Annaleigh knew him and he knew her.
But that kind of passion could not hold out forever. War’s climax came as a guttural rumble in his throat and Annaleigh felt his manhood spasm deep inside her. But he kept moving, his big hand moving between their bodies to stroke her taut bud of pleasure. Annaleigh was quickly propelled into the heavens as she experienced her first release, her nails digging into his back as wave after wave of pleasure rolled over her.
It was bliss without end.
Annaleigh thought she might have actually blacked out because when next she realized, War had shifted his weight off her. Laying beside her, he gathered her in his arms and held her tightly, throwing a big leg over her hips to pull her close against him. Still trying to catch her breath, Annaleigh lay in his arms, feeling more contentment and love than she’d ever felt in her life.
“Well?” he murmured into her hair. “Was it worth the wait?”
Annaleigh lifted her head so that she could look at him. Their faces were very close together and she reached up, putting a gentle hand to his cheek.
“Ye’re worth everything,” she whispered. “There is nothing about ye that isna worth everything in this whole bloody world.”
He closed his eyes as she tenderly touched his face, relishing the feel of it. “You became my world the moment I saw you after the battle of Etal,” he murmured. “It is because of you I am here, Annie. God has brought you to me, more than once, so when I look at you, I see my destiny. I see my past, my present, and my future. I just can’t believe we haven’t always been meant for one another.”
Annaleigh smiled, running her fingers over his lips and watching him kiss the tips. “It’s as the brooch says,” she said. “The one that William gave us.Love is the beginning of forever. For us, I canna remember when I’ve not loved ye. I’ll love ye beyond forever, War. In this life or in any other.”
He kissed her fingers, her palm. “What I feel goes beyond love,” he whispered. “It’s worship. I worship you, Annie. I always will and I feel as if I always have. With you, there’s no beginning and no ending. Just… love.”
With a grin, Annaleigh wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him to her lips and feasting on him. There wasn’t one touch, one word, or one action that didn’t convey the deep and abiding love she had for him.
And he for her.
When their first child was born less than a year later after two of the longest days of War’s life, the meaning of the brooch struck them even more than it had on their wedding day. As they gazed down at little Liam Herringthorpe, his name being a subtle tribute to War’s de Wolfe bloodlines, the words on Adalira’s brooch rang more clearly than they ever had.
Love is the beginning of forever.
For War and Annaleigh, nothing could have been more true.
Lovewastheir forever.
*THE END*
