“For months before you arrived in Ellenbeich, I reworked the silver dragon, a gift from my father. It had no life, no meaning. One morning I took it out of my pouch and I knew what needed to be done. I worked the piece, but I couldn’t complete it. Something was missing.
“The moment I touched the green stone you gave me, I knew the gem would always be yours. Yet, I was confused. Something compelled me to set it into the dragon.”
She opened her hand and he gasped. Streaks of red radiated out of the middle of the green stone that was set in the dragon’s heart.
“I gave the stone to you.” She secured the pendant around his neck amid his protest then stood back to admire it. The stone seemed to warm to his skin. Yes, the stone was his.
“The stone was yours from the beginning and belongs to no one else. Together with the dragon it both binds and enhances its energy, strength, and life.”
“I told your father I traded for it. That wasn’t the truth. The stone was my father’s. A sparkling fascination he gave me as a boy.”
“The silver dragon was a gift from my father. See how our fathers have come together. Their friendship was always a strong one,” she said.
“Like our love.”
Her hand on his chest, Wesley’s heart pounded.
“I will treasure it always, but it is nothing compared to you. You are my jewel.”
Wesley brushed her lips with the pad of his thumb and she sighed.
With a gentle touch, she moved closer and let the curves of her body feel the hard planes of his. She turned her head toward him, hoping for a kiss. She didn’t wait long.
He leaned down and let his lips brush gently against hers, warm and soft before he pulled away. She mourned the loss of his lips then realized a lifetime of kisses stretched in front of them. The idea warmed her. She leaned into his tall frame and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Kiss me again.”
He placed a light kiss on her lips.
Darla stretched up on her tiptoes and pressed against him to deepen the kiss. Although raw desire had assaulted her body when they had first kissed months ago on the cliffs in Ellenbeich, and again after the Sea Diamond sank, now his kiss was different. They were for each other.
The hair on her scalp and the back of her neck rose on end, and her skin was covered in gooseflesh. A warm tingle grew in places no maiden would admit.
Wesley’s hand held her face as he pressed his mouth more firmly on hers. She parted her lips as his tongue swept in to take what she willingly offered. A thrill of excitement swirled through her. She wanted more.
Wesley wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off her feet. She tightened her hold on him and completely surrendered. Never before would she have dreamed of this. For months, she looked at him from afar, longing to hear his voice, feel his touch, afraid she lost him forever. Now, she couldn’t imagine her life without him.
In a few short months, he’d so entrenched himself in her heart and mind. She shuddered at the idea she almost lost him, married someone of her father and Lord Ewan’s choosing. Thank God she demanded a love match.
When she let out a low moan, Wesley roughly broke the kiss, his breathing ragged. She gazed at him, dazed. He had taken all her senses away. She forgot where she was and had only been living in his kiss.
“We must stop before it goes further,” Wesley whispered. “I don’t trust myself.”
He caressed the side of her face with his hand. She didn’t want him to stop. She hungered for him with an urgency she’d never felt before. Her cheeks were warm and her lips swollen. The very air around her seemed to pulsate with tension, the heat of it pushing them back into their passionate embrace. His mouth came back down to hers, hungry for more.
He laid kisses down her neck and delighted in her soft moans.
“We marry tomorrow.” She held her breath, concerned he would object.
“That isn’t soon enough.” He lifted his head. The passion in his eyes made her heart thump. The sensual smile that lit his face made her warm all over.
“We leave for London as husband and wife the following day with my parents’ blessing,” she said. He kissed her again.
“Darla,” her mother called from outside the door. “I can’t keep them much longer. Come. You’ll have all the time you want after tomorrow.”
He held her close while her heartbeat slowed, then stepped out of his arms. She straightened her dress, then turned to Wesley and smoothed his shirt.
“Ready?” he asked. Darla nodded and took his arm. They made their way to the door.
“I dreamt of you last night,” she said as they walked down the corridor to the hall.
“Sweet dreams, I hope,” he whispered in her ear.
“We have a good life ahead of us with three children that will worry us and make us proud.”
“Ah, a normal household.”
She peeked at his wide grin, glad he was happy, but she said nothing.
“Why so somber?” His strong hand covered hers. She remained silent.
