The Laird’s Runaway Bride (Charmed by the Sassenachs #1)

Epilogue

Amelia laughed as Arran twirled her around beneath his arm, the ceilidh music filling the hall over the sound of chatter and laughter. Though he had sworn up and down that he wasn’t much of a dancer, he had proved himself to be far more competent than she ever could have imagined, especially when it came to dancing the Gay Gordons, her favorite of the ceilidh routines she had learned.

He caught her in his arms before she tripped in her dizziness, and she hung onto him for dear life, laughing as she hooked her arms around his shoulders.

“You know, you’re not too bad at this,” she murmured to him as she leaned in for a brief kiss. He kissed her back, a little more deeply than she had been anticipating. A warmth began to spread across her belly, and she pulled back just before the flush could reach her cheeks. When she did, she noticed the disapproving looks of some of the older guests at the large table that ran around the outside of the hall, but she paid them little mind.

Tonight was about having fun, after all. It was the wedding feast of one of their favorite subjects, Harriet, and Amelia had insisted on throwing a grand event to celebrate their new union. Arran was still getting used to the idea of having feasts and ceilidhs and parties, but Amelia insisted on it every chance she got. She had spent so much of her life feeling as though there was nothing to be excited about, and now, she intended to fill her life with as much joy as possible.

Not a hard task, with Arran by her side. Since his daring rescue, she had found herself settled in at the Keep once and for all. It seemed that any who had been unconvinced by their quick union had been made sure of their feelings for one another after Arran had saved her, and she was treated as the lady of the clan. While she was still growing used to her new status, she enjoyed the respect she commanded, and the hours she could spend reading books in his study, undisturbed.

Of course, she had her duties, as well; visiting the local town with Arran, making certain that everyone was taken care of and fed. They had found that, to his surprise, women had been more comfortable opening up to her than to him, and they had discovered a few instances of men who had been loyal to him mistreating their wives or daughters. Arran had soon put a stop to that, creating a safer place for everyone who lived in his purview.

By now, that included Effie. Amelia had been to visit her a few times, to make certain that she had settled into her new home well. She was heavily pregnant now, fit to burst, and, while Amelia knew that their friendship would never be the same again, she knew she had made the right choice in offering her a second chance. The MacAllans had caused them no problems since their attack, and she knew there was no way they would ever attempt something like it again.

Nor, much to her relief, would he make a move on either of her sisters. Arran had confronted her father, at her request, and made it abundantly clear that he would not stand for them being sold off to the highest bidder for marriage at any point in their future. When he had realized how much the thought of it had been plaguing Amelia, he had gone out of his way to make sure that her father understood what the stakes were; that Arran would deal with him in his own way if he dared even consider selling them off to pay off his debts. Her father, though less than happy about being cowed by his son-in-law, had eventually relented. Arran had never told her exactly what he had done to make him give in, but she sensed that some firm threats had been involved.

“Do you know who that man is?”

A voice popped in from beside her, and she glanced around to see Lily at her arm, though her gaze was fixed on the dancefloor ahead of them. Amelia followed her gaze, towards a man who was making a pointed effort not to stare too hard in Lily’s direction, but his true intentions were clear.

“Hmm, I’m not sure,” she replied. “Why?”

Lily’s features suddenly flushed crimson. She glanced away from her quickly.

“Oh, nothing.” she replied. “I was just… wondering, that’s all.”

“And are there any other people you’re wondering about?” she asked, playing as though she was just asking the most innocent of questions. “Anyone else you’d like to know about? Or anyone else Mary would, for that matter?”

She shot Amelia a pointed look.

“Ever since you got married, all you can think about is getting Mary and me married off, too.”

She cocked an eyebrow.

“I said nothing about getting married, now, did I?” she teased her lightly. Lily stuck her tongue out at her playfully, before she retreated to the dancefloor, to join the festivities once more.

Amelia watched her sisters as they danced. Mary and Lily joined in on the strip-the-willow line of twirling partners, their hair flying, their faces painted with joy. Both girls were so youthful, but at the same time, so full of life and promise. She could almost see their futures laid out ahead of them. Not simply marriage, as she had been teasing Lily about, but anything they wanted. Knowledge, education, travel, adventure. She’d do all she could in order to give them the freedom that she had been gifted by her beloved husband. As Arran and Amelia paused to pick up a drink, she watched them, a smile creasing up her face.

“Have ye noticed that Lily has been dancing with that man all night?” Arran asked, leaning in and lowering his voice, nodding towards where her sister was laughing at the joke one of their guests had made.

