Highland Fires

by Donna Grant

  “Enjoy your bath, Ahryn,” he said and walked away. He smiled as he stepped into his room and thought of the surprise Lugus would get this night.

  ~ ~ ~

  Lugus waited until Tane left before he hurriedly stripped and stepped into the warm water. He had missed this solitude while on Earth. The tiny wooden tubs that he could barely fold himself into were disturbing, and he had quickly grown to hate them. He preferred the coldness of the sea where he could stretch his legs and feel as though he were once again in a Fae bath.

  He glided through the heated water until he stood in the middle of the large bath, then he turned on his back and looked up through the glass ceiling to the stars overhead.

  Suddenly, the quiet and solitude was broken by the sound of a door. Lugus jerked upright and looked to the double doors to find Ahryn standing there watching him. For several moments they simply stared at each other.

  Lugus knew he should ask her to leave, but no matter how much he told himself that’s what he should do, it wasn’t what he wanted.

  As he watched, Ahryn reached to her shoulder and loosened her gown. With a simple movement of her hips, her gown pooled at her feet. Lugus’ mouth went dry as he stared at Ahryn’s nude body, a body he had touched, tasted in what seemed a lifetime ago.

  When she stepped into the water he found himself walking towards her, his heart beating wildly in his chest. He couldn’t have stayed away from her had his life depended upon it. He was drawn to her as the Fae were drawn to magic.

  He stopped just short of reaching her, almost afraid to touch her.

  “Lugus,” she whispered.

  His name on her lips pulled at his soul, and when she reached out to touch him, his heart leapt at the contact. He quit running from her then. It had been useless, and she had tried to tell him, but once again he hadn’t listened.

  He pulled her to him and wrapped his arms tight around her as he buried is face in her neck, inhaling the clean, fresh smell of her hair.

  The feel of her soft body in his arms suddenly eased an ache in him he hadn’t known was there. He pulled back and put his hands on either side of her face as he gazed into her mystical blue eyes.

  “Don’t ask me to leave,” she begged.

  Though her words were strong, there was doubt in her eyes. “Don’t you dare leave,” he said and lowered his head to her lips.

  Each taste of her was new, exotic and set his blood on fire. He wanted, nay needed, more of her. All of her. His hunger knew no bounds when it came to Ahryn and try as he might, he couldn’t control it.

  Ahryn’s heart thundered in her chest as Lugus claimed her lips with his own. His kiss was terrifying in its intensity, but she also felt his loneliness and fear as well.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her hands in his thick blonde hair as she opened herself to him. He had finally given in to her, and there was no way she was going to let him go.

  The water swirled around them as Lugus pulled her legs around him. She felt his rod against her stomach and yearned to feel him inside of her. She tried to move her hips, but he held her steady as his kisses made her weak with desire.

  She leaned her head back as his kisses trailed down her neck to her shoulders and chest. She felt the water move around her and opened her eyes to see Lugus moving toward the side of the bath.

  Her body was a mass of quivering nerves, her veins filled with molten desire. His fingers skimmed across her shoulder blades and down her back to rest at her hips. She sighed as he pushed his rod against her sex.

  A moan lodged in her throat as his hand moved to brush the underside of her breast, a breast already heavy with need and aching for his touch. She bit her lip as he continued to tease her breast with his touch while his lips nibbled and kissed her neck.

  Her sex ached and pulsed each time his rod brushed against her, but that’s all he would give her, that simple touch. She was near mindless from his teasing. When she decided to explore him, she found her wrists captured in one hand above her head. She opened her eyes to see him smiling down at her.

  “Tonight I’m going to love your properly, Ahryn. Tonight is mine.”

  His words sent a thrill through her that landed with a thud at her sex.

  She felt something at her back and recognized it as the side of the bath. Lugus had situated her between him and the bath as he continued to work his magic on her with his mouth.

