Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 43414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 217(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 217(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
There was no waiting, passion took command, turned the rhythm fast, the thrusts harder until Aura shattered, exploding with pleasure. She bit down on her lower lip when she would have preferred to scream out Declan’s name, but she feared her cries of pleasure would echo throughout the village.
Declan contained his groan as well as he emptied into her, leaving a part of himself with her, always with her.
He rolled off her onto his back, though he took hold of her hand. He turned his head toward her and smiled. “Your bottom lip looks like it took a hard blow.”
Her fingers went to feel it, and she cringed. “I couldn’t very well let the whole village hear my cries of pleasure.”
“Why not?” he asked with feigned ignorance, then chuckled. “At least they would know I’m working hard at making sure the clan will have an heir to lead them.”
Aura gasped and her hand went to her stomach and her eyes to the lone shelf where only a couple of crocks sat, not having time to completely settle into her work cottage.
“I should have taken something to prevent that until your problem could be solved.”
He turned on his side. “What does it matter? We are wed and will stay wed and it is only natural that a bairn would follow.” His brow scrunched. “Unless… like never thinking you would marry, you never gave thought to having bairns?”
Her smile spread wide. “Nay, not at all. I loved having siblings and I, out of the three of us, was the one who insisted would have the most bairns.”
“I can make that happen,” he said with a wicked smiled, “with your help, of course.”
Her smile turned soft. “I have known moments of happiness and contentment, but here now with you, wed, knowing we have more days ahead to share, fills me with a happiness I never thought possible.”
He kissed her cheek. “That makes two of us. Never had I thought to find a woman I could not only love deeply but that I could find such rich happiness with.”
Aura turned to rest against him, and they lay enjoying the quiet moment together.
A knock at the door broke the quiet, firm and insistent.
Aura sat up as Declan swung his legs off the bed and crossed the room, pulling the door open. Hamish stood there, his expression tight, worry shadowing his eyes.
“You’re needed at the keep,” he said, his voice low. His gaze moving between them before adding, “Both of you.”
Declan’s shoulders tensed. “What’s wrong?”
Hamish hesitated, then stepped inside as if to be certain no one else could overhear. “Cleric William from Donchill Abbey is here. He says he’s come to wed you.”
The air in the room seemed to still. Declan shook his head. “That’s impossible. The cleric was already here. We are wed.”
Hamish met his gaze evenly. “Cleric William claims Donchill Abbey received my request for a cleric, and no other, and he was sent here by Abbott Bennet.”
Declan’s brow furrowed, confusion giving way to something darker. “If not a cleric… then who?”
Aura’s breath caught. The answer slid from her lips in a whisper, chilling the room.
“A warlock.”
CHAPTER 17
Hamish led them into the Great Hall, Declan keeping firm hold of Aura’s hand, the sound of their footsteps echoing in the hush of the keep. Word had not yet spread about the sudden and disturbing news, but the stillness felt heavy, as if the stone walls themselves were waiting to hear what would be said.
Cleric William stood near the hearth, his robes dusted from travel, his hands clasped before him. His eyes moved first to Declan, then to Aura, and he inclined his head politely.
“My lord, my lady,” he greeted, his voice steady but not without curiosity. “I received a request from this keep for a marriage rite, and I have come at once.”
Declan didn’t immediately answer. He studied the man. He was of good height, fine features, though a scar, healed but visible, marred his one cheek, and his shoulder-length white hair was neatly kept. He wore a clean brown robe and there was a quiet authority in his manner. He found no trace of the sly, watchful look he remembered from the cleric who had stood before them not long ago.
“There is… a complication,” Declan said finally, his voice even. “A man claiming to be a cleric has already wed us.”
William’s brow creased. “No such man came from Donchill Abbey. I am the only cleric Abbott Bennet sent.”
Aura felt the tension tightening between them. If they told him the truth, that she suspected the man was a warlock, would he bless their union, or condemn it? She kept silent, her hand closing tightly around Declan’s.
William’s gaze moved between them. “If the rite was not performed by a true servant of the Church, it is not recognized in the eyes of God. Men have been known to pose as clerics to take advantage of god-fearing people, to get food and shelter and even coins.”