Epilogue

"Nae fair!" Daniel cried as he shielded his face from the water.

Lana laughed before she brought her hand down to the water again, delighting in splashing him. "What will ye do about it?" she teased.

Daniel closed the distance between them as she splashed water on his hair and face. When he was close, he took hold of her wrist.

"What did I tell ye about splashing?" he asked.

He held her arm over her head, which meant they were face to face, their bodies dangerously close. He was nearly mad with desire upon seeing the droplets of water on her lips and the pink flush on her moist cheeks.

"It isnae me fault ye cannae duck," Lana whispered.

Daniel jumped, and she squealed as he pushed her down beneath the water. He spun her around quickly, and then they both emerged, laughing and spitting water, their hair soaked.

The trip to the loch had been Lana's idea. The week had been filled with meetings with the council and interviews with tutors for Skye. They were overwhelmed with the dinners they planned for nearby landowners and the changes to their bedchambers that Lana had insisted on.

With all the commotion, Lana knew they needed a break.

And so Daniel had arranged for their horses to be saddled. Mary had been all too willing to pack them a picnic basket, and they had already stuffed themselves with the bread and cheese she packed for them. They had spent a few lazy hours staring up at the fluffy clouds that floated overhead. It was only when they got too warm that Daniel suggested a swim.

"Shall we go home?" Lana had asked. "This sun is baking me like one of Mary's loaves."

"Too warm?" Daniel mused. "Perhaps a dip in the loch will satisfy ye."

He had been surprised by her enthusiasm.

Lana bolted up with a mischievous expression on her face, and suddenly she was reaching around for the laces on her gown.

"Help me," she said, and soon they were both undoing ties and buttons.

They stripped each other of their clothes until Lana was in her shift and Daniel was in nothing but his breeches. They laughed as they looked across the lake in front of them.

"Let's go, Sunshine," Daniel boomed, and he took off running.

Lana followed him, quickly overtaking him, and they crashed into the water together, kicking and splashing until their feet were off the ground and they were swimming.

"It's beautiful." Lana smiled, treading through the water as she looked around her.

They were the only two people in the lake, and the hills and grass that surrounded this lake were lush with green and the smattering of wildflowers. They were isolated here, in the same spot Daniel had taken Lana to all those months ago, when their marriage was still a future wish and not a certainty.

"Ye are beautiful," Daniel murmured.

He swam forward and wrapped his arm around Lana's waist. He kicked harder, struggling to keep them both afloat as he took her lips in a toe-curling kiss. Only then did Lana break away to splash him with water again. She laughed like a little girl, rushing back to the shallow waters so she could stand up and shove waves in his direction.

"Are ye happy?" Daniel asked. He looked down at the rivulets of water trickling down his bare chest. "Look what ye have done."

Lana smirked at him and tossed her head back, flipping her hair out of her face. "Have I made ye wet?" she asked innocently.

Suddenly, Daniel closed the gap between them. She giggled as he started peppering kisses down her neck. Her shift was soaking wet, leaving little to the imagination, and Daniel admired the outline of her breasts through the fabric.

"The more important question," he whispered. "Is if I can make ye wet."

Her eyes widened at his words, and he knew she understood his intentions. There was excitement in her eyes, and it only egged him on as he kissed further down her neck and ran his hand up to cup her breast through the wet fabric. Lana ran her hands up and down his bare chest as he kissed her.

"Come here," he murmured.

He cupped the nape of her neck as he pulled her face to his own. Her lips parted, and he kissed her even as one of her legs wrapped around his.

"Little minx." He laughed, but she only smirked at him.

Lana wrapped her leg tighter around his and suddenly ground her hips against his own. The thin fabric of her shift did little to hide her soft curves, and he felt a surge of yearning as she pressed herself against him.

Daniel felt far too constricted by his breeches, and he reached down to undo them. Lana's hands followed his own, and she took over, popping each button with an anticipation that only deepened his eagerness.

"Daenae tease me," Daniel begged.

Her hand swept down to brush against his hardness, and he sucked in a sharp breath.

"What do ye mean?" Lana asked, feigning innocence. Her hand cupped him, gently stroking him through the fabric of his breeches.

"Ye ken," Daniel groaned.

He reached between her legs, but instead of pressing against the fabric, he began to bunch up her shift, wanting to feel her bare skin.

Lana followed suit and finished unbuttoning his breeches.

She gasped as his fingers dipped into her warmth. She let the water hold her up and held tight onto Daniel's arms as his fingers began to rub gently against her.

"Well?" he drawled. "Have I made ye wet?"

Lana dropped her head on his shoulder and gently bit it. This elicited a chuckle from him.

