She was barely aware when she felt Erskine roll her back over, their bodies still connected. This time, he kept one hand under her waist as he knelt above her, thrusting inside of her. The other hand he placed on her hip, bringing her up to meet him with each stroke. As Laura opened her eyes, she watched as Erskine reached his same pinnacle, his handsome features dazed with pleasure and his mouth agape as he came to a stop with his movements. Her name fell from his lips with panting breaths.
Erskine collapsed on top of her, keeping his weight mostly on his forearms rather than her. Laura was overcome, reaching up toward him, wrapping her arms around his neck, and kissing him.
They just laid there for a few minutes, kissing, with their bodies still connected.
When they did part from their kiss, both of them were still breathless. Laura was looking up at Erskine’s green eyes, still holding onto that feeling of satiation in her body. The need that had been in her for so long, that desire to have Erskine had finally been met, and oh, how she wanted it again already.
I love him so much.
She opened her lips to tell him so, but she could not quite utter them. He had asked her to marry him. She knew she could have told him, but he had not yet said those words, and it held her back. So, she opted to say something else instead.
“That was…” she struggled for the right word.
“I ken,” he smiled. “Beyond what I could have imagined.”
Then he kissed her again, distracting her from thoughts of the world beyond that house. As he had said, for a few minutes, they had both forgotten those people beyond the walls in which they stood. She had forgotten about her father and Lord Moore, who were still seeking her out.
Now, she prayed her father would never find her, so she could just stay like this with Erskine. This was her home now.
Chapter Nineteen
As Erskine made his way back to the castle, his body was still thrumming with the excitement of what he and Laura had shared. After they had made love, Erskine had napped for a little time until Laura had woken him, urging him that he had to return to the castle before Magret returned. He had been reluctant to part from her. He imagined tossing her over his shoulder and returning to the castle with her so that he didn’t have to part from her at all, but he knew she was right. He had to leave her.
I cannae lose her now.
His mind was completely made up. He was determined to marry her, and the only way that could happen would be to talk to his father and reveal all, but the Laird was a hot-tempered and sometimes capricious being. If Erskine were going to get what he wanted, he knew it would have to be done with tact.
When he arrived at the castle, he first went to the great hall where all the injured from the attacked villages had been brought. Amongst them, he saw Magret and one or two other healers from the town. They were inundated with problems, but Erskine was relieved to see that most seemed well, with the injuries being mostly minor.
Across the room, he saw Tam. Exhausted and leaning against a wall, his eyes were half-closed, as though he could fall asleep where he stood. Erskine crossed the room to his friend, startling him into alertness.
“Tam, ye need some rest,” Erskine said softly, pulling out a chair from nearby and urging Tam to sit.
“Aye, I ken,” Tam agreed with a nod. “I’m loathed to leave these people alone, though.”
“Aye, but they have the best care now,” Erskine clapped him on the shoulder. “Ye need to look after yerself too.”
“I was thinkin’ of what ye said,” Tam looked up, brushing his fair hair back from his forehead with a heavy expression, “I think ye’re right. Those brigands will attack again.”
“Aye,” Erskine nodded. Even since he had uttered his first fears, the conviction that he was right had grown stronger.
“Dearg’s plan of just reinforcin’ the next villages along….” Tam shook his head in thought. “It is nae enough. More needs to be done. Those brigands live in the mountains. It’s the way they make their livin’. They’ll surpass his piddly blockades easily.”
“Ye’re right,” Erskine nodded. “I’ll talk to me faither. We’ll see what else can be done. Now, go home, Tam. Rest up. It may be a busy few weeks, and ye need yer rest.”
Tam nodded too, but he said nothing for a moment, just sitting in his chair, staring forward, as though lost in thought.
“Somethin’ else on yer mind?” Erskine asked delicately, taking the seat beside him and leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
“Lennox,” Tam sighed. “Seein’ what happened in those villages…” Tam faltered for a moment, shaking his head. “For a moment, all I could think of was the horror it would be if she had been there.”
“I ken.” Erskine knew the feeling very well indeed. It was why he had gone to Laura’s house in the first place, in desperation of seeing her. “Then daenae go home yet, Tam. Go see Lennox instead.”
Tam slowly stood to his feet and was clearly about to turn away before he hesitated, looking back.
“I cannae believe her faither would threaten to marry her off to the next man that came along,” Tam’s voice was sharp, despite his exhaustion.
“Faithers, they do odd things for their daughters sometimes,” Erskine grimaced, thinking of Laura’s father.
