The Bewitching Twin (11 page)

A
liss twisted her red hair and fastened it to her head with a comb. Her neck perspired not only from the weight of her long hair, but also from the heat of the day. The morning sun had grown considerably stronger by midday and she had no doubt the temperature would continue to climb.

Of course, the stroll she and Rogan had taken along the river’s edge had not helped and now she would like nothing more than to shed her clothes and jump into the refreshing water.

She watched him spread a blanket on the ground under the shade of a huge oak tree and marveled more at his well-defined body than his considerate actions.

Last night when she had returned to the cottage to find Rogan gone, she had not hesitated to undress and climb into his bed. They were after all husband and wife, and she had actually looked forward to their joining.

She grinned. She had really enjoyed copulating with him, or had they made love? She liked to think it was love; she hoped someday they
would
love.

It had to be her own inadequacies that prevented her from accepting that love was possible without it being demanding. Hadn’t Rogan’s considerate nature proven that?

As much as she wanted to return home, she was glad that it would be at least two weeks before they left the village. It would give her time to come to terms with her own misgivings. When she stood before Tarr and Fiona, she wanted to speak from her heart and tell them how much Rogan meant to her.

She wanted no doubts in her marriage. It was important they remain truthful with each other, for without truth, there could not be trust, and that she wanted from him. If not, how could she be certain he would ever mean what he claimed?

Aliss smiled as she watched him whip off his shirt.

“It is hot,” he said, tossing the shirt to the blanket.

Her hands went to the ties of her blouse. “My feelings exactly. A dip in the river?”

Rogan laughed, his hands already freeing his plaid. “And here I thought I would need to convince you.”

Aliss shed her blouse, slipped out of her skirt, kicked off her sandals, and ran to the river. “I’ll beat you.”

Her laughter slowed her down and she was not surprised when Rogan rushed up behind her, scooped her up, kicking and giggling, and in they went together.

They came up sputtering and laughing and hugging each other.

“The cool water feels so good,” she said, holding his shoulders as they bobbed along with the easy flow of the river.

He stared at her and after a few moments, she grew uneasy.

“Is something wrong?”

He shook his head. “No, I am just amazed with the remarkable woman I wed.”

Aliss felt his forehead. “Are you sure you do not have a fever?”

He laughed. “I have a perpetual fever for you.”

She slid her hands around his neck and pressed her breasts to his chest. “I think I have the cure for that.”

“I warn you,” he said, tugging her closer to him. “This is a recurring fever.”

“With me having the cure, what does it matter?”

“You will forever tend me?” he asked with a whispered kiss.

“I will always make certain to tend your fever.”

“I think my fever is quite high right now.”

Her hand moved beneath the water to grasp hold of him. “Higher than I have ever felt it.”

“We must do something immediately.”

“Here?” Aliss asked, uncertain.

“A perfect spot,” he insisted. “It is cool and the water offers privacy.”

Suddenly a rapid current caught their feet, tearing them apart.

Aliss nearly panicked when she could not right herself and struggled to gain control.

She was grabbed around the waist and drawn up out of the water so quickly her breath caught.

“Breathe!”

His shout frightened her and it took several moments before she was breathing normally.

“We drifted too far from shore, where the current is sometimes unpredictable,” Rogan explained while her breathing calmed.

She looked past his shoulder to see that he was moving them closer to the river’s edge. She held tightly to him.

She rested her cheek to his. “I feared for you.”

“Never fear that,” he whispered in her ear. “Know that I will never let nature, beast, or man take you from me. You are mine forever and always.”

Her breath caught and held. Was he about to claim his love for her? His strong declaration certainly seemed a prelude to declaring his love. She waited, her breath suspended.

He cupped her face in his large hands and kissed her lips ever so gently. “The reason I married you—” He stopped and kissed her again.

She welcomed his kiss but ached to hear his words.

“I love you. God help me, I love you.”

