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Ian was overwhelmed by her beauty. He drowned in her kisses and lost himself in her eyes. This part of the world was idyllic. He had shown her his soul, and she had not turned away. He had shared with her his plans for the future, and the fact that she had led him here proved to him that she wanted the same thing. He hadn’t imagined it would be this soon before she changed her mind about him, but he was not going to complain, nor was he going to question the affection she was giving him.

Her body was soft and it felt natural for her to be in his arms. As they kissed he swam forward, kicking out and pushing her towards the shore. In one mighty leap, they burst out of the lake and fell onto the soft, grassy shore. Water trickled down the curves of her body, making her radiant beauty glisten in the soft water. Her skin was clear and flawless, apart from the small scar that rested near her waist. Yet instead of marring her beauty it actually made her more beautiful to him, and he was overwhelmed with passion.

She pushed herself up on her elbows as she landed. Her hair, made dark from the water, was heavy and rested over her breasts. His hands reached out to her, holding her close. He felt her body yield. Her lips were warm and inviting, and the rest of her body trembled under him. He looked down and gazed at every inch of her, loving the sight of her sweet femininity. He never imagined sex could be like this with her. Before it had always been a rough and quick thing, only ever to purge biological urges, but with Ainsly it was different. It meant something more, and he wanted to do things to her that he had rarely done to anyone else.

He slowly caressed her body, enjoying the sight of pleasure dancing across her face. He toyed with her breasts and watched her nipples harden before he brought his hands farther down, brushing her inner thigh. She gasped and shuddered as his fingers delicately moved closer to her femininity. When he touched her, she quaked with pleasure, and soft moans escaped her slightly parted lips. He found that he wanted to hear more of those. He licked his lips and was filled with an intense hunger, one that could only be satisfied by her. He bowed and buried himself in between her thighs, wrapping his thick arms around them to hold her in position, and then he made love to her with his mouth.

He lapped at her body, tasting her sweetness, and enjoyed the sharp moans that burst from her lungs. Her hands came down and rested on his scalp as his tongue danced inside her. He found himself bristling with desire as he pleasured her, looking up to see her arch her neck back and let her deep, guttural moans cry out to the heavens.

When he had had his fill and watched her thighs grow slick with her sweetness, he raised himself up and came over her, kissing her deeply. She sank into the grass and parted her legs for him. Ian plunged inside her, taking his wife, wrapping his arms around her tightly as he pressed his lips against her skin. He breathed in her fragrance and lost himself in his feelings for her. With every thrust, it felt as though he was entering a wonderful new world. With every whisper of pleasure that brushed against his ear, he trembled and felt a profound, intense sensation flowing through him.

While the lake was still and tranquil behind them, they were a roiling mass of tension and lust. Their bodies slammed into each other. His was long and hard, thrusting deep into her; her legs arched up around him, locking him in position, encouraging him to get even deeper. The water from the lake mingled with their sweat, trickling down his muscled body before he felt the sweet release coming towards him. He thought of the future, of children that hadn’t been born. He thought of the steel in her heart and the way she raced away from him. When he opened his eyes he saw only her. The rest of the world melted away, as did the rest of his past. The trauma was burned away. His heart was opened to everything good and wonderful, and it was all because of her. He had never expected to find this kind of deep feeling in a wife; he had never known anything like this existed, but now he couldn’t deny the truth in his heart.

It all swirled together in a hazy miasma and then burst out of him in an explosion of emotion. His eyes clamped shut, and Ainsly squealed as the pain blurred with pleasure before they lay there, still and tranquil, catching their breath in the ardor of their love. He kissed her deeply, as though to try and give her some sense of the emotion that he felt, but he had no idea if she could truly tell how much she was coming to mean to him. It meant everything to him that he could trust her.

He rolled off of her and lay on the grass, letting his arms splay out. Ainsly rested her head on his chest, curling her legs up. There were no words that needed to be spoken for they could bask in the glory of their love. He thought back to the past and how alone he had felt on that first night when everything had been so dark and terrifying. He had come a long way from being that scared little boy, and there had been many tribulations along the way. But every decision he had made had led him here, to Ainsly, and so none of his decisions could have been bad ones. He had finally found a place where he could find his future, and it was all happening with Ainsly. She now meant more to him than taking the keep, for having a clan was one thing, but having a family was another.

After some time, he tilted his head to the side and looked at her. Her eyes were half-lidded and she looked as though she might fall asleep. She smiled at him though, and her cheeks flushed with color.

“I’ve been meaning tae ask ye something, lass. Where did ye get that scar?” He glanced down at her waist. Ainsly immediately winced and placed her hand over it, hiding it. Ian reached down and pulled her hand away. “Ye dinnae need tae hide it from me. I’m the last man that should cast aspersions on anyone with a scar.” He grinned and looked down at the crisscrosses on his own body. He remembered the origin of most of them, but there were so many he couldn’t remember them all.

