Warily, Parlan took the binding from her wrists then slipped the blindfold from her eyes. He knew she was not going to be pleased about where he had brought her. It was necessary to him, however, to erase all the bad memories of the place. He did not want there to be any part of his lands where she did not feel safe, or as safe as anyone could feel in such troubled times.
“Weel, here we are, love.”
Before he had uncovered her eyes, she had heard the now familiar soft wail, and forgetting about her intentions of hitting him, she stared around her in near horror. “Oh, nay, Parlan, not here.”
“Aye, here.” He thrust the basket of food into her arms then collected the blanket. “’Tis a fine spot.”
“Weel, aye, ’tis pretty.” She reluctantly followed him as he went to the same spot they had gone each time before and spread out the blanket. “’Tis just that I dinnae really like it any longer, foolish as that may seem to ye.”
Sitting down and tugging her down beside him, he lightly kissed her mouth. “I willnae have ye fearing a place on my land—our land. I willnae have there be a place that holds naught but bad memories and bad feeling. ’Tis true that none can think themselves perfectly safe wherever they go, but I mean to have ye feel as much so as possible while ye are upon MacGuin land. There is also the fact that, from the first time I brought ye here, I thought it would be a fine spot for our special place and, being a stubborn man, I dinnae mean to let aught change that.” He served her some wine, smiling at her when she sipped from her tankard.
“Our special place?”
“Aye, all couples should have one. A place to go to to mark the special moments in their lives, like having a new, healthy bairn.”
She smiled, her mood improving quickly. Although a part of her remained wary, expecting something to go wrong at any moment, she tried to relax and enjoy the time they had together. Parlan was indeed recovered and that was certainly something to celebrate. He was also acting his most charming and it was nearly impossible to be anything but happy when he did so.
After he was finished eating, Parlan cleaned his mouth and hands with a dampened cloth. He then leaned closer to Aimil to do the same for her, kissing each spot he washed clean. Seeing how her breathing grew swift and erratic, and her lovely eyes darkened with passion increased his ever-present hunger for her. He smiled crookedly as he tossed aside the cloth and pulled her into his arms for he knew that their first bout of lovemaking was going to be swift and fierce, their need for each other demanding it.
Some time later, Aimil slowly opened her eyes and looked at the man collapsed atop her. Neither of them had managed to shed much of their clothing, their bodies too eager to join for them to be bothered by undressing. She felt deliciously ravished and smiled as she slipped her arms more securely around him. Despite the pleasant feelings that surrounded her, however, she could not stop from glancing around a little warily, looking for a danger her common sense said was not there.
“Ye are safe, Aimil,” Parlan murmured as he raised his head and brushed his lips over hers. “This time we will have no rude interruptions. All will go as I planned.” He eased their embrace but stayed close to her.
“Ye planned something else, did ye?” She tried to take his assurances of safety to heart and ignore her fears.
“Weel, aside from a less hasty tussle with ye”—he grinned when she blushed—“I thought we would have ourselves a wee talk.”
“A talk? About what?”
“Us.” He wondered why a brief look of fear crossed her face.
Even though she told herself not to be foolish, she could not suppress a tremor of fear. He looked so serious and never before had he wished to discuss their relationship. When he had never given her any real hint of his feelings, she could not help but view a talk on them as a couple somewhat ominously. Even telling herself that Parlan would never be so cruel as to make love to her then tell her that he no longer desired her as a wife did not stop the taint of fear from possessing her.
“What about us?” she asked in a whisper.
“Aimil, I wish ye wouldnae look as if I am about to say something ye have no wish at all to hear.”
“I beg your pardon?”
He sighed, feeling his courage and determination waver. She did not look ready or willing to hear him speak his heart. Then he recalled the way she had cried out when she had seen him fall, quite possibly to his death. The emotion he had recognized in that cry gave him the strength to go on with his plan to be honest.
“Dearling, I dinnae ken what ye think I mean to say but it willnae be so bad.” He smiled when she briefly looked guilty. “Dinnae ye think ’tis far past time that we talk on us?”
“Aye, I do.” She wondered if he meant to pull truths from her that she was not sure she was ready to reveal.
“We have gone along for over a year with few words about how we might feel or what we might wish from each other. We talk on near to everything beneath God’s sun, but when it comes to speaking of what we feel, ’tis only to talk of the passion we share. That is glorious, loving, but ’tis not all that binds us and I think ’tis past time for us to look at what does and what we truly wish to give or to get from each other.” She still looked nervous to him, and he smiled, kissing her gently. “Come, Aimil, can it be so hard?”
“Aye, it can. I cannae think that there are many who can speak freely of all they hold in their heart. ’Tis not easy to reveal oneself so fully.”
“True. I planned that as the second thing I meant to do whilst we were alone here.”
“The second?”
“Aye, I have already done the first thing I wished to, what I was sore pressed to do when I kissed you back at Dubhglenn.”
She smiled and ran her finger along the strong line of his chin. “I was briefly thinking of pushing ye back into bed but nae to rest.”
“Ah, so I didnae have to chase ye after all.”
