Epilogue

Sorcha stood in the courtyard after her wedding with Beatie holding one hand and Hew holding the other, her brother and her new husband in front of the three of them facing one another.

"I insist ye keep the coin," her brother said to Alasdair for the fourth time.

Alasdair shook his head yet again. "Nay, Stewart. I will nae take coin for my wife."

Sorcha rolled her eyes. "I'll take it," she finally said, determined to end the argument so she could get on with her wedding night.

Both men looked to her in surprise, and she set her hands on her hips and served them both a look she'd been told by Ada could freeze water. "What do ye expect? I'm a practical, stubborn lass. We need coin. Do I have a dowry?"

"Aye," Ross answered, "but it is far greater than this amount of coin."

"Excellent," she replied, glad to find that Alasdair was letting her speak for herself, letting her speak her mind. "We can settle all that when we come to meet yer wife and Alasdair joins the search for Graeme."

They'd spoken at length on the ride back to the castle. She knew how her father had been betrayed by his best friend, how she and her three siblings had been taken by trusted, loyal servants in three different directions to save their lives, how their parents had been killed, and how, for years, her father had been wrongfully thought a betrayer of the king. But that had been cleared up, Ross had been found, and now she had been found, too. The only sibling still missing was Graeme, who was older than she was but younger than Ross.

"A fortnight," Alasdair confirmed, "and we'll be there."

Ross nodded, and after hugging her, he and Alasdair gave each other good-natured slaps on the back. Hew and Beatie hugged their new uncle, and Ross and his men rode off toward his home.

Alasdair stepped behind her and encircled her in his arms. "Well, Lady MacLachlan, what would ye like to do with the rest of our night?"

She turned toward her new husband, and there, with Hew, Beatie, and Calan watching on, she planted a kiss on his lips. Twining her arms around his neck, she said, "I'll give ye one guess."

With that, Alasdair tossed her up and over his shoulder to squeals of laughter from the children and hoots and hollers from Calan.

"What are ye doing?" she gasped, laughing.

"I'll give ye one guess," he teased, striding away from the cackling group to the castle door.

"What will the servants say?" she giggled as he closed the door he'd opened with his foot and took the stairs two at a time.

"I imagine they're preoccupied gossiping about that kiss ye gave me," he replied, reaching the second floor with remarkable speed and entering the bedchamber just as she thought of a witty rejoinder. But before she could utter it, he set her on her feet, face to face with him.

He cupped her face in his large hands, and the look he gave her was so galvanizing it sent a tremor through her. "I love ye," he said. "I love ye so verra much that it frightens me because I ken what losing someone ye love this much does, but I would rather love ye to the depths I do and risk everything, than nae love ye at all."

She nodded, tears of joy clogging her throat.

"If we were ever parted again, I would search until my dying breath for ye, fight a hundred battles for ye, give my life for ye." He claimed her mouth with a hot, hungry kiss that she gladly returned. When he pulled away, he said, "Ye gave me back my life."

"And ye gave me hope," she said, finally finding her voice. "Ye showed me nae all men are alike, and ye showed me I could trust ye. I love ye. I love ye with everything I am, for everything ye are."

He ran a finger down her cheek and slid it down her neck to trace her collarbone and each swell of her breasts. Her flesh prickled at his touch, and her blood coursed through her veins like a raging river. He slipped a finger inside the bodice of her gown and tugged the material down to expose her breasts. Cool air washed over her skin, and he lowered his mouth to her breasts. When his tongue flicked over her sensitive bud, heat infused her everywhere. Instantly, it pooled in her belly and between her legs as desire came to life. Each flick of his tongue over her nipple sent spirals of pleasure through her that built to an almost unbearable need, so much so that she found herself pushing his head closer to her breast.

He took her bud in his warm, wet mouth and sucked it into the depths, eliciting a guttural moan from her and causing her to dig her nails into his shoulders and throw back her head. His long pulls on her nipple grew harder and faster, building an immense pressure inside her and making her heart pound so hard she could hear nothing else but the beat of it in her ears. His hand delved under her skirts to tug down her unmentionables, and as he did, his hot skin grazed her outer thighs, causing her to nearly scream.

Before she knew what was happening, he backed her to the bed and gently laid her down. He kissed her neck, her face, and her lips, only to come back to her breasts the moment she was flat on the bed. Her body tingled from the contact of his mouth to her aching nipple. The harder he sucked, the more pleasure came, until she felt as if she were a bow drawn so tight she would snap.

