Nicole’s eyes met Niall’s for a long moment before she nodded. “Okay.” Her gaze went to Rònan’s, and her voice softened. “She flicks the lighter on and off to remind herself how damaging fire can be. It’s her way of controlling the flame...of feeling in control...”
When she trailed off, Rònan murmured, “Is that all?”
“No,” Nicole whispered. “It’s also her way of remembering her dad the way she last saw him.” Her eyes met Rònan’s. “Engulfed in flames.”
Chapter Three
“I DON’T SEE WHAT THE big deal is about me wearing this ring,” Erin mumbled.
“’Tis not safe hanging around your neck such as it is,” Grant said. “It could too easily be lost.”
“This chain is pretty strong,” she tried to reassure yet again. “It’s not going anywhere.”
“But it will, lass. Easier than you might think.” The chain suddenly fell, but he caught it. “See?”
“Don’t mind him,” an attractive older woman said as she joined them. “My husband tends to take matters into his own hands on occasion.” Her eyes fell to the chain he held. “Literally.” She held out her hand to Erin. “I’m Sheila. A Broun originally from the twenty-first century.”
Ah, this was one of Leslie’s cousins who had traveled back in time early last year. Regrettably, time went by far quicker here and while Leslie was pushing thirty, her cousins who stayed with the Next Generation of MacLomains in the medieval period were in their fifties. Something about the past trying to catch up with the future.
Erin shook Sheila’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too.” Sheila slid an arm around Grant’s lower back and kept smiling. “Bear with him. He tends to forget how daunting it is for us Brouns to travel back in time.” She nodded at the ring and then held out her hand so Erin could see. “I wear one too. Trust me, they won’t bite.”
She had paid attention to everything Nicole told her when she first arrived here. These were Darach’s parents. Erin was amazed by the transformation in Grant’s body language once Sheila arrived. He went from being tense and serious to warm and relenting.
“She’s right, the rings won’t bite,” said another older woman as she sat on the other side of Grant. With silver wisps in her dark multi-colored hair, she was as attractive as Sheila. And her smile was just as warm when she held out her hand. “I’m Torra MacLoed, formerly Torra MacLomain.”
Rònan’s mother.
Erin swallowed, cursing the emotions she kept well-disguised. Why hadn’t meeting Darach’s mom affected her like this? Then again, there was something very different about this woman. Like Grant, she seemed to look right inside Erin’s soul with her piercing blue eyes.
They possessed an unnatural wisdom.
Sheila sighed and looked at Grant and Torra. “Sorry but you two at once is a bit much for any newbie time traveler.”
“No, it’s okay,” Erin murmured as her muscles unlocked and she relaxed beneath Torra’s gaze. She shook the woman’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Will you not reconsider Grant’s request, and wear the ring?” Torra said, her voice almost hypnotic in its softness...sweetness.
But I stole it. It’s not mine. So no.
Yet she pulled it off the chain and slid it on her finger. “Of course. No problem.”
A soft smile came to Torra’s lips. “See, that wasnae so bad, aye?”
Grant said nothing but he seemed far more pliable as he kissed Sheila’s temple. Yet she didn’t miss him removing the chain from her lap nor the interested yet very slight perk to his brow when Rònan joined them.
Not again.
It seemed wherever she went he followed.
It had been one thing to realize everything Nicole and Jackie said was true but an altogether different thing to learn that dragon-shifters existed.
That Rònan was one.
Which meant that his mother might be too. Yet when her eyes flew back to Torra’s, she felt nothing but peace. A sense of calm that usually didn’t belong to her but she was hard pressed to complain about.
“So ye’ve met my son.” Her voice remained soft and lulling. “He will watch over ye, lass.”
“He doesn’t need to.”
“But he will.” She cupped Erin’s cheek. “Trust him, aye?”
“I don’t trust anyone.”
“But you will.”
Torra pulled back when Rònan sat next to Erin, his deep voice vibrating through her when he said, “Who are you talking to, lass?”
