Epilogue

"Ifeel guilty, leaving the children," Laren admitted. She held her husband's hand as they walked together to the circle within the forest. The afternoon sun speared through the tree branches, casting shadows across the standing stones.

"Do you want me to take you back to them?" Alex asked, drawing her back against the cool limestone.

"Not yet." She drew his mouth down to hers, kissing him deeply. "I want this time with you."

In the privacy of the forest, Alex undressed her. The sun was warm and Laren lay down upon the cloak he'd spread upon the ground. Her husband discarded his own clothing and lay beside her, drawing her on to her side.

"Your men will wonder where you are," she said, moving her hand over his broad chest. "Weren't you supposed to be training them?"

"If they knew I was with a beautiful naked woman, rest assured, any man alive would understand my absence."

She smiled against his mouth, and his hands moved over her skin in reverence. With his mouth and tongue he tasted her flesh and she felt him growing thick and hard against her feminine core.

"I love you, Laren," he murmured, his mouth caressing her stomach and outer hip. He parted her legs, then kissed her erect nipple, teasing it while her flesh grew wet beneath his stroking fingers.

"Touch me everywhere," she commanded.

Alex's expression grew sinful. With a single finger, he touched her eyebrow. "There?"

Laren shook her head, smiling at his playful change in mood.

"Or did you mean here?" His hand moved to her elbow, where he began caressing the tip.

"I could touch you here," she teased, stroking his chin.

"Or did you mean here?" he whispered, sliding two fingers into her wetness.

The unexpected invasion made her ache with longing and she returned the caress by taking his erection in her palm. With each time she stroked him, he rewarded her by using his fingers to coax a stronger response.

"Or here?" he whispered, using his wet fingers to arouse her breasts. A moan escaped her and she shuddered as he provoked a staggering response that echoed deep in her womb.

"Kiss me again," she murmured.

But instead of moving to her mouth, he drew his kiss to her breasts, licking her skin until he took the nipple with a gentle suction. He kissed her ribs, the swell of her hip, then he laid his mouth above the core of her womanhood. Gently, he licked her, arousing her hooded flesh. His tongue stimulated her, moving in a rhythm that stole her breath.

She shivered with delight as he worked her flesh faster, begging him not to stop with words that were hardly coherent. She arched against him, her fingers digging into the ground as he found the place that made her shatter apart. Dark waves of ecstasy broke over her, mindless physical fulfillment that pulled her body over the edge.

"I want you," she pleaded, and with one thrust he was within her wetness. She felt molten inside, her body receiving him with aching shivers.

He never ceased his lovemaking but penetrated her over and over until she could hardly breathe. Another release crashed through her, and she didn't think she could take any more. But he kept going, thrusting hard, until he emitted a ragged groan and took his own pleasure.

Alex rested against her, the sweat of their bodies mingling. Then he rolled her on to her side, bringing her leg over his hip. She was still shivering with aftershocks, and he covered them both with the cloak, holding her close.

"Did that please you?" he asked against her cheek, before sending her a feral smile.

She kissed him softly. "Very much."

He brought her head beneath his chin, cuddling her close. "If I had my way, I'd stay with you here and never go back."

"We'll have to rescue Mairin . . ." she sighed, ". . . sooner or later."

Her husband sent her a wicked smile. "Later sounds better to me."

When they returned at twilight, they found visitors waiting. Mairin stood at the entrance to the keep, looking relieved at their return. "Eve and Kerr are trying to kill each other."

"Where are they now?" Laren asked.

"Adaira and Ramsay are playing with them." Mairin rolled her eyes and led them inside. Laren gave her a light hug, touching her daughter's hair. Both she and Adaira were visiting from fostering and it tugged at Laren's heart to see them growing up so fast.

Their three-year-old twins, Kerr and Eve, were playing inside the keep, running in circles until Ramsay picked them up, one under each arm. He strode forward, his adolescent face red with embarrassment, while at the far end of the Hall, Laren spied visitors from the abbey.

As soon as he saw them, Kerr wiggled free and raced over to Alex, grabbing his leg. Laren smiled as her husband lifted their son into his arms, and she took Eve from Ramsay. "Thank you for watching over them," she told the young man. He gave a nod, looking eager to return to his glassmaking. His father had died two years ago and Alex had invited Ramsay to live with them inside the keep. Though he was far more comfortable with the furnaces than with people, she was glad to give her apprentice a true home.

Laren approached the priests with Alex at her side. After he offered them a greeting, she asked, "Are you enjoying the windows for the kirk?"

The abbot's face revealed his discomfort at having to speak with her. Even after he'd learned that she was the artist responsible for the glass, he'd felt uneasy about it. "Many pilgrims have stopped to adore the Holy Cross," he admitted. "And the glass has attracted more visitors every year."

The abbot nodded to one of the priests, who withdrew a scroll of parchment. "Bishop William de Lamberton has asked me to commission another window for the cathedral at St. Andrews, on his behalf. I have brought the plans for you to consider."

Laren took the scroll and inclined her head. "I will look over the plans. But Nairna will negotiate the terms."

There was nothing Nairna loved so much as to haggle over prices and Laren was happy to indulge the young woman. She had recently given birth to her second child and would welcome the distraction of bargaining.

Laren invited the priests to enjoy a light evening meal. After they blessed the food, she set the twins down to eat beside Mairin and Adaira. Once they were settled, she took the plans over to the stone table and unrolled the parchment to study them.

Alex came up beside her and she asked, "What do you think?"

"It's your decision. If you wish to make the glass, I've no objection."

She noted that these windows would be larger than any others she'd made before. It was a challenge that would push her beyond whatever skills she had now. "I want to try."

Kerr moved away from the table and toddled over to them. He started to whine, and Laren picked him up. He wrapped his arms around her. "Kiss, Mama."

She pecked his small lips, and after she set him down, Alex sent her a teasing smile. "Kiss."

Her husband drew her into a darkened corner, out of view from everyone else. Then he seized a kiss that held the promise of pleasure they would share later. Firm and evocative, he continued kissing her until Kerr gave him a light shove.

The young lad glared at his father. "That's my Laren. Not yours."

Laren couldn't stop her laugh at her son's possessive nature and his sudden desire to call her by her first name. "I'm your mother, not your Laren," she corrected.

Alex drew his hand around her waist as they returned to the others. "You're wrong, son. She's my Laren."

The words warmed her heart and he leaned down to kiss her temple. "I love you."

"As I love you." She rested her hands upon his shoulders, and in his eyes she saw the steadfast love and faith. With her hand in his, she walked by his side toward all the blessings that awaited them.