Her heart felt near to bursting. “Then God help us both for I love you.”

He rested his forehead to hers with a shake of his head.

“Do not worry, all will turn out well,” she comforted, and reached out for his lips.

Their lips locked firmly together, chasing away doubt and fear and enflaming their passion. Before she knew it, she hungered for him like a woman who has just discovered she loved and was loved.

Her soft sighs soon turned to gentle whimpers as his fingers teased, touched, and tempted her beyond reason.

“I want you,” she heard herself beg.

“And I you,” he said, nibbling down her neck to take larger, more playful bites along her shoulders.

His hands went to her waist and he lifted her over him, easing them together in a perfect fit.

Her eyes rounded in delight when Rogan set the tempo to their joining, and with her hands grasping his arms, she threw back her head and reveled in the pure pleasure he created for them.

He did not rush them and she was glad. It felt too wonderful for it to end too quickly. She wanted to enjoy every thrust and every sensation until she could not stand it another minute and then, only then, did she want to surrender in climax.

He obliged her without a word being exchanged and she knew then that he understood her much better than she ever thought any man possibly could, and she felt grateful he was her husband.

Her sighs spilled into his mouth, he having captured her lips as she burst with a shivering climax. He followed soon after, tossing his head back and with a rumbling groan released into her.

They clung to each other until both their stomachs rumbled in unison.

They laughed.

“Time to eat,” Rogan declared and scooped her up as they neared the water’s edge.

Rogan offered her his shirt to dry off, insisting he did not need it. Besides, the day’s heat would dry it in no time.

She took it and when she finished dressing, she hung his shirt from a tree branch to dry, then joined him on the blanket. His plaid was damp from his wet body though his naked chest was near dry from the hot sun.

He sat amid the food he had unwrapped, munching on a piece of cheese.

“You must have worried we would starve.” She laughed, lowering herself to sit beside him.

He handed her a piece of cheese and tore a chunk of bread from a crusty loaf. “I have a large appetite.”

“My sister claims the same.”

“You would too if you gave yourself time to eat.”

“You sound like Fiona,” Aliss said. “She always argued that I would eat just as much as her if I took the time.” She tore off a piece of bread. “I am looking forward to seeing my sister again. I have missed her.”

“Be prepared for not so warm a welcome,” he warned.

“Perhaps at first, but you are returning me home and once it is known you abducted me to heal your people and that I chose to wed you, all will be well.”

“That easily, you think?”

She rested her hand on his. “What else can they do? Tarr advised me time and again that the choice of a husband was mine. I made that choice and he will honor it as he has promised.”

“What if—”

She put her hands to her ears. “No more. What is done cannot be undone. We meet our fate together.”

He grabbed hold of her hands. “Together. Always together.” He handed her another piece of cheese. “Eat, you have the time.”

Aliss took the cheese, noticing his eyes narrow in concern. “Do you think me too thin?”

He leaned over and nibbled along her ear. “I think you are a perfect morsel that I cannot get enough of.”

She giggled and scrunched her shoulder. “That tickles.”

“Aha, I have found a weak spot.” He grabbed her around the waist and tossed her back on the blanket to attack her ear and neck.

They laughed, ate, talked, and walked the day away.

Aliss learned a lot about her new husband, even the hurt he had suffered when he lost his first wife, Kendra. What surprised her was that their love was the catalyst that made him realize he wished to love again.

In so doing, he claimed, his love for Kendra would always remain strong, and strange as it seemed, Aliss understood his reasoning. If he could not love again or refused to love again, it spoke poorly of his first love.

If he loved with his heart and soul, then he honored his first love. Aliss respected and admired his convictions; they made her care for him even more.

By late afternoon Aliss’s thoughts drifted to Daniel and she had a hard time focusing on their conversation.

“You have had enough of me, haven’t you?” Rogan asked, sitting beside her on the blanket.