Her eyes went to him. “Isn’t it obvious?”
“Nay.” He gestured with his hand. “Uncle Grant and Aunt Sheila are walking away, and you’re speaking to a rock.”
Erin’s eyes shot back to where Torra, Grant, and Sheila had been sitting. Grant and Sheila were already on the opposite side of the cave, and there was no sign of Torra.
“Holy shit.” She blinked several times and shot to her feet. “What the hell?”
“’Tis all right,” Rònan said and stood.
When he came too close, she put a hand against his chest then pulled it back sharply. “You need to step away. Right now.” She shook her head, irritated when repressed emotions pushed their way to the surface. “You’re something out of my worst nightmare.”
Most men knew better than to get this close but not Rònan.
He didn’t budge an inch.
No, he grabbed her wrist when she tried to stride away and gently walked her back against the wall, growling under his breath, “So you do feel something.”
When his hands met the rock on either side of her head, and his body became a cage, she froze. She was former military, so she knew her way out of just about any situation.
Just about.
In this case, she needed to keep in mind that he was not human and she’d never dealt with that before...or so she hoped.
He didn’t touch her and kept his words careful. “Who were you talking to when I joined you?”
Though tempted to say it had been his mother, she had no intention of sounding insane. “Myself.”
“I dinnae think so,” he said. “Tell me who.”
“I told you,” she said. “Myself.”
“I’ll ask Grant, and he’ll know,” Rònan said. “Why not tell me now?”
Erin narrowed her eyes and held his gaze. Heck if she’d back down. “Because I wasn’t talking to anyone except Grant and Sheila.”
His eyes narrowed a fraction. He didn’t buy it.
Erin locked her jaw and remained still. He was too much man for any one woman. While she wanted no part of it, she was well aware of the muscles flexing in his strong body. The anger he kept at bay. Because it was anger. Deep, repressed...but there.
Her eyes dropped to his plaid, and she worked at keeping her breathing even. Easier said than done. Nobody should look so good with a damn blanket wrapped around his waist. But everything about him was masculine, lethal...damning. A guy like this would be her ruin if she let him. Then again, he wasn’t a ‘guy’ by any means but a monster. The epitome of why she’d joined the military, to begin with.
“Step away, Rònan,” she warned. “Or else.”
If she wasn’t egging him on before, she was now. And like her, Rònan wasn’t the sort to back down. He leaned close, so close that his whispered words fell near her ear. “Or else what?”
Erin had already measured the distance between his broad shoulders. The length of his torso and legs. The potential power he held in check. He was if nothing else, six foot seven inches worth of well-trained muscle and easily more than twice her weight. And while some might say his weakness lay in his vulnerable groin, she knew better.
His weakness was in his mind.
Though she would be wise to take advantage of that, she was in a bad mood born of unexplainable circumstances so she figured she’d test him.
“Dinnae do it, lass,” he advised, his voice low.
He knew exactly what she was after.
Good.
Pulling out the dagger she’d lifted from Darach earlier without him knowing, she jabbed at Rònan’s stomach. When he pulled back, she crouched and swiped his leg. He jumped. But that cost him when she pulled out a dagger she had swiped from Nicole.
She jabbed its hilt into the tender part of his heel when he fell and rolled away. With most men, the hit to that nerve would make their ankle buckle when they hit the ground but not with Rònan. Even so, she was ready and side-kicked the foot he had to have been over-compensating with.
Rònan grunted, but it barely fazed him.
Fine.
She wasn’t done.
When he spun to seize her, she grabbed a small rock she’d had her eye on and whipped it beneath the foot he meant to brace himself on. Like an eighteen wheeler trying to find traction on ice, he started to roll. When he did, she came to one knee, tagged him beneath the chin and grabbed his nut sack. By the time he slammed onto his back, she had slid another knife out of her boot and wedged its tip tight against his throat.
Neither moved as she straddled him.
But she found no glory as she glared down at him.
No, the smug bastard had nothing but a small, approving grin on his face.
