Was there a part that bored or that you didn't really like in the book? *

Even a character, a scene, or anything. You could say no if nothing bothered you.

Which was the part you liked most in the book? *

Even a character, a scene, or anything that you enjoyed.

Do you enjoy previews (2-3 chapters sent before the official release date)? *

• Yes! I love reading a short teaser before actually getting the book.
• No. I find them pointless and almost never read them. I prefer to start the book when it's out and I can continue reading.

Do you pre-order books to make sure you'll receive them before anyone or you wait for the release date? *

• I love pre-ordering books! This way I can have them earlier straight to my library and read them immediately.
• I usually wait for the official release date and get the book then.

Anything else you'd like to share? *

Submit

Two months later…

“Dinnae go yet,” Elara pleaded with Kaden. “Stay five more minutes.”

“Yer ladies will be coming tae get ye ready soon fer the wedding. If I dinnae leave soon,” Kaden said, though he already felt his determination slipping away, “I’ll be caught in me bride’s bed before we are even married.”

“Oh well.” Elara shrugged it off and reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down into another kiss.

There was not a stitch separating them as their bodies entwined beneath the sheet. Kaden hadn’t been able to resist her the night before. Once they had retired for the night, he’d crept into her chamber. They had made love once then fallen asleep, their limbs entangled together.

To wake up with the sun shining on his face through the curtains and Elara half slung across him, her pale blonde hair strewn across his chest, was a sight more intoxicating than ale. He now was above her as they talked and kissed, though he was trying to fight doing anymore, fearing that at any moment they would be disturbed and discovered.

“We have hours until the wedding,” Elara said between kisses. “Ye cannae leave me now.”

“Why are ye trying tae seduce me again when I am marrying ye today?” Kaden laughed, moving his lips to kiss all the way down her neck. He felt her tremble with delight as his hand passed across her breast, squeezing softly, temptingly, then reaching around her back and down to cup her bare rear. “Ye had me from that first night. Then again, ye kenned that, didnae ye?”

“Well, I tried.”

“Such modesty, Fire.”

“With ye? Aye, already modest,” she jested.

As he moved down her body, kissing her breasts, he took one of them between his lips, kissing it lovingly, pleasuring her, enjoying the way she arched her back, pressing up into him. Her legs had also parted around his hips, ready for them to make love again.

It was impossible for Kaden to pull himself away from this woman. Not only was she the love of his life, but one touch from her made him mad. He reached down with his hand, his fingers toying at the top of her thighs as he teased her with what they could do.

“We dinnae have time fer this,” he whispered against her breasts. “We need tae stop.”

“Then why are ye reaching fer more?” she asked, breathily.

He couldn’t stop himself. Maybe he had just a few more minutes with her before they had to pull away.

He moved down her body, kissing along her abdomen, past her belly button, then across her hip. When he reached her center, he pressed harder with his fingers, slipping one inside of her. She shuddered with pleasure, her hips rocking up toward him. He worked her, being careful to pump her continuously with his hand before he placed his tongue to that pleasurable spot just above where they were connected.

She moaned at once, pressing her hands into the covers beneath them.

He watched her, rocking her body with his tongue and his fingers, desperate to hear her cry his name. She kept writhing, rocking her body into his, completely at his mercy with pleasure.

He needed to hear it, hear those words again. He never thought that hearing Elara tell him that she was his would be such a thrill, but it was. As if she had read his mind, she said it now.

“More Kaden. Only ye. I could only ever imagine this with ye,” she said, breaking off to moan his name again.

He shifted his hand out of her. He would give her more if she wanted it.

He rolled the two of them over, moving her into a new position, so that she was on her hands and knees before him, facing the pillows. He moved behind her, reaching down with his hands to caress her rear before lining himself up with her entrance. He didn’t quite enter her. He just teased her with his very tip.

“Who dae ye belong tae, Elara?” he asked huskily. “Who?”

“Ye!” she said without hesitation, rocking back onto him, trying to move him inside of her. He chuckled deeply, running his hand along the curve of her back. “Today, I will be yers and nay other’s. After the wedding…” she paused, moaning as he pushed into her just a little more. “I am nae sure I will be able tae wait fer tonight.”

Her words conjured all sorts of ideas as to where they could consummate the marriage. They could sneak off to the bedchamber earlier, when their families were celebrating, but they could find somewhere else. They could sneak away to his study when no one was looking, exploring one another on his desk. He planned to live out such a fantasy, as soon as they made it back to the castle later, but first, he had a current fantasy to explore.

He pressed inside Elara, watching as her fingers splayed across the pillows in her passion and she moaned his name.

“More!” she begged.

He plunged inside of her, repeatedly, setting up such a rhythm with the constant movement of his hips that he felt her respond at once, her body coming back to meet his own. The thrill was so great, he could feel it deep within his gut, coiling already as he watched her hair dance about her shoulders.

When she arched her back all the more, making a perfect curve, he reached forward, tangling his fingers in her hair and pulling on it ever so softly and teasingly. She moaned in pleasure, rocking her head back as he continued to move inside of her, driving her toward the very edge of pleasure.

Then it happened. He felt her release come quickly. Her body tightened around him.

For the first time, he realized he did not have to pull out. Today, they would be married. What would what it matter if he was a little ahead in staying inside of his wife? He could feel what it was like for the first time, to release inside of her, to feel their bodies completely joined in their pleasure.

As her body continued to squeeze him and she moaned his name, he found he couldn’t hold himself back anymore. He hit that cascading wall of pleasure. He groaned, gripping her hips tightly as he rode through his wave, continuously pressing inside of her. He felt his release, felt too the way she kept rocking back into him, as if she could not get enough of this moment either.

