Chapters (50)
- Cover
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- The Pengarron Sagas
- The Harvey Family Sagas
His body shuddered with desire. She gave a deep, telling sigh. Putting her hand on his hip she angled herself into him and united their bodies.
They rocked gently, heightening the pleasure with loving hands, reacquainting themselves with all the burning and exquisite sensations that were theirs, and only ever could belong to them. They took their time, time was theirs to have. He nestled her face into his neck, whispering his love and dedication until the moment came for him to strive deeper and deeper into her to carry them to the point of utter, unforgettable culmination.
Thirty-Six
The hut that served as an animal hospital in the Pengarron grounds was overcrowded with anxious humans.
Luke was slumped on a sack of grain, not nursing an injured or ailing creature but a sore head. He groaned every time he shifted, having spent the night here intoxicated and brooding over Olivia’s cruel comments to Cordelia. His head ached, his throat and stomach felt on fire, his bad shoulder was particularly sore and stiff, but he had neither the will or energy to manipulate it into some sort of ease.
‘Everything’s a mess,’ he complained to his two sisters, glaring at Olivia, who kept dropping her face to the cage where she was giving fresh water to a watchful thrush with a splint on its wing.
‘What am I going to do about Cordelia? Should’ve realized how she felt about me. Even Father knew, said something to me a short time ago which I entirely missed the meaning of. Why didn’t you say something, for heaven’s sake, Livvy? Always had your say before. Too damned selfish!’
‘It’s you who’s selfish, brother,’ Kelynen returned, while stroking a muzzled, pale-brown fox on her lap. The fox, a vixen named Gilly, obviously the runt of a litter, would surely have died if not for Matthias Renfree’s soft heart in bringing it to the hut. It had suffered two deep gashes down one side from an unknown source. A certain victim for a stronger predator, Gilly could not be released into the wild and was making an anxious pet. Rex, feeling neglected outside, occasionally whined his displeasure. ‘And whenever has anyone been able to tell you something you didn’t want to hear? Poor Cordelia, to win you or to lose you, what a terrible choice.’
‘How do you see that?’ Luke regretted his forceful tone, which made his head pound all the fiercer.
The timbers of the hut creaked as the early morning sun warmed them through, the planked floor did the same as Olivia moved restlessly about, the dry air was filled with animal smells, all adding to his discomfort.
‘No, don’t tell me, I know what a selfish ignoramus I can be. I hope she didn’t spend too wretched a night. Open all the windows, Livvy, I can’t breathe in here.’