“Nicely done,” he murmured. “Though you could still use some work on your technique.”
“My technique was flawless,” she growled.
“Nay,” he replied. “Had it been, you would have chosen the larger stone. I would’ve fallen forward and suffered the cut of your blade before I even hit the ground.”
She narrowed her eyes.
He kept grinning.
“I was proving a point,” she said. “Not trying to kill you.”
Whipping the right rock would have made a better show. Then she might have thrust her blade but pulled it back in the nick of time. Her point would’ve been better proven. Even if it was only to let him know she was not someone to toy with.
“Dinnae make such a mistake again,” he whispered softly, pegging her mishap. “’Twill cost you your life.”
Though Erin knew she should pull away, she couldn’t.
Instead, she stared into his green eyes and hated that he might be right. Then there was the feel of him beneath her. The flex of his strong body. So much restrained power. And it was restrained. She felt the tension locking up his every muscle. More than that, she felt something else.
The prod of his erection against her backside.
She had fought men before. She knew how turned on they could get. But this...him, was different. Because of their height difference, she had to straddle his stomach yet she still felt him behind her. Waiting.
Heat flared beneath her skin, and she fought back tremors. Just the tip pressing against her ass was more than enough to make her breathing choppy. Hell if she didn’t want to lift and slide backward. Hell if she didn’t want to see exactly what she’d awoken in this beast.
“Well, look at that!” Niall said. “Looks like I’m not the only MacLomain who can be taken down by a Broun.”
Erin ground her teeth and swung off Rònan before unexpected and much-despised lust got the better of her.
“I’ve said it a million times before, but damn, you seriously rock, Sweetie.” Nicole came alongside as Erin stood. “That was awesome!”
Careful to keep emotion from her face, Erin nodded. There was no reason to say, “Thank you,” or anything else. She hadn’t taken Rònan in the least. No, if anything he had somehow taken her.
But Niall and Nicole were determined to have fun as they grinned at them. Niall kept making comments about how Rònan was brought down by a Broun and Nicole kept patting her on the back.
Frustrated, and done with it, Erin headed toward Darach. He seemed somewhat sane. But as she did, the ground started shaking. Already familiar with how messed up everything to do with medieval Scotland was, she backtracked fast and grabbed her blades off the ground. If evil or magic or whatever was coming, she’d have a weapon in hand.
“Erin...is that you?”
Jackie? Her eyes whipped to the fire. Nothing but flames.
“Erin? Can you hear me?”
Eyes still focused on the fire, she frowned as the shadow of a face formed.
Jackie? It couldn’t be. Could it?
“’Tis nothing but evil,” Rònan said as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her after him. “’Tis all an illusion, lass.”
But how? While she loved her friends, she’d always had a soft spot for Jackie. The woman was too damn vulnerable in real life never mind this place or any Otherworld.
“No,” she ground out, trying to stop him. But Rònan was fast and tossed her over his shoulder yet again. So she tried to stop him with her blades only to find them gone. Simply vanished.
What the hell?
“Sorry,” he grunted as he started climbing. “I would let you down if I thought you’d follow.”
She squirmed and tried to fight him. “So you took away my weapons?”
No response.
Like all of the oddities here, none of her moves worked against him. Nonetheless, she kept trying. But her jabs and stabs didn’t slow him in the least. While she cursed over and over at him in her head, Erin remained silent as he climbed swiftly. Any normal person would be yelling, even screaming, but she fell silent. She didn’t work that way.
Never had and never would.
Rather, she focused on her hatred of a man that gave her no options. A dragon creature. And she’d do well to remember that. So when he plunked her down at the top, she shoved away, stood at the top of the cliff and looked down at the cave far below.
“Come on, Erin,” Nicole urged.
“Jackie’s there.” Erin stared down. “I can feel her.”
“No, she’s not. Not there. Not anywhere near here. It’s all fuc..fun-like magic.” Nicole grabbed her hand and met her eyes. “Are you hearing me or what?”
“Fun-like?” Erin snorted. “What’re you high?”