As he slowed their rhythm, coming down from their high, she raised herself off her hands, rocking back on her knees so her back fell against his front. He wrapped an arm around her waist, keeping her close as she laughed joyously.

“Thank God, ye stayed,” she whispered, dancing her fingers along his arm. “I didnae want ye tae pull out.”

“Ye want me tae stay, ask, and I will, Fire.”

She angled her head around and kissed him on the lips, with such heat that he could practically feel his length hardening again already, but he had to stop. He knew he had to.

“At this rate, ye and I will never make it tae the church,” he whispered.

She laughed, kissing him along the jaw before he pulled out of her.

“Go, go then.” She continued to giggle as she fell back on the bedsheets. “Just make sure tae come back later after we are wed tae finish what we started.”

“Ye have me word.” He pulled on his trews and a shirt after cleaning himself up, then moved back to her, kissing her swiftly on the lips. She nearly pulled him down for another full kiss, but he had to pull back. They laughed together again and then he reached for the door, opening it a crack so he could peer outside.

The corridor was clear.

“Until I see ye at the altar, Fire,” he called back to her.

“I’ll see ye there.” She blew him a kiss, then buried herself seductively back beneath the bedsheets.

Kaden closed the door behind him and crept off down the hallway, moving toward his own bedchamber as quickly as he could. When he reached his door though, he was shocked to see it was open.

“Where the hell is he?” Bhaltair’s voice reached Kaden’s ears.

“If he has run out on me sister…” Cassian’s voice came next.

“Nae bloody likely, is it?” Marcus said. “That man would sooner die than run out on yer sister.”

“Is there a reason ye are all in me chamber?” Kaden asked, stopping in the doorway.

All three men turned to face him with widened eyes.

“Where the hell have ye been?” Cassian asked, a warning in his expression.

From behind him, Marcus waved his hand madly, though Kaden hardly needed that warning. If Cassian had the slightest suspicion that Kaden had been with Elara all night, this was not the time to confirm it. They still weren’t married yet.

“I’ve been for a walk,” Kaden said, gesturing to the nearest window. “I needed tae clear me head before the wedding.”

“Did ye also run?” Bhaltair asked with a smile. “Might explain the fact ye are sweating, me friend.”

“Maybe I did.” Kaden shrugged. “Why are ye all here?”

“Tae get ye ready fer the wedding.” Bhaltair clapped his hands. “Come on, we have everything fer ye.”

Kaden looked at a coffer where everything had been laid out for him to wear, including his clan brooch. He smiled as he walked toward it, picking up the brooch and holding it between his fingers. He thought lovingly of his father and the gift this had been.

Another strip of material caught his eyes from where it laid on the coffer beside the plaid colors of his own clan.

“The colors of the Lamont clan,” Cassian said.

Kaden turned in surprise to stare at his future brother-in-law. Cassian shrugged, attempting some nonchalance though there was a look in his eye that showed it actually meant a lot to him.

“It is a tradition of me family. Me faither wore the colors of me maither’s clan on their wedding day, as well as his own, tae show unity.” Cassian nodded at the plaid strip. “I ken they would like it if ye did the same today.”

Kaden reached for the plaid and lifted it over his shoulder, demonstrating how it would look.

“Cassian, I would be honored.” Kaden offered him a little salute.

“Good, then I’ll leave ye tae get ready.” Cassian walked toward the door. “And ye better nae be late tae that church.”

“I’ll be there early, trust me,” Kaden called after him as Cassian disappeared.

As Kaden finished getting ready, he could feel Bhaltair and Marcus exchanging worried glances.

“What?” he barked at the pair of them, causing Bhaltair to laugh rather loudly and Marcus to shake his head in dismay.

“Ye nearly got caught on the morning of yer wedding. Are ye and Elara mad taking chances like that?” Bhaltair asked.

Kaden looked at Bhaltair.

“Ye saying ye and me sister didnae take chances?” At Kaden’s question, Bhaltair looked anywhere else in the room, avoiding his gaze. “Dinnae answer that question. I dinnae particularly want tae ken the answer.”

As Kaden turned to face the mirror, he started for a second, shocked when he saw something of his father’s expressions reflected in his own face. He stilled, staring into his own eyes, wishing his parents could be there for this moment, when he realized that maybe that appearance of his father in his own face meant something.

They were not there in person, but they were there in spirit, and he truly hoped that when he stood at the altar, he would feel them with him. He would feel their happiness in knowing that not only was justice served, but that the woman who had brought about that justice was the one there vowing to love him forever.

The End.

Readers who enjoyed this book also bought

★★★★★ 266 ratings

This is the story of Gillian, an adventurous English lady who finds herself captured by a mysterious and alluring Highlander. This Highlander will do whatever it takes to save his people from hunger, even abduct the daughter of his enemy. But life seldom goes as planned. What will happen when the Highlander starts falling for Gillian? And will her feelings or her logic prevail in this peculiar turn of events?

Read the book

★★★★★ 208 ratings

This is the story of Julia, an intelligent English lady who runs away to escape her woes and finds herself in the keep of an enticing Highlander. This Highlander, as handsome as he may be, has serious economic troubles, and only a miracle can save him. But perhaps one's answer is closer than he thinks. How will he help her face the past that is haunting her? And how will she save him?

Read the book

★★★★★ 213 ratings

This is the story of Gale, an adventurous English lady who runs away to escape her murderous mother and finds herself in the company of an alluring Highlander. There she is called to change her ways, and he helps her see the world from a different point of view. But her past is catching up with her. How will she elude her mother? And will this be the only obstacle in their relationship?

Read the book