“Where is my father being kept?” He’d pushed forward, his chains rattling.
“Somewhere safe. You must no’ fear for him.” She’d left, taking his heart with her when she had.
His chosen one had been raised far away from her true clan, and now his battle to capture and contain his fiery mate had begun, a battle he’d never walk away from.
Today, she’d learn that the fae never gave up on one of their own.
He lowered his satchel to the ground, toed off his boots and unbelted his sword. ’Twas time for his mate to see he was back and wasn’t leaving without her, not one more time. At the edge of the pool, he planted his hands on his hips, determination spurring him on. “Kyla.”
Water splashed and his enticing siren gasped and dunked under the surface. She came back up spluttering, her beautiful blue eyes alight. “Coll? What are you—” She scrubbed her knuckles into her eyes then blinked. “Nay, you’re no’ Coll. Who are you?”
“Rand MacKenzie, my lady, at your service.”
“Then be gone if you wish to be of service to me.”
“That is an impossible request.” He unraveled the MacKenzie plaid he’d donned, dropped it onto the ground next to her belongings and in his black tunic covering him to mid-thigh, walked along the mossy edge of the pool toward the overhanging ledge at the far side. He scooped up her shift lying on the stone and lifted his gaze to his chosen one. “Why did you call me Coll?”
“You look so similar to my foster brother, shockingly so.” She treaded water, the murky depths thankfully now hiding her body from him. Certainly if he caught sight of her bare skin again, he’d want only to hold her in his arms. “How did you sneak past my guard, Rand MacKenzie?”
“I arrived through one of Cherub’s portals.” The truth. He had no reason to lie to her, not when he wanted her to know exactly who he was. “You’ve surely heard of the fae princess who is the guardian of the fae?”
“I—I—” She gasped and went down again before bobbing back to the surface. She spluttered, shoved her wet hair back from her face. “I have, but—who exactly are you?”
“Deep in your soul, you know exactly who I am.” Needing to be closer, he dove and kicked through the darkened depths toward the one woman who belonged to him, just as much as he belonged to her.
’Twas time to confront his chosen one, to chase her until she succumbed to his desires. He would entice and woo her, hunt and claim the one who held the other half of his soul.
No more would he delay.
Chapter 2
Kyla screeched as the dark-haired warrior known as Rand dove into the pool. He burst from the depths and treaded water in front of her, his stunning golden eyes shining bright. She could drown in that heavenly gaze, would never mistake it for another’s.
Memories surged, the name “Rand” echoing through her mind. She’d been so young, had skipped up the cliff side trail near their village and found Ronan at the top beside a pine tree, his dirk in hand. She’d danced around him, caught the word Rand etched into the trunk and asked him what he’d been doing. He’d gone all flush-faced, muttered something about it being a nickname and she’d giggled and teased him all week about it.
Deep in your soul, you know exactly who I am.
His words taunted her.
Gone was his usual head of shoulder-length locks and scruffy beard. The stunning golden color had shimmered bright even under the meager candlelight within the dungeons. Now, dark hair graced his head and somehow the wrinkles beside his eyes and across his forehead had disappeared. His cheeks appeared a little higher, and his mouth was most definitely fuller. “How is it you’re here?”
“Say my name.” Such need flared in his gaze.
“Ronan.” Gently, she touched her palm to his cheek, her very soul soaring free.
“Aye, you’ll always recognize me, no matter if I try to conceal my true identity.”
“What are you doing here?”
“That should be obvious.” He held out her wet shift. “Does my lady wish her undergarment returned?”
“Aye, but your lady also wishes you’d never returned.” She snatched her shift from him, tried to find the hem within the drenched mess and only ended up sinking under the surface once more.
He grasped her hips and lifted her back up. “Here, allow me to aid you.”
“How did you manage to change your appearance so greatly?” She slung one arm around his neck and frowned at his plump lips. “Those should be considered criminal.”
“’Tis my disguise so I might infiltrate Carron Castle without issue, and you should be asking me why I stayed away for so long.”