“Nicole’s trying not to swear around the wee Bruce,” Niall informed as he pulled Nicole after him.
“’Tis a good habit she’s trying to break,” Rònan grunted as he yanked Erin after him.
Erin tried to fight him, but like their tromp up the cliff, she seemed unable to utilize her training. It was like she was along for a ride she couldn’t control, and she hated every second of it.
She hated losing control.
“What about the horses?” she asked. “Where are they...”
The words died on her lips when they entered a cave that had the top of an oak tree growing inside it. She’d never seen anything like it. It was huge. If that wasn’t enough, her jaw about hit the ground when a tall, golden warrior appeared out of nowhere. Phantom warriors and animals alike drifted around him. Actual ghosts.
“That’s the Celtic god, Fionn Mac Cumhail,” Rònan informed. “He will lead us to where ‘tis safe.”
“It seems nowhere is safe,” Grant murmured as he passed them to meet with the god.
“What happened down there?” Erin said. “Is Brae Stewart here?”
“Aye and nay,” Rònan said. “She and her laird are trying to infiltrate the mountain but havnae been able to yet.”
“Then why are we leaving?” She shook her head. “Shouldn’t we sit tight while we’re still safe enough?”
“Something tells me we won’t be for much longer if Fionn’s here,” Nicole said. “He only tends to come around right before it’s time to scoot.”
“Great,” Erin muttered and eyed her friend, thinking about the conversation they’d had earlier. She might not like this situation, but she was more concerned about Nicole. “Considering you’re pregnant, shouldn’t you lay low somewhere? I mean this evil is after Robert the Bruce and my ring, right?”
“Aye,” Niall grumbled, answering for Nicole. “But my lass is determined to be at the heart of things.”
“Not at the heart,” Nicole said. “Just sorta skirting alongside is all.” She s
hrugged when he scowled at her. “Hey, I’m not gonna bail on my friends when they need me.”
“If I have a bullseye on my back, I’m fine with you bailing if it means keeping your kid safe,” Erin informed. “I know how to handle myself. You shouldn’t be anywhere near me. Maybe you should hang with Cassie. She probably needs a friend right now.”
Erin cursed the catch in her voice when she mentioned Cassie. She was still trying to process that her friend had gone blind.
“Nobody knows how to handle themselves here, Erin. Besides, Brae and her sidekick aren’t interested in Cassie or me anymore seeing how our rings glow and,” Nicole trailed off when Grant interrupted them.
His eyes locked on Rònan. “You will go where your kin is strongest. Those with like blood.” Then he looked at Nicole, Niall, Erin, and Darach. “You will travel with him. Torra and I will protect the wee Bruce and meet you there soon. We willnae divide and conquer this time but stand as one.”
“What does that mean?” Erin asked as Grant turned away. “Where are we going?”
“If he’s talking about those with blood like Rònan, I can only think of one place.” Nicole bit her lip and shook her head. “And I’m not sure you’re gonna like it, Hon.”
Erin had no time to question before something started to change around them. Like in New Hampshire, there was an odd pressure drop, and the wind kicked up. While she wasn’t thrilled about Rònan pulling her close, he was an anchor in what quickly became a twisting cloud of near nothingness. Though he tried to tuck her against his chest, Erin preferred to see what was coming so she kept her eyes locked on her surroundings.
It was as if the tree wrapped around them. Varying shades of green soon became blue then white then a heavy, thick fog. Only when it started to lessen did she realize that Darach stood close behind her. Too close. Not touching but almost. Still close enough that her claustrophobia kicked in. Bad. Real bad. She didn’t care where she was. They needed to move.
“Back off,” she growled. “Both of you.”
Darach backed away, but not Rònan. Then she realized how tightly he held her and how aroused he’d become. Her eyes shot to his, and she saw the lust he struggled to control. Something about it set her skin aflame even worse than earlier. Did the air get thinner? She couldn’t breathe.
The MacLomain Series: Later Years - a Scottish Time Travel Romance Boxed Set Page 57
