Shipwrecked (16 page)

The back door of
the estate creaked open, and Anna crept into the dark night.  She walked as
quietly as possible, fearful that the crunching sound that her feet made on the
gravel would wake someone in the house.  When she saw Rowan, she broke out into
a run, throwing herself into his waiting arms.

“Oh, your ribs!”
she whispered. “Sorry,” she said, lightening the grip of her embrace. 

Rowan’s arms
remained steady about her, hugging her to him as he pressed her head down
against his chest.

 “Shh…” he said,
feeling the wetness of her tears stain his shirt.  “I’m here now, Anna,” he
said softly, stroking her back, breathing in her scent and savoring the feel of
her in his arms. “C’mon!” he said, “we canna stay here out in the open.”  He
released her from his arms and grabbed her hand as they rushed into the cover
of the forest.

Safely shrouded in
the dense growth of the forest, Rowan stopped abruptly and turned to Anna,
raising his hand to caress the curve of her jaw.  He looked down at her as if
he didn’t believe that she was real, as if he couldn’t believe that he was
touching her soft skin again.  His eyes were full of questions, and as he
slowly captured Anna’s chin between his fingers, forcing her to look up at him,
she answered his first question with a subtle nod.

Yes, I still
want you to kiss me.

Rowan’s lips were
on hers in an instant, hungry and demanding.  He kissed her with passion that
he was unable to restrain, slanting his mouth over hers, claiming her again and
again. 

Anna melted into
his chest, kissing him back with equal fervor.  Her mouth opened for him, and
she slid her tongue hungrily into his mouth, wanting to taste him.  Her nails
scored his chest, his back and his neck, scraping her imprint onto his body,
claiming him beneath her fingers.

 Rowan let loose a
low growl in his throat, succumbing to the intense pleasure of tasting Anna’s
sweet mouth.

“I never thought
I’d see you again,” Anna’s voice trembled with the weight of her emotions.

He drew away
slightly and released a choppy breath, feeling Anna’s body quake beneath his
touch.  Regaining some of his composure, he kissed her now softly, tenderly,
yet no less passionately.  Anna moaned softly against him and he just about
came undone.  He kissed her neck, the tops of her breasts, the fine line of her
exposed collarbones.  Anna arched back in pleasure and Rowan supported her in
his arms, continuing his love play, deepening his torment.  It felt so good, so
right to have her in his arms again, to be able to do all of the things to her
that he had been dreaming of since she had been taken from him.

Well, maybe not
all of the things that he had been dreaming about.

Rowan placed a
light kiss in the hollow right beneath Anna’s ear, delighting in her sweet
feminine scent and feeling how quickly her pulse hammered beneath the touch of
his lips.  It aroused him further to know that her heart had gone wild just
from his kisses, his touches.

“Anna,” he
whispered, drawing slightly away from her, but still holding her firmly in his
arms.  He never wanted to let her go.  “I came here tonight because there’s something
that I need tae tell ye.  I just had tae see ye one more time…” he stammered,
looking into her eyes and working hard to get the words out just right.  “I had
tae see ye one more time before yer marrit…” he swallowed hard, hating the feel
of the words on his tongue, “so that I could tell ye what I should have told ye
on that day when he came tae take ye away from me.”

‘What do you need
to tell me, Rowan?” she asked softly, fitting her arms tightly around his neck
and stroking the small hairs as the base of his queue.

Rowan took a deep
breath and looked into her eyes, reaching up to touch her cheek ever so
lightly.  “I need tae tell ye that I love you too,” he whispered, voice tender
as he caressed her face.  “I tried tae forget ye, tae leave ye be, but I couldna. 
I just needed tae tell ye.”

Anna smiled
slightly, thinking that her heart was about to burst with joy after hearing
Rowan’s words.

He loves me.

She reached up on
her tippy toes and gently, tenderly kissed Rowan on the lips.             “I
love you, Rowan,” she whispered against his lips, tears beginning to stream
down her cheeks.  “I tried to move on, tried to push you out of my thoughts,
but…”

“Doona cry, love,”
Rowan said, using his thumbs to brush away her tears. 

