Page 115 of Steel & Surrender

Gingerly, he lowered himself to one knee before her.

A ripple of shock moved through the chapel. Confusion clouded the faces of those standing nearest, their families’ especially, but Brìghde barely noticed. Instead, her heart started to slam against her ribs.

“Brìghde Boyd.” Greig’s voice was hoarse now, stripped bare of everything but truth. “Will ye marry me?”

The world tilted. The bracelet bit into her palm as her grip tightened.

She could feel every eye in that chapel upon her, yet suddenly, she didn’t care.

There was only him.

And the wild, terrifying, glorious chaos rising in her chest.

32: ONLY FOR YE

SOME MOMENTS FELT as if they lasted an eternity.

This was one.

Greig’s blood roared in his ears. His heart had lodged in his throat.

The waiting was agony, yet wait he would. Everything hung on what Brìghde said next.

She could destroy him with just one word, and she knew it. A year ago, he’d have rather run unarmed into a line of English knights on horseback than make himself this vulnerable. The man he’d once been would have curled his lip in scorn, even before his maiming.

But this morning, nothing mattered but Brìghde.

“This is madness, Greig,” she said finally, her grey eyes shining with tears. “Ye can’t mean it.”

“I do,” he said fiercely. “I love ye, lass. Do ye feel the same?”

Her throat worked, silence drawing out before she whispered, “I do.”

The words trembled between them.

Her gaze dropped to the bracelet. “But that doesn’t mean I can trust ye.”

That hit him.

“Then give me a chance to prove myself.” Reaching up, he took hold of the hand that clutched his bracelet. Gently, he unfurled her fingers and retrieved it, sliding it onto her wrist. The bracelet fit perfectly, the intricate knots gleaming in the candlelight. “I wish to be bound to ye … until I draw my last breath.”

Her full lips parted, and a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

Greig’s breathing caught. It was like seeing the sun come out after days of heavy fog.

His belly clenched. Christ, he loved her. This woman had knocked him off his feet, had taught him what really mattered in life. He couldn’t imagine going on without her.

“Very well,” she said huskily.

Rising to his feet, ignoring the twinge in his left thigh, Greig stepped into her.

He cupped her face in his hands, gazing deep into her eyes. “No more secrets between us, Brì,” he murmured. “Only truth.”

And with that, he lowered his mouth to hers, uncaring that they had an audience.

It was so quiet in the chapel now that one could have heard a pin drop, yet neither of them cared. He kissed her as a man who had fought for something and finally won it—hard at first, then deepening, slowing.

Brìghde swayed into him, her hands holding onto his waist, as if he were her anchor in a wild sea.