Midnight's Master

by Donna Grant

  It was what she had wanted, too. She should have known that a passion burning this hot couldn’t be denied. It might burn out fast, but it would be a wild, astonishing ride.

  Flames of desire licked her skin until she was sensitive to every touch, every caress.

  Logan suckled her nipple and she cried out, clutching him. The pleasure was so intense it hurt.

  He lifted her hips until the broad head of his cock rubbed against her sex. Gwynn dug her fingernails in his shoulders as a shudder of bliss ran through her as he grazed her swollen sex.

  And then with one powerful thrust he joined them.

  Gwynn’s breath caught, locking in her throat as her body wept with joy to finally be joined with Logan’s. She tilted her hips as he pushed deeper.

  He held her hips as he filled her, stretched her.

  Logan had never known such exquisite pleasure before. Had never felt a body as tight as Gwynn’s. He dug his fingers into her bottom as he lifted her even closer, drawing himself out of the liquid heat of her sex.

  Only to push into her again.

  He smiled as she moaned, her lips parted and her eyes closed. He’d never seen anyone so beautiful, never felt such a driving need to claim a woman as his.

  But it was exactly what he wanted to do.

  He wanted Gwynn. Wanted everyone to know she was his. To lay claim to her so no one, least of all Deirdre or Declan, would dare try and take her away.

  Logan angled his hips as he continued to fill Gwynn. He was relentless, heartless in his need to hear her scream with desire.

  Her moans turned to soft cries as he pounded into her again and again, harder, deeper. She clung to him, the water from the shower flowing between them and adding to the friction between their bodies.

  He could feel his climax nearing. Logan looked down at their joined bodies to see his cock sunk in her sheath. When he glanced up he saw Gwynn’s violet eyes open and watching him.

  Logan pulled out of her heat until he was nearly free before thrusting deep again, harder and more powerful than before.

  She cried out. And that was just what he needed to hear.

  Logan repeated the movement until her breaths came in panting gasps. He felt her body tighten, knew she was close to peaking.

  He set up a driving rhythm. Watched as her back bowed, felt her nails break his skin.

  And then she screamed his name as she came apart.

  Logan barely heard her. The first clamp of her body around his cock sent him over the edge as release swept him. He held her tight against him, as sensations too wonderful and intense to name exploded through him.

  Pleasure held them, bound them.

  Gwynn opened her eyes to find Logan gazing at her. His heart thundered in time with hers, the heat of their bodies still throbbing where they were joined. Small tremors from the amazing climax still wracked her body.

  She’d never known such pleasure and contentment could exist. It wasn’t just her body Logan had taken. It was her will to hold him at bay.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Gwynn pushed Logan’s wet hair from his eyes as he pulled out of her and lowered her to the ground.

  He wrapped an arm around her and held her against his chest. He kissed her slowly, thoroughly, before pulling back. “We need to hurry.”

  “Give me five minutes.”

  He nodded and stepped out of the shower. She hurried to wash and rinse her hair as she watched him dry his tall, muscled body.

  Gwynn sighed as she recalled the feel of his thick erection inside her.

  “What are you smiling about?” Logan asked.

  She giggled as she washed herself, mindful of her still sensitive body. “I’m recalling the few moments we just spent.”

  “It went too quickly. I want an entire night with you.”

  Gwynn shivered despite the hot water. An entire night? Her knees went weak just thinking about it.

  She turned off the water and reached for the towel Logan held out to her. His smile was gone, replaced with a frown. “How much do you think the others know about Declan?” she asked.

  “Probably nothing. Deirdre is a formidable opponent. The fact that we now have a second drough to fight will make things even more difficult for us. They brought your bag up.”

  She didn’t comment on his change of topic. He was worried, and he had every right to be. By all accounts, both of them should be dead.

  Gwynn pulled on a pair of white panties with thin lavender stripes and a matching bra. She got out a pair of light blue jeans, her favorite black V-neck sweater, and her black boots. She quickly combed through her hair and smoothed her hand down her front.

  “Okay. I think I’m ready.”