She rested her palm to his cheek. “No, I feel as if I can never get enough of you. However, I cannot help but think of how Daniel is doing.”

“You lasted much longer than I had expected, so that tells me something.”

“What does it tell you?”

“That you really do love me,” he said, kissed her quickly, stood and held out his hand to her. “Come, it is time to visit with Daniel.”

She grabbed his hand and jumped to her feet. “I really do love you and I am grateful you understand my need to see how the lad fares.”

“Daniel gets to have you for a while.” He nibbled at her neck. “I get to have you all night.”

She giggled. “I look forward to it.”

They packed the basket with the food that was left, folded the blanket on top, and strolled back to the village arm in arm.

“Go see to the lad,” Rogan ordered with a smile once they reached the cottage.

“I won’t be long,” Aliss said, already hurrying off.

“If you are, I will come and get you.”

She laughed and ran off.

She noticed a rushed scurrying around the village as if the people seemed unsettled, nervous. She slowed her pace and turned to see Derek hurrying over to Rogan. The two men quickly disappeared inside the cottage with two more men entering after them; the basket lay forgotten on the ground.

Anna and Tara both jumped when she entered.

“Is something wrong?” Aliss asked. “Everyone in the village seems upset.”

“A ship approaches shore,” Tara said.

“An attack?” Aliss was quick to ask.

“It is not certain, but preparations are being made either way.”

“What can I do?”

“Pray,” Anna and Tara said in unison.

Aliss could focus on nothing but her husband. She worried for his safety and their future. It was strange thinking of something other than her healing work. She normally thought of nothing but that. Rarely did her mind wander to anything else and here she was unable to think about anything but her husband.

She wanted to run to him and beg him to be cautious now that he had a wife who loved him to consider. And what of children?

Her hand rested on her stomach as she walked out of the cottage, needing fresh air, needing to see her husband. She could be with child and not know it. Lord, how her life had changed in such a short time.

A change she welcomed?

Her heart raced and her stomach fluttered, signs that while pleased she was also anxious. There were no guarantees that the decision she had made had been a good one, but with their love declared she now felt it had been the right one. She would not betray her own faith, she would honor that which was joined before God and witnessed by man and sealed with love.

Her pace turned rapid as she approached the cottage, and she was disappointed to see that Rogan was not inside. Her heart kept pace with her frantic steps as she made her way through the village. All the men were gone and the women with children in tow were headed to the woods.

Battle preparations.

Anna followed behind Tara, who held a sleeping Daniel cradled in her arms.

“Join us,” Anna said.

Aliss shook her head. “I cannot. There may be wounded.”

“Then I will join you,” Anna said.

“You do not—”

“I must,” Anna said. “If I am to be a healer, I must.”

“Godspeed,” Tara said and hurried to the sanctuary of the woods.

“We gather what we need and wait on the edge of the battlefield,” Aliss explained.

Anna nodded and they quickly gathered the necessary items before heading for the shore.

“Do you think the ship has landed by now?” Aliss asked.

“I hear no signs of battle.”

“Perhaps they come in peace.”

“We can only pray they do,” Anna said.

They both grew quiet as they approached the end of the woods, not wanting to alert anyone to their presence. They were careful where they walked, treading as soundlessly as possible.

An unimpressive but sturdy ship had been pulled ashore, and from the sound of it the passengers were now disembarking. No swords looked to be drawn, but then no words of welcome rang out either.

Aliss edged closer, the distance too far for her to see anything clearly. The closer she got the more she strained to see since she was certain her eyes played tricks on her. She thought she recognized a few of the men, but it couldn’t be.

Could it?

Anna grabbed her arm. “Do not go any closer.”

“I must,” Aliss said, and inched her way out of the woods to hide behind a large boulder.

“Fiona?” Aliss whispered. “Tarr?”

She smiled and dashed from behind the boulder to sprint across the uneven terrain straight for her sister.

“Fiona!” Aliss yelled, and everyone turned at her approach.