Gretchen shakes her head."All I need is you, Kirk.Please hold me and stay beside me even after I fall asleep."
"I'll watch over ye, that's a dead certainty."I kick off my boots and slide onto the bed beside her, pulling Gretchen into my arms.She curls up against me as her head finds that perfect spot on my chest where she fits so perfectly.I can feel her heartbeat gradually slowing to match mine as I stroke her hair.
"I was so afraid I'd lose ye," I whisper."When that bastard called me and I heard your voice---Christ, Gretchen, I've never been so terrified."
She tilts her head up to gaze at me, tracing her fingers over my skin."But you didn't panic.You came for me with a strategy in mind.That's one of the million things I adore about you, Mr.Balfour."
"It was barely a plan," I confess, kissing her forehead."More like desperate improvisation.If Keltie hadn't been available..."
"But she was," Gretchen states firmly."And now we're here, together.Besides, you've got so many tough Scots on your side that I knew you'd be just fine."
I wrap my arms around her, needing to feel every inch of her against me, safe and whole.The memory of walking into that room and seeing her bound, with that monster's hands on her---it makes my blood boil all over again.But after a long nap, refreshed in spirit, we decide on a long, hot shower that turns into an intensely sensual experience complete with multiple orgasms for Gretchen.I come inside her so hard that I'm fair certain the neighbors must've heard it.
The next day, some of the lasses whisk my fiancée away on a very important mission.
Finding a wedding dress for Gretchen.
I pace back and forth in our flat, checking my mobile for the thousandth time.Gretchen has been gone for three hours, whisked away by Keltie as well as Tam's lass Ailsa and a couple of other women from the village.The wedding dress shopping expedition is of vital importance and probably involves classified information.After four hours of me pacing the flat, wondering what she's trying on, what she'll choose, and most importantly, whether she's safe, I finally hear the clicking of our door lock being opened.
Dougal might be behind bars, but the memory of his threat still rings in my ears: "I'll be out before ye know it."Despite his threat, I know MacWraith will never be set free.
When Gretchen returns to our flat, I drag her onto the sofa and shag her again with our bodies entangled in the best way.After a wee piece---a snack, as Gretchen likes to say---I've become so relaxed and contented that nothing could ever ruin my mood.
And I cannae wait to marry the lass who changed my life.
Epilogue
Gretchen
My life has become an honest-to-goodness fairy tale, complete with a knight in shining armor.Okay, my life is not a literal fairy tale.But I feel like a princess who lived in a musty tower for years, until a Scottish knight showed me what real, soul-deep love really means.Kirk Balfour showed me I could be more than a virtual assistant with a goofy roommate and two loving parents.I'm a badass too, as it turns out.
And I learned that thanks to the man I'm about to marry this afternoon in precisely fifteen minutes and thirty-two seconds, according to my phone.Have we chosen a normal, sweetly romantic wedding?Yeah, right.After having sex with Kirk in his Porsche while he was driving like a maniac, I can no longer claim to be a normal person anymore.
I'm so damn glad for that.
Our nuptials are taking place atop Aonach Eagach, the mountain that nearly killed my true love months ago.I was the one who suggested we should tie the knot at this location, and I expected Kirk to be shocked by that fact.But he wasn't surprised at all.
"I wouldnae have it any other way,mo chridhe," Kirk had said."That mountain tried to best me, and now I'll show it who's truly victorious by claiming my bride atop its peak."
The memory makes me smile as I adjust the simple white dress I've chosen for the occasion.It's hardly traditional---nothing about this wedding is---but it's perfect for climbing a mountain.The lightweight fabric falls just below my knees, with enough stretch to allow me to move freely.My bouquet is a small cluster of purple heather and white thistle, tied with a piece of Balfour tartan.
"Are you ready, Gretchen?"my father asks, poking his head into the small tent where I've been preparing.
"Oh yes, I'm so ready."I take a deep breath feeling not even a twinge of anxiety."I'm more ready than I've ever been for anything in my life, Dad."
Bert Carver's eyes grow dewy as he sees my ensemble for the first time."You're the most beautiful girl in the world, sweetheart."
"Thank you for not freaking out about the whole mountaintop wedding thing," I say, straightening his tie."I know it's not exactly what you and Mom pictured."
He chuckles, shaking his head."Nothing about your relationship with Kirk has been conventional.Why start now?Besides, your mother and I just want you to be happy.And that Scotsman makes you happier than I've ever seen you."
"He really does, Dad," I whisper, my voice quavering a touch."Kirk is the love of my life."
Dad offers me his arm."Then let's not keep him waiting."
We march out of the tent and into the crisp Highland air.The view is breathtaking---rolling mountains stretching to the horizon, their peaks disappearing into wisps of clouds.The sun breaks through in golden shafts that illuminate the landscape like God's own spotlight.Even with the slight wind whipping my hair, I feel perfectly calm.
Our wedding party is small and intimate, exactly how we wanted it.My former roommate, Heather, got a free trip to Scotland thanks to Thane Buchanan, and she's here today.I won't be shocked if Heather finds a new beau during the reception.She did tell me yesterday that she hoped to snag her own Scottish hottie.