  With her head leaned back against the side, Ahryn moved her hips against his and was rewarded with a deep moan. She smiled and moved her hips again. He didn’t stop her and she became bolder with her need.

  When his hands moved to her hips, she assumed he would halt her, but he had other ideas. His fingers skimmed the inside of her thighs and near her center, but never touching her sex. Time and again he would move close to her sex, and just as she thought he would finally touch her, his hand skittered away.

  She moaned and attempted to rub her hips against his rod, but his hands stilled her. She thought she heard him chuckle just before his head bent and kiss the top of each breast. As she arched her back for him to accept her nipple, his head moved and only his chin grazed her sensitive nipple.

  Her hands gripped his shoulders, silently begging him to relieve her of the teasing. His lips and tongue traced patterns on her breasts, always near her aching nipples, but never touching.

  Her sex throbbed and her nipples hardened as desire spiked through her. She was mindless of anything but the raging need running through her.

  A scream tore from her throat when Lugus’ thumb rubbed across her sex. In the next heartbeat his other hand cupped her breast as he rolled her nipple between two fingers. While his fingers continued to tweak her nipples, his thumb worked its assault on her sex, rubbing across her nub with the lightest touch.

  Ahryn was already half way to release before he touched her, and it only took a few strokes of his thumb over her sex to send her toward her climax.

  Her body jerked as the orgasm claimed her, sending waves upon waves of pleasure over her with each stroke of Lugus’ finger over her sex.

  When she was finally able to open her eyes, she looked down to see him still rolling her nipple between his fingers. She raised her gaze to him and rubbed her hips against his.

  “That wasn’t exactly fair,” she mumbled.

  He smiled, a smile that transformed his face into magnificence. “Maybe not, but you enjoyed it.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Lugus’ body burned to bury himself deep inside of Ahryn, but he held onto his thin thread of control with all his might. He would make this night last forever, for he would need it in the years to come.

  As the last tremor went through her, Lugus gently picked Ahryn up out of the water and laid her on floor. He climbed out of the bath and picked her up to carry her to one of several settees tucked in the corners of the room.

  Her finger traced down his neck to his shoulder. He glanced down into her eyes and saw them still glazed with passion, a passion he had ignited. She was the first thing he had done right, and he wanted to keep it that way.

  When he reached the settee he laid her down and moved beside her. He didn’t know how long they gazed into each other’s eyes, he just knew he felt contentment, something he had never thought to experience again.

  “What are you thinking?” she asked.

  He didn’t wish to break their mood, so kept his feelings to himself and said instead, “I’m thinking of all the different ways I want to make love to you.”

  She laughed and leaned up to kiss his shoulder. “You don’t have to do it all tonight. We have years ahead of us, and I intend to see that you love me every night.”

  Lugus leaned down to kiss her instead of giving her the answer he knew she wanted.

  As he explored her hot mouth, his body shook with need, a need that only Ahryn could satisfy. He didn’t question why his body had connected with Ahryn. It was a part of life on their realm, but he knew there wasn’t a future fo
r them. Not now.

  Not ever.

  He trailed his mouth down her slender throat to nibble on the lobe of her ear. She moaned and ran her hands down his back, sending chills racing along his skin. Her touch drove him insane with desire and he didn’t know how much longer he could hold off before he plunged inside her hot sheath.

  Never had his need been so great, his desire ruling out everything. But with Ahryn, things had always been different.

  “Lugus,” she whispered in his ear as his mouth moved down to her breasts.

  He lifted his gaze to her face as he cupped her breast and took her hard nipple in his mouth. As he swirled his tongue around her nipple and began to suck, her eyes rolled back and she dropped her head onto the pillow.

  Lugus wanted this night to be special, something he could remember for the long nights ahead. He intended to memorize Ahryn’s magnificent body, the feel of her breasts in his hands, the heat of her body as he filled her. Every fiber of his being would know Ahryn.

