The Raven (closed)

[heartofcourage]

"My father's dead." Emma said in such a nonchalant tone that it was like she was discussing the weather with her husband. "He dropped dead of a heart attack in his mistress's bed."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Oh..." Boar looked down. "I, uh... Y'don't sound much bothered by it..." He wasn't sure if she didn't care, or if it hurt and she wouldn't show it.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I hated the man." Emma said softly, looking up at her husband as she let out a long sigh. "But my brother is now in charge of the Campbell estates. Even though we didn't get along, he insists that I have a right to my inheritance."

She leaned in, whispering a substantial amount of money against his ear, wondering how he would react to that news. While she had lived near poverty on the loch, she was indeed a wealthy woman now.

 

[KieranSoares]

Boar didn't seem affected by the mention of money. It didn't mean much to him and never had. He looked down at her with a bit of concern, though. It was clear he was worried that the money might cause her to consider leaving him. After all, she had no chance at a title with him anymore, and the Ghis family didn't put much stock in money altogether. They got by with what they needed and with each other. Material things were of no concern most of the time.

 

[heartofcourage]

The look on Boar's face made Emma pause for a moment, thinking that perhaps she had done something wrong. It was a look of sadness and despair, one that she hated seeing in his dark eyes.

She stood from her seat, moving to straddle his lap. Reaching in, she cupped his cheeks in her hands and kissed him both gently and passionately.

"All I need is you, Lynndon." She said softly. "For the rest of my days."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Y'have no idea how 'appy it makes me t'hear tha'," Boar murmured against her lips before he sought another kiss and wrapped his arms around her without hesitation. She'd returned the sentiment he'd offered her since he'd fallen in love, and he couldn't have felt more lucky in that moment.

 

[heartofcourage]

Emma moaned softly as he kissed her just as passionately, telling her that he had waited a long time to hear those words. "Take me to bed, Boar." She whispered against his lips, her own trailing down the line of his jaw, nipping and suckling at his throat.

 

[KieranSoares]

She didn't need to say it twice. She'd hardly finished saying his name and he was up on his feet and had scooped her up. He carried her away into their bedroom and he laid back with his wife straddling his waist once more. His broad hands took their time in finding the laces of her dress as he enjoyed her skin and her lips. They'd not made love since the last time she'd needed to do some 'convincing'. She could already feel him straining for her, but he was content to take in slow both to enjoy it, and for the sake of the fact that she was pregnant.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I want you...no, need you to take me, Boar. Punish me for what I did." Emma whispered against his ear as he unlaced her gown. "Please, love."

 

[KieranSoares]

Boar silenced her with another kiss, but this one felt a little more powerful and possessive, even a bit controlling as an answer to her request. Her dress was gone in a moment along with her underclothes, and he only had the patience to get rid of his own kilt and tunic before he was unbuttoning his trousers and taking hold of her hips. However, he paused to reach up with one hand pressing to the back of her neck and drawing her down until her forehead touched to his. His dark eyes were ablaze with something she couldn't quite place beyond absolute dominance. He'd always given in to her own power over his heart and his mind, but now he wanted her to know that he was in control for the first time.

 

[heartofcourage]

Emma let out a whimper as Boar silenced her with another kiss, one that showed her just how much he loved her. She needed him to be the forceful man that he had been when she needed him to be. Emma was panting as he stripped her bare, his pants unlaced before he pulled her head down to rest against his own. His dark eyes were simmering with something she didn't quiet know. She let out a gasp, whimpering as he let her know that for the first time in their relationship, he was the one in control.

 

[KieranSoares]

When Boar saw in her eyes that he'd made it clear that he was in the lead, he locked her in a kiss that was deep and had a wild edge. He laid her on her back, one hand still firmly gripping her hip as he pressed, absolutely unyielding, into her entrance. He didn't try to overwhelm her, but he made sure that she had a hard time keeping up. He started fairly quickly, rocking her against their bed with hardly a sound on his part while he focused on her.

 

[heartofcourage]

Emma let out a gasp as he kissed her deeply, a wild quality to his kiss that he'd rarely shown her. She was pressed to her back, his hand gripping her hip as he pressed into her body without question. She growled, a deep throaty moan leaving her lips as she started to drown in the moment. He was loving her, but showing her just who was in charge. She loved every moment too.

"Boar..." She gasped as he rocked her against the bed, the wooden frame creaking beneath them as his gaze focused on her naked body. "Gods..."

 

[KieranSoares]

The great Scotsman quickly found that he wasn't satisfied with their current position, and Emma would soon find herself on her knees with her husband hammering into her body from behind with a calloused hand splayed across her belly and the other slipping down around her front until his fingers found her sensitive bud and massaged around it, but never quite close enough to give her satisfaction. His powerful muscles flexed against her skin as he held her in place for his pleasure, but he made sure to give as much as he got.

