Niall walked to the horses where Lachlann and Thomasina waited, Sean close behind.
“We head to the house, Thomasina.” Niall mounted his horse and reached toward his sister.
Sean intercepted his hand on Thomasina’s arm. “Nae. She goes with me.”
Her green eyes widened. “Are ye strong enough?”
“Yea.” He took her hand and led her to the other horse.
Lachlann mounted behind Niall, a big smile on his face. “I’m going to miss ye, Sean,” Lachlann batted his eyes as he spoke in a high, girly voice, “and yer strapping arms about my waist.”
Sean kept a straight face. “I canna say the same.”
He mounted and reached down to Thomasina, pulling her in front of him. She glanced toward her brother as if expecting an objection. Niall turned away and guided his horse northward, leaving them to follow.
She ducked her head, averting Sean’s gaze. “Let me ken if I am too much for ye.”
Sean offered a smile despite his body screaming out in pain. “Ye will never be too much for me.”
Niall kept the horses at a slow pace no doubt to accommodate Sean’s broken body. The scent of the woman in his arms was a balm to his bruises. She sat away from him, as if afraid to hurt him.
“Ye and yer brother are close?”
“Yea. He has always looked out for me.” She faced front, her body stiffening. “After our mother died, our father began to drink. Soon he was always drunk. After we were sent away from the clan, Lachlann and Aldred would come and help my brother to provide for us.”
“So they remain with the clan?”
“Yea. They come around more when the work for the harvest or the hunting is done with.”
“Does yer uncle ken what they are doing?”
“Yea. I think he cares for us still and wants to ken that Niall and I are taken care of. ’Tis my father he opposed.”
Sean wrapped an arm about her, pulling her in close. She sighed and relaxed against him.
“I would have gladly taken ye to wife after yer father left ye. I dunna want to do anything against yer clan.”
Her shoulders stiffened.
“Being without a clan is a dangerous way for a man to live,” Sean said.
She nodded against his chest.
“Will yer brother find a way into the clan if I take ye with me?”
Pulling away to face him, her eyes rounded. “I dunna ken about the clan.”
He looked into the expressive green eyes that were intently measuring everything he said. “I want ye as my wife.”
She wrapped her arms about his middle gently, as if she could somehow break him. “I dunna want to be left behind without ye.”
He pulled back on the reins and wrapped her in his arms. She belonged there. He had no doubt about that. All his aches were forgotten with her there.
The touch of his lips on the top of Thomasina’s head was such a simple gesture but it endeared him to her even more. He was a strong warrior, her Sean. She felt safe there in his arms. If she was the only way Niall could return to the clan, was it wrong for her to go with Sean? Was she condemning her brother to a solitary life?
Thomasina yearned to pull Sean closer, to hear his heartbeat but this was enough. To be surrounded by his strength. Encircled by his arms. Enclosed in his scent.
“I dunna ken if I can leave ye behind, Thomasina.”
His words were spoken in a deep voice. A voice filled with emotion. A voice of longing.
“I dunna ken if I can stay behind without ye.”
Sean exhaled on a long sigh almost as if he’d been holding his breath.
“Yer brother is a good man. He does not deserve to be ostracized because of yer father’s failings.” He tipped her chin up so he could see into her eyes. “I want ye by my side, Thomasina. Can ye take me as yer husband?”
The butterflies in her stomach soared into her chest. She reached up and kissed him. “Yea. I’ll take ye as my husband.”
Sean searched her face for something she didn’t understand. “Do you ken what that means?”
She frowned but nodded. “Yea.”
“It means I see to yer protection. Ye go where I go. Yer brother will nae longer have a say.”
Thomasina looked away. Her brother had always been her protector. She abided by his wishes. If she had to choose, there was no choice at all. She would follow her husband. A shiver of anticipation emanated from her gut. Turning toward Sean, she schooled her features. “I want ye as my husband, Sean.”
Sean crushed her to him with more strength than she would believe he held in his battered condition.
“Ye’ll not regret it. I promise ye.”
His words warmed her heart. With his lips touching her hair, his breath against her ear sent little waves of desire washing over her. He tipped her chin up to him and took her mouth. The kiss was a passionate sealing of their fates and his promise of what she would always mean to him.
Sean pulled away and smiled. Facing front, an arm still holding her against him, Sean urged the horse forward to catch up with Niall and Lachlann. Thomasina tightened her hold of him to keep from shifting away.
“How far to yer home?” Sean spoke without taking his eyes off the path.
Lachlann and Niall came into view.
“Just a few miles more.”
“Will we be there before dark?”
“Yea.”
He looked at her. “Hold tight.”
Sean raced the horse past Niall and Lachlann.
“Which way?” he asked.
Trepidation tripped up Thomasina’s spine at the speed he was traveling. She hugged him close. There would be no wedding night if he broke his neck falling from the horse.
“Just ahead. Mayhap ye should slow down a bit?”
She pointed to the round building off to the right. The trees hid it well. Sean slowed the horse to a stop and jumped down. He reached up to help her off. She slid down in front of him. His smile reached his eyes as he held her there against his body.
“Even my aches and pains are at bay with ye in my arms.”
Breathless, she closed her eyes feeling overwhelmed at the sudden change in him. She shivered. He stilled.
“Dunna be afraid of me, Thomasina.” His large hand gently held her head against his chest. His words resonating through his body. “I’ll never allow ye to be hurt by anyone. Not even me.”
Niall and Lachlann came up behind.
“It looks as if we have a joining to see to.” Niall smiled at his sister. “I take it ye’ve agreed to marry the man and put him out of his misery?”
“Yea.” She pulled away and straightened her clothing.
“Good thing. The man was pining for ye something fierce.” Lachlann nodded his head as if assessing something’s worth. “Ye’ll be good together.”
“And what of Niall?” Thomasina wished she had not spoken the words as soon as they were out.
Sean held her close to his side. The tension in his body increased.
Niall jerked around to face her. “I will be fine. Dunna be worrying about me, little sister.”
“Aldred and me will lo—” Lachlann said.
“—be a royal pain in my arse as always. I will have my hands quite full. Ye’ll barely be missed.”
He cleared his throat and headed through the opening of the sad, little hut with clumps of missing thatch and a crooked door that did not shut all the way. Sean took her hand, keeping her back while the other two went inside.
“What is amiss?” she asked.
He pulled her close, behind the horses so that they were partially hidden from the others. His breath warm against her cheek. “I want to ken yer mine. I dunna want to wait.” His lips were firm against hers, persistent. Her body immediately responded. He pulled her in closer as if sensing it, his hands roaming her back to slide over her backside. He moaned into her mouth where his tongue sparred against her own.
“Thomasina?” Niall called from the doorway.
Sean released her, a smile on his face. “I’m here.” She called and smiled back.
“Are ye coming in?”
Sean gave her a quick kiss.
“I am seeing to my bag,” Sean spoke to her then answered in a louder voice, “we are coming anon.”
He untied the bag and opened it. She recognized the items from her earlier rummaging. When he pulled out the vellum, he paused. “I dinna ken this was meant for ye when I had it written but I offer it to ye with my whole heart, Thomasina.”
“What is it?”
“A marriage contract.”