  His hand continued to caress her full breasts while his mouth moved to her other nipple. Her hips rubbed against his chest as her pleasure rose, and his rod throbbed with desire.

  Ahryn was surrounded by bliss. How many nights had she dreamed of Lugus claiming her? How many times had she wondered if she would ever feel his body against hers again?

  A moan escaped her lips as his mouth left her breasts and kissed down her stomach. His tongue lapped at her navel as her hands gripped his shoulders. Her sex throbbed and clenched, a bolt of desire sweeping through her.

  His hands gripped her hips just before she was lifted off the settee and placed on his lap, her back to his chest. She longed for the feel of Lugus deep inside her, to have him fill her completely.

  He began to kiss the back of her neck as his hands roamed over her breasts and stomach, barely grazing her sex. She tried to hold in a whimper when he pulled her back to lean against him and spread her legs so each one fell over one of his, exposing her to the cool air.

  She shuddered, her mind wondering what new pleasure Lugus would give her next. She didn’t have long to wait as his hands cupped her breasts and began to tweak her already sensitive nipples.

  Just when she didn’t think she could take any more, Lugus’ hands moved down her stomach and over her hips to rest on her thighs. Her breath locked in her chest as she waited, yearning for him to touch her, to ease the ache within her.

  Then, his fingers spread her folds, opening her fully. Ahryn moaned as his finger dipped into her center and spread her arousal over her sex. His thumb circled her pearl as his finger entered her, stroking her to new heights. He entered a second finger, stretching her.

  “By the stars you’re tight,” he whispered as he nipped at her ear.

  Ahryn shuddered and gripped his forearms as he pushed farther into her. She cried out, her climax building again. With just a touch Lugus could send her body soaring.

  “Lugus,” she moaned as she ground her hips against him.

  Suddenly, his hand was gone. She started to turn around to face him when his hands gripped her hips and lifted her. That’s when she felt the tip of his rod against her sex. Slowly, he guided her down his length only to stop.

  “Nay,” she cried and tried to move against him, but he held her still.

  His face was pressed against her neck, his chest rising and falling rapidly. “Why didn’t you tell me, Ahryn?”

  Through her haze of desire she realized what he asked. “I never found anyone I wanted to share my body with. Until you.”

  For several heartbeats Lugus didn’t move, then he kissed her neck softly. “This might hurt.”

  Ahryn knew it would hurt, but she also knew she had to have him fill her. All of him. She didn’t wait on him but used her legs to lift herself up. He must have known what she was doing, because as she lowered herself, he shifted his hips and broke through her hymen.

  The pain broke through her desire, but Ahryn’s body was in such a state of need, that she hardly felt anything other than the fullness of Lugus as he filled her completely.

  “I’ve waited for this, for you,” she said as she turned her head and kissed him.

  Lugus took her mouth and put as much passion and love into the kiss as he could, praying she felt the depth of his feelings for her. He had never been so humbled. It had never crossed his mind that Ahryn might be untouched. Most Fae experienced sex before they married. It was part of their culture, especially since Fae were very sensual creatures.

  He gently rocked his hips and heard the breathy moan that left Ahryn’s lips. His need for her had only grown with each touch and taste of her until he shook with it. He broke the kiss and continued to move his hips until she rocked against him.

  Then he allowed her to control the tempo. He closed his eyes and let himself explore the pleasure that poured through his body. It wasn’t long until his jaw clenched as his orgasm threatened. He wasn’t about to peak without taking Ahryn with him.

  He moved his arms to encircle her. With one hand, he plucked at a nipple, and with the other, he found her pearl and rolled it between his fingers until she was panting and calling out his name.

  She was so close, but Lugus didn’t know if he could hold off much longer. Then, Ahryn’s body jerked as her climax claimed her, and Lugus let himself go, pouring his seed deep inside her.

  It seemed an eternity later that he opened his eyes to find himself lying back on the settee still deep inside Ahryn as she lay on his chest.

