Page 93 of Desire's Ransom
A lazy grin curved her lips as she looked over at him with shining eyes “So say yenow.”
Then she turned away from him, snuggling back against him, her lovely backside teasing his loins. If she wasn’t careful, hewouldrise again.
Still glowing in the aftermath of ecstasy, he enveloped her in his grateful arms. “Ah, lass, I love you.” The words surprised even him as they dropped easily off his tongue.
In answer, she took a deep breath and exhaled a long sigh of contentment.
Ryland kissed the back of her head, marveling at the softness of her ebony tresses. But though his body was spent, his mind was wide awake, marveling over this extraordinary turn of events.
Everything was going to work out now. He was sure of it.
By a few slips of her tongue, Gray had given herself away. And the confirmation that the beautiful, enchanting, spirited outlaw that he’d fallen in love with was in truth his bride Temair could not have pleased him more.
Even better, though she didn’t know it, their salvation was on the way.
On the day his men had left the camp to collect the ransom, Ryland had given Warin a secret message.
To the woodkerns’ ears, it would have sounded innocent. He’d simply asked Warin to bring his brother’s sword.
What the outlaws didn’t know was that his brother’s sword was in his brother’s hand—in faraway England. In Ryland’s absence, his brother Adam had taken charge of Ryland’s remaining knights—three dozen well-armed and well-trained soldiers. What Ryland had conveyed to Warin was that, rather than going to collect the ransom, they should return to England to summon the rest of his fighting forces.
He didn’t expect there would be cause for battle. But he’d reasoned that if he was going to live in this country, he couldn’t let common criminals believe they could abduct people and hold them hostage whenever they liked. A show of force in the form of a great company of magnificent knights marching through Ireland in full battle armor would rein in their unlawful habits.
Of course, now he understood that the woodkerns were a force for good. They were the sole champions for those victimized by the villainous chieftain.
Now he knew about the evil scheme Cormac had concocted to fool the king and fleece hisclann.
Now he realized the depths of Temair’s suffering.
He meant to right those wrongs. And it seemed to him that a retinue of powerful English knights under his command might be the way to do that.
His only worry was—when it came time for Ryland to gather his knights and march on the tower—whether his bride-to-be would view them as a rescue force or an invading army.
He should explain everything to her before his men arrived.
He should tell her that he knew now who she was.
He should reveal his plans to overthrow Cormac O’Keeffe, to ensure prosperity for theclannand clemency for the woodkerns.
He should confess that he would be honored to be her husband.
And then he should ask her formally to marry him.
But before he could open his mouth to tell her all that, she began snoring—the long, loud, sawing snores of a woman at peace and well-satisfied.
He grinned. He supposed he’d have to learn to sleep through all that racket if they were to be man and wife. In any case, he supposed his news could wait till morning.