  Logan smiled and held out his hand for her. Gwynn took it, comforted by his warm, secure hold. The clicking of her boots against the stone floor echoed down the hallways.

  With each step, her nerves grew more frazzled. And when they reached the top of the stairs and she looked into the great hall to see everyone sitting at the table, her mouth went dry.

  “They are good people,” Logan whispered. “You need no’ be afraid.”

  “I’m not the kind of woman who has a lot of friends. I keep to myself.”

  He squeezed her hand. “I’ve no’ lied to you before. They willna hurt you.”

  She realized he was right. Yet it wasn’t so much meeting new people that made her nervous. These were Logan’s friends, his family. What if they didn’t want her here? What if they thought her magic wasn’t good enough?

  Gwynn didn’t state any of her fears. She allowed Logan to think everything was all right as they walked down the steps, his hand at the small of her back.

  He had released her hand, a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by her. Maybe he didn’t want the others to know what had transpired between them.

  “We were about to come get you two,” said a woman with long, curly chestnut hair and kind mahogany eyes.

  Logan chuckled and guided Gwynn to a spot at the table. He waited for her to sit, then took the spot next to her. “Lest you forget, Cara, Gwynn was injured,” Logan said with a wink. “Before we begin, I need to introduce all of you to her.”

  Gwynn licked her lips and let her eyes wander around the room. Beneath the table, Logan’s hand took hers again.

  “First, our leader,” Logan said. “Fallon MacLeod.”

  Fallon dipped his head of dark brown hair. He wore it long, and his dark green eyes saw much. He smiled and said, “Welcome to MacLeod Castle.”

  “Thank you,” Gwynn replied.

  Logan nodded down the table. “And sitting next to Fallon on his left is his lovely wife, Larena.”

  “The female Warrior,” Gwynn said.

  Larena’s smile was wide and her smoky blue eyes were as vibrant as her golden blonde hair. “Aye. The lone female Warrior, but not the lone female.”

  Everyone laughed, which put Gwynn at ease.

  “Lucan MacLeod and his wife, Cara, are sitting to the right of Fallon.”

  Lucan bowed his head, and Gwynn realized he was the one who had driven her car to the castle.

  She was introduced to Quinn and Marcail, Hayden and Isla, Galen and Reaghan, and Broc and Isla. By the time Logan was done, Gwynn’s head was spinning.

  “And this,” Logan said. “Is Gwynn Austin. She’s from Texas.”

  “Logan has told me about each of you,” she said. “I’m glad to finally meet you.”

  “And we’re glad you brought Logan back to us,” Hayden said.

  Isla leaned her arms on the table and said, “Logan said he never told you where the castle was. How did you know?”

  “I have no idea,” Gwynn answered. “I just learned a few days ago that I am a Druid and that I can hear the wind.”

  There was a collective gasp from the women.

  “I asked it for help, but it never answered,” Gwynn finished.

  Reaghan chuckled. “Oh, I think it did. It might not have told you, but it led you t
o us.”

  Gwynn hadn’t considered that. “I suppose.”

  “Let’s back up,” Fallon said. “Start from the beginning, please.”

  Gwynn sat back as Logan began his tale about arriving in the year 2012 on the same day she met him. He told them how he realized she was a Druid and set out to help her find her father, and how she had helped Logan learn the modern culture.

  “Have you found your father, Gwynn?” Cara asked.

  Logan frowned. “We’re getting to that.”

  “I was able to get on to the university’s network, where I discovered my father had gotten the Book of Craigan from a Declan Wallace, who happened to be a Scot.”

  “That book led Gary to Mallaig,” Logan said.

  Hayden’s brow puckered in a frown. “That’s where you were when Deirdre attacked and killed Duncan.”

  “Aye,” Logan said. “I found it more than coincidental that Gary would be there.”

  Marcail played with one of the tiny braids atop her head. “What is this book?”

  Gwynn exchanged a look with Logan before she said, “I was approached by a woman on Eigg who told me I was the Keeper of the Tablet of Orn. The Book of Craigan, we think, tells how to get to the Tablet.”

