“I hope I am no’ too late to give away the bride, because I rode all night to get here!”
Faith laughed, more than a little happy to have her father here to see her wed. Though he was still a stranger to her now, she had a feeling that she was going to like this man whose blood flowed strongly in her veins. She held out her hand, and Loghan strode across the hall and took it, tucking it in the crook of his arm with obvious pride. As the piper began to play, he walked her to Bren’s side, and placed her hand in his.
“I give my only daughter, my only child into yer keeping. Be good to her, Mac Coinnach.” He leaned closer, kissing Faith lightly on the cheek. “Be happy, daughter.”
The ceremony was short and sweet. Deidre and Mathilde were wiping tears from their eyes the entire while. Faith knew she should have been more nervous, but really, after what she had been through in the past couple of days alone, never mind the last couple of weeks, her nerves seemed to have turned to hardened steel. An unexpected wedding, her own no less, now seemed a tranquil and ordinary event in comparison.
She looked up at Bren as she repeated her vows, and there was unmistakable joy in his eyes as he looked down at her. He had won, after all, the bloody arrogant man. But she didn’t mind. He belonged to her, now, and he was exquisite. Not to mention honorable and kind, though she doubted he would take well to being known as kind.
He was dressed in a ceremonial kilt and his hair was tied back, but a few stray waves escaped to frame the strong bones of his face. He stood tall and proud, laird to his people, chief to his clan, warrior and protector to all. Brutal and passionate, yet tender and kindhearted. More than deserving of all she felt towards him. He said his vows in a voice that was strong and sure, and then slid a ring onto her finger, a thin and elegant band of gold, binding her to him for all of time. When he leaned down to seal their union with a kiss, she rose up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. He instinctively deepened the kiss, his arms coming up to pull her closer. Eventually the priest cleared his throat. Loudly.
After the ceremony, there was a Mass, and then the wedding feast. Faith and Bren sat together for the first time at the high table, surrounded by her father and Bren’s brothers, all in high spirits, and even Drust was heard to laugh once or twice.When the food was served, Bren fed her from his fingers, to the delight of the cheering crowd. And a crowd it was. Nearly the whole village was there, from the oldest to the youngest, and the hall was alive and roaring with the noise of it all. Most of the people there Faith had never met before, but she knew that before long, she would know them all by name, and some of them were bound to become her close friends. People called out toasts to the laird and his lady and the ale and wine flowed freely. Watching them all, she felt a fierce wave of happiness come over her. She had a family again, and a home. And a husband. All was finally right with her world. She had never realized how lonely she had been before, and how empty her existence, until she had all of this to compare it to.
The entertainment followed the meal, beginning with a clan storyteller, and then moving on to pipers and dancing. But as much fun as she was having, Faith couldn’t wait to be alone with Bren. In fact, her stomach was in knots over it. Not because she was frightened; she was, maybe just a little, but mostly because she was excited. She knew that this night would not be like last night in the circle.God, was that only last night? There would be less pain, Berta had assured her earlier, but even that didn’t matter. She just wanted to be that close to Bren again. Skin to skin. Beating heart to beating heart. And when she looked up at him, she was rather certain his thoughts were on the same subject. She gave him a slow smile, and his eyes grew impossibly dark. He leaned over and spoke softly near her ear, a loose wave of his hair brushing her cheek.
“Tell Berta ye are tired and wish to retire.”
Her smile turned wicked. “But I’m not tired at all; in fact I think I’d like to try a few more dances. And I could sit and listen to the pipers all night. The music is wonderful.” She let her hand drop to his thigh under the table, her fingers trailing slowly over the hard muscle, which tensed under her touch.
He sucked in a breath and squeezed her hand in warning. “Tell her, before I take ye right here on the table in front of everyone in the hall.”
She gave him a censorious look, but signaled to Berta, who came bustling over. Faith held Bren’s gaze as she spoke, her own eyes glinting with mischief. “My laird has decided that I am tired and has suggested I retire to my chamber to rest.”
Berta’s gaze swept between the two of them, noting with much satisfaction the dark and hungry look in Bren’s eyes, as well as the tightness of his jaw and the rapid throbbing of the pulse in his neck. And Faith was melting towards him without even realizing she did so. Aye, Berta was reminded of her own youth, when she had been so in love with her husband that sometimes they missed dinner all together, they were in so much of a hurry to reach the bed chamber.
Berta went off to make the arrangements, and Faith was soon swept away and escorted to the laird’s chamber by a bevy of giggling women, Berta their enthusiastic ring leader. In no time at all, they had stripped her naked, swabbed her with rose water, and tucked her into the bed, covered only by a thin linen sheet. She held it up to her nose. The bedding was freshly washed and had been scented with roses as well. She suddenly felt quite nervous. Deidre put another log on the fire and lit the candles on the table. She doused the larger, brighter ones in the sconces, and then surveyed the room.“Perfect!” she declared.
