Page 27 of The Irresistible Warrior
“That is wise of you, Cleric,” Delcan said, keeping his expression stern while fighting back the amusement that had a chuckle tickling him.
“Now come back to the keep,” Hamish said. “Everyone wants to wish you both a long, happy, fruitful marriage.”
“Aye,” the cleric said, “and that fruitful part will start with the consummation of your marriage tonight. I expect to see the bridal sheet tomorrow morning as proof.”
The keep was quieter now,the voices from the hall reduced to the occasional murmur, a clatter of dishes, the distant bark of laughter as the servants cleaned up after the unexpected celebration. Freyda had gotten a drunken Hamish home with help from a friend and Declan had two men carry the passed-out cleric to an empty cottage to sleep.
He now faced the dilemma he and Aura had had no chance to discuss since leaving her cottage. What do they do about the proof of consummation?
“I think it is best if you remain in my bedchamber tonight. I can easily see that blood is left on the sheets to please the cleric.But only if it appears that you shared my bed tonight,” he said as they reached his bedchamber.
“Aye, that would be the wise thing for us to do,” she agreed, though after taking a few steps inside the room and seeing her nightdress spread out on the bed waiting for her, her steps faltered.
Declan took hold of her arm to steady her. “I did not think you drank that much wine.”
She turned, her gaze settling on his face, mostly his lips, the memory of his kiss poking at her. “Nay, I didn’t.”
He knew women well and he knew that look in her eyes. She wanted him to kiss her, or was it him who wanted to kiss her?
Usually, it wouldn’t matter to him. He would just kiss the woman. But he didn’t want to make a mistake with Aura, do the wrong thing, push her away, and never have a chance to make it right.
So, instead of plunging ahead and kissing her, he said, “I apologize again for kissing you and sorry you didn’t enjoy it?—”
“But I did,” she said, a look of surprise turning her eyes wide that he should think that. “I did enjoy the kiss. It just surprised me since… I’ve never been kissed.”
A slow smile drifted along his face. “Then you wouldn’t mind if I kissed you again?”
Aura smiled as well. “Nay, I wouldn’t mind.”
His hand fell away from her arm to join his other hand he rested at her waist. He eased her up against him and brought his lips down on hers.
Magic.
He had no other way of explaining it since he had never known such pleasure when kissing a woman before now… before Aura. It stirred a feeling deep inside him, in a place he had never felt before and as the kiss continued that feeling grew stronger, gripped tighter, and he knew he never wanted to let her go.
Aura sighed softly when the kiss ended. “I never knew how lovely and pleasurable a kiss could be.”
He kept his hands resting at her waist. “Then you wouldn’t mind if I kissed you often?”
Her breath caught at that, robbing her of a response.
“It surprises you?”
Was he asking her or himself since he never expected to enjoy it as much as he did? Nor did he expect to want to kiss her often, but he did. He wanted endless days to not only kiss her but to?—
“Aye, it does,” she said, interrupting his musings as she stepped away from him.
He was glad she did. He needed a bit of distance to make sense of what he was feeling. What was grabbing at his heart and twisting it? That had him thinking a thought that shocked, yet pleased him… keeping her as his wife, sharing their life together, and finding love with her.
“But then this whole situation,” —she shook her head— “couldn’t be any more shocking. At least, I thought it couldn’t be.”
He didn’t let the crazy thought linger. He spoke his mind. “Well, to prove you wrong, here’s a thought. What if I suggest that I wouldn’t mind having you as my wife… forever? That is, if you’d have me as your husband.”
“Where did this suddenly come from?” she asked, thinking he couldn’t shock her any more than he already had—but evidently, he could.
“Somewhere inside me,” he said with a shrug. “I can’t logically explain it. I can only tell you how I feel, how I’ve been feeling since I have never felt this way before now… before you.” He smiled. “And I don’t want to lose it… I don’t want to lose you.” He scratched his head and shook it. “I can’t make sense of it, and I don’t want to. I have feelings for you, Aura.”
“They could simply be feelings of gratitude for me helping you.”
