by Willa Blair
“It’s beyond me what Latharn sees in such a rude little bitch. And one who’s so plain and tiny as well. Ye have no tits. Ye have no curves. Ye are so small the man would split ye in two if he tried to give ye a good pounding. What did ye do to him while he walked in your dreams? How did ye trap his heart in your spell?”
Deardha had once again reverted to her beguiling form of pale ivory skin, voluptuous curves, and red, pouting lips. She cupped her hands under her heavy breasts and pushed them high as she arched her back. The creamy swells of tempting flesh threatened to overflow the deep vee of her low cut gown. “I remember how I rode him well and drew his seed many a time with any part of my body he cared to explore. I made him hard with the slightest glance, and yet not once did he offer his heart to be joined with mine.”
Nessa rolled her eyes and took a deep breath to control her seething emotions. How stupid did Deardha think she was? She knew Deardha baited her. The hag was trying to make her fly into a rage and waste what little strength she had left. Besides, even if Latharn had slept with the woman, it had been over six hundred years ago. Nessa shrugged a shoulder and pretended to stifle a bored yawn before she took the time to reply. “I could really care less about your technique. Obviously, it wasn’t good enough to keep him or he never would’ve come looking for me.”
Deardha’s lips curled into a vengeful sneer. “Once I’m finished destroying the insolent MacKay, I’m going to take a great deal of pleasure in torturing you. The hour will be upon us soon when he makes his presence known. The sun has but to rise a wee bit higher above the horizon, then my revenge will truly be sweet.”
Nessa rubbed her eyes to hide her surge of elation. Finding out that Latharn would be arriving soon was just the shot of adrenaline her waning strength needed. With newfound determination fueling her, Nessa pushed herself up from the floor. Shoving her hair out of her eyes, Nessa took a deep breath and edged her way closer to the electrified door.
With a bounce in her step from her newfound hope, Nessa goaded Deardha. “Since you’re so positive you’re going to win, take down the barricades. Unless you’re afraid?”
Deardha bared her teeth and opened the portal with a hissing wave of her hand. But she was prepared. As soon as the field disappeared she lobbed an energy ball at Nessa’s face. Nessa dodged and slipped through the doorway. She scurried into the main chamber of the mausoleum before Deardha resealed the door.
Her eyes darted about the room. Her heart jumped to her throat. Nessa needed a place to hide and catch her breath. She slid behind a reclining stone effigy. Nessa panted and pressed her back against the cold, damp stone. She struggled to slow her pounding heart and figure out her next move. A shaft of sunlight pouring across the floor caught her eye. The door to the mausoleum had to be open. She was almost free. Just as she was about to bolt for the outer door, Latharn stalked into the room.
His eyes flashed with eerie fire. Flexing his hands, the sheen of his well-muscled body glowed bronze in the light of the torches. Scowling about the room, a fearsome sneer on his face, Latharn exuded confidence for a battle.
Nessa vaulted herself at his body. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she planted tearful kisses all over his face. “It’s about time you got here! Now fry that bitch with a lightning bolt or something so this nightmare will be over.”
Latharn fought the urge to sweep her up into his arms and carry her off to the keep. He had to finish this or their family would never know any peace. Latharn sucked in a deep breath as he heard the inner souls remind him of what needed to be done. With a groan, Latharn settled her to the floor, cupping her face in his hand. He peered intently into her eyes, silently placing his words in her mind. No matter happens ye must trust what I do and remember that I love ye with every bit of my soul. Can ye do that, Nessa? Make your promise to me within your mind. Ye will trust me in what I am about to do?
A look of confusion replaced Nessa’s relief as she clenched her fists upon his shoulders. She’d heard his words even though he’d not spoken aloud, so silently, she replied, I’m not so sure I like the sound of that, but... I promise, I trust you with all my heart.
His thumb caressed the curve of her cheek. Latharn ached to crush her to his chest. But that was for later. He dare not overplay his hand. He must wage the war as they’d planned or lose everything to the darkness of the eternal abyss.
Lifting his head, Latharn put Nessa aside and raised his hands high above his head. His deep voice echoed with the legions of all the MacKays, the walls trembled as he bellowed the MacKay battle cry. “Bi Tren! Bi Treun!”
“No need to shout, my dearest love. I may be eons old but I can still hear ye perfectly well.” The enchantress floated her way out of the shadows and glided across the floor. The barest black silk gown clung to her body. The seductive shimmer accentuated each and every curve. Her ivory breasts swelled above the plunging neckline, her rose-tinted nipples strained through the edging of lace. The dress sank into the cleft of her thighs, hinting at the pleasure lying between.
