked with a slight tease.
“Aye, I do,” she said, wanting to feel his hands on her.
Pleasure grew in her as he walked with slow, lithe steps toward her and when he raised his hands and took hold of her tunic, she shivered.
“Is that from a chill or fear?” he asked softly.
“Anticipation,” she whispered.
“You truly want this?” he asked.
“I truly want you and no other.” She reached up to kiss him, but his lips reached hers first.
His kisses were always magical to her, stirring her senses, her passion, making her feel more alive than she had ever felt and this time making her feel even more—
His lips left hers briefly to whisper, “I love you, Willow, I love you so very much.”
Loved. It was as if he had finished her thought. He made her feel more loved ever since he had said it aloud to her. She lost herself in the kiss and all it meant to her.
His hands didn’t hurry to remove her garments after he reluctantly ended their kiss. He took his time gathering her tunic to bunch in his hands as he raised it up and over her head. He kissed her briefly, teasingly before his hands grasped her shift and began to pull it up.
“You’re sure about this?” he asked when the hem of her shift brushed the tops of her thighs.
“I’ve never been more sure about anything.” She pressed her fingers to his lips when he went to speak. “And I won’t regret it, not ever. I love you and whatever life brings us as long as we’re together that’s all that matters to me.”
“I’ll never let you go, Willow. You’re mine now and forever.”
He quickly pulled the shift over her head, scooped her up once again in his arms, and carried her to the bed.
Willow had sometimes thought what it would be like making love with her husband when she married. Her mum had spoken openly with her daughters about the intimate duties of a wife, not wanting any of them ignorant of what they would face or what was expected of them. But never did she imagine how much she would look forward to consummating her vows. But then Slatter had given her a taste of the pleasure that could be shared between a man and a woman, more so between the two of them.
His hands began to explore her body and she responded to his every touch, his every kiss, some more so than others. She couldn’t stop the moan that escaped from her lips when his mouth settled at her breast, teasing her nipple hard, and sending a pleasurable tremble through her that had her thinking she would climax there and then.
She gave him a little shove and he looked up at her with concern.
“I want to touch as well,” she said a bit breathless and shoved him on his back, though he fell willingly.
“Touch all you want, wife. I belong to you and only you.”
“Now and forever,” she said with a smile and kissed him as her hands caressed his chest.
Her lips soon followed where her hands had touched and she couldn’t seem to get enough of the taste of him. His flavor was warm, potent, and intoxicating and she was soon lost in exploring him.
Slatter had known since that time he had brought her to climax in the pit that there was a passion in his wife waiting to be freed, but he had thought it might take time to fully free it. He was wrong. It had taken no time at all.
He stifled the gasp that rose in his throat as her hand drifted down along his mid-section getting closer and closer to his manhood that was already screeching for him to slip into her. And the way she feasted on his nipples didn’t help any, though he damn sure enjoyed it. Enjoyed it more than ever since he knew it was love that made her desire him and that made all the difference to him.
He almost jolted off the bed when her hand took hold of his manhood and began to caress it. He closed his eyes and got lost in her innocent playfulness until she began to instinctively tug on it.
His hands went to her waste and he gently flipped her on her back, covering her body with his. “Enough, wife, or this will be over far too soon.”
She smiled. “But then we get to do it again and again and again.”
He laughed softly. “As many times as you want, mo ghaol.”
She rested her hand to his cheek. “I want you, husband, always.”
All the intimate touches that had ever stirred him couldn’t compare to how her words fired his passion.
“Love me. Love me now and seal our vows and bind us together forever,” she whispered and faintly brushed her lips across his.
At that moment Slatter felt what it was like to be lost in love. He wanted nothing more than to join them together forever, seal them as one so that no one could ever tear them apart.
He wanted to be as gentle as possible with her, not bring her any pain, since this was her first time, but neither of them had patience. She was as eager as he and between their kisses and intimate touches there was no going slow.
“Now! I need you now!” Willow all but screamed.
Slatter felt the same, far too close to not being able to hold back any longer.