 

[heartofcourage]

Emma had been used by many men in her lifetime. No one ever pleasured her in the way that Lynndon Ghis did. On her knees, she gave of herself like she never had before. She yielded to him as his large, rough hands splayed across her swollen belly before finding her throbbing button. She moaned loudly for him as his strong thighs slapped against her own, their loving unhurried, rough, and raw.

"I love you." She cried out, tears on her cheeks in a startling display of emotion.

It was hard to tell him those words. It was hard to believe them for herself. She truly did love him with all of her being. She had been too foolish and stubborn to know how much she was hurting him by asking him to take the throne of Inverness.

 

[KieranSoares]

At any other time, Boar would've slowed for fear of overwhelming her. But in that moment, Boar knew that he didn't need to let up. He needed to continue and show her just what he could do, but that didn't mean he couldn't show her his own affection. His hand that had laid across her belly rose to turn her face until he could lock her in a powerful and consuming kiss before he whispered, "An' I love you, sweet lass..." His hand closed around her breast, massaging it in time with his thrusts until he brought her to her hands and knees to hold up against his power. His hands then drew back to her thighs and held her steady when he absolutely gave her everything he had.

 

[heartofcourage]

It didn't take Emma long before she was crying out her pleasure. She came for him as he thrust hard against her body, his hand massaging her swollen breast in time with his thrusts. Tears came freely then as if something within her had broken beyond repair. Boar had finally succeeded in breaking through her her tender heart, showing her just what she had been missing all along.

 

[KieranSoares]

Boar was only seconds behind Emma, letting loose his seed in a slow wave of fire into her belly. He pulled slowly from her heated body and wrapped her up in his arms to cradle her against his broad chest. He laid her down gently in their bed with a kiss pressed to her temple and without a word. He let her cry. She needed it.

 

[heartofcourage]

Emma didn't know how long she cried before she had worn herself out. When there were no more tears, she rested her head against her husband's broad shoulder, simply staring into his gaze. She didn't really have any words to say either. There was no need. They both knew how the other felt and she would spend her life trying to make up to Boar for what she had done to him and his family.

"The baby's moving." She finally murmured, taking his broad hand and pressing it against her belly where he could feel their child kicking heartily.

 

[KieranSoares]

Boar let his eyes drift closed as he felt the baby turn and kick until it finally settled. When his eyes opened once more, he met her own. There was a strong resolution in his gaze, but also a resounding gentleness that he'd held for her since the beginning when he'd nursed her back to health in Inverlochly. His fingers stroked back through her hair and he drew her just a little closer. Finally, he murmured, "We're gonna be a great family, an' everythin'll be okay from now on..."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I wish I could believe that too." Emma murmured softly as her husband drew her into his body tightly, his fingers stroking through her thick black hair. "I really wish I could."

Emma had never believed in a happy future. There was too much heartbreak along the way for her to think that perhaps she might ever be happy. Right then she felt hollow, aching, as if everything she had ever known had been torn away until she was left with a person that she didnt recognize. Who was Emma Campbell Ghis? Would she even recognize herself in the end?

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm 'avin' trouble believin' it myself, but... you'll see. I'll make it 'appen," Boar whispered before wrapping their blanket around them. They both needed their rest; Emma for her health, and Boar for his harsh work awaiting him in the lumber yard.

 

[heartofcourage]

"We could run away. Back to Inverlochly and my home." She whispered softly, looking her husband in the eyes. "You wouldn't have to go back to the lumber yards."

She knew it was nearly impossible. She was too pregnant to run far, her husband too exhausted, their guards too watchful. She worried about him though. She could deal with the stares and comments as she went to market but this was Boar's home from childhood. His own family had barely spoken to the both of them since they had been practically banished.

 

[KieranSoares]

"No, love," Boar murmured in return. "This... this is 'ome. Much as I've screwed everythin' up, they're still my family an' Inverness is still partly my responsibility. I'd break Ma's heart if I ran... I'd rather work an' prove I'm an honest man again than run away an' miss my family forever... I want t'see my brothers' an' sisters' kids... I want t'see mine play with 'em an' grow up with their clan. I want 'em t'know their grandma. Even if I 'ave t'work th'rest o' my life for it... I'll see us an' our children become proper Ghis again, a strong an' trusted part o' the proud clan. When Brogan passes 'is judgement... I at least want t'know my family will have a place here for th'rest o' their lives."

 

[heartofcourage]

Emma just held her husband tightly, a fresh wave of tears wetting her cheeks at the heavy guilt that had settled in her chest. She would never be able to apologize enough to make it go away. Boar was a good, proud, stubborn man who would have moved heaven and earth for her. It had taken her far too long to see that.

It was a week later as an exhausted family sat down to eat dinner that a knock came to their door. Emma frowned slightly, hurrying to answer is as Boar ate his meal. One of the guards handed her an envelope with Brogan's seal and she felt her heart stutter slightly. She tore it open before she returned to the table, her brow knitting in concern.

"You've been summoned to the keep." She said softly, looking up at him with fear in her eyes.