Shadows and Light Ch. 18

"You look so serious."

Isabelle jumped. "Man you startled me," she laughed.

"What were you thinking about?" he asked gently, stretching his long frame out.

"Our travel plans," she replied.

"Hmmmm," he replied, "nervous?"

"More for you than anything else," she replied, stroking his face with her fingertips. She could feel the stubble on his face and it was both soft and rough at the same time. Ah hell, it could be as scratchy as a brillo pad and she wouldn't care; she just liked touching him. "I want things to go well, for you and Simon both."

"Me too, babe. Me too," he replied.

He shifted positions slightly and pulled her unresisting body down to him. He began pressing kisses along her collarbone and Isabelle closed her eyes, losing herself in his touch. She was keenly aware of the fact that they hadn't had sex since his rape. There had been foreplay and bringing one another to orgasm but no actual sex. Frustrated as Isabelle was she completely understood, and she had walked the fine line of encouraging Ian to go as far as he was comfortable and not pushing for more than he was able to give.

Ian's kisses and caresses went lower and she opened her eyes to watch him caress her breasts with his mouth and hands. She ran her fingers through his silky hair as he ravished one nipple and then the other with tongue and lips. Her breath caught as he nipped one gently with his teeth, the feeling connecting straight to her groin.

He played gently with her as he listened to her cries and moans. He loved that he could make her feel this way, uninhibited and wild, despite what had happened to her. He pushed her robe aside and slid his hand down her back and buttocks to play with the already slick opening to her body.

Isabelle gasped as Ian added his fingers into the mix, mindless to anything except the feeling of his body against hers, his mouth on her breasts, his fingers deep inside of her. She climaxed, hard and sharp, shaking from the force of it.

Ian rolled her on to her back. Isabelle pulled him up to her, their lips meeting again in frantic kisses. His skin was hot against hers, the hair on his chest rubbing against her sensitive nipples, driving her crazy with want. She could feel his cock, hard and ready, nudging against her opening and she whimpered with need, bucking her hips up in an attempt to drive him inside of her.

Refusing to be hurried, despite the fact that his body was screaming to be inside of her, Ian pushed in slow and easy until he was completely buried inside of her. He exulted in the sense of rightness as her body eagerly accepted his. This woman was his, every inch of her body, her incredible mind and loving soul. Withdrawing and then slamming himself into her, her scream of pleasure echoed in his ears and his mind. His own body began to shake as he continued to thrust, mindless to anything but their shared pleasure. She was his mate, his heart and his soul. He sank his fangs into her neck, tasting her pleasure on his tongue, hearing her scream again and her body clenching tightly around his in orgasm. His own body exploded into colored flashes of light as he emptied his seed into her again and again, gasping and sobbing in pleasure against her neck.

He was only just beginning to come down from his orgasm and he continued to thrust more gently into her body. It was addictive, this pleasure, the scent of their sex in the air, his body deep inside of hers. He wanted more, needed more.

His mouth caught hers for a kiss and their tongues met and clashed, winding around one another, tasting and caressing. Isabelle could taste her blood in her mouth and could feel the coil of lust and need and pride in her belly. She nourished his body as surely as he nourished her heart and soul. He wanted her, only her, to feed, to fuck, to caress, to love. Isabelle began moving her hips in time with him, needing more of him, his lust, his kisses, his body, his soul.

Rolling over, with Isabelle now on top, she began to move on him, sobbing in pleasure as his cock caressed her insides as incredibly as his hands did the rest of her body, stroking, licking, nipping. Driven to another orgasm she could feel him grinding his hips upward into her convulsing body and then his cock spasming inside of her as he screamed her name over and over.

They lay joined for long time, Isabelle sprawled over his chest, with Ian still deep inside of her. Their panting breaths were the only sound in the room except for Ian's heartbeat drumming in her ear. Ian's hands lazily caressed her back.

He reached over with his left hand to the pants that had been discarded and extracted something from the pocket.

"Isabelle," he said, his voice a little hoarse.

"Hmmmm," she replied, still feeling limp and boneless.