He stopped, turned her toward him, and lifted her face with the crook of his finger. He stared deeply into her eyes for several heartbeats. His grim expression softened as if he gained a new understanding.
“Life is full of troubles. We will face whatever comes our way together. Always together.”
She sucked in a breath. He understood without her saying a word. Would he always be able to read her thoughts?
He released her chin and tucked her head against his chest. “Always together,” he declared.
With her finger, she traced the dragon she knew was hidden beneath his shirt.
“As a child, I had a secret dragon for my playmate, my confidant, my protector. We swam together and explored the waters at the foot of the castle. I thought it strange that the dragon I imagined had a heart that glowed. When I saw your tattoo, I was speechless.”
“Fynn and I drank too much one night in Inverlochy. We decided to throw our lot in with the pirates. Fynn said all pirates had tattoos. Later that evening after more drinking, we found ourselves in a gypsy’s room. The artist gave us no choice. He said tattoos came from within. He would give us the tattoo that belonged to each of us.”
“And you let him do what he wanted?”
“Neither one of us was in any condition to argue. In the morning, we both woke with our head hurting. Fynn had a sinking ship on his back and I had a dragon with this red heart on my chest. I confronted the man. He was very humble and thanked me for allowing him to give me the design. He had no idea why he included the red heart and said perhaps one day I would find its meaning.”
They continued the last few steps to the hall door.
“And did you find out why?” she asked.
His hand on the door, he turned to her.
“Since we met, I’ve had dreams of a swimming dragon with a glowing heart lighting my path, all the way to you,” She said.
He kissed her soundly and opened the door to a riotous celebration.
Three days later—Glesanda
“We’ll have to tell Wesley,” Maxwell said to Lord Ewan as they walked the last few paces to the grave of their longtime friend, Collin Reynolds, a bottle of whiskey in Lord Ewan’s hand.
“That we plotted and planned to bring Fynn to justice and save him or that we plotted for him to marry Darla?” Lord Ewan took a drink from the bottle and handed it to Maxwell. “I suppose he should know it all.”
“Sometimes I blame myself for Collin’s death,” Maxwell said. “I should have done more when he came to us to give you his estate to hold for Wesley. If I had perhaps he’d still be alive.”
Lord Ewan put his arm around Maxwell’s shoulders. “Aye. There are times I feel the same regret. But in my heart of hearts I believe Collin was doomed when he left us. We both knew he couldn’t handle Fynn.”
“He was a man of strong principles. He promised his brother he’d see to the boy and he did.” Maxwell took a sip from the bot
tle.
The men went through the iron gate and stood beside Collins’ grave.
Lord Ewan knelt. “We hope you are at peace knowing your murderer has been brought to justice. Friend, all is safe as you requested. Your son will receive his inheritance when we visit him and Darla in several months.”
Lord Ewan took the bottle from Maxwell and sprinkled a bit on the grave.
“To Wesley and Darla. Standing next to Maxwell when the two married I thought I felt your presence. It was like old times.” Lord Ewan placed his hand on the grave. “Rest in peace.”
“And Collin, you and I had it right in plotting for Wesley and Darla to marry. They are well suited and very much in love. I wish you were here to see how happy they are. This was one of your better schemes, my friend. Besides, it makes us family, but then we were always close. Until we meet again, my brother,” Maxwell said.
After a moment of silence, Maxwell and Lord Ewan left the cemetery and made their way to the Sea Diamond. The sky was clear and the winds favorable as they set their course for home. The storm that hung over them for the last few months was over.
The End
About the Author
RUTH A. CASIE is a USA Today bestselling author of historical and contemporary romance. Her stories feature strong women and the men who deserve them, endearing flaws and all.
Ruth lives in New Jersey with her hero, three empty bedrooms and a growing number of incomplete counted cross-stitch projects. Before she found her author voice, she was a speech therapist (pun intended), client liaison for a corrugated manufacturer, and vice president at an international bank where she was a product/ marketing manager, but her favorite job is the one she’s doing now—writing romance.
Visit her website (ruthacasie.com) to see what she writes. Her historical swashbuckling action-adventures and contemporary suspense will keep you turning the pages until the end. She hopes her stories become your favorite adventures.
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