Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90574 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90574 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
“I love the feel of you in my arms,” he whispered in her ear.
She refused to admit the same.
“And the scent of you—” He breathed in deeply along her neck. “Intoxicates.”
Her flesh betrayed her, gooseflesh popped up all over her.
He settled his hand over her stomach and she thought for a moment he would—
Light snoring told her otherwise. He had remained true to his word, and while it pleased her, a pesky disappointment assaulted her once again and sleepiness had suddenly vanished.
Her body was alive with passion for him.
She wanted him. She ached to be kissed, touched, and—
She nearly groaned at the thought of him hard and thick and ready to enter her. She chased the seductive thought away, but it refused to go and sprang back into her mind more vividly than before.
No. No, she scolded. Do not think about it.
She shifted and her bottom landed against him. Even soft, his member was impressive.
Stop!
What was wrong with her? She should not be having these thoughts, not after what she had learned. He had lied to her. She could not trust him. She was better off without him.
I will miss sleeping with him.
Damn her wandering mind.
Aliss fought her feelings, fought her desire, fought her own body, until the battle drained her and she finally fell into an exhausted sleep cuddled in her foe’s arms.
Chapter 22
“You have changed.” Aliss looked up from where she kneeled in her garden, shading her eyes from the sun with her hand to see her sister standing there.
“I was angry at first,” Fiona continued.
Aliss dusted her hands free of soil and sat back on her haunches. The urgency in her sister’s voice meant Fiona had something she needed to say so Aliss remained silent and listened.
“I thought that you did not need me anymore.”
“I do not need you to look after me anymore.” Aliss thought she heard a sniffle and went to her sister’s side. “I missed you. I missed our morning walks together and talking with you.”
“What did you not miss?”
Aliss hooked arms with her. “Your constant concern. You constantly protecting me. This time on my own has given me a chance to learn about myself. No one was there to pick me up and brush me off or shield me from harm. There was only me.”
Fiona grabbed hold of her hand. “You are not alone anymore. Tarr and I will go with you to the Isle of Non. Raynor, Mother, and Father can join us and we will all help you so that at the end of six months you—”
“No!” Aliss took a step away from her sister. “I want to finish this on my own.”
“You intend to spend the next six months alone with—with—”
“My husband.” Aliss said what Fiona refused to admit. “This is for me to do.”
“Nonsense—”
“No, it is not nonsense. Have you not listened to what I have said?”
“I heard, but what is wrong with your family helping you?”
“Aliss has family to help her.”
Both women turned to face Rogan.
“Tarr and I have spoken. Tomorrow you and he sail home, and my wife, I, and the clan sail to the Isle of Non,” he said, and walked over to Aliss.
“We will see about that,” Fiona said and walked off, her steps turning to a hasty run.
“Tarr will handle her,” Rogan said.
“In only two days’ time you have come to know my brother-in-law, but then you are similar, both patient, cunning, and understanding when necessary.”
Rogan turned away from her. “Do you need help in collecting the plants from your garden?”
She had meant to compliment not insult, but he seemed annoyed, and rather than question him, she ignored it. She had argued enough with her sister over issues that she had already decided upon. This matter was for her to handle, whether anyone liked it or not, and that included her husband.
“I need no help,” she said, annoyed. “Do I appear fragile?”
He looked her up and down and grinned. “Not at all.”
Her cheeks flared red.
His grin grew wider.
“I do not need you. I do not need my sister. I do not need anyone. Go away and leave me be.” She dropped down on her knees and went to work in the soil.
A moment later she was startled to find herself abruptly and unexpectedly hoisted to her feet. Rogan gripped her arm and brought her nose to nose with him.
“Need me or not, I am your husband and I am here for you and I will remind you of that often. I want you to know—nay, I want to you to feel—how much I love you.”
He kissed her then, like a man trying to prove something—and he did. He proved that no matter what doubts she might harbor concerning their love, she could not doubt her desire for him.
He ended the kiss abruptly, to her regret, and rested his forehead to hers. Their breathing was labored and their passion tittered on the edge, about to tumble over.