Epilogue

EPILOGUE

T illie looked down at her slightly extended belly and wondered how much bigger she would get. She ran a hand over her stomach, a small smile playing at her mouth. Never would she had thought she'd be so excited to have a bairn. She was just three months along and still had a ways to go, but she couldn't wait to see her and Aidan's child.

"Ye look very bonny," Aidan said. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, one large palm spread across her belly, as if cradling their bairn.

"Yer just sayin' that so I dinnae cry," Tillie grouched. Her emotions had been all over the place lately, and she had been known to cry at the least little thing.

"Nay. I say it because ‘tis true."

She turned in his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank ye," she said then kissed him. She'd only meant it to be a quick kiss, but as was usual, whenever they got together, their bodies were eager to take things further. In the next instant, they were stripping each other's clothes off, and he had her pressed up against the wall.

Tillie decided that was one of her favorite positions. She like the way he held her hands above her head while he ravished her body with his lips, tongue, and teeth. It also usually meant that their lovemaking was going to be rough and delicious.

Aidan kissed her neck and worked a hot path up to her ear then nibbled on her lobe. Always the protective laird and husband, he had his hand cupped between the back of her head and the wall so that she did not get hurt as he pounded into her body.

Tillie wrapped her legs around his waist and matched his eager rhythm as her nails scored a light trail across his back. The pressure in her lower belly built incredibly fast, and she gasped at the intensity of the pleasure. Aidan read her body and reactions well and smothered her mouth, and her cry of release, as he found his own.

He held her against the wall as they panted into each other's mouths, trying to catch their breath. It amazed Tillie how it was always like this with them. Whether they made love slow and passionate or hard and fast, their release was always intense, and they held each other until they could float back to their bodies and join reality again.

Tillie slowly lowered her legs, and Aidan kept a steadying hold on her until her legs were sturdy enough to hold her on their own again although she still felt a bit weak and wobbly as she stepped away from the wall.

"I want to sketch ye," she said suddenly, and Aidan shook his head with a grin.

"Again? Ye just sketched me last Monday."

"Aye, but that was while ye were takin' a bath," she countered. "I want to capture this image of ye with yer hair all mussed and yer eyes lazy after makin' love."

"Well, now, how can I deny my wife?"

"Ye cannae," she chuckled. "'Tis one of the thin's I love about ye."

"Oh?" He strolled over to the bed naked as the day he was born. Tillie drank her fill of him, admiring his strong body with muscles that rippled with every step he took. "And what else do ye love about me?" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Tillie dropped her gaze to his now relaxed member and grinned. "Aye, I love that about ye, too."

He threw his head back and laughed then flopped onto the bed and turned on his side in what was probably supposed to be a provocative pose but made Tillie laugh.

"Ye look ridiculous," she chided, shaking her head. Turning, she set up her sketching supplies. "Just lay back like ye normally would when ye get into bed. Nay, not like that," she said, pausing to study him. He was laying flat on his back, but it just didn't look right to her.

"Put yer hands behind yer head and raise a knee," she suggested. He obliged, and after studying him from several angles, Tillie nodded.

She spent the next several minutes sketching his outline, a frown of concentration tugging her brows down. Next, she started adding texture and shading. The chest was a bit difficult with all the planes and muscles, but she enjoyed drawing that part of him. However, this was her first full nude sketch of Aidan, and Tillie found herself spending a lot more time than she expected trying to get the portion between his thighs just right.

She narrowed her vision, trying to see every curve, vein, and detail of that which determined he was a male. Glancing at her work, she studied it with her head cocked to the side then glanced back to put in more detail. Her mouth dropped open, and she glared at him.

"Aidan!" she exclaimed, looking at his member which had grown and snaked its way up his belly until it was almost touching his belly button.

He shrugged with a satisfied grin. "What do ye expect, wife, when ye are starin' so long at it?"

Tillie blushed then rose from her stool and walked over to him. She stood next to him, hands on hips, and glared down at him. "Well, can ye not control it?" Her eyes darted to his impressive member accusingly.

"Nay, not when ye are around."

She didn't have a chance to respond except to squeal in surprise when he suddenly reached over and pulled her on top of him. Tillie adjusted herself until she was straddling him, his thickness poking her intimately.

She opened her mouth to playfully chastise him but ended up moaning when his large hands cupped her breasts. And just like that, she forgot all about sketching him.

"Me Lady?"

Tillie bounced off Aidan at the sound of Paisley's voice from the other side of the chamber door. With a tiny shriek, she tried to grab the bed cloths to cover herself, but Aidan had had the same idea, and they ended up frantically struggling with the material until they were covered. Tillie looked at Aidan and burst into giggles before finally telling Paisley to enter.