He entered her slowly, but that wouldn’t do for Willow and she lurched up to meet him and that was it. Slatter drove into her and they both let out a gasp of pleasure. They were soon lost in passion, mindless of anything but the consuming pleasure building uncontrollably in them.
“Slatter!” Willow screamed as her passion erupted in a blinding climax.
Slatter joined her, an uncontrollable roar erupting from deep inside him, his release so powerful he couldn’t contain it.
Passion rushed like a mighty wave through Willow, ebbing and flowing until it settled into a ripple that shivered her senseless. She shut her eyes, soaking in every last ripple and shiver and feeling overjoyed that this was something they could enjoy over and over again.
Slatter’s limbs had never turned weak when he climaxed, but they did now. He barely had the strength to hold his weight so he wouldn’t collapse on his wife. He was still reeling from the intensity of his release and while he would have loved to remain inside his wife a bit longer, he feared he would collapse on her and he didn’t want to hurt her.
He went to pull out of her.
“Not yet,” she cried, grabbing hold of his arms and she wiggled as if unsettled, beneath him and suddenly shuddered, her eyes shutting tight as she let out a small gasping sigh.
He was surprised, though enjoyed seeing his wife climax again and he told himself to remember that for the next time and make sure to escalate her second climax.
When her hands fell away from his arms, he eased out of her and rolled off to settle alongside her, pulling the blanket over them as he did. They lay on their backs for a few minutes, gathering their breath and letting their rapidly beating hearts calm.
After a few moments, Slatter reached over to tuck his wife in the crook of his arm. She eagerly settled against him, resting her head on his chest and thinking of all the things she wanted to say, but remained silent, enjoying the pounding of his heart that had yet to calm.
Sleep claimed Willow quickly and Slatter lay there, an overwhelming sense of contentment washing over him. He’d found something he thought impossible… love. His wife actually loved him and he loved her so much that at times it frightened him. He couldn’t bear to lose her. He’d be a broken man if he did with no wont to live. He had a duty now as a husband and it was that duty that he would see to before anything. It was that duty that would change his life more ways than his wife would ever know.
Sleep finally intruded on his thoughts and his eyes closed and he slipped into a contended sleep.
Slatter woke before his wife the next morning. He lay on his side wrapped around her. His body heat had k
ept her warm, what logs left in the hearth only giving off a small glow. He’d get up and add more logs soon, but first he wanted to linger with his wife, feel her warmth, and caress her soft skin. She felt so good and he warned himself to be good, let her sleep, don’t stir her awake, but then his innocent touch had done more than stir him. He had grown aroused and if not careful, he’d be slipping inside her as she woke.
He was being good, keeping control of his growing need when he heard her moan softly, and he smiled. He was about to turn her on her back when a sudden rap sounded at the door and he silently cursed whoever was there.
“Wake up, Willow, and you too, Slatter,” Snow called out and Slatter immediately rescinded his curse against Snow. “Sara is fully awake and wants to see you both.”
That had both of them popping up in bed.
“We’ll be right there,” Willow called out and turned to give her husband a jab in the chest. “You better make sure to put out this fire you set in me sooner rather than later.”
Slatter’s smile teased. “Anticipation only makes it better, my love.”
He got another jab in the chest for that before she scrambled out of bed.
“Wait,” Slatter said, laughing and reached out to try and grab her. “I can put that fire out quick for you.”
“It’s burning way to hot,” she said, placing her hand on her naked hip as she turned. “It will take more than a quick poke to extinguish what burns in me.”
The smile Slatter’s laughter had left vanished, staring at the seductive pose his wife had struck, not to mention how much she burned for him. Damn if he didn’t get all fired up.
Seeing the passion that flamed in her husband’s eyes had her donning her garments with haste. If he teased her with playful touches, she’d be lost, and since he looked about to lunge off the bed at her that seemed probable.
“Grandmother waits,” she reminded. “You can finally learn what happened to her.”
That stopped Slatter and dimmed the fiery passion in his dark eyes, though didn’t extinguish it.
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