"Will you marry me?"

"Huh?" Isabelle's head popped up and she looked at him with surprise.

His anxious brown eyes met her surprised blue.

"Are you serious?" she asked, dumbfounded.

Ian cocked an eyebrow at her and gave her the lopsided smile that she loved so much.

Taking her left hand he slid a gorgeous antique looking platinum ring on her ring finger.

"My father gave it to me," he told her. "It was Anne's. He said that we were meant to be together as much as he and Anne had been, and that it would give him joy to see you wear her ring. I know it is soon, probably too soon to ask," he looked pleadingly at her, "I need you, I love you. I don't want to push but I don't want to wait," he stroked her face, willing her to understand. "I came so close to losing you in that fire, so close to not being able to spend a lifetime with you," his voice was hoarse, "I got a taste of what my father feels everyday with Anne being gone. I don't think I would be able to live with you gone."

Isabelle looked him for a long moment, feeling the sincerity of his love for her through their bond. "I love you," she told him.

"Then say yes," he said, kissing the finger tips of her hand one by one.

"Oh Yes."

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Isabelle paced. Ian and Simon had been in Simon's room for over an hour. The temptation to peek into Ian's head and see what was going on was strong. She resisted. Ian had asked for privacy, one of the few things that he had ever asked of her and she couldn't let him down.

Finn had gone for a walk outside and Isabelle was wishing that she had gone with him. Her mind knew that things would more than likely be alright. She just wished that her heart could be as trusting.

She admired again the sparkle of the gorgeous ring that she was wearing. Platinum with diamonds and sapphires it was set in an antique setting and was absolutely gorgeous. She had discovered a faint engraving on the inside of the wedding band, "John loves Anne". She had found a jeweler that could re-engrave it exactly and add "Ian loves Isabelle" right underneath it. She loved the feeling of history that came with the ring. Several hundred years of love was represented and Isabelle was honored that John had decided to part with it and give it to Ian and herself.

Isabelle had greeted John with a kiss on both cheeks when she and Ian had shown up this morning. He had actually blushed, and Isabelle smiled at the memory.

Finn reentered the house and at almost the same time Ian emerged from the hallway. Ian's eyes were red rimmed, but his face was relaxed. Finn walked straight to him and gave him a long hug before continuing down the hall to see Simon.

Isabelle was in Ian's arms before he could take a step, her eyes anxiously studying his face.

Ian smiled at her. She could see his exhaustion and without words she led him up to the guest room that they had stayed in previously. Ian took off his shoes and stretched out gratefully on the bed, Isabelle curled at his side.

"He is so thin," Ian said at last, breaking the silence. "I thought that I would have a problem with seeing him, but my God he looked so different than I remember him, so pale and sick. I will never forget the look on his face when he saw me. Absolute heartbreak, those are the only words that I can come up with to describe it. I thought that I had a lot to deal with, but I realized in that moment that he had so much more to struggle through." Ian took a deep breath. "We didn't even really talk, I just held him as he cried. I've never seen him like that Is. He has always seemed so self-reliant, so confident. He is in pieces. I don't think he would even be alive if it weren't for Finn loving him. He is that close to wanting to kill himself. If that bitch was still alive I swear that I could kill her with my bare hands." Ian's hands were clenched and shaking.

Isabelle just snuggled close and slipped her slender hand around his strong one. She didn't know what to say so she said nothing. Instead she spoke without words, stroking his hand, holding him close, kissing his forehead when he turned into her arms and wept for himself and for Simon. Long after Ian had fallen into a doze, Isabelle held him close, vowing to never let go.

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Thank you to all of my readers that have sent emails encouraging me to finish!! I am sorry to make you wait so long for this last chapter but even my editor agreed that it was much better after having been rewritten several times. One final chapter left to go for a wrap up!! I do have a few other projects in the works so you can expect more stories out of me as we get closer to summer. Keep an eye out for the chain story "Modern Day fairy tales" I have another chapter that is almost finished and ideas for a third.

Keep reading! And thanks for the great comments and encouragement!

Emerald