Greer knew Thor wouldn’t let his guard down long enough to sleep. He would be alert to any sounds or even a shift in the air. She appreciated her husband’s dedication to her safety, but she felt badly that he would get no rest. It had been a long day for them both, and he would grow exhausted from lack of sleep. Until they reached Varrich or Dunbeath, she doubted Thor would do more than catch forty winks here and there.
“Wake me in a couple hours, and I’ll keep watch while ye sleep.”
Thor’s hand glided up Greer’s arm until it reached her cheek. He nudged her head toward his and silenced her with a kiss. Greer’s sleepiness fled as their passion sparked blue like the hottest part of a flame. His hand moved from her face down to her breast, which he kneaded until Greer moaned in frustration. She arched her back, pressing herself closer to Thor. Each of them feared it might be their last night together, and that thought spurred them. His hand continued down over her ribs and hip until it skimmed her leg and found her kirtle’s hem.
“Are ye too sore?”
“Nay. I ache for ye,mo dhuine.” Greer shifted and let her legs fall open. “I willna accept that aught will keep us apart again, but I ken we may nae have control of that. I havenae had enough time with ye. I dinna want to miss what might be ma last opportunity to make love to ma husband.”
“I dinna want to think aboot being separated from ye again. I willna accept that either, but I fear letting ye go. I want to join with ye again before anyone interferes. We’ve claimed that we handfasted, but we’ve never exchanged those vows. I would do it now. I want ye to hear that I swear never to forsake ye again, and that I will love ye until ma last breath.”
“I want that too. But ye dinna have to say aught for me to ken that’s the truth. I believe ye, and I ken it in ma bones.”
“I need ye to hear it, Greer. I need to speak it aloud, so I’m certain ye ken. I dinna want to keep any of how I feel to maself anymore. If I hadnae feared what might have happened all those years ago, I would have told ma family. I should have had more faith in them, and I should have declared maself before the world. If I had, none of this would have happened. Ye would have made yer home with me at Dunbeath, and ye wouldnae have been anywhere near that field. One of these days, I will have the chance to do that, and we’ll stand on the steps of Dunbeath’s kirk. Until then, I make ma pledge to just ye.”
“I want to say ma vows, too. I want ye to hear the sincerity in ma voice, and I want ye to never doubt ma love ever again.”
“Greer, I’m—”
“Dinna apologize. I didna say that to make ye feeling guilty aboot any of our past. I’m explaining how certain I am of our feelings for each other.”
Thor unwrapped the part of his great plaid that draped around Greer, and they clasped hands. They worked together to bind their wrists with the Sinclair plaid. The only thing Thor regretted was being unable to watch Greer. It was too dark to see even a hint of her shadow. Over the years, Thor had heard the stories about how each of the older generation’s couples handfasted or married by consent before reaching a kirk. He knew the various handfast vows they’d spoken, and he’d always loved the ones Uncle Tavish and Aunt Ceit shared. He recited them now.
“I take ye to be ma wife and ma spouse, and I pledge to ye the faith of ma body, that I will be faithful to ye and loyal with ma body and ma goods, and that I will keep ye in sickness and in health and in whatever condition it will please the Lord to place ye, and that I shall nae exchange yefor better or worse until the end. To ye, I doth plight thee ma troth.”
Greer was familiar with the ancient vows and responded, “As our hands are bound, so are our lives now bound with all our hopes for a new life together. With these vows, we tie all the desires, dreams, love, and happiness wished here in this place to our lives for as long as love shall last. I pledge to bind ma life with yers, to love and honor ye with ma body, mind, and soul, to remain ever faithful and forever by yer side nay matter what the future holds. I shall cleave to ye and nae exchange ye for better or worse until the end. To ye, I doth plight thee ma troth.”
“I love ye, wee one.”
“I love ye,mo dhuine.”
The kiss they shared began with tenderness and a sense that the world was finally right again, but within minutes, their unsated need roared to life. They unbound their hands, and one of Thor’s slipped beneath her skirts. His fingers pressed against the back of her calf, then up her thigh until he walked them across the front of her leg to the juncture with her hip. His fingertips found the dew between her legs, coating them before he pressed inside her sheath. He loved the feel of Greer’s breath hitching as she practically squirmed.
“Wheest. I’ll make it better.”
“Only ye can. Ye make everything better, Thor. Can we—” Greer wished she could see his face to judge how he’d receive her request. “Can we just get on with it?”
“Are ye in a hurry for this to be over?”
“Nay. I’m impatient to begin. What ye’re doing feels amazing.” It did. His fingers thrust into her over and over, stroking a spot that only drove her mad with need. He kissed her again, but she mewled her frustration as she yanked at her skirts. She didn’t recognize the woman she’d become. It was the opposite of who she feared she would remain. But making love to Thor brought back all the memories they’d once shared and redeemed an act she’d once reviled. It was more than just pleasure she sought. It was the closeness of their bodies joining. No alpha and no omega. They were just one.
Careful not to bang her head, Greer crouched as she readjusted her skirts, and Thor moved his plaid aside. With his hands on her hips, she eased onto his rod before they moved together. They cupped each other’s jaw, making it easier to find their partner’s mouth. Thor pulled at the belt that kept her arisaid in place before wrenching on the end of her kirtle’s laces. Only a vague memory that this was the only gown Greer had, kept him from rending the fabric as he grasped it at her shoulders and tugged.
“Are we addlepated to make love while hidden down here? Is it right to be finding pleasure while in so much danger?” Greer wouldn’t stop them, but she was curious.
“Mayhap. But I canna think of a better way to pass the time with ma bonnie wife. And I can keep ye warmer this way.”
“Ye’re more chivalrous than those Sassenach knights,” Greer said with a hint of humor to lighten her own worry.
“Aught to make ma wife happy.” Thor laughed as he once more encircled her waist with his hands, moving her on his rod, helping Greer to find the rhythm and movement that maddened her with need. She dove back in for another kiss but missed his mouth. They chuckled until they could only focus on how their tongues dueled and the pleasure from caressing the silky skin of their inner cheeks. Greer remembered as clearly as if it were yesterday how insatiable Thor became when she sucked on his tongue lightly.
“Lass, I willna last long if ye continue with that.”
“Whether we go slowly, and this lasts a long time, or we go quickly and do it many times, I want to spend the night joined with ye.”
“Ye dinna feel rushed?” Thor worried he shouldn’t have interrupted the moment by forcing them both to recall the past, but he feared some of Greer’s eagerness stemmed from her wish to please him, not herself.
“I feel like ye arenae moving fast enough. Thor, this isnae the same as those times. They did that to control me. We’re doing this because we’re deeply committed to each other, and I want to show ye how I feel. This is us as we once were. I can separate them and recognize that we’re making love.”