Paisley opened the door cautiously. She was aware of how much her lady and her husband enjoyed their privacy and had no desire to catch them being intimate. She peaked around the door and was only slightly uncomfortable seeing them in bed. At least, they were decently covered.

"Yer family is here, Me Lady," she announced.

"What? Already?" Tillie sprang into a sitting position, drawing the covers with her up to her neck. The action stole the cover from Aidan, and he frantically scrambled to find something to place over his lap. Paisley blushed and turned away.

"Ye have been up here for several hours," Paisley said, her voice a bit high with her discomfort. "The time must have gotten away from ye."

"Aye, it did," Aidan chuckled. "But worth every minute."

Paisley and Tillie both blushed, and then Tillie cleared her throat. "Tell them I will meet them in the dining hall in just a few minutes."

Paisley nodded and rushed out of the chamber, practically slamming the door shut in her haste to leave. Aidan and Tillie looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"I ken yer maid saw more of me than she expected," Aidan chuckled.

"Aye, well if we dinnae hurry and meet me family, they may too."

They helped each other dress then hurried down to the dining hall to meet with Tillie's family. Her heart sored as she realized just how much she'd missed them, and all of them had managed to be there at once.

"Tillie," Alba Kilmartin exclaimed as her gaze dropped lovingly to Tillie's belly. "Ye look well, daughter."

"Are ye blushin'?" Erica asked, studying her sister with a raised eyebrow.

Suddenly everyone was talking at once, and Tillie had a hard time following any of the conversations. She'd forgotten how chaotic it could be when her entire family got together, and she'd forgotten how much she'd missed that.

Instead of answering any of their many questions, Tillie rushed over and hugged first her parents then each of her siblings. Tears sprang to her eyes, and she brushed them away even as she grinned. She wasn't sure pregnancy could be blamed for this outburst of emotion, though. She figured she probably still would have cried seeing her family even if she was not.

"Come," she gestured toward the large wooden table. "Let's sit and enjoy refreshments while we catch up."

Everyone gathered around the table. Aidan took the head seat, as was his right and honor, while Tillie sat on his right side. Her parents sat across from her, with Tavis Kilmartin sitting next to Aidan. Erica sat next to Tillie, and the rest of Tillie's siblings spread out around the table. Cook had known her family was coming and had made a special repast to tide everyone over until supper.

"Ye have really been busy around here," Alba said, her gaze roaming appreciatively over the dining hall as staff set out platters of roasted lamb with gravy, hardboiled eggs, and pastries.

"Aye, it doesna look so…" Tavis' words died out as he struggled for something appropriate to say without insulting the Laird.

"Dark and gloomy?" Tillie offered with a smile.

Tavis shrugged. Aidan smiled and grabbed Tillie's hand, squeezing it softly.

"'Tis all my wife's doin'," he said.

Tillie blushed. "The staff did most of the work, I just showed them what needed to be done."

"And ye got rid of that lazy steward, Phillip I ken was his name," Erica put in. When everyone looked at her in astonishment, she blushed. "'Tis what ye wrote in yer letters," she said defensively.

"He was lazy," Aidan said, and Erica's shoulders relaxed slightly. "Yer sister was the one to point that out to me, and 'twas a good thin' she did. Without her, Castle Geamnaben might very well be fallin' down on top our heads."

Talk around the table was easy and friendly, full of laughter and teasing. Tillie's siblings were not shy and asked a lot of questions. Thomas seemed to have gotten over his discomfort with Aidan and even teased him a couple of times while Reid wanted to know if he could get a tour of the stables. Olivia was the quietest, but even she spoke up, asking about the library and if she could borrow a couple of books. Eileen wanted to know about the pastries she'd had during her last visit. Apparently, they'd made quite an impression on the eight-year-old. At one point, Erica whispered to Tillie that she wanted to know if she was really happy in her marriage, and she promised her sister they'd talk later, but that yes, she was very happy.

After they finished eating, everyone retired to the sunroom where they could continue to have privacy. Tillie sat next to Aidan and held his hand as talk turned to the bairn she carried, and her family started tossing out names they thought she should name it.

Later in the evening, Alba pulled Tillie aside, so they could talk privately. She looked at her daughter with a bit of anxiety, and Tillie started to worry that something was wrong.

"Are ye still miffed at your father and I for matchin' ye with the Laird?" Alba asked with concern.

Tillie blinked then wrapped her mother in a tight hug. "Nay, Mother. I am the happiest I've ever been in my life. Happier than I ever thought possible. Thank ye."

The End?