“Please don’t stop,” I told him.
Stepping back, Rob pulled the dresses all the way off and pulled me against him, so quick he hadn’t even dropped the balled-up cloth and it were pressed like a pillow to my back. He kissed me, and shy and slow, my hands trembling, I pushed the rest of his clothes off him.
And then we were skin to skin, heat to heat, breath to breath.
He pulled me down gentle to the pallet, and he showed me the mysteries of my body that I’d never understood, and it felt like my world came apart and rebuilt again slow, brick by brick, to form a whole new life. And lying there with him by the fire, his body curled around mine and our fingers and legs twined together, I realized what he’d meant, all those months ago.
Nuzzling against his head, I whispered to him, “This is freedom, Rob.”
Using our twined hands to tuck our arms close around my body, he murmured into my hair, “You were always my freedom, Scar.”
CHAPTER
I woke up in his arms, the fire cold beside us. I tugged the furs higher, not wanting to move from him yet. My chest were pressed into his, and I could only feel one heartbeat. I didn’t know if his body matched mine or mine matched his, but somehow, in the night, they’d fallen into one beat.
One soul. Two bodies.
Married.
“Married,” I whispered out loud, my head on his shoulder.
“That did happen, didn’t it?” he said, his chest rumbling beneath me. I could hear the smile in his voice without looking up.
I grinned and kissed the bit of skin nearest to my mouth. “Yes, husband. It did.” I raised my head. “Oh—not just husband. Your Grace.”
He looked at me, his brows tightening together. “I’m the earl now.”
I nodded, and he brushed my hair back. “Is that a good thing?”
He sighed, and I rested on his chest again. “I don’t know. I’m not sure I was meant to have that title, Scar.”
“Of course you were.”
“I don’t think it was a coincidence that I’d done all those horrible things in the Holy Land and came back to find that I wasn’t responsible for anyone anymore. It felt like justice, and I’ve spent so much time trying to atone . . .” He shook his head. “I never thought I’d be in the position to get any of that back, Scar.”
Tucking my head lower, I didn’t dare look up at him when I asked this question. “And now?” I asked. I held my breath.
He drew a deep breath. “Now.” The breath ran out of him, and he rolled up onto his side, laying me on my back and looking at me. “If we’re going to be Earl and Lady Huntingdon, Scar, we will do it right. Together. We’ll protect the shire.”
“Make it prosperous again,” I told him, running my hand up his arm as his thumb stroked my waist. “Make it so there are stores and reserves and these things won’t affect us in the future.”
He nodded, his eyes navy and serious. “And if we have any children, we are going to protect them. Watch them grow. Not let them run away to holy wars or London.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Do you really think any children of ours won’t be awful troublemakers, Robin Hood?”
He shook his head, smiling. Hair fell on his forehead and I brushed it back. “Last we spoke of it, you didn’t sound keen about the idea of children,” he said soft.
“It terrifies me,” I whispered.
“Why?” he asked.
“If a child ever got hurt because of me—” I started, but the awful thought choked me and I stopped, shaking my head. “But I trust God. If He wants us to have babies, Rob, I swear I will find a way to protect them with everything we have. With everyone we have.”
He nodded, pulling me up to him and kissing me. “We should probably leave this cave at some time, shouldn’t we?” he asked between kisses.
“We have to talk to Eleanor. But not yet,” I told him with a smile.
He grinned. “Remind me to petition Richard to have this cave attached to the Huntingdon lands,” he murmured.
I laughed, and he kissed me.
We left the cave in the noon sun, and it felt strange to put on the same clothes as the day before, like I couldn’t wear the same thing when I felt like a different person. Rob held my hand tight and kissed it. “Let’s go talk to Eleanor,” he said.
I nodded.
We brought the horse but walked together. It were like stealing a little extra time for ourselves, refusing to go fast back to the world. When we reached the castle people saw us and shouted, hugging and kissing and giving us their good wishes. Even the knights came to us, pledging themselves now to Rob as well.
It were late afternoon by the time we made it to the keep itself. There we found Eleanor, holding court in front of the fireplace, looking very grand. Margaret were sitting with her, but she were staring at the ground, and Eleanor were holding her hand. Winchester were pacing, his arms crossed over his big chest, glancing back at Margaret.