“You arena permitted near Coll’s keep, and this pool is far too close to it for my liking.” He’d shaved off his thick beard, his firm and angular jaw so enticing. She smoothed along his chin and down the long line of his neck to the deep V in his black tunic. The fabric clung to him, outlined the wide expanse of his muscled chest and—oh dear. She snatched her hand away. “Have you fully healed?”
“Aye, and those who are soul bound need the touch of their chosen one. I can no more release you than you can truly pull away.”
“Soul bound we might be, but enemies we still are.”
“You’ll never be my enemy, Kyla. You’re Isaiah and Grace’s daughter, a mind-walker and one of the fae. Even afore you were kidnapped, I knew you’d one day be mine. Since I’ve been gone all I’ve wished to do is return so I might hold you in my arms again. I’m certainly prepared for any battle to claim you.” His golden gaze swirled and when she touched her mind to his, his thoughts barreled through with such fierce intensity. He wasn’t leaving, not without her.
“Where have you been this past month?” So many times she’d tried to reach him, to touch her mind to his only each time she’d came up against a black hole of nothingness. “You said you arrived through one of Cherub’s portals.”
“Aye, our fae princess, following my rescue from Carron’s dungeons, took me to a place far beyond these lands, to Ivanson Castle in the twenty-first century.”
“I’ve yet to meet Cherub, but she and my foster father have battled many a time. I did though see her that night you escaped. I watched from my chamber window as she stood within the inner bailey and whipped up a storm that kept our warriors away from the dungeon’s entrance. She truly took you to the future?”
“She did, and once there, I was attended to by a healer, a great physician who also aided me in my physical transformation. Things are so different in that time. Medical advances have been made, progress which boggles the mind.” He lowered his gaze and swept it over her lips then lower still, down her neck before he gulped, his throat working hard. “You need to don your shift. I cannae quite see below the water’s surface, but I know what’s there all the same. I watched you from the trees afore I made my presence known.”
She should be embarrassed, particularly with the way he now held her, but that emotion didn’t arise. Being with her chosen one filled her with such need, far beyond anything else. “Hold onto me while I put it on.”
“Of course.” His grip on her waist tightened.
“Thank you.” She shimmied the clingy cotton over her head and pulled it down before clutching his broad shoulders. “When you were last here you asked about your father and I couldnae answer you as I wished to. Niall’s well and his bond with Muirin deepens. Duncan rode out this morn to Ardan House to check on his training.”
“I didnae care for the underhanded way Muirin ensured my father’s capture and mine, yet I understand why she did so.” He curled his fingers into her hips. “They’re soul bound, and none should ever separate those who are. That goes for us as well. I want my chosen one, have waited far too long to join us together in all ways.” He swam with her back toward the bank, lifted her up onto the mossy edge then heaved himself up beside her. Water sluiced down his body, plastering his tunic to his chest and thighs.
“Sometimes things go beyond our control.”
“As they have for us.” He picked up her hand, gently uncurled her fingers and spread her palm against his chest, right over the pounding beat of his heart.
“I love Duncan and Coll. They were my lifeline after my abduction, have looked after me each and every day since.” She caressed his chest, her fingers playing with the loosened ties at the V of his tunic.
“I’m glad you had them, but now you also have me.” He tipped her back onto the lush moss and laid down half over top of her.
“Ronan.” She should push him away, only this might be the only opportunity she ever had to experience a few moments of his touch, a sliver of time she desperately desired afore she spoke vows with Duncan. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
“Allow our bond to strengthen.” He pulled her onto her side so she faced him, smoothed one hand along her outer thigh and tucked her top leg snugly between his bare legs, their bodies aligned from head to toe. “Give me some time to show you how deep it can run. Touch me, just as I wish to touch you.”
