Chapter 18

Willow smiled softly and whispered, “I’m not afraid of the devil.”

“You should be,” Slatter said and scooped his wife up so fast that she gasped. “You just sealed your fate, wife.”

He was wrong. Their destiny had been sealed the day she had been lowered into that pit.

He carried her to the bedchamber and, once inside, placed her on her feet. He barely shut the door when he began to disrobe. Willow on the other hand stood there, not moving, her eyes focused on his every movement.

He was an exceptionally well-built man, his body sculpted perfectly with every muscle and curve defined. It was humorous to her, though, that with such a beautiful body, it was his hands she favored the most. They were long, lean, and held such strength yet were tender. She loved when his hand closed around hers and held it strong, or the way he placed it to rest at her lower back at times, and she especially liked when his hand captured her face and held it still for him to kiss her.

“Do you need me to undress you?” he asked with a slight tease.

“Aye, I do,” she said, wanting to feel his hands on her.

Pleasure grew in her as he walked with slow, lithe steps toward her and when he raised his hands and took hold of her tunic, she shivered.

“Is that from a chill or fear?” he asked softly.

“Anticipation,” she whispered.

“You truly want this?” he asked.

“I truly want you and no other.” She reached up to kiss him, but his lips reached hers first.

His kisses were always magical to her, stirring her senses, her passion, making her feel more alive than she had ever felt and this time making her feel even more—

His lips left hers briefly to whisper, “I love you, Willow, I love you so very much.”

Loved. It was as if he had finished her thought. He made her feel more loved ever since he had said it aloud to her. She lost herself in the kiss and all it meant to her.

His hands didn’t hurry to remove her garments after he reluctantly ended their kiss. He took his time gathering her tunic to bunch in his hands as he raised it up and over her head. He kissed her briefly, teasingly before his hands grasped her shift and began to pull it up.

“You’re sure about this?” he asked when the hem of her shift brushed the tops of her thighs.

“I’ve never been more sure about anything.” She pressed her fingers to his lips when he went to speak. “And I won’t regret it, not ever. I love you and whatever life brings us as long as we’re together that’s all that matters to me.”

“I’ll never let you go, Willow. You’re mine now and forever.”

He quickly pulled the shift over her head, scooped her up once again in his arms, and carried her to the bed.