  Galen ran a hand through his head of dark blond hair. “Damn.”

  “We saw a picture of the book,” Logan said. “Gwynn then told me she had seen on Eigg the same double spiral symbol that was on the book. I knew I had seen it before as well.”

  Sonya nodded. “The amulet I found.”

  “That’s why the wyrran came,” Gwynn said. Every eye in the room focused on her.

  Fallon leaned forward and asked softly, “What did you say?”

  “Wyrran,” Logan answered for her. “I heard them. I got her to safety before they found her. That’s when we decided to pay Declan Wallace a visit. To see if he knew where Gary was, but also to see if we could find the book.”

  “What did you discover?” Broc asked.

  “Hell,” Gwynn answered before she thought better of it. She forced a laugh and shifted in her seat. “I’m sorry. It was just so … awful.”

  “Logan,” Hayden urged.

  Logan wrapped his fingers more securely around Gwynn’s cold hand. He knew what had happened at Wallace’s would likely haunt her for a long time.

  “His home was a mansion,” Logan began. “They were no’ going to allow us entry until Gwynn stated her name. Once inside I felt drough magic.”

  “Deirdre,” Lucan said.

  Gwynn quirked her lips. “That’s what I thought, but Logan said it was different.”

  “Different how?” Isla asked.

  Logan shrugged. “It was still powerful black magic, but it wasna the same. I had felt Deirdre’s just a few days earlier, if you recall. I knew it was no’ her.”

  Broc snorted. “It was Wallace.”

  “Aye,” Logan said and sighed. “I realized it too late. By that time he was in the room with us, and I couldna get Gwynn out without danger.”

  “He confirmed that my father was working for him,” Gwynn said, her eyes on the opposite wall. “My fa … Gary is translating the text so Declan can find the Tablet.”

  Logan smiled when Reaghan patted Gwynn’s shoulder. “We don’t blame you for what your father did.”

  “Reaghan’s right,” Quinn said. “You are no’ responsible for his actions, Gwynn.”

  Logan winked at Gwynn when she gripped his hand tighter. “Wallace knew Gwynn was a Druid. He wanted to keep her there, but I wasna about to let that happen. He brought in men, and when their bullets didna put me down he realized what I was.”

  “One of his men called for X90s,” Gwynn said. “I didn’t know what they were. All I knew was that suddenly Logan was in pain.”

  Larena asked, “So how did you escape?”

  “Logan used his power over water,” Gwynn said with a smile. “The expression on those men’s faces when all that water came at them was priceless.”

  Logan chuckled and shook his head slightly. “Aye, but it didna keep them down for long. Gwynn called the wind. The next thing I knew, it came bursting through the windows. Glass flew everywhere. I doona remember much, but I do recall using what little strength I had to mix the water with her wind.”

  “We made it to the door,” Gwynn said and glanced at Logan. “There was so much blood all over him. And I slipped on the steps. I hoped Logan would make it to my car, because I heard Declan coming up behind me.”

  Logan ran a hand down his face. “His black magic is powerful. I knew Gwynn would need help, but I couldna even get to my knees. I crawled to the car, praying I didna pass out.”

  “He made it,” Gwynn said, “because the next thing I knew there were water and chunks of ice flying toward Declan. I used that time to run to the car and get the heck outta Dodge.”

  “What?” Logan asked.

  Hayden laughed. “It’s an American saying. I’ll explain later.”

  Logan rubbed his jaw. “I managed to tell Gwynn what was wrong with me, but I passed out when I was trying to tell her how to get here.”

  “You’re here,” Cara said. “Both of you. And that’s all that matters.”

  Fallon rose and began to pace behind his chair. “Deirdre wasna at Wallace’s?”

  “I would have felt her magic,” Logan said. “But I can almost guarantee that he was the one who brought her to this time.”

  Sonya let out a large sigh. “But why? If Declan is so powerful, why does he need Deirdre?”

  “A good question,” Broc said. “One I suspect we will find an answer to soon enough.”

  Logan released Gwynn’s hand and stood. “We need the book, Fallon.”