“Tell me, Latharn. Ye havena seen me in hundreds of years. Compare me with that little milksop sniveling at your side. Remember how I pleasured ye in every way ye ever dreamed. Ye could have that again. We were good together, you and I.”
Latharn eased toward her. He kept his back to Nessa and fixed Deardha with a heated glare. “If ye were willing to give me a second chance, why did ye ignore me in the crystal until a mere mortal set me free? Why did ye not come to me after the first hundred years, knowing how I’d do anything to be free of that crystal hell?”
Deardha’s eyes flickered from Latharn and then to Nessa. She tossed her head at Nessa and spit in her direction. “Mere mortal, eh? Ye know the Ways, my dearest love. Once a curse is set in motion, it must be allowed to play its course. But how do I know ye truly want me now? Ye could be but toying with me to gain the little bitch’s freedom and once again toss me aside.”
Latharn dropped his voice to a seductive tone and curled his lips into a beguiling smile. He stalked closer to the doubting woman, unwound his plaid, and dropped it to the floor. “Does it look like I don’t remember what we did together? Tell me, my sweet seductress, do ye still like what ye see?”
The shaft of sunlight sculpted his muscled body, his enormous erection testament to the sincerity of his words. Latharn ignored Nessa’s gasp at the sight of his state of arousal.
The crone’s garment of shimmering black silk disappeared from her body. She floated to Latharn and stroked her hands up his chest. Turning, Deardha leered at Nessa then pulled Latharn’s mouth down to cover hers.
“No!” Nessa cried out.
Trust me, my love, he sent his voice to echo in her mind. This is all a part of the trap.
Latharn pulled Deardha tighter into his arms, crushing her against his chest. He sank his hands into her hair, claiming her mouth roughly as if he meant to possess her. He devoured her lips, he dove his tongue deep into her throat. He ravaged her until she melted against him. Finally, Latharn raised his head and clutched her by the nape of her neck.
“Pledge yourself to me, Deardha. Then I shall seed your womb while the mortal watches from the corner. Pledge your soul to me now so I can bury my cock into your delicious depths.”
Molding her curves against Latharn’s body, the seductress shot Nessa a gloating sneer. She shouted to the witness of the dawning equinox and threw her head back with a malicious laugh. “I pledge my oath to Laird Latharn MacKay. I open my soul and my womb to his seed. I lay myself bare and wait to accept whatever he gives. I pledge my soul to fill his every need.”
Latharn carried her clinging body to the stone slab centered in the room and spread her upon the table. As he loomed over her between her thighs, he paused for just a moment. Stroking his fingertips along her ivory throat, Latharn dropped his voice to a husky whisper, as he mesmerized her with his touch.
“By the power of your pledge, by the power of all the MacKays, I hold ye to your oath. I now give ye the
gift of the eternal abyss and my need is that ye cease to exist.”
As soon as Latharn uttered the curse, his mother, Rachel, appeared at the head of the stone. A vengeful smile curled her ghostly lips as she placed her hands on each side of Deardha’s head.
Rachel leaned close, peered deep into the dark witch’s eyes and added her curse to her son’s. “I join my powers to those of my son’s. I condemn you to suffer well. I condemn you to see the pleasures outside the abyss. I condemn you to a window from hell.”
Deardha’s eyes filled with panic as their joined curses echoed over her head. Baring her teeth in a viperous hiss, she sputtered as Latharn’s fingers crushed her throat. Clawing at his arm, her form changed as her powers diminished into the powerful aura surrounding them. The ivory of her skin faded to ash. Her enticing curves decayed to rotting flesh. Latharn clenched his teeth. He held his breath to avoid the rising stench as he maintained his stranglehold on Deardha’s throat.
Shrieking and thrashing, her body deteriorated and putrefied beneath his powerful body. At last, she disintegrated into obsidian dust, leaving Latharn atop the tomb on all fours.
Latharn climbed down from the stone, brushing off his hands as he bent to retrieve his plaid. As he wound it about his body, he took a deep breath and turned to face Nessa’s accusing glare.
Nessa smacked her fists upon his chest and pummeled the sculpted mountain of his abs. “You could’ve at least warned me you were going to have to seduce her to get her to let down her defenses!”
Latharn grabbed her wrists, enclosing her in his arms as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. “I did warn ye and tell ye to trust me. Do ye not remember? There wasna any time to go into specifics. There was no other way for me to get to her soul. She had nearly made herself immortal with all her protection spells. I had to convince her to pledge her soul to me. I swear to ye, Nessa, it was the only way.”
