Page 90 of Highlander of Steel
Chuckling, Ailis nodded. “Aye, I think I did.” She paused. “But what of ye and Laird Drummond?”
“The less said about it, the better,” Kristen replied with a grimace. “For as long as I’m here with ye, I daenae want to speak of him. I havenae had nearly enough wine to start spillin’ me guts yet.”
Ailis was considering pressing the issue, wanting to know what her sister’s life was truly like in the distant north, when a shadow fell across her. A familiar hand came to rest on the small of her back.
“Can I borrow me wife for a moment?” Killian asked.
Kristen waved a dismissive hand and took a long sip of her wine. “Aye, go on. Daenae let me stand in the way of true love.” She flashed her younger sister a wink. “I’ll just be here, enjoyin’ the festivities. See if I cannae persuade one of these fine young lads to spin me around in a reel or two.”
“Nay one would dare to refuse ye, Kristen,” Killian quipped, before promptly whisking his wife away.
At first, Ailis thought he wanted to dance, but as he led her straight across the Great Hall and out the door, she realized he must have something else in mind. Something that didn’t require an audience. Something she had been craving since they parted ways that morning to prepare for the wedding.
Reaching the foot of the main stairwell, she gave a muffled yelp as Killian picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. He smacked her backside lightly for good measure, bringing a helpless laugh to her lips as he carried her up the stairs to their bedchamber.
There, the music and merriment of the festivities faded into a background thrum, joined by the crackle of the fire that burned in the grate.
“I just needed ye to meself for a moment,” Killian said as he set her down and brought his hands to her face, his thumb brushing her cheek.
Ailis smiled. “Aye, I guessed that.”
“Ye look so beautiful, love. How could I resist?” he purred, one hand sliding down the side of her neck. “And seein’ ye today, it got me thinkin’. I still owe ye a proper weddin’ night. Aye, it’s nae our weddin’, but the night can be ours.”
She gazed up at him, so helplessly in love that she wondered how she had ever existed without it, withouthim.
“We’ve hadmanyweddin’ nights, love, and they’ve more than made up for the one that was rudely interrupted.” Her heart began to race with sudden nerves. “But if ye insist, then I should also tell ye that I have a belated weddin’ gift for ye.”
He frowned, his head tilting to the side. “It’s nae a severed limb, is it?”
“Nay, ye dolt!” She smacked him playfully on the arm, grateful that they could joke about it now. “It’s… um… news that I received from Paisley, in fact. Ye ken I went to her because I wasnae feelin’ quite like meself for a while?”
He nodded, his frown suddenly one of concern instead of curiosity. “Aye. What did she say? Are ye unwell? Did she give ye somethin’ to help? Is there anythin’ I can do?”
Chuckling at his sweet concern, she rested her palms on his chest and smiled. “Aye, ye can prepare yerself to be the best faither there ever was.” She took a deep breath. “I’m with child, me love. Paisley is certain of it.”
“What?” His voice hitched, eyes wide.
“I’m with child,” she repeated. “Ye’re goin’ to be a faither. I’m goin’ to be a maither.”
Killian stared at her for a moment, each passing second ratcheting up her nerves. They hadn’t much discussed children in the past six months, content to enjoy their time as newlyweds, and as aunt and uncle to Skye. It was just occurring to her that perhaps it wasn’t the happy news she thought it was.
Before her doubts could spiral, his lips were on hers, kissing her with such passion, such fierce fire, that all of her nerves evaporated.
Smiling against his mouth, she kissed him back, pressing herself close to the man she loved so much, sinking into his kiss and his embrace.
“A bairn?” he whispered.
She nodded. “Aye.”
“Och, love… ye cannae ken how much I’ve been wantin’ to hear ye say that,” he said, his face breaking into the widest grin. “I didnae want to ask, didnae want to rush anythin’, but… aye, ye’ve made me the happiest man in the world, and I was already the happiest man in the world.”
Her heart soared as she lightly stroked his cheek. “So, ye’re pleased?”
“More than pleased,” he told her in earnest. “Och, I love ye. Ye cannae ken how much I love ye.”
“I think I have a notion, if it’s anythin’ close to the love I have for ye,” she insisted. “I love ye too. So very much.”
He swept her off her feet and carried her to the bed, tilting her head up to kiss her more slowly as he walked with his precious cargo. When they reached the bed, he laid her down gently, the smile never leaving his face as he wrapped her in his arms and kissed her.
“It might nae be our weddin’ night,” he murmured, “but it’s a night to celebrate.”
“I cannae disagree with that,” she replied, biting her lip as he began to kiss his way down her body, where he would leave no part of her untouched.
Closing her eyes to savor the moment, four words echoed in her mind like a cry of victory resounding across a battlefield to bring hope to all those who fought and lost.
A cry of victory for the life they had made together—Ailis and Killian, Fraser and Paisley, Murdock, Skye, Kristen. A cry of victory for the child growing in her belly, who would know nothing but peace and contentment in these lands, and for every other child who would have the same blessing. All because two people from two warring clans fell in love.
To a new era.
The End?
