“I am so verra pleased ye are here,” Taryn blurted out, horrified that he would think she was anything but glad to see him. “It is all too much. I cannae get my mind to stop moving.”
Before she knew what he was doing, James tugged her into him and pressed a firm, warm kiss to her lips. He stole her breath completely and then moved again, releasing her from his touch before she could settle into him.
“Did that help?” he asked, serious but with a gleam in his eye.
She blinked, her emotions having been tugged in a new, sweeter direction. Unable to come up with a response quickly enough, James bent his head and kissed her again, longer and slower this time. Her body answered him in a way that her words never could. Her hands, having been cold fists pressed against his chest, unfurled and splayed across him. She sighed and let his warmth seep into her.
“How about now?” he tried, having pulled away once more.
Her cheeks flushed as a more genuine smile emerged on her face. James smiled back at her, the twinkle in his eyes whisking away all the turmoil she had been burdened with only moments before.
“Once more, for good measure.”
Despite the warning, Taryn was still not prepared for the passion and heat that now infused their kiss. James took his time, wooing her into a complete state of relaxation. Mercifully, her mind focused on nothing but him, relishing his touch. Her bones and thoughts melted away until only James existed. She didn’t hear the birds chirping, or the gentle rushing stream several yards away. She wasn’t thinking about Lachlan and Aila and if they had averted their gaze to give the new couple privacy. She could only think of James.
When he ended the moment, Taryn nearly grunted in frustration, every part of her craving him as though he were the tonic to ease all of her suffering. James chuckled and pressed his forehead into hers, keeping her as close as he could.
“How did ye… Why did…” she stammered, trying to get the words to form on her now swollen lips. “What made ye think to kiss me?”
“Because I ken that when I kiss ye, I can think only of ye. I suppose I was hoping it would be the same for ye.”
The simple truth in his answer melted her almost as much as his kisses had. Her eyes drifted shut, finally content to be at rest with him, her tears gone with no sign of returning.
“Taryn,” he said after a moment, her name sounding like a cry of anguish rather than a beckon of love. “I will never be able to apologize enough for what I have done, the part I have played in all of this. I was an idiot for coming after ye. I should have let ye be, happy in the life ye were building for yerself.”
She shook her head against his, but James carried on.
“When I saw ye standing on that wretched platform, I could nae breathe. I thought my life was going to end right alongside yers. I thought I was too late. And I hated myself for having to leave ye, abandoned with nay promise that I would return. It is by pure luck that I found Lachlan and Aila, but I still hate that it took so long to get back to ye. I am so sorry, my love. I am so verra sorry.”
Their roles reversed, Taryn caressed his cheeks, shushing him and his regrets away. She pressed a kiss to his right cheek, then his left before moving up to kiss each eye, the tip of his nose, and finally captured his lips.
“I am all right,” she told him after another breathtaking moment. “I am safe, thanks to ye. The entire time I was in my cell, I thought of nothing but my family, my real family. It was yer courage and determination to save the clan that made mebrave. I thought of how much Aila and Sorcha love me, I thought of the way the children laugh and play games. I thought of how much I love ye.”
Her last admission was a whispered one, the words foreign and vulnerable.
“It is because of all of ye that I did nae fall into despair. Even as I stood in front of that noose, I kent that I had lived a good life, having felt yer love. I did nae feel alone.”
“Och, my verra brave lass. I swear to ye, for the rest of my days, I will never leave ye alone again. I will stand by yer side if ye will have me. I love ye, Taryn. My life is pointless without ye, and I want to spend the rest of it with ye, protecting ye.”
“What are ye saying?” She asked, her breath hitched in her chest.
“Will ye marry me, Taryn McGregor?”
Once again, he had stolen her ability to speak. Nodding furiously, Taryn did the only thing she could think of—she kissed him.
