Page 35 of Claimed
She definitely wasn’t coming.
Squeezing his eyes shut, Carr leaned his head forward, resting his brow on his clasped hands. His eyelids burned. He hadn’t wept in years, but he was on the verge of doing so now. He’d given his heart to a woman who didn’t want it; he’d wasted years and years pining after Drew, knowing it was impossible. And yet there had always been a kernel of hope within him.
Until tonight.
How he wished to drown himself in a barrel of ale. The first thing he’d do tomorrow would be to ride to the nearest tavern and drink himself into oblivion.
The pain in his heart couldn’t be borne. He needed to escape it; he needed to escape himself.
“Carr!”
A woman’s voice cut through his pain, his darkness. He glanced up, blinking as if waking from a dream. Had he been imagining things?
“Carr.”
Instinctively, his hand went to his dirk, and he swiveled around to face the figure standing behind him. He’d been so lost in misery, he hadn’t even heard her approach. His horse, tethered a few yards away under a tree, snorted nervously.
Before him stood a slight figure, wrapped in a heavy fur mantle. The firelight played across her pale, heart-shaped face and eyes the color of storm-clouds.
“Drew,” he breathed, stunned. “Ye came?”
A smile curved her lips as she stared down at him. “Aye.”
Carr blinked. He’d been so far gone in his despair, he wondered if he’d lost his mind. Maybe he was imagining things. “Is this a dream?”
Her smile widened, her cheeks dimpling. “No … it’s real, Carr.”
He leaped to his feet and closed the gap between them in a heartbeat, pulling Drew into his arms. Shewasreal—warm and plaint in his arms, her body trembling, her mouth eager under his as he kissed her.
When Carr finally broke off the kiss, they were both gasping for breath. Gazing down at Drew’s face, he saw that her cheeks were wet with tears.
“I thought I’d lost ye,” he admitted hoarsely, his hands cupping her cheeks as he kissed away her tears. “I imagined it was the end.”
“I couldn’t do it,” she gasped out the words. “Ye were right. I was afraid … terrified in fact.”
Leaning down, he kissed her again. This time it was gentle, tender. “Iwas terrified I’d never set eyes on ye again,” he murmured against her lips. “Ye have my heart, Drew … ye have for a long time.”
Her eyes glittered and tears spilled over once more. He realized then that she was too overcome with emotion to speak.
“What happened?” he whispered. “Did something occur inside the priory … something to make ye change yer mind?”
Her mouth curved at the edges. “Aye … let’s say things became clear to me,” she murmured, her voice catching. “Things that should have been evident before. Seeing my mother was like having my own future laid out before me. I don’t want to become that woman.” Drew inhaled a deep, shuddering breath then, trying to regain her shattered composure.
“How did ye get away?” he asked softly. “Surely, they didn’t want ye to leave?”
“I didn’t ask the prioress’s permission, if that’s what ye mean,” she replied, her lips quirking. “I just left.” She paused then, her hand rising to his face. There, she traced the lines of his cheek, jaw, and chin with her fingertips, as if committing them to memory. “All these years, Carr, ye have only ever treated me well,” she whispered. “Ye have seen the worst of me, and ye still want me. I’d be the most dull-witted woman alive if I turned my back on ye … on us. And if ye will still have me, I am yers.”
Carr’s breathing caught. Had he heard that right? “Ye are?”
“Aye,” she whispered. Her eyes were luminous in the firelight, tears sparkling on her eyelashes. “I love ye, Carr … but I was such a fool that I didn’t realize what that actually means.” She offered him a watery smile. “Ye have taught me.”
Epilogue
I Only Have Eyes for Ye
Belvelly Castle
Cork, Éire (Ireland)