“But…when he
touches me, it doesn’t feel like
that…
” Anna stammered, shaken by the
feelings that Rowan had so easily aroused within her.

Rowan took a deep
breath and looked up into the night sky, saying a silent prayer for strength
and guidance before he spoke again.  His voice came forth stronger now, firm
and assured.  “I canna let ye go through with this,” he said, heart torn apart
at the idea of losing Anna again, of letting another man marry her.  Of letting
another man kiss her, touch her, make love to her.  He hated knowing that Jonathan
had touched her, had kissed her.

Rowan knew in his
soul and he was the right man for Anna, that he was the only one that should be
doing all of those wonderful things to her.  So what if he hadn’t a penny to
his name or a means to provide for her.  He’d figure that part out later.

“I have to do it,
Rowan.  You know that I have to,” she said, voice ringing with hurt as she
looked up at him.  “I signed that contract and if I don’t, my family will be
ruined.”

“To hell with that
contract!” he raged, body now tense with emotion. “Ye ken as well as I do that
he’s not the man that ye should be marrying!”

Fresh tears welled
in Anna’s eyes because she knew that Rowan was right.  She did not want to
marry Jonathan Arbor. 

She watched in
disbelief as Rowan took her hand into both of his and slowly knelt down onto
the forest floor in front of her.

 “Choose me,
Anna,” he spoke softly, “Marry me.”

                                                            ***

Rowan pounded on
the door of the small chapel, his fist sounding like thunder as it struck the
heavy wooden door.  After a few minutes a relentless, incessant pounding, they
heard the bolt being released on the other side of the door.

A small gray
haired man peeked through the crack in the door, trying to use it as a shield
to protect himself from the massive intruder that stood glaring down at him. 

Rowan used his arm
to push open the door, and the small man cowered, still dressed in his sleeping
gown and cap.  Rowan stepped into the dark chapel, pulling Anna behind him. 

“I’m no going tae
hurt ye,” he said, seeking to quell the man’s obvious fear.  “Are ye a priest?”

“Yes, sir,” the
man said most respectfully.  “I am a priest.”

“Would ye mind goin’
tae change out of yer night clothes?  I want tae make sure that this is most
official,” Rowan nodded confidently, looking over at Anna.  “We have a present
need tae be marrit.  Right now.”

“Why right now?”
The priest ventured cautiously.

“We don’t have
time for questions. 
Right now
,” Rowan demanded, gritting his teeth
together in annoyance, challenging the priest to argue with him further.

The small man’s
eyes darted over at Anna. “Is this situation agreeable to you, miss?  I won’t
do it if he’s forcing you,” the man said nervously, having been quite brave to
challenge Rowan’s aggressive demands.

“It’s quite
agreeable to me,” Anna smiled and looked up at Rowan, patting his arm in an
effort to calm him down.

“Well then, let me
go change into my robe,” the man said eyes darting from Anna and back to
Rowan.  “It appears as though I’ll be conducting an impromptu midnight marriage ceremony.”

***

Rowan stood,
clasping Anna’s hands in his own, looking at his bride to be.  He brushed his
thumbs reassuringly over the backs of her small hands, and she smiled up at him
in response.  Her hazel eyes locked with his, and he felt his heart swell with
pride and love as he admired the woman that was to be his wife.  Her honey
blonde hair fell loosely around her shoulders, and although she was dressed in
a simple grey cotton dress, he had never seen a more beautiful woman in all his
life.

Damn, she’s so
beautiful.  I don’t deserve her.

She looked
nervous.  Hell, he was nervous too.

Rowan leaned down
and kissed his bride on the cheek, nuzzled her hair and whispered, “I love ye,
Anna.  I ken that this is right.  We are right.”

“I know.  I love
you too,” she blushed and squeezed his hands reassuringly.

Rowan nodded to
the priest, who cleared his throat and began to read the rights of the marriage
ceremony from a small leather bound bible.

Anna’s knees felt
weak as she contemplated the journey that she and Rowan were about to embark
on.  Never had she felt so sure of anything in her life; Rowan was the man that
she wanted to marry.  She loved this beautiful, stubborn man more than her
life.  Tuning out the words of the priest, Anna had eyes only for her soon to
be husband.  She smiled up at him, and Rowan rewarded her with her favorite lop
sided grin.