He leaned down and kissed the scar, which seemed to alleviate her concerns.

“I was just a wee lass. I used tae watch my da and Calum dueling, and I wanted tae be just like them. Sae Seamus and I, we got ourselves a couple of training swords and acted out what we haed seen.” A smile flickered upon her face as she recalled the memory. “Of course they were tae heavy for us and we should hae been using wooden swords, but we were tae young tae think of that. He caught me. I cried out in pain. Da gave me a right telling off, but I told him that I wanted tae learn how tae fight, tae be just like him and sae I could defend the keep.”

“He must hae taught ye well,” Ian said.

“Who taught ye?”

“I taught myself mostly, which explains how I got most of these scars,” he said with a wry smile that quickly faded. “I dinnae hae fond memories of my childhood. It went by in a flash. I was a man before I knew it, fighting and killing my way through the world. But I always told myself I was daeing it for a reason, and that one day I would hae a child who never haed tae experience the life I haed.” He pushed himself up and walked to the water before diving in, bathing properly this time, swimming into the middle of the lake, and diving down to coat himself in water. Ainsly remained on the shore for a while, watching him with her knees drawn into her chest before she too rose and slipped into the water, feeling the cool, refreshing embrace of the lake.

Meanwhile, outside of the keep in the dark forests, Calum had sneaked away from his duties to meet with Seamus. His heart was high with hope at the thought of retaking the keep. It was a blemish on his honor that he had let an enemy force invade and take the keep, as well as losing the laird to this brute. It was bad enough that he had taken the keep, but also her honor and virtue! He shook his head and carried his shame deep in his heart. When his laird had died he had made a promise to watch over Ainsly as though she was his own daughter, that he would protect her. Aye, Ainsly was a strong lass, but there were still threats in the world that even she could not fight back. Guilt gnawed at his conscience as he replayed the battle in his mind. The force was overwhelming, but he should have done better. He should have prepared them better. He should have trained his men harder and made them more fearsome warriors.

At least now he had a chance to atone for his mistake by helping Seamus. The promise of rebellion inspired hope in his heart. If it was the last thing he did, he wanted to see the back of the evil brute that had claimed Ainsly as his wife, that had taken this keep as his own, that had spilled so much of their blood. It would be a good day when Ian’s face was twisted in surprise as he realized he hadn’t won yet, and then the horror as a sword is driven into his heart and the last breath slips out of his mouth.

A smile twisted on Calum’s face and his hands clenched into tight balls as he strode through the forest, his aged eyes burning with a youthful intensity. He had lived through the best years of the clan, years of peace, and he wasn’t about to die without seeing the McLallen clan rise again.

He ventured deep into the forest where Ainsly said that Seamus was waiting for him. There had been no meeting agreed, so Calum simply had to hope that Seamus was watching out for him. He dared not call out lest enemy ears should be watching, although he did make more noise than he usually would. He whistled loudly in the hope that he would catch one of the rebel’s ears. In time, a shadow emerged from the trees, and Calum’s face broke out in a wide grin. He rushed up to Seamus and clasped hands with him.

“Lad, it’s great tae see ye!” he exclaimed. Seamus smiled and embraced Calum tightly. Seamus looked in good health, although he was tired and the battle had definitely taken its toll, as had living in the forest. Away from the comforts and shelter of the keep life was hard, especially for people who had been wounded in battle.

“And ye Calum. Ye are a sight for sore eyes. How are ye?”

“I should be asking ye that question.” Calum stepped back and examined the man. His clothes were tattered and bruises blemished his skin still, although most of them were fading.

Seamus laughed wryly and shrugged. “About as good as I can be. It’s nae easy tae live like this, but we are licking our wounds and preparing tae fight back.”

“Aye, Ainsly told me about yer plan. I’m proud of ye, Seamus. I knew that wouldnae be the end of us!”

“I hope sae,” Seamus said. He didn’t sound as confident as Calum. “How are things in the keep?”

Calum scowled. “As bad as they hae ever been. That brute haes me working with his man tae train the army! They’re a cruel people, Seamus. They hae nae respect for any of our ways. They expect everything tae be handed tae them, and they take what they want with nary an apology. I dinnae know how I’m gaeing tae continue. If I dinnae know ye were out here, I think I’d be throwing myself off the walls. This is nae a way tae live.” His voice was grave and his face stricken. He looked every one of his years, as though he lost the race against time, and all the deeds of his life had caught up with him and drained all of his strength in that one moment.

“It will nae be forever. We are getting better, getting stronger. Soon we’ll be able tae attack. I am only sorry that we couldnae prevent the wedding,” Seamus said with a rueful look on his face.

“Aye, well, that vow can be undone just as easily as it was made once this false laird has been dealt with. I just fear for Ainsly.”