Mated pairs needed the touch of their chosen one on a deeper level to anything else. Before she’d been taken from the village, she’d touched the minds of her fae-blooded kind who were mated, had sensed the deep love that drove them within their bonds. If possible, she would touch him just as freely as she desired, but—
“I’ve longed to hold you in my arms, Kyla. Doing so calms and soothes me in a way I can never explain.” He skimmed one finger along her shift’s wet and clingy neckline, right where the top edge sagged and exposed the upper swells of her breasts. “Although if I go too far in touching you, tell me, but I’m thirsty for more, want only to surround myself with you and all that you are.”
“I shouldnae be encouraging your pursuit.” Except she couldn’t help but hold onto him too. She was so starved for his touch.
“I will pursue you to the ends of this Earth, shall never give you up.” His gaze raked over her, burning hot and soul tingling as he followed the curves of her breasts and her hips under her wet shift.
“Colin MacKenzie has controlled my actions since my abduction and always will.”
“He controls naught if you cease giving him the power to do so. Touch my mind, see for yourself how committed I am to the path I’ve now chosen, a path that will only ever lead to you.” He caught her cheeks, smoothed his thumbs across her lips, his breath stuttering as he leaned in and pressed his forehead against hers. “Accept me. Choose me, the same way I wish to choose you. Allow me to honor and cherish you, for the rest of our days.”
A gentle breeze whispered through the trees and swirled over them, fluttered his tunic’s drying hem and gave a glimpse of his muscled thigh. She squeezed her eyes shut, opened them again and almost melted at the intoxicating heat in his golden eyes. Like liquid fire, his gaze blazed strong and true. “Kiss me, Ronan. Please.”
“I’ve longed to hear you say that.” He captured her mouth with his and licked across her tongue, his breath mingling so seductively with hers and making her arch into him for more.
Gently, she sucked on his indecently full lower lip then indulged in her need for even more. Fingers digging into his shoulders, she kissed him back, so wantonly before she pulled him fully on top of her and sighed as his heavenly weight settled exactly where she needed it. Reveling in his hot and virile scent, the sun overhead rising higher and bathing them in its warmth, she embraced her mate and the depth of their bond. “I like your kisses, my stubborn mate.”
“Aye, I can be beyond stubborn when my course is set, and currently my course is set on you.”
“So I see, yet you’ve returned for me when you shouldnae have.”
“I would never have been able to stay away from you.” He kissed her again and she held on, grasped a firm hold of his mind and tunneled deep inside.
“What did I do to deserve you, Ronan?” She would crave him for the rest of her days, her heart clenching at the thought of ever having to let him go. This was pure torture and denying him was impossible.
“You’re everything I could ever desire in a mate, all I’ve ever hoped for, a woman of strength, loyalty and passion. I adore and respect that you stand so strongly at your foster brothers’ sides, but now ’tis time for you to stand just as strongly at mine.” He palmed the back of her head and held her mouth to within a breath of his lips. “You are my destiny and have been since the moment of your birth, just as I will always be yours.”
He swooped in and took her breath away with his fierce passion and powerfully spoken words.
Aye, he was her destiny, except how did she go about making everything right? How could she protect her parents from Colin if she chose Ronan over Duncan? Never had she been placed in such a difficult position before.
* * * *
With all the longing he held deep inside him, Ronan allowed his desire for Kyla its full release. He rolled them both until she came up over top of him, caressed down her sides and roamed over her lush bottom. Hands bunched in her wet undergarment, he scrunched the long length of it up and smoothed over the backs of her legs. Her fast breathing and racing heartbeat had his passion flaring. He took her mouth with his and kissed her, deeply, until her sweet and alluring fragrance wrapped around him and saturated his senses. Since the moment he’d found her in the dungeons, she’d tempted him beyond his endurance and he didn’t doubt she always would.
“Mmm, Ronan.” She murmured his name against his lips then kissed him with such soul-searing passion in return. “I have so much to tell you.”
“I want to touch you, as freely as those who are mated do.” All that roared through his mind was the need to mate, to bind his chosen one to him in the most elemental way. “Will you allow it?”
