Epilogue

EPILOGUE

Sunlight and wind touched Leo's bare face for the first time in seven years. He almost wanted to smooth his fingers over his scars, rub them away somehow. Instead, he gazed at the fearless woman standing in front of him. Her hands were clasped over her heart, her dark hair cascading around her, her green eyes shining.

His own eyes burned, and he went to clear his throat but stopped. Leo was afraid if he moved or spoke, he might weep. For the terror that had swept over him while taking off the mask had gone.

Agnes had not fled. She simply gazed at him, with her heart in his eyes, taking him in.

"Oh, Leo," she whispered and stepped forward. Her hand rose to his face, and she smiled at him. "You are so beautiful. Just as I imagined, but better."

A laugh rumbled deep in his chest, and he was so dizzy with joy that he thought he might fly. "Better?"

"Yes. Come here, please," she said, and he leaned down. She wrapped one hand around his neck, and her other hand pressed against the unscarred half of his face. "Beautiful."

And then her lips pressed against his scars. A shock went through Leo, his hands circling her waist, and then a rough sound escaped him. Never, never had he thought that someone would willingly kiss the Beast of Briorn.

"I am sorry that you suffered, my love," she whispered. "But it is behind us, thanks to you."

"Nay, ‘tis ye."

Agnes huffed out a laugh against his cheek, and Leo shivered with pleasure. "We'll call it a draw."

With that, she circled her arms around his neck and held on tight.

Leo pulled her against him, his arms wrapped around her, his face buried in her neck. They stood like that for a while, and then Agnes pulled back.

"I cannot believe you said it first," she said.

He tilted his head. "Can ye nae?"

"You love me," she said in a wonderous tone, and her face flushed pink as Leo gazed at her. He gave a solemn nod. "As much as I love you."

Leo went still, and then a smile broke across his face. He had suspected it, he had hoped—but still, to hear those sweet words from his wife's lips meant more than he could ever tell her.

"I love you so much, Leo," Agnes said. "I want to be with you for those decades—centuries." She gave him a blinding smile, and her green eyes shone with tears. "Forever."

"Ach, then shall we ensure it is so?" Leo asked.

Her brow furrowed, and then she let out a joyful shriek as Leo lifted her and threw her over his shoulder. He carried her to the blankets he had tossed down and set her down with ease. For a moment, he smiled down at her, then went to stand up, but Agnes threw her arms around his neck.

She all but yanked him down for a kiss, and Leo obliged. Heat and satisfaction licked up his spine—ah, how much better this all was without that damned mask. He wasn't even worried about it, for the longer he had it off, the more the weight of wearing it fell off.

For had it not been a kind of penance to the old MacLarsen Castle and the loss of his parents, his old life?

They wouldnae have wanted ye to carry such a burden, said a wise and warm voice deep inside of him.

And they would have loved Agnes, almost as much as he did.

They kissed and kissed, and then Leo sat back, smiling at her. "Let me?—"

"Stand up, My Laird," Agnes said in a breathless voice, and he raised an eyebrow but obliged. Meanwhile, Agnes went to her knees and reached for the waist of his kilt.

"What are ye—?" He choked on a laugh as he realized what she was up to. "What do they teach almost-nuns at that convent?"

"All the sins," Agnes said in an impish tone as she slipped her hand into the folds of his kilt and stroked his manhood. "Please, take off your shirt, My Laird. And your kilt."

Leo obliged with the shirt, but he guided Agnes's hand to his kilt and helped her learn how to take it off. A grin tugged at his lips as he stood in front of his wife in nothing but his boots, which he also kicked off. For a moment, he thought she might not react, beyond that pink face, but then she sank to her knees.

He groaned as she stroked a hand up and down his length then pressed a chaste kiss to the tip. Leo groaned as blood rushed there, making him hard, and then harder when Agnes made a satisfied sound. And then his canny, wicked wife took him in her sassy mouth.

Leo shook from head to toe as Agnes pleasured him. She bobbed her head over him, tasting him with a vigor that nearly robbed him of his vision. He could not help but grab her hair, fisting it gently and guiding her, then moving faster.

When he came, his knees buckled, and Agnes let out a satisfied hum. She then reached for her stays and began to shed her dress. Leo watched, panting and curious. She had worn clothes that she did not need assistance with—maybe for travel, but it had worked out in his favor.

His mouth went dry as his wife stood in front of him in those woods naked, with her hair falling around her. Without hesitation, he ripped off his shirt and went to pull off his kilt, but Agnes stopped him.

"Will you put your kilt back on?" she asked shyly. "Just this time. I want to know what it is like to be taken by a Highland warrior."

"D'ye now?" Leo asked in a husky tone.

Slowly, he picked up his kilt and hastily put it back on. Then he pushed back his hair and gazed at her, before prowling forward. He reached for her pink nipples, already pebbling in the cool air, and flicked his thumbs over those beads. Agnes bit her lip and nodded.

"Ye want to ken what I wanted to do to ye the first time I saw ye?"

Agnes shivered all over and nodded, then gasped as Leo gently pinched and plucked at her hard beads.

"I would have stripped ye bare just like this and left me clothes on, just in case we were set upon."

"You—you had no shirt on," Agnes choked out, squirming under his touch.

"Aye, so ye remember," he said. "I saw how ye gazed at me—so curious and so untouched. I wanted to touch ye. Every bit of ye. Learn yer curves." His hands now slid down her sides, to her hips, and then around to her bottom. "As I said ‘afore, I kenned ye would have a good rump. I do adore it, wife."

She squealed as he squeezed and then lightly smacked her bottom.

"I would have looked at ye, made ye turn, and ye wouldnae have shrunk or faltered as I expected—nay." Agnes now stepped back and tossed her hair, turning in a slow circle, and Leo's mouth went dry. "Ach, like that. I would've gone hard."

"And ordered me not to tease ye so," Agnes teased.

"Aye," Leo said. "If I could speak." He stepped closer and looked her over, then yanked her close. "And I would've tried nae to kiss ye, but…"

He kissed her then, his hand smoothing over her soft skin, down her back, to her rump again, and then back up. Her breasts pressed against his bare chest, and he groaned into her mouth. How he wanted her—all of her.

" I want you, too, I would've said," Agnes whispered. "I want you now."

"Aye," Leo said in a choked voice. "And I wouldnae have been able to stop meself—the Beast of Briorn."

Agnes pulled back and gave him a searching look. Leo froze, wondering if he'd said something wrong, and his big fists clenched. As much as Agnes did not see it, some part of him had been that beast, had needed to be that beast, and perhaps would always hold on to it.

"I think the Beast can perhaps find a new place in our marital bed," Agnes said in a mischievous voice.

Leo stared at her for a moment, then pounced. He turned her around and pulled her against him, letting her rump feel his hardness. She whimpered as his hand smoothed down her stomach and then teased the warm apex of her thighs.

"So wild, little Sassenach, with that smart mouth of yers," he purred in her ear. Then he nipped and licked her neck, causing her to gasp. He could almost pretend that they were back by the Lowater, in the Uplands, and meeting for the first time. "Let's hear what sounds ye make when a Highland beast takes ye."

"Oh, but they might hear me back at the convent," Agnes gasped, then moaned as Leo cupped her mound.

"Let them, for ye shall never return there," Leo said and squeezed her breast in his other hand.

Then he bent her over, her hands flying out to find purchase on a low, curved branch. He hoped it was sturdy enough for her to hold on to, but he could also pick her up if need be. He parted his kilt and stroked his hardness against her rump, causing her to buck her hips.

"Look at ye, so wet and ready, so wantin'," he said in a deep voice. "Spreadin' yer legs for a Highland warrior—well, mayhap I shall have to take ye with me."

"Please," she moaned, and her knuckles went white.

"If ye come with me, I will ravish ye every day, Sassenach," Leo teased. "I'll need to. And I shall make ye me bride, with every comfort, so long as ye obey me."

"I'll need that, too," Agnes choked out, and her beautiful body quivered. "But I should warn you, My Laird. I am not very obedient."

"Good," Leo said. "I wouldnae want ye any other way. For I suspect ye already have me heart—I suspect I already love ye."