Berta pushed Fiona towards the door. “The bride is ready, go and fetch the groom!”
Faith’s heart began to pound, and her fingers were trembling as she toyed with the embroidered edge of the sheet.
Berta smiled at her show of nerves and gave her a sagacious look. “Now lass, ye are no’ troubled over the bedding,are ye? After all, the worst is already over! The rest is just what lasses have been giggling about for all of time. Ye’ll see. Then ye willna want to leave this bed or yer new husband. He’s a good lad, is our laird, and he’ll do his best to please ye.”
Faith smiled and almost laughed out loud when Berta called Bren a lad. He was a man, through and through. She couldn’t even imagine him ever as a child. He was just too big and strong and had too much of a presence to have ever been that small. But if Berta’s intention had been to help put her at ease, it had worked.
Downstairs in the hall, Bren was no longer paying any attention to the evening’s entertainment. In fact since the women had taken Faith upstairs, he was struggling to maintain any pretense of decorum whatsoever. Ah god, sitting here waiting was pure torture! He was one breath away from excusing himself and going up after her when he heard the women’s voices on the stairs.Finally!
Fiona approached the dais and made a curtsy to him, and he stood. “My laird, yer bride awaits ye.”
As was custom, all of the men cheered and shouted their approval, along with the to-be-expected lude remarks and bawdy humor. Bren saluted them all, and then Eian and Drust came forward to take him up to the bridal chamber. As his brothers, it was their duty to do so, and an honor. They made a big show of dragging him up the stairs to the delight of everyone in the hall below, but when they came to the door of the chamber, they all paused. Eian was the first to clap Bren affectionately on the shoulder. “I’m happy for ye brother. I ken how much ye’ve wanted this. Now ye will have a true home. We all will.”
Bren nodded. “Thank ye, Eian. Thank ye both, for everything.” He put an arm around each of his brothers, then hislips curled up in a rueful smile, and he laughed. “I do believe, that for the verra first time in my life, I’m nervous about bedding a woman.”
Eian snorted. “That’s only because this time it’s forever and if ye dinna do the job right, ye have nay escape. Now get in there before she decides ye’re not worth waiting for.”
Drust opened the door, and Eian pushed him through. The women in the room with Faith giggled, and he herded them towards the open door.
“Out! All of ye!” He closed the door behind them and leaned against it for a moment.
She was there on the bed, sitting up against the headboard. Her hair was loose around her shoulders, shining in the candlelight. Her eyes were wide and he thought she must be as nervous as he was. He had not been this anxious since his first time bedding a lass, but after all this was his wedding night, and he had much to make up for. She held the sheet clenched tightly in one fist, covering her breasts, but as his eyes paused there she loosened her grip a bit.
God, he didn’t know where to start. Should he talk to her awhile first? That might not work. He wouldn’t be able to hold out for more than a minute, with the fierce way his body was reacting. He could feel the blood pounding through his veins. He was already hard, but then he had been hard pretty much all evening. Only now it was almost painful. He didn’t want to frighten her. She was bound to be a bit frightened of him, after what he had done. It may have been necessary, but he could have at least been gentle. He hadn’t been gentle. He wasn’t even entirely sure he could be gentle now. His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides as he tried desperately to gain more control over his body before going to her. This was, after all, his wedding night, and this was the moment he had been waiting for… hoping for… for such a very long time. The alignment ofall the stars that had fallen away, and the consummation of his marriage to the woman who was his soul mate. How had he come to be standing here now before her, so very unworthy of all that she was?
Faith had heard the men’s voices outside the door, but her heart had still leapt into her throat when Bren came into the room. After everyone else had gone, he didn’t say a word, but stood there for several moments, looking at her, hesitating. For a moment she wondered if he was having second thoughts, because after weeks of pursuing her she had assumed he would be more than eager to finally have her in his bed. Then Faith remembered what Berta had said this morning; that he was afraid she would hate him after… after their first time together. Oh, far from it. Perhaps she should reassure him, then? It was the least she could do, after all he’d already done for her.
She smiled. “Come over here”, she said softly, suddenly unable to go another moment without his touch and his kiss.
He walked toward her, keeping his eyes locked on hers, and she let go the sheet, holding her arms open to him. He fell down into them, meeting her lips and kissing her. Tenderly at first, but then harder, more and more urgently. He threadedhis fingers through her hair, holding her head so that he could kiss her deeper still. Her own hands grasped his shirt, pulling it up until he broke the kiss for just long enough to tear it over his head and toss it away. Then his mouth returned to hers. She ran her hands up the smooth, hard planes of his chest, then down the taut muscles of his back. He ripped the sheet out from between their bodies and his hands covered her breasts.
