Arran, Kip, and I had been at the small inn a few hours when Hew arrived. He said little as he entered, only asking which was his room and leaving us in the dining hall to retire for the evening.
We followed him shortly, separating as we each made our way to our rented rooms. We were all exhausted. I couldn’t blame him for not wishing to speak with us when he’d arrived. I was just happy to know that he was safe.
He’d suffered much the last few days. He was sure to be sore, tired, and heartsick at the loss of his beloved horse, not to mention the melancholy I knew he must feel after having visited Mae’s grave.
For this reason I expected it to be Arran or Kip at the door when I heard a soft knock right as I had blown all but the last candle out for the evening. Instead, when I opened the door, Hew stood before me, his eyes hungry and in need.
Chapter 23
“You should be in bed. You’re injured and it’s been a long day.”
He didn’t answer me, only moved into the room shutting the door behind him. He reached out to me with his good arm, pulling me close to him as he kissed me desperately.
After a moment, he pulled away breathlessly. “Doona tell me what I should do, lass. I had to see ye.”
He released me and I stepped away, hoping that putting some distance between us would dim the fire he’d lit within me. It did nothing to help. “Is everything all right?”
“Aye, lass. Will ye marry me?”
The words caught me off guard. He spoke them so quickly, I wondered for a moment if perhaps he hadn’t meant to say them. “What? What did you just say?”
It took him only two strides until he stood before me, clasping tightly onto both of my hands. “Ye did hear me, lass, but I shall ask ye again. Will ye marry me, Adelle?”
A pleading in his eyes nearly broke my heart. After everything, he still worried that I might say no. “Yes, of course.”
“Really, ye will, lass?”
“Aye,” I mimicked his brogue in jest, reaching up to kiss him gently before standing on my tip-toes to whisper into his ear. “I want nothing more than to be your wife.”
At once, the hunger I had seen in his eyes when I opened the door returned. He kissed me wildly with no sort of restraint. He held me flat against him as he groaned into my mouth and dug his hips into me. I moaned at the sensation.
“I’m verra pleased to hear it, for I dinna wish to bed ye if ye werena to be me wife. Now that ye are, I doona believe I can wait until we are married. But I willna touch ye if ye doona wish it.”
“You’re joking, right?” My fingers immediately flew to help him in the removal of his shirt. It felt like I’d been waiting years to see what lay beneath it, and I couldn’t help the sharp intake of breath the sight of him caused me. He was beautiful, perfect, and now he was mine.
He laughed at my hastiness. “Tit for tat, lass. Turn yerself around.”
He did his best to untie my laces, but his shoulder was still so sore that he could scarcely use one of his hands. “Go get in the bed,” I demanded.
He shook his head, taking my order for a dismissal of his ability to make love due to his injuries. “Nay, lass. I am well enough to bed ye. Thinking of doing so was the only thing that kept me from succumbing to the icy cold that tried to lure me into death. I doona care if me shoulder bothers me. I need to be inside ye, Adelle.”
“Oh, don’t worry. You will be. Take off your clothes and go get in the bed.”
He laughed but obeyed. I had to restrain from reaching out to smack his beautiful rear end as he took of his clothes. There was age to his body, no doubt, but I wouldn’t have wanted him any other way. To me, it only added to his masculinity.
“Ye are a bossy wench, are ye no?”
I didn’t answer him, only grinned wickedly and nodded, as I slowly untied my laces. I reveled in the way his jaw dropped with every increasing inch of skin that revealed itself to him as I slowly removed my dress.
I gave him a moment to gaze upon me, the adoration in his eyes enough to make me feel as if I was the most beautiful woman on earth. I moved across the room to blow out the last candle. As darkness engulfed the room, I slipped inside the bed with him, straddling myself atop him to care for his tender shoulder.
I leaned forward, my bare breasts pressing up against his chest. I kissed him, moaning as he dug his fingers deep into my hair and tugged my head backward, exposing my neck as he kissed me along my collarbone.
I squirmed astride him and when he could stand it no more I raised up so that I could descend upon him. We moved together gently, both of us absorbed in the newness of one another.
It didn’t matter that the candles weren’t lit, the room was ablaze with our love for one another.
Chapter 24