  Fallon paused and looked at Logan. “Why?”

  “Because if we don’t get the Tablet, then Declan or Deirdre will,” Gwynn said. “The Druids of Eigg are gone. There is no magic to keep Deirdre away as Logan said there used to be. All they have to do is find its hiding place to take it.”

  Logan waited impatiently as Fallon considered their words.

  It was Larena who stood and said, “Fallon, if you get me there, I can get inside and steal the book.”

  Galen nodded. “You know she’s right, Fallon. And so are Logan and Gwynn. We need the book to find the Tablet.”

  “How do I know you’ll be able to get the Tablet?” Fallon asked Gwynn.

  But it was Logan who answered. “Because I’m going to be there to help her.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Gwynn looked at Logan and saw in his face the determination and confidence she had come to associate with him. The darkness she’d seen in his eyes had lessened, but it was still there.

  “Suppose we do this,” Hayden said. “Suppose Larena gets inside Wallace’s house and takes the book. What next?”

  Broc cracked his knuckles. “We’ll need to be sure he doesna have additional magical security after what Logan and Gwynn did.”

  “He thinks I’m dead,” Logan said.

  Quinn shook his head of wavy light brown hair. “I disagree. If he knows who you are, he knows the rest of us are here.”

  “We’re speculating,” Gwynn said. “These are things Declan never spoke of. Let’s go back to what we do know.”

  Cara chuckled and grinned at Gwynn. “I like her. A lot.”

  The other women nodded, and Gwynn found herself more pleased than she could have expected.

  “I told you,” Logan whispered in her ear. “It’s impossible no’ to like you.”

  She met his hazel eyes. “Really?”

  “Really.”

  The sound of someone clearing their throat made Gwynn pull away from Logan’s hypnotic gaze. Her heart was pounding, her blood heating as she recalled the feel of his large, rough hands on her body.

  Gwynn turned her head back to the group and found Marcail’s knowing smile directed at her. Gwynn shifted in her seat.

  “So what do we know?” Fallon asked.

  Gwynn looked
around the table before she said, “We know Deirdre is here. She’s been here for at least three months.”

  “We knew that, but how did you know that?” Reaghan asked.

  “When Logan described to me what the wyrran were I remembered seeing a video on YouTube about three months ago featuring some new yellow creature. I showed it to Logan and he confirmed it was a wyrran. If they’ve been spotted, then that means Deirdre is here.”

  Lucan drummed his fingers on the table and twisted his lips. “We saw the same video.”

  “Then why did you no’ go after Deirdre?” Logan asked. “Broc can find anyone, anywhere. He even found Deirdre four centuries into the future.”

  Broc laid both of his hands flat on the table as he glared at Logan. “Do you think we have no’ tried to get to Deirdre? As soon as we realized she was here in this time, I went looking for her. I couldna find her. There was drough magic blocking me.”

  “Impossible.” Logan shook his head, as if he didn’t believe Broc’s words. “Deirdre never used her magic to hide herself from us before.”

  Fallon leaned his arms on the back of his chair. “And I doona believe she’s doing it now. I think it was Wallace who kept her hidden.”

  “He did block his magic in his home,” Logan said. “At least Broc was able to find Ian. Right?”

  Gwynn felt her heart constrict as silence met Logan’s question.

  “Nay,” Quinn finally answered. “The same black magic stopped Broc from locating Ian.”

  Logan slammed his hands on the table, making Gwynn jump. He rose and began to pace in long, fast steps. Gwynn licked her lips, wanting to reach out to him as his hands raked through his hair.

  “So all we know is that Deirdre is here, that we cannot find her or Ian, and that Wallace is another threat we need to deal with,” Logan said.

  Hayden let out a harsh breath and said, “It appears so. Gaining the book will definitely put a crimp in Wallace’s plans.”

  “But we don’t know what they are,” Larena reminded them.

  “Look for Deirdre again,” Logan told Broc.

  Broc furrowed his brows. “Why?”

  “When was the last time you searched for her?”

  “A couple of weeks ago.”