Nessa carefully separated her hair into sections then brushed each one.
She relaxed back, resting her head against the wooden rim as she palmed her belly. She stroked in a slow circle as so many emotions swelled inside her. Love, need, desire. She’d give her children what she’d never had, a mother to look after and care for them throughout all of their days.
“I’ve finished.” Nessa rose. “There is still much to be done this eve and I must return to the chief’s solar.” She passed her a cloth then enveloped her hair in another and rubbed. “Will ye be all right on your own?”
“Of course.” She stood, stepped out of the tub and wrapped herself in the cloth. “I understand why you must go.”
“Aye, I imagine you do. A seer has little idle time.” Nessa crossed to the engraved wooden trunk underneath the narrow window, foraged through it then plucked out an ankle-length nightgown and handed it to her.
She tugged the white linen shift over her head as a knock sounded.
“That’ll be the maids.” Nessa opened the door and allowed the lads and maids from earlier to clear everything away. Once done, Nessa kissed her cheek. “I shall see you in the morn, my dear. If you have need of me though, my chamber is right across the passageway from yours.”
“Thank you.” She closed the door behind Nessa with a soft snick, perched on the corner chair before the fire and brushed her hair until it gleamed a silky rich brown. She was here in the past and she’d make sure she used this time gifted to her to do all she could to save the fae villagers. They were her kin just as greatly as Gilleoin’s people were.
With her hair dry, she set the brush down on the side table, heaved the thick fur covers on top of the bed back and climbed in.
So much had happened so quickly her head still spun.
Rolling to her side, she burrowed into the soft mattress. “I miss you.”
“I’m coming now. Finlay and Kirk have chosen to sleep on pallets in the great hall amongst the other warriors rather than accept a chamber above-stairs. They’re too restless and may need to escape outside with more ease during the night to shift. Which is our chamber?”
“Second floor, third door on your left. Have you eaten?”
“I have.” He opened the door, stepped inside and after he closed it, slid the bolt across. With a bundle of clothes in his hands, he walked to the trunk. Still shirtless and his upper body glistening in the firelight, he folded his clothes inside and closed the lid. “Are you warm?”
“Very.” She shoved the covers back and shuffled across to make room for him.
“What did Nessa wish to speak to you about?” He toed off his boots, unstrapped his sword and propped it within easy reach against the bedside table then set his wrist daggers on the top next to a flickering candle.
“She, ah…” Goodness, every inch of his sculpted body rippled with muscle, his shoulders and arms so wide and strong. Her fingers itched to touch his chest, to glide down and stroke over every one of his contoured abs.
“Isla?”
“Huh?”
Grinning, he eased one hand onto the bed and leaned over her. “When you look at me like that, little bear”—he trailed one finger down the white cotton between her covered breasts—“I just want to devour you.”
“Aye, please do. I wish to be devoured.” She pressed her palm against his chest and embraced his heat. Everything within her both swelled for more and settled with that one simple touch. “True peace only comes when you’re close. I’m lost otherwise.”
“The same goes for me. You’re my life, all that I’ll ever need or desire. When you disappeared within that vortex, I experienced a moment of sheer panic I never wish to live through again.” His eyes heated to a fiery golden hue. “You’re my mate, the only woman I wish to share my life with. I love you, and living without you is no longer possible.”
“I love you too.” She’d never survive without him.
“Isla, I have something very important to ask you, and preferably before you make me lose all thought as you usually do when I slide into bed with you.” He licked her lower lip, his voice whisper soft. “I need to bind us together in every possible way. I want you not just as my mate, but as my wife. Will you do me the great honor of marrying me?”
She looked deep into his eyes, her heartbeat racing at the desire burning in his own. “There’s no other for me, only you, and I long to be your wife.” Happiness surged and bubbled inside her. She grasped his arms and dragged him down on top of her.
“I will love no one as much as I love you.” He slid her hair over her shoulder, played with the ties at her neck then slowly slid the bow free and eased one hand inside the folds of her shift and cupped her breast.