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Jane beaain a warm tropical surf in his dark face, his lips curved with sensuality and tenderness He’d finally re inside her "I want half a dozen at least," she assured hihtly "When I enty-two, the dreams seemed different They became repeats of earlier dreams"

His jaw tensed beneath her hand

"I lost you," she said "Didn’t I?"

"The king discovered I was gaining strength fro you there," Aedan said tersely

She inhaled sharply "How?" she asked, not certain she wanted to know

"You doona wish to know, and I doona need to speak of it ’Tis over and done," he said, his eyes darkening

Jane didn’t press, and let it go, for now, knowing the time would come when he would need to speak of it, and she would be there to listen For now, she would hile Aedan beca her "You were hter, my hope, my love, and now you will be my wife"

"Ahe off with that lahed "Your headstrong nature was one of the first things I favored in you, lass So much fire, and as cold as I was, your te like my sisters, yet tender of heart and weak of hen it co weak?" she said, with lance from beneath half-lowered lids " ’Tis obvious you have a weakness forto seduce ottenme around!"

Certain of it, she scrambled from beneath hireat hall Sure enough, he followed, stalking her like a great greedy dark beast

And when he caught her…

And when he caught her, he made wild, passionate love to her Celestial music trumpeted from the heavens Celestial music truathered to shimmer above Dun Haakon Heather bloomed, and even the sun’s brilliance paled in comparison to the luain, it was on bended knee, with a band of gold embedded with tiny heart-shaped rubies, as he vowed to love her for all of ever Then yet another day

Epilogue

"Don’t forget the latest chapter, Aedan," Jane reminded as he slipped frooing to stor on with Beth and Duncan"

"I won’t forget, lass" Donning shirt and plaid, Aedan picked up the parche

She held her breath, waiting for hi that she would never be the same once she’d tasted the passion of his eht valiantly for the Bruce and had come home to her wounded in body and heart But she would heal him…

"You know, theyour tales they’re ht bawdy, theways to seduce their men at all hours Her stories had the sa one of her love scenes never failed to make him hard as a rock He wondered if she suspected that before delivering her pages to the eager women, he stopped in the tavern where the husbands listened, with , as he read the h they made sport of the "mushy parts," not one of them failed to show each Tuesday when he e Last week, three of the for him when he’d failed to appear with that week’s installrinning "They thank you for it"

Jane beamed As he pulled on his boots, she reet, I want peach ice, not blueberry"

"I willna forget," he pro your favored dish I vohen the spring thaws coothe villagers a few things that she dee technology before its tilanced out thebehind the bed "It snowed again last night Look--isn’t it beautiful, Aedan?" she exclaimed