Oh how I’ve
missed you! 

He wore a white
homespun linen shirt that was unbuttoned at the neck, giving her a glimpse of
his sun tanned skin and muscled chest.  His hair was loosely tied back, but a
few of the chestnut strands had escaped from their restraint and he had tucked
them haphazardly behind his ear, lending him a rugged look.

Oh how she loved
this man.

“Will you take
this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?” the priest asked, snapping Anna
back to the present.

Her heart
thundered in her chest.

“Aye, I will,”
Rowan said, beaming as he looked down at Anna with love in his eyes.

Anna smiled
sweetly and felt her face flush with color.

“And will you take
this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I will,” Anna
said, unable to contain the smile that spread from ear to ear as she looked
into Rowan’s sparkling green eyes.

Rowan growled low
in his throat and used Anna’s hands to pull her into his embrace, settling his
lips over hers possessively and kissing his wife soundly. 

Anna moved her
fingers up his chest and settled her hands behind his neck, leaning into her
husband as he kissed her senseless.

“You may kiss the
bride,” the priest said quietly.

“That’s precisely
what I’m doing,” Rowan paused, smiling against his wife’s lips before he
claimed her once again, sliding his tongue into her mouth, possessing her
completely.

He reluctantly
ended the kiss, and placed one more tender kiss on Anna’s soft lips.

“I love ye,” he
whispered, holding his wife against his chest and smiling down at her, eyes
filled with happiness. “My wife.”

“I love you too,
husband,” Anna said, leaning her head into his chest and squeezing him tightly.

The priest cleared
his throat, reminding the happy couple of his presence.

“I’ve a small
croft behind the church if you…if you are in need of a place to stay the
night.  It’s late, and…” he trailed off, wishing to be hospitable, but
uncomfortable about the intricacies of relationships between men and women.

“That’s very
generous of ye,” Rowan said, still holding Anna contently in his arms.  He
kissed the top of her head and regarded the priest.  “But we need tae be moving
on.”

Anna was suddenly
glad that Rowan wasn’t looking at her because she knew that her face was a very
unattractive shade of crimson.  The priest was asking if they needed a place to
consummate their marriage!

“I’d like to
stay!” Anna said, surprising herself.

“Would ye now?”
Rowan asked quizzically, pulling Anna slightly away from his chest and looking
down at her.  Her face was flushed, and his brave girl wouldn’t make eye
contact with him.

She’s nervous.

“Alright, we’ll
stay then.  Thank ye for the generous offer,” Rowan said as he swooped Anna
into his arms and elicited a surprised giggled from his wife.

Chapter Eleven

Rowan slid the key
into the lock on the door of the croft behind the chapel.  Tucking the key into
his pocket, he turned around and whisked Anna into his arms, sealing her protest
with a kiss as he stepped over the threshold.

“Ye ken that I’m
nothing if not traditional,” he chuckled as he set Anna lightly onto her feet
in the dark room.  “And its supposed tae be good luck tae carry yer bride over
the threshold.  We need all the luck that we can get at this point, Anna,” he
said eyes stern, alluding to the consequences that they would soon have to
face.

Anna stood in the
middle of the small room, rubbing her hands over her arms in an effort to get
warm.  Rowan knelt down at the hearth, and expertly kindled a few sparks into a
roaring fire.  The fire cast an inviting glow on the small room, revealing gray
stone walls and a simple four poster bed covered with a white muslin quilt.

Anna followed
Rowan’s gaze and turned to look around the room, eyes settling on the bed and
face flushing with color when she thought about what was about to happen in
that bed.  The room pleased her, it was quaint and cozy, and she was glad that
they would not have to spend their wedding night out in the cold, dark forest.

“Come here, love,”
Rowan said, extending up his hand towards her.  He pulled her gently down onto
his lap in front of the fire.  “Let’s get you warm,” he whispered, wrapping his
arms around her and nuzzling at her neck.  It felt so good to hold her, so
right to have her safely in his arms.  Safe for now, he reminded himself.