CHAPTER 28
Consummate our marriage.
That was something the priest had said, hadn’t he?
Skye closed her eyes, losing herself in a memory. The memory of her wedding day.
One Year Ago
Skyestood opposite the man she was going to marry. Her heart pounded in her chest.
This is really happening. I’m really getting married.
“And do ye, Evander Dunn, Laird of Clan Bryden, take this woman to be yer lawfully wedded wife?”
Evander met Skye’s gaze squarely, his large, warm hands wrapped securely around hers.
“I do,” he answered evenly, without a hint of a waver in his voice.
A shiver rolled through her. She’d been experiencing more and more of those shivers lately around Evander. Their marriage was a political one; she’d made that abundantly clear. He wanted his clan to thrive, she wanted her clan to thrive, and that was that.
But she’d be lying if she said that he wasn’t an attractive man. He was, very much so, and what sort of woman could pretend to be indifferent to a man like that?
Skye became aware that her throat was dry and firmly swallowed, trying to work moisture into her mouth in time for her vows.
The priest turned to her with a smile. “And do ye, Skye Brennan of Clan MacCrimmon, take this man to be yer lawfully wedded husband?”
She let out her breath in a shaky little flutter. “I do.”
“Then I now pronounce ye man and wife.”
Applause erupted in the chapel.
If Skye glanced over her shoulder, she’d have seen the pleased, smiling face of her mother alongside her brother’s more cautious smile. Leah would be there, sitting beside Mason, of course, along with the rest of her maids.
The priest pointedly didn’t say “Now ye may kiss the bride” as he would during other weddings. Perhaps Evander had asked him not to.
As the applause died down, Evander leaned back, gently releasing her hands. He wasn’t going to kiss her, then.
Skye was conscious of a tingle of disappointment.
Well, never mind that,she told herself. Ye can kiss him later. We’ll have to consummate the marriage. To finalize it. Make sure there cannae be an annulment.
Goosebumps crawledover her body at the thought.
Later, she told herself. Later.
Present Day
Evander stood in front of her, bare-chested still. The fire played over the firm planes of his chest. Swallowing, she took a step forward, her hand outstretched.
He stood still, arms hanging by his sides, and let her fingers slide over him. His muscles twitched under her hands. She flattened her palms over expanses of warm skin, her mouth going dry.
“Ye are so beautiful,” he whispered, taking a step toward her.
She tilted her head back, looking up at him. Her vision swam.
“I dreamed of ye,” he continued, stepping closer still. His chest brushed hers. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her cheek. “I used to wake up breathless, with sweat streaming off me, as hard as a river stone.”
