Strangely, she’d not brought up “the curse,” nor had she pressed to know what he was searching for, and for that he was endlessly grateful. He had no doubt it was only a temporary reprieve and that she’d hammer him with questions before long, but he’d take what he could get. He sensed that she’d been as determined as he to steal a day with no worry for the morrow. ’Twas a gift he’d never expected her to give him, a gift that humbled him. If he had naught ever again, he’d had this day.

She knew he was a Druid, knew how ancient and strange his bloodline, and hadn’t feared him. He’d shamelessly milked it for all it was worth and basked in her acceptance.

Now, as she slumbered in his arms, he nudged her a bit so the palm of his right hand slipped between her breasts, coming to rest above her heart. He shifted himself so the palm of his left rested above his own.

There were words he’d waited his entire life to say and he would not be denied them. Silvan had ever accused him of loving too much. If he did, he couldn’t help it. Once his heart made the decision, there was no arguing with it. She was his mate and, for however long the gods granted, he would belong to his woman completely.

He kissed her till she stirred drowsily and murmured his name. ’Twould do him no good to say the vows whilst she slept; his mate must actually hear the words. Then he began speaking reverently, pledging himself to her forever, though the bond wouldn’t take on its full life unless she one day gave the words back.

“If aught must be lost, ’twill be my honor for yours. If one must be forsaken, ’twill be my soul for yours. Should death come anon, ’twill be my life for yours.”

He tightened his arm around her and drew a deep breath, knowing that what he was about to complete was irrevocable. She’d said no words of love to him (though she’d used it in a sentence once in Balanoch—she’d said she loved the way he made love—and had nearly caused his heart to stop beating). Completing the vow would seal him to loving her for all eternity, and if there were lives beyond this one, he would be bound to love her in those as well. In eternal torment, aching endlessly for her, if she never loved him back.

“I am Given,” he murmured, holding her close. The moment he uttered the final words of the oath, a wave of intense emotion crashed over him. He couldn’t begin to imagine what it might be like were she ever to give the vow back. Completion, he suspected. Two hearts made as one.