“I trust ye,” she replied, her eyes showing that she did indeed trust him.
Then Torcall slipped himself into her. His shaft met her virgin resistance. He looked in her eyes one more time, and she nodded.I trust ye.Trusting in the strength he provided her, she closed her eyes and welcomed the pain.
It was over as quickly as it began. The pain cleared, giving way to intense pleasure. She held onto him as he thrust himself in and out of her. Ceana bit down on her lip as she felt herself sink into the abyss that their bodies made, the beautiful abyss she never wanted out of.
All too soon, she felt herself near her peak again.
“I want ye to come with me,” he whispered in her ears.
“Aye— aye,” she replied in pants and gasps. Then, as beautifully as it began, she felt it overwhelm her, stronger than it had the previous times. She clutched onto him, clawing at his back, hanging onto any measure of strength she could muster as her body jerked.
He came at that moment, too, his orgasm stimulated by her clenching tightness. Torcall groaned his release and pulled away from her, expelling his seed onto the ground beside her.
Both lovers lay under the shelter of the moon panting for breath and unable to quell the bliss that rumbled beneath their skins.
Torcall pulled her to him and kissed her forehead. She knew he would never let her go. She could feel his assurance as he held her tightly to himself. Resting her head on his chest, she heard his heartbeat. It beat for her.
Nothing seemed to exist except for the two of them.
Chapter Thirty-Six
It was a bright day. The wind was calm, and the skies were blue.Freedom, Torcall thought to himself as he looked out the window.Love.Walking up the stairs, all he could think about was Ceana. He wanted to see her again. He wanted to touch her again, but he had to do something first; he had to face his uncle and wife.
The servants had told him the night before that his uncle and aunt had gone to bed early, but he knew they had sought to avoid him. There was so much chasm between them that he did not know what would become of their relationship. They were like parents to him, and he had killed their favorite son. Even though Rannoch had killed innocents, he had still been their blood, and his too.
He came up the stairs and found his aunt by the balcony looking out over her garden with sadness. She was dressed in black still as she had been since the night of Rannoch’s death. Standing there, just steps away from him, he thought to flee.
“Torcall,” she called him when he turned away. His head was bowed in an apology as he came to join her on the balcony.
“Ye ken that we hid from ye last night?” She asked him, staring at the garden. Torcall joined her.
“Aye, but I understand.” He fell on one knee and bowed before his aunt. “I ask for yer forgiveness. Rannoch was me brother, and though he killed, I should have taken him alive,” Torcall apologized.
“Nay, ye are nae to blame for his death. I wasnae in pain for the fact that ye were to be killed merely because I would lose ye. I felt pain for I kent that ye were innocent. I searched his room when I heard the news, and the notes that I found—” she broke off. “That wasnae me son. He decided that the moment he let himself be swallowed by bitterness. He killed, so he was always going to be killed. I am glad that it was at the hands of his brother. I wouldnae have been able to take it if he had been dragged and stoned and--” His aunt had broken down in tears, unable to continue her words.
Torcall got to his feet and held her to him, allowing her to weep. She clutched onto him as she cried, letting out all the pain she had held in.
“I am sorry,” she said when she finally had the strength to pull away from him. “Ye should go before I cry again.”
Torcall nodded and left. He wished he could have done more, but there was no bringing back the dead. That night, he had had to make a choice between Rannoch and Ceana, and he had chosen her. He would choose her again and again if the same scenario presented itself.
He had been startled by his uncle, who he had not noticed, coming back to the stairs. Dirk had been standing there a while watching Torcall comfort his wife. Since Rannoch’s death, he had tried to get her to open up to him about her pain, but she had not, not until that morning with Torcall.
“Ye owe me nay apology. We are the ones that owe ye one. Rannoch would have killed ye,” Dirk told him. “Me wife is hurt, but she would have been more hurt if she kent that an innocent man was punished for the sins of another. Her heart would break.”
“He was yer son,” Torcall said.
“He was yer brother, and I ken that ye loved him,” Dirk said with a heavy sigh. “Justice has been served, and ye are now a free man, as ye should be. Tam ran off, but he will return when he sees as we do. None of us could have saved Rannoch. I have seen hatred before, and it is without a cure.”
Torcall did not know what to say to his grieving uncle. He was broken-hearted seeing them as they were, but there was no more that he could do. He knelt before his uncle with a bowed head.
“Ye are me da, and I cannae bring him back, but I will make ye proud.”
Dirk nodded. “Stand,” he said. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a ring.
“I ken of the lass who saved ye. She is a special woman, and if ye do wish to be with her, ye would need a ring.” Dirk handed the ring over to Torcall. “Me mother gave it to me, and I give it to ye, me son.”
“Thank ye,” Torcall said to his uncle. Both men shook hands, for a hug would have been awkward between them. Dirk left him to be with his wife, and Torcall left the house. Armed with a ring in his hand, he had a new purpose. He had to see Ceana.
