Page 76 of The Highlander's Fake Wife
“Tell me the truth, Olivia.” Arthur got down on his knee, his hands cradling the side of her face. “Do ye nay trust me with it?”
She did. She absolutely did, but it killed Olivia to admit to what she was thinking. “Arthur…” she blinked furiously, his thumb catching stray tears that ran down her face. “I…I cannae marry ye. Not if ye willnae choose a life o’ fighting over our family.” She grasped his hand, biting back a sob. “Becoming a maither–it’s what I’ve been waiting for. Me purpose in life. And–and I cannae ask ye to compromise yerself for me.”
She couldn’t face him, couldn’t bare to see him heartbroken. Olivia squeezed her eyes shut, allowing more tears to fall as her breath shuttered terribly.
“Selkie…”
She managed to shake her head this time.
“Olivia?”
A tiny gasp slipped out, and as Olivia opened her eyes, she was surprised to find Arthur’s own watering as well. Her hand pressed against his face, the curls of his beard tickling against her palm.
“Olivia…what ifye’reme reason fer living?”
Olivia blinked. Blinked again. Blinked so furiously, she was certain her tears had formed a puddle on the floor around her.
“What if, over the time that we’ve ken each other, I’ve been slowly falling in love with the selkie whose pelt I managed to steal?” Arthur chuckled lightly, eye misty as he fought to keep his voice even. “What if I fell in love with her silver tongue, her desire to learn archery, the love and grace she showed a clan who hardly deserves her?” He gently grasped her hand, kissing the knuckles as Olivia felt something wetter than his lips fall against her hand.
“What if I decided I didnae wish to hide me fear o’ the future behind excuses?” Arthur raised his face, expression so full of longing and aching desire. “What if I trusted that, even if I were to fall in battle one day, this oceanic goddess o’ mine would be surrounded by love an’ support? That me children wouldnae have to worry fer a future I’ll ensure is no longer stained in blood?”
“A-Arthur…”
“I love ye, Olivia MacLarsen. And the one thing that would give me life is to have ye by my side, however long that life may be.” Arthur’s smile was so genuine, so terrified; he bore his heart in its entirety, and he was doing it for her.
For a moment, Olivia wasn’t certain how to reply. She felt as if they’d already spent a lifetime together, and yet, the future remained entirely unknown. She didn’t know if the clans would put their weapons aside, declare peace in sake of future generations. She didn’t know if Arthur would grow old beside her, or if he would die protecting her sometime in the coming days.
Olivia didn’t know what to think. But she knew exactly what she felt. And she expressed it by throwing herself into Arthur’s arms once more, her lips finding his as she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck. Their kiss was long, lingering, a dazzling mix of love and loss and fear and hope. It was sweet mead and oceanic salt, of the forest earth and yearning indescribable.
And it was theirs. Wholly, uniquely theirs.
EPILOGUE
Olivia wanted to experience more of that taste for herself. She pushed against Arthur’s chest, a desperate moan escaping her lips as they briefly separated. Arthur’s brow rose slightly, but he instinctively seemed to know exactly where the moment was leading. “Are ye sure?”
“We’re to be married, after all,” Olivia whispered.
“As long as ye want this,” Arthur began, but Olivia interrupted him with another kiss. He took that as permission, hands immediately grasping against her hip and pulling against her night dress. When they managed to separate once more, he lifted the gown up and over Olivia’s head, and she was acutely aware as he took her in fully.
“Ye’ve seen it before,” Olivia teased.
“Aye. But not under candlelight.” Arthur pulled her close for another kiss, tongue dancing around her mouth as she began to melt in his arms. “And I aim to see yer glorious, naked form under every light I can come up wit.” Immediately, his hands moved for her breasts, but she slunk beneath his grasp, her own fingers slipping between the hem of his trousers.
“That promise goes both ways.” Olivia slid his pants to the ground, face-to-face at last with his manhood. It was just as large as she imagined, prominent and visibly raised as the anticipation between them rose. She suddenly had an insatiable desire, an unexplainable need, and allowed her instincts to guide her, lips closing around his member as her tongue teased the tip.
“A-ah,” Arthur sounded surprised, but certainly not disappointed in the turn of events. His fingers ran through Olivia’s hair, tugging at knots while Olivia continued exploring. She was surprised at how smooth it all felt, how a push from her tongue could elicit the slightest of twitches. Then, she suddenly pulled away, gasping for air; she hadn’t realized how difficult it would be to breathe.
“I-I’m sorry, Arthur. I thought–yye did it fer me, and I wanted to try–!” A startled squeal escaped her lips as Arthur immediately hoisted her up by her waist, his clothes crumpled beside him as he drew her in for a kiss. The musk of his manhood still lingered on Olivia’s tongue, and she found the experience grow further indescribable.
“Me beautiful ocean goddess. Me selkie…” Arthur swept Olivia off her feet, immediately making for the bed before splaying heracross. The blankets curled between her fingers and toes, and whatever shame she briefly felt over her actions melted away. Arthur leaned over her and kissed her, teased her hair, ran his hands across her chest and cupped her breasts, squeezing intermittently between each kiss, each gasp of breath. His legs straddled over hers, his throbbing cock erect and eager to return the pleasure she had attempted to give.
His weight against hers, the mattress cradling her every curve; she could hardly stand it. Grasping the blanket tightly between her fingers, Olivia watched as Arthur finally slipped inside, a startled gasp escaping from her lips. For a moment, he hesitated, a brief glint of worry crossing his eye. But Olivia’s eager grin was all he needed to begin rocking, back and forth, filling her core with an undeniable heat and tingle and euphoria. Olivia’s moaning grew louder, her back arching as her toes curled against the sheets.
And still, Arthur continued. Hands grasping her breasts, his member filling her entirely; Olivia was certain she had never felt so full in her life. Yet somehow, she continued to swell, her core practically vibrating as, with a final thrust, it all came tumbling out from the depths of her being.
She panted furiously, Arthur slipping off and immediately curling up against her in a loving embrace. He continued to surprise her, each tender interaction between them somehow better than the last.
And as Olivia snuggled into bed with the man of her dreams cradling her against his chest, she realized that this was to be her life from here on out.