“Allow what, exactly?” She nuzzled his neck, licked over his thumping pulse point then hands on his chest, pushed up and straddled him, her legs either side of his thighs and her shift stretched tight across her knees. Her damp golden-red locks cascaded down her back and swept across his legs behind her.
“Allow me to bring you pleasure, to tighten the bonds between us.” Slowly, he slid his hands along her upper thighs toward the heat of her pressed against him, her shift rising inch by inch as he did and his need for her an unstoppable beat in his blood. “I’ll take naught from you, will leave you fully intact, but I want to love you right here and right now, with all that I am.”
“I can barely think straight.” She wriggled against him and his cock hardened painfully.
“Then allow me to do the thinking for both of us.” He needed to touch her, all of her, to show her how it should be between a mated pair. He eased one hand underneath the fabric of her shift, the cotton sliding cool and wet across the back of his hand. He couldn’t halt his current desire, didn’t have a chance of doing so. All he wanted to do was push his fingers deep inside her, to give her whatever pleasure he could, to hear her scream his name and know she did so because of him.
“Aye, touch me.” She licked her lips, slowly leaned in, her breasts swaying forward and he lifted one clear of the sagging neckline and flicked his thumb over the beaded tip.
He palmed her full breast, squeezed the lush flesh and with her mind embedded deep within his mind, he showed her through his thoughts exactly how he wanted her to lean forward and put her breast in his mouth.
“I see you are going to be a very demanding mate. Stubborn times two.” She leaned forward then gasped as he suctioned his mouth around her delectable nipple. He played the tip with his tongue, drew the bud deep inside his mouth and wished only to consume her. She tasted exquisite, her skin cool from the water but also flaring with heat from his touch and she clung to him, pushed the sweet morsel even deeper into his mouth before arching her back and rocking her lower body over him.
His blood roared for more and he couldn’t halt his need. He freed her other breast then gave it as much attention as he’d laved on the first.
“Mmm, so divine.” She cupped the back of his head, her fingers spearing
through his hair as she held his mouth against her. “I need to touch you too. Show me what you want me to do within your mind.”
He gave her the image, of her hand wrapping around his aching shaft, of how he wanted her to stroke him and she shuffled back a touch, lifted his shirt hem and wrapped her hand around his erection. No hesitation. She touched him as if she owned him, which she did. All of him. Such a kaleidoscope of emotions roared through him, from pleasure to pain and everything in between. “I’m going to touch you below as well, Kyla. I promise to be careful.”
“I trust you.”
“Aye, as those who are mated do.” He nudged her legs a little farther apart, the heady aroma of her arousal swirling around him. Along her hot inner folds, he stroked, back and forth until he slid one finger deep inside her channel.
“Oh, that feels exquisite.” She captured his mouth and kissed him, her lips moving over his in the most divine way.
Hell, his woman certainly knew how to kiss, to stoke the fire deep inside him into raging life. All he wanted to do right now was toss her onto her back, dive between her legs and imbibe at the very heart of her. Instead, he plunged a second finger inside her and caressed her in time with how she stroked him. She was his sustenance, the only woman who would own him, heart, body and soul and he never wanted this moment to end.
Fondling her deep inside, he allowed his hunger for her to roar to life and as he did, she swiped her thumb over the head of his cock, made a buzz of sensations fire up at the base of his spine and sizzle around to the front. His cock wept for more and he pushed deeper into her incredible touch. “Dinnae stop what you’re doing to me.” He seized her mouth, swept his tongue into the hot cavern and tasted the incredible honeyed recesses within. “I want a lifetime with you, beginning right now, Kyla.”
“I can see everything you wish for me to do within your mind and I hope I’m getting it right.” She pumped his shaft, gently cupped his balls with her other hand and he gritted his teeth to keep from coming. Nay, he wouldn’t allow his passion its release until he’d wrung hers from her as well.
Highlander's Bride: Medieval Romance (The Fae Book 1) Page 5