“I have,” she replied, raising her eyebrows at him. “I don’t see much of a problem with it. Do you?”

“They’re a little too young tae be?—”

“Arran, they’re grown women,” she teased him. “They’re perfectly capable of making their own decisions, whatever those might be.”

He grimaced slightly as he took a swig of ale. He clearly didn’t much like the idea of the two of them having any kind of gentleman callers, but Amelia supposed that was to be expected. He had taken them as his own family after he had confronted Amelia’s father about them, and it was clear that he was protective of their wellbeing. Amelia could hardly be annoyed by his concern. In fact, she found it charming, an extension of his love for her.

“Besides, I’m sure we have more pressing matters to attend to, don’t we?” she asked, raising her eyebrows at him pointedly. Now, that caught his attention. He grinned, a wicked glint in his eye.

“Aye, I suppose we do,” he agreed, and he tugged her towards the door of the main hall, leading her through the thronging crowds who were still dancing and drinking and celebrating.

She followed him, a flutter in her belly. The business they had to take care of, of course, was they were trying for a child. They had been giving it all their energy for the last few months, and, while she felt she may already have conceived their heir, there was no harm in making extra sure.

Outside the hall, he pushed her up against the wall, kissing her hard, his teeth catching on her lip. She giggled, wrapping her arms around him.

“Here? But what if we’re caught?”

“I’m the Laird,” he growled back at her. “And whatever I want tae dae, I will.”

With that, he kissed her again, hitching her from the ground and pushing her up against the wall roughly as he pushed her skirts up. She gasped against his lips, a shock of pleasure coursing through her body. She knew she would never find anyone else who made him feel the way he did, that wildness in him that softened to something tame in her hands.

With a few shifts in his stance, he took himself into his hand, and guided his manhood against her entrance. As soon as she felt him nudging against her, she groaned. Though she had grown used to these passionate encounters between them, the thrill she felt every time he drew close to her would never grow old.

Seeming to sense that they were short on time, he moved into her in one deep stroke. She cried out, and he kissed her again, capturing the noise before anyone else could hear it.

She wrapped her legs around him, drawing him into her deeper and deeper. She could feel that deep throb inside of her body, a sure sign that her release was growing close. All the excitement of dancing with him, being near him, breathing in his scent all night, it had made it near impossible for her to control herself. She pushed her hands into his hair and kissed him passionately, their tongues marking out a dance against one another, in time to the music from the room next door.

He thrust deep into her one last time and stilled, a low growl emanating through his whole body. She could feel it more than she could hear it, a shock of pleasure consuming her as she felt the warmth of him inside of her most intimate part. A few moments later, she found herself crashing into her own release, her body shuddering against his as the pleasure took control of her. She could feel it tingling from the soles of her feet all the way to the top of her head, and, when she pulled back to catch her breath, he could tell he was feeling just the same thing.

As he gently planted her back on her feet again, she found they were trembling. Even now, he had a way of touching her that made her light up as nobody else could. She kissed him once more, on the corner of his lips, breathing in his scent, wondering how she could ever have looked at this man as anything other than the perfect lover he was.

“Dae ye think that’s done it, aye?” he joked with her lightly, as she pushed down her skirts. She bit her lip playfully.

“Well, I suppose we’d better do it again, just to make sure,” she replied seriously, as though this was some great issue that they’d have to attend to together. He laughed.

“If you think it’s safe to leave yer sisters in the company of strange men…”

“They’re far stranger than any of those men,” she assured him, slipping her hand into his. “Come. I’m sure we could find a far better way to pass the evening…”

He followed her towards their room, and she grinned as she heard his footsteps tracing behind her. She was grateful that he’d allow her to set the lead, once in a while, that he was not one of those men who insisted on having everything just as he had imagined it. He was strong enough to allow her the freedom she craved. He knew the cost of trying to contain a woman, and he cared about her too much to ever let her slip through his fingers.

They reached the doors of their chambers, and, as he kissed her again, he paused for a moment, gazing at her, as he often did, with that look on his face that seemed to speak to his surprise that she was still there, that she still cared for him as deeply as she did.

“I love you,” he told her softly, as he brushed his lips against hers. She smiled into his mouth. She would never tire of hearing him say those words to her.

“And I love you,” she murmured. Before she could even finish getting the words out, he swept her up into his arms, drawing a squeal of delight from her mouth, and carried her towards their bed, the bed where they would make their future, make their family.

Thank you so much for reading my novel!