Nessa folded her arms and scowled up at him through a haze of jealous tears. “Well a certain part of you sure seemed to enjoy it entirely too much. And it’s not like it was the first time you’d ever been with her.”
“Nessa.” Latharn’s voice dropped to a chiding whisper as he nuzzled at her cheek. “A man’s cock can grow hard by a slight rub of his plaid. When I made the mistake of lying with that woman hundreds of years ago, it left me feeling as though I needed a verra hot bath. I felt tainted for days just from a few moments by her side. Her heart was as cold as a Highland winter and my body deadened to her touch. She couldna even give me a good hard rising back then much less bring me to spill my seed. How do ye think I figured out how to take down her defenses? She thought she had been able to capture my heart when I promised to seed her womb.”
“So she was lying about how she’d been able to please you? The fact that she couldn’t make you…come…was why she’d cursed you to the witch’s ball?” Nessa sniffed back her tears as the realization of his words sank in. She trembled a smile as it all made sense. She snuggled deeper into his arms, a contented warmth seeping through her body.
Latharn scooped her up into his arms and arched a quizzical brow. “Apparently, the fact she couldna successfully start or finish the task didna set well with her pride. But enough of her, she will bother us no more. We need to get ye back to the castle. Food and a warm bed are waiting in our room. I fear ye will become ill from all ye have suffered.”
Nessa yawned and cradled her head against his shoulder. She rubbed her nose with the back of her grimy hand. “Food and bed sound really great, but a hot bath would be so much better. I think I smell like a filthy goat.”
His laughter rumbled beneath her head as Latharn cuddled her even closer against his chest. “I canna remember when ye have ever smelled better. Ye are as sweet in my arms as a meadow after a fresh spring rain.”
Latharn passed the relieved faces of Trish, Brodie, and Fiona as he walked into the hall with Nessa in his arms. He didn’t pause but continued toward the winding staircase that led to the laird’s private rooms. “If ye’ll excuse us, Nessa desires a hot bath, food and bed. We shall be back down in a little while.”
“In a little while, my ass,” Trish observed with a snort. “We’ll be lucky if we see them in a week.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Mmm.” Nessa hummed with contentment as she leaned back into his cradling embrace. The steaming water relieved her aching bones like a tonic easing the chill from her body. The lavender-scented vapor soothed her weary mind, while the heat from the pulsating jets relaxed her knotted muscles. Her eyes closed, she smiled with a sigh as Latharn soaped her breasts. He nibbled at the tip of her ear as his hands circled to more enticing parts below.
“Feeling better?” he breathed into her hair as he lathered and massaged her body.
“This is heaven,” Nessa purred, turning to float against his chest. His hardened body nudged against her belly as she wriggled her soapy torso against his most inviting feature.
“I never imagined a Jacuzzi tub this big in a castle as old as MacKay keep.” As she slid her slippery body against his, Nessa hummed and nibbled against his throat.
“Aye,” Latharn groaned, guiding her body over his and burying himself into her welcoming depths. “The clan did well to keep the place up with the times. I’ll try to remember to tell them how well they’ve done.”
Nessa ground her hips to settle him well and arched her back as she moaned with pleasure. She relished in his satisfying ability to fill her so…nicely, and hit all the right spots along the way.
Latharn ran his hands up her body to cup her slippery breasts. He thumbed and teased her dusky nipples until they perked in demanding pebbles. Rising to suckle these tempting treats, Latharn ground his hips to delve even deeper. He groaned in satisfaction as her body clutched around him and he brought her to her peak.
He moved to her mouth and restoked her passions. Beneath the water, he cupped her hips. Latharn spread her legs with his hands and with tantalizing slowness, slid his body in and out. The jets of water surged in with him, vibrating his body with every slow and deliberate thrust.
Rising out of the water, his body still buried in her depths, Latharn carried her to the rug in front of the flaming hearth. He spread her out among the piles of inviting pillows, growling as he pounded into her delicious heat. It was time. He could wait no more. He needed to take her with every emotion he’d ever felt. He’d come too close to losing her.
She was his. They were finally where they belonged. Nothing would ever separate them again. As Nessa shuddered with release, she called out to him, Latharn’s husky growl echoed with her cries. Their heat flowed together. He gave and she took as their essences combined.
They snuggled together before the crackling fire, a warm throw pulled around their bodies. Latharn smiled down into Nessa’s satisfied gaze and kissed the tip of her nose.
“Now