"Alasdair!" she cried, knowing she was demanding he enter her, take her, make her his. She ached for him in a way she had not known was possible.

He rolled away for a moment, and she cried out her frustration, but when she looked to him, she saw he was ridding himself of his clothing. In a breath, he was naked and between her thighs. She set a hand to his chest to take him in. He stilled immediately, massive chest heaving, thigh muscles bunched, jaw flexed so tight a rigid line was pronounced. He wanted her as desperately as she wanted him, but with just a touch, he'd stilled for her.

Love spread through her, warm and welcome. "I love ye, Alasdair."

He bent down and brushed soft kiss to her lips before claiming them for a more ravishing one. When he broke away, he said, "I love ye consumingly, Sorcha."

"Make me yers," she said, thinking he was waiting for her to give him permission.

A slow smile tipped up the corners of his mouth, "My love, ye were mine the day we met."

With that, he entered her slowly, filling her and pausing for one breath before he took her mouth again and kissed her fully as he entered her all the way. It pinched for a breath, and he stayed still, clearly giving her time to adjust to him, but after a moment, she tapped him and their eyes locked.

"The pain will fade?"

"Aye," he said, his voice husky with the strain of holding himself back. "The pain will fade, and pleasure and joy will follow."

She suspected he spoke of more than this act, and it made her smile. "Go on then," she told him, "let us find the pleasure and the joy together."

"Ah, my love, my heart, we will. This day. Tomorrow. Always."

They lay after, entwined in each other's arms, her head on Alasdair's chest, her leg thrown over his, and his hand running down the length of her hair as their breathing returned to normal. Sorcha had a thousand thoughts clamoring in her head, but two were louder than the rest. She looked up to catch Alasdair staring intently at her. "What is it?" she asked him, because he had such a serious expression on his face.

"Nae anything," he said, but the depth of emotion in his tone and eyes said differently.

"Alasdair, it is something."

He traced a finger across her forehead and over her right cheekbone. "Ye are just so verra beautiful that sometimes I am speechless when I look at ye, and I kinnae believe I have been blessed to find ye, to feel what I do for ye."

She pressed her hand to his chest and scooted upward to kiss him briefly. When she settled back against him, she said, "I've made two decisions if it pleases ye."

He gave her a peck on her nose. "Ye've a mind of yer own, so I've nary a doubt that ye will make decisions many times during our long life together that may nae exactly please me, but ye can make them, as ye have free will, and we will talk them through. Aye?"

Love flooded her for this man. She pressed a kiss to his heart and looked at him once more. "Aye. I'd like to give a portion of my dowry to my sister and her husband, so they might have some comforts. Would that be acceptable?"

"Aye, on one condition."

She frowned at him. "What condition is that?"

"Let us bring them here for a nice long visit."

Now, she kissed her incredible husband on the lips. "I was going to ask about that, just nae this night."

He smiled at her. "I thought ye might wish that. Mayhap they'd wish to stay and live with us?"

"I would love that, but Ada's husband is close with his family, so we will have to see."

Alasdair nodded. "All right. What is yer other decision?"

She lay a hand on her belly and smiled at Alasdair. "If we've made a bairn tonight, and she is a lass, I'd like to name her Mariot Margaret, if that is all right with ye."

"Lass," he said, his voice husky, "I did nae think I could love ye more, but ye have just proven me wrong. It pleases me greatly, Sorcha. Thank ye."

"Nay," she said, pushing up toward him so their lips could brush once more, "thank ye for showing me how to leave the things behind that no longer served me, so I could embrace the things that fill me like love and ye," she added teasingly.

To that, he responded by flipping her onto her back and filling her again with him, with love.

I hope you enjoyed reading Alasdair and Sorcha's story and will consider leaving a review ! I appreciate your help in spreading the word about my books, including letting your friends know. Reviews help other readers find my books. Please leave one on your favorite site!

If you love sweeping epic romance that takes you on a rollicking adventure through the highlands, then you should try out When a Laird Loves a Lady , which is book one in my Highlander Vows: Entangled Hearts series. You can read a bit about book1 below.

Not even her careful preparations could prepare her for the barbarian who rescues her. Don't miss the USA Today bestselling Highlander Vows: Entangled Hearts series, starting with the critically acclaimed When a Laird Loves a Lady . Faking her death would be simple, it was escaping her home that would be difficult.