She sighed faintly. “That it would be my honor to be Lady de Lara,” she said. “You asked me once if I always did everything my father told me to do. I don’t, you know. I rarely do.”
The corners of Kevin’s lips tugged. “And now would be one of those times?”
She nodded. “Aye,” she said. “Kevin… I cannot express how I feel, but I will try. Before I came to Wybren, my life was… without excitement. Without any real joy. My father was still reeling from Burke’s departure, I had no suitors because of Aeron, and I thought all I would ever know would be the tedium of my father’s home. I had nothing to look forward to, nothing to be part of… but when I came here, under less than desirable circumstances, never did I expect it to turn out as it did. I feel needed and wanted, and part of something important with you in the center of it. If I were to leave tomorrow and another woman took my place, I would be crushed.”
By this time, he’d taken a step closer to her, watching her face as she spoke. In the bright sunlight of noon, as the wind blew softly through the trees, lifting tendrils of her hair, he reached out and brushed a stay piece of hair from her eyes.
“Would you really?” he asked softly.
That tender gesture, simply brushing hair from her face, had Juliandra’s heart racing wildly.
“Aye,” she murmured. “I would. It ismyplace. I want to be by your side, Kevin. It is as if I belong somehow. You make me feel as if I belong.”
“To me?”
“To you.”
He smiled faintly, lifting both big hands so that he was cupping her face. For the first time, he was touching her affectionately, a moment not lost on either of them. Whatever was brewing between them was gaining strength, pulling at them, creating something warm and giddy that threatened to consume them both.
“I feel that way, too,” he muttered. “If you had wanted to go with Aeron, I would have been heartbroken.”
A hopeful smile spread across her face. “Truly?”
“Truly.”
“Then when shall we be married?”
His answer was to lean forward and kiss her, a tender kiss that quickly turned amorous. His first taste of her lips was like food to a hungry man, and he pulled her into a crushing embrace as he feasted. In his arms, Juliandra went limp, collapsed against him as his heated kiss sucked every bit of strength from her body. He only pulled back because he’d heard voices somewhere, nearby, and he didn’t want to make a spectacle of their first kiss. He released her, but he had to hold on to her because she seemed unsteady. She started to giggle and he snorted at her because she was so giddy.
“Are you sure you can stand on your own?” he asked.
She nodded. Then she shook her head. She put her hand over her mouth in a silly gesture. “I am fine, truly,” she said. “’Tis only… well, I’ve never been kissed like that before.”
“It will not be the last time.”
She continued to giggle, her cheeks turning red. “I am glad to hear that,” she said. “I am glad that nothing Aeron said about me has discouraged you.”
“What do you mean?”
She struggled to explain herself. “When he brought that woman,” she said. “And… and those things he said about me. He was right, you know. I have absolutely no knowledge about anything when it comes to men.”
He looked at her sternly, but it was lightly done. “That is good,” he said. “Otherwise, I would spank you and then hunt down the man who taught you things only your husband should teach you.”
“Would you really?”
“Absolutely.”
The smile returned to her face. “You do not have to worry,” she said. “Whatever you wish to teach me, as my husband… I will gladly learn.”
There were people in the kitchen yard but he reached out again to touch her face, gently. This time, he didn’t care if anyone saw him.
“You asked when we were to be married,” he said. “I would say today. Right now. The sooner we are married, the sooner Aeron has absolutely no claim and no recourse. As we have both said, today will not be the last time we see him. He may even return with larger numbers and try to burn down Wybren. Whatever he tries to do, it is better to get married now and take no chances.”
Juliandra wasn’t at all distressed by the fact that she would be married this day. Thoughts of gaining her father’s permission were virtually forgotten, ignored until a later time. He was protective over her, that was true, but he also loved her. All he would have to do was look at her face to see how happy she was as Lady de Lara.
At least, she hoped so.
She would deal with it when the time came.
