He lifted his head and forced her to meet his gaze. “And I love ye, Ferra.”
Tears crowded her eyes as she leaned down and pressed her lips to his, sealing their love between them. “I’m vera sorry, lass,” he whispered, cupping her cheek with his hand. “I’m sorry that I didnae tell ye sooner.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him, so grateful that they were able to share these words between them when so many others couldn’t.
“Wot now?” she asked after a moment, feeling his hand rub her back lightly. “Wot do we do now?”
“First, we bury the dead,” Kaiden replied. “Then we rebuild the warriors for the next battle. I must go tae the clan we defeated and broker a treaty of sorts.”
Ferra lifted her head. “I would like tae join ye.”
His eyes crinkled in the corners when he smiled. “Aye, lass. I’m never letting ye leave mah side. Ye’re far too much trouble when I leave ye alone.”
“Too much trouble? I was trying tae save yer life.”
He touched the tip of her nose with his finger. “Aye, lass. And the moment ye wielded that sword, I couldnae have been prouder of ye. Ye might be a healer, Ferra McGregor, but there is also a warrior that lives inside ye.”
Ferra wrinkled her nose. “I think I will stay with being a healer. I dinnae like all the blood and violence.”
Kaiden chuckled, and it was the best thing Ferra had heard in quite some time. “Then I need for ye tae promise me ye will never put yerself in that sort of danger again.”
She stared into his eyes, her heart brimming with love for him. “I cannae promise ye that.”
His expression darkened. “Why in bloody hell not?”
“Because,” she answered, pressing her forehead to his. “If ye are in danger, I will always be in danger. We are attached, ye see, and I cannae allow the other half of mah heart go when I cannae follow.”
Kaiden exhaled a breath. “Ferra...”
“Nay,” she interrupted. “There’s nothing more tae say, Kaiden.”
He relented, and for that, she was grateful. Her life would never be full without him in it, and there was nothing he could say to make her change her mind.
“Fine,” Kaiden finally said. “I will concede that if I go tae battle, ye are likely tae follow.”
Ferra lifted her head. “Wot aboot tae bed? Will ye follow me tae bed?”
He smirked. “I would follow ye tae the ends of the earth, lass. But bed sounds right fine tae me.”
Later, after Kaiden had drifted off to sleep next to her, Ferra propped her head up on her elbow and watched him sleep, counting each rise and fall of his chest as he did so. She wasn’t worried about him any longer, but content now that her strong, powerful warrior of a husband was going to be by her side. In all her days, Ferra never imagined she would love someone as fiercely as she loved Kaiden.
“I love ye, Kaiden McGregor,” she whispered to him, even though she knew he couldn’t hear her. “Ye are the vera air I breathe, the lullaby that soothes mah aching soul. I never want tae imagine mah life, my future, without ye.”
The words were simple but true. She simply couldn’t live without him.
“’Tis nice, Ferra. Vera nice.”
Ferra gasped as he cracked open one eye. “Ye’re awake?”
“With ye staring at me, how can a Scot sleep?” he asked before reaching for her. Ferra was pulled on top of his chest, and he pushed her falling hair out of her eyes for her, the brush full of tenderness. “But I’m glad ye said them tae me,” he said softly, his expression growing tender. “Because I feel the same way aboot ye, lass.”
Ferra opened her mouth, but he shook his head.
“Nay, let me add tae it. Ye are the reason I wake in the morning, the reason I fight so hard tae remain on this earth. Ye are the soul for which mine lives for, the face I want tae see when I’m old and grey. I want tae have bairns with ye, Ferra. I want tae build a family, a life, a future with ye. Nothing else matters tae me—not the title, not being a warrior—because if I dinnae have ye by mah side, I dinnae have anything at all.”
21
The next day, Kaiden made his way to his father’s study, feeling the pull of his muscles with each step. To keep Ferra from making a fuss, his injured shoulder was in a sling to keep him from moving it, and he was having to grip the side of the wall for his leg, but all in all, he was alive.