  Lugus blinked as he realized what he had just shared with Ahryn. It had been glorious and unique, and he knew deep in the pit of his soul that he would never experience such wonders again with another woman. Ahryn was meant for him.

  It was too bad he wasn’t the right man to claim her.

  ~ ~ ~

  Lugus watched the sun rise over the horizon and embedded the memory in his mind. He glanced at the settee and Ahryn sleeping soundly. He had made love to her many times during the night and each time he found he wanted her more than the last.

  His appetite for her was growing and he feared it could very well take over his life. If he tasted her sweet flesh or kissed her plump lips once more, he knew he could never leave her. And he cared about her too much for that.

  Lugus jerked as if struck as he realized what he had just thought.

  He cared of Ahryn, cared for her more than he had ever cared for another person. What he thought was love for Moira was nothing compared to his feelings for Ahryn.

  And he knew she would do whatever it took to be by his side, which helped to make up his mind.

  His eyes moved to the doors as they silently opened and he spotted Tane. He gave the Draconian a nod before he knelt beside Ahryn and traced her jaw with his finger.

  Because he was too afraid of what would happen if he actually uttered the words, he mouthed, “I love you, Ahryn.”

  With one last look at her, he walked from the bath.

  “Lugus?”

  He ignored Tane’s question and walked to the throne room. “Whatever questions you might have, keep them,” he told the Draconian.

  “You should have told her.”

  Lugus stopped and whirled around to face Tane. “Told who what?” Tane crossed his arms over his chest and glared. “You know I speak of Ahryn. You should have told her you weren’t planning on returning here.”

  Lugus quickly looked away lest the Draconian see how desperately he wished to cling to Ahryn and the feelings she stirred within him.

  “You can return,” Tane said.

  Lugus looked to the throne room and Rufina sitting quietly on her throne. “I can’t. There isn’t forgiveness in the things I’ve done.”

  He hurried away from Tane before the Draconian said more or dug deeper. All Lugus had to hold onto was the night he and Ahryn had spent together and the knowledge that he was finally doing the right thing.

  As his footsteps took him closer to his sister-in-law, he saw her fair head raise and hope shine in
her blue depths.

  “Today?” she asked, trying to hide the eagerness in her voice.

  Lugus brought her hand to his lips and placed a light kiss on her knuckles. “Right now. I will return Theron to you,” he promised and stepped away to see Aimery standing off to the left.

  He didn’t wait to see if Aimery had anything to say to him, he knew how the Fae commander felt. Lugus’ gaze scanned the huge room until he spotted Tane leaning against a wall.

  “I had a feeling you would want to do this today,” Tane said as he pushed off the wall and walked to Lugus.

  “Theron has been in the darkness long enough. I fear to wait too much longer.”

  Tane nodded. “What do you need?”

  “Water,” Lugus said. “As much water as I can carry.”

  Rufina licked her lips. “Aimery, please see to Lugus’ request.”

  Lugus watched as Aimery left the throne room before he turned to Tane. “You have the look of someone who has something to say.”

  In the depths of his being, Lugus prayed Tane would not let it slip that he wasn’t planning on returning with Theron. For long moments Tane returned his stare.

  “I do,” Tane said and walked toward him. “Have you not wondered how you were able to open the gateway to this realm?”

  Lugus shrugged. “I haven’t thought much about it.”

  “I’m amazed that no one has stepped forward with the reason,” Tane continued. “I would have assumed that someone at the palace would have known the truth.”

  “What truth?” Rufina asked.

  Tane visibly sighed. “Lugus, as soon as you were born, the markings were placed on your body.”

  Lugus looked down at his arms were the tattoos covered his skin. “Why?”

  “You were heir to the kingdom,” Tane replied. “Only upon your death would the markings transfer to Theron unless you had an heir.”

  Lugus ran a hand down his face. “No one ever explained to me what they were.”

  “I imagine your father had planned to impart all that knowledge to you at a certain time.”