“Ach, lass, I’ve never been more ready. I ken I’m supposed to wait for ye at the front, but I see no reason no’ to walk ye in, do ye?”
“Now that we are together, nay. None at all.”
Inside, kneeling before the priest, Jamie consumed Aftyn’s awareness. His sleeve brushed hers, lending her support without actually touching her until the priest had him take her hand. She smiled up at him as he slipped a gold ring on her finger, barely feeling the metal warmed by his hand. His flesh, his heat, consumed her. She struggled to comprehend anything the priest said until she heard the words, “Now and forever, ye are man and wife.”
Jamie helped her stand, then bent to kiss her. Aftyn inhaled his scent and his taste, determined to recall everything about this moment for the rest of her life. Jamie was hers, and she his.
“I love ye, Aftyn,” he told her after he lifted his lips from hers. “I’ll love ye forever.”
“Forever willna be long enough, my husband.”
He smiled and turned her to face his family and their guests. She hadn’t noticed on the way in, but people she’d never seen before filled the kirk. She leaned toward Jamie and whispered, “I have a lot of names to learn, aye?”
Jamie laughed at that, earning smiles from the gathered crowd. “Ye do, but I’ll help ye.”
“Ye have been helping me since we met. When do I get to help ye?”
“Freeing me from yer da’s dungeon wasna enough?”
“That was too easy. And Braden helped.”
“Well, then, wife, if ye want more of a challenge, I’ll give all ye want. Tonight, love. Tonight.”
* * *
Aftyn sat in bed,dressed in a beautifully embroidered, borrowed silk night rail, thinking back over the wedding celebration while waiting for Jamie to arrive. She could still hear a low rumbling of voices echoing from the great hall. With food and drink aplenty, the celebration continued without her.
Where was Jamie? She fingered the silk of her gown, hoping Jamie liked it, and liked her in it.
Since she’d left Keith with only the clothes on her back, his clan had been generous with the gifts of clothing and sundries. Her wedding dress and this night rail were the prettiest she’d ever seen. Moina had promised dresses more suitable for every day on the morrow. Not too early, she’d added with a wink.
Aftyn had met Jamie’s namesake and his wife, a Fletcher, at the celebration, as well as a host of other Lathan relatives, friends, and allies. She’d gone from having hardly any family to the largest she’d ever seen. They’d all been lovely to her, but she didn’t think she’d recall all the names she’d heard. Many of them would leave on the morrow, so perhaps those left behind would be a more manageable, memorable number.
She was doing her best to distract herself. Jamie would be here soon, and then the wedding night would begin. He would make her truly and completely his. Part of her couldn’t wait, and part of her was terrified. Not of him, but of what they must do, and of how her life would change forever.
And yes, that made her very happy, but very nervous, too.
The door handle rattled. “Aftyn?”
Jamie’s voice warmed her and she called out, “Come in,” suddenly eager to see him.
The door opened and Jamie stepped inside, closed and locked it, then turned to regard her. “Ye were a lovely bride, but seeing ye in my bed, ye take my breath away.”
She felt her skin heat and knew she blushed. “Where did ye think I would be?”
“I hoped for right where ye are, awake and waiting for me.”
She pushed the covers aside, slipped her legs off the bed and stood, then went to Jamie, who wrapped her in his arms. “I’ll always wait for ye. I dinna want ye to leave me, ever, but if ye must, ye’ll ken where I’ll be.”
“I never want to leave ye, either, but ye ken there will be times I must fight for my clan.”
“Then ye must keep safe and return to me.”
Jamie bent his head and kissed her. “Always. I love ye, Aftyn.”
Aftyn lifted her arms and tunneled her fingers into his hair. “Then take me, husband. Make me yers forever.”
Aftyn slid the pin from his tartan sash on his broad shoulder and set it aside, then unbuckled his belt and let it drop to the floor. Yards of plaid wool followed it, puddling around him and between them, leaving Jamie in his saffron léine and boots.