"I love you, too," she half-sobbed, half-gasped as Leo pressed against her entrance. "Please, please—I need you."

With that, Leo surged forward, heat and bliss rolling up from the base of his spine as he finally took the perfect heat of his wife again. She clenched around him, and he nearly climaxed. Gritting his teeth, he pulled out, even though he did not want to, and then thrust back into her.

Agnes nearly sobbed, lifting her hips to meet him, moaning and begging, all but chanting his name. Leo's kilt teased her, brushing against her rump, and he saw it made goosebumps break out all over her fair skin. He watched as he took her, his big hands tight on her hips, the way her body moved under him, and the sunlight played against her scarred back.

For all their jests, Leo had never felt so much a part of something so sacrosanct—and so primal, so necessary. He lost track of his pleasure as he chased Agnes's, even as he suspected she did the same.

Soon, though, he gave in to the roar of need and pleasure overtaking him. He moved faster and snarled at his wife in Gaelic, while she pleaded and called for him.

He climaxed, suddenly and hard, almost sagging against her as it hit—one of the hardest climaxes of his life. A second later, Agnes came too, and he almost came again. She shuddered around him, and he slowly slid out, drawing her back and laying her down on the blanket.

Taking off his kilt, he tossed it over them and wrapped his arms around her. For a while, they lay there, panting, coming back to themselves. Leo felt it strange, suddenly, to be separate from Agnes.

"Ye are me heart," he said out loud as he realized it. Pressing his lips to her brow, he murmured, "How could I have ever thought we could stay apart?"

"I have no idea," Agnes answered pertly, and he laughed, then pinned her down. She licked her lips as he hovered over her, and then her eyes darted down, going wide. "So fast?"

"I havenae had ye in too long," Leo said. "And I meant what I said about ravishin' ye. We shall need quite a bit of time for that."

"Show me," Agnes said. "But I want to see you this time."

Leo lay back and hauled her over him. "Ride me, fair wife."

Agnes's eyes went wide, then narrowed as she slid back, wiggling her ample rump over his member. He nearly bucked off the ground as she did so, cocking her head as she tried to glean what he meant. As much as Leo wanted to grab her hips and shove her down, he knew he would be rewarded for his patience.

Indeed, as Agnes shyly figured out what he meant, he got to see her sink onto his manhood. Her chest heaved, and she threw her head back, her nails clawing at his chest as she took him. He now gazed at the root of him, their joining, and then lifted his eyes to that brilliant green.

"Oh, oh , Leo," she said and quivered on top of him. "Oh, yes."

"Move, me love," he said through clenched teeth. "Please."

She smirked at him and rolled her hips, causing him to arch up, seizing her waist. His entire body tensed up as she began to move, rolling her hips, and he came undone. Unable to help himself, he gripped her hips, helping her move and snarling her name.

"You love being at my mercy, husband," Agnes teased as she leaned over him, nipping his lip. Her hair fell around them, and Leo never wanted to leave this place. "You—oh."

"Ye love to forget that I am a Highland warrior, wife," Leo said as he lifted his hips and hit an angle harder, one that he knew she loved.

"Never, never ," Agnes gasped out and squirmed on top of him. "Oh, that feels— yes ."

"Agnes," Leo growled. "Ye—och, damn…"

He cursed, and she cursed, too. Then they shattered together. Agnes collapsed on his chest, shuddering all over, and Leo jerked his hips a few times, chasing relief—or more bliss. If such a thing was possible, after that.

For a few moments, they lay together, still joined, and then Agnes curled up against his side. Again, Leo tossed his kilt over them, though it did little to cover them. He stroked her hair and smiled at her.

Agnes smiled back and touched his face. Again, Leo remembered that he did not have his mask on, and she had not fled. But she had kissed him, had lain with him, and kept gazing at him.

"I love seeing all of you," she said.

"I ken," Leo said and kissed her brow. "Thank ye." He rubbed a hand down her back. "Shall we eat?"

"Just after my Highland warrior ravishes me again," Agnes said.

Leo laughed and rolled his wife onto her back, kissing her as the sun rose higher over their peaceful and prosperous lands.

The End?