"I take that as a yes." He smiled.

Daniel's fingers began to move faster. Lana hitched her leg around his calf, gaining better purchase, and he wrapped an arm around her back to hold her steady. With his other hand, he rubbed up and down as she gasped, her breaths coming faster.

"Daenae stop," she begged.

Lana was eager to feel his skin against her own, and she grabbed her shift so she could pull it up and over her head. She had never swum naked before, and she felt a thrill as the water rippled around her, nearly cradling her.

As she removed her clothes, Daniel pulled away long enough to kick off his breeches. Now they were both naked in the water.

Daniel reached for Lana's breasts, round and waiting for him. He ran his thumbs over her pert nipples, and she couldn't help the soft cries that escaped her lips.

As one hand continued its assault, the other ran down the soft curve of her stomach to the apex of her thighs. He slid his fingers in and out of her as his mouth plundered her own, his long and hard manhood against her hip.

"That's right," he whispered as she whimpered.

Lana dug her fingers into Daniel's back as a warm glow began to build deep in her belly. She relaxed into Daniel's arm and threw her head back, tipping her face up to the warm sun overhead.

His pace increased, and she began rocking her hips against his hand, losing herself in the sensation. Daniel lowered his head to her breast and took her nipple into his mouth. His tongue traced circles around her bud as his fingers rubbed insistently between her legs.

Lana let out a loud, uninhibited cry. She heard it echo across the water as Daniel switched his mouth to her other breast. His fingers pressed against a particularly sensitive spot inside her, and her walls tightened around him.

She held her breath, and suddenly she crashed over the surface. She was like putty in his hand, shaking as he held her tight so she wouldn't fall beneath the water.

As Lana came down from her euphoria, Daniel held her up, gently turning her so she could rest in his arms. They half-swam, half-crawled to shallower waters, and Daniel laid her on the bank of the lake before settling above her.

Her hair lay around her head like a halo as he smiled down at her, her eyes half-closed with satisfaction. Daniel looked down to admire her naked body and the beauty of her curves as the water gently lapped around her, kissing her in all the spots he wanted to.

He crawled up her body until he straddled her, leaning down to kiss her sweetly on the forehead. Lana's gaze was trusting and filled with love that he knew he would never tire of seeing.

"I love ye," he whispered.

There were times when Daniel said those words that seemed to catch Lana by surprise. Today her eyebrows rose, and an expression of wonder crossed her face, as if she couldn't quite believe they were here. Daniel understood the feeling. He would have never imagined he could love this woman so dearly and fiercely.

Her surprise turned into mischief as she took her bottom lip between her teeth.

"That's a shame." Lana laughed. "There was a time ye gave me permission to take a lover. I never did get the chance."

Daniel bent down and kissed her, forcing her to forget any talk of loving anyone but him. He guided his hips to hers and gently and slowly thrust into her. Lana gasped, and he pressed his hands into the sand as he began a careful rhythm. She gripped his arms, and he felt intoxicated with the sun overhead and the beautiful woman beneath him.

"I love ye," Lana said as she dropped her hands to dig her fingers deep into the sand.

Daniel increased his pace, feeling his knees drop deeper into the wet earth as the water lapped up around them, mimicking his rhythm. His manhood swelled inside her, and he thrust harder, desperate to feel every inch of her.

He leaned down and kissed her as pressure built inside of him, and he heard her call out, louder than before. Daniel groaned at the sensation of her tightening around him, and then he exploded, finally releasing what had been building all afternoon as he sat alone with his beautiful wife.

He dropped his head to her shoulder, feeling the rapid rise and fall of her chest. He gulped in air to catch his breath and then he rolled over, feeling the cold sand beneath his back. He pulled Lana toward him so he could cradle her in his arms, her head on his chest.

"Still want to take a lover?" Daniel whispered, his hand cupping one of her breasts.

"Never." Lana laughed. "Ye ken it will mean nothin' to me if there is nay love between us. It wouldnae work."

"Ye might love another," Daniel teased. "Ye never ken."

"I ken," Lana assured him. She lifted herself so she could look at him, her face serious. "All me life, I dreamed of findin' love. I refused to give up on it. Even when certain broodin' men laughed at me."

Daniel rolled his eye, but she continued to stare at him with such intensity that he was afraid to blink.

"But I found me love despite all odds. I willnae be greedy and look elsewhere. Ye are all the love I could ever need."

He squeezed her arm and kissed her. "I'm sorry I teased ye," he murmured. "But ye cannae blame me. How was I to ken such a love could exist?"

He hugged her close as the waves crashed around them.

"I love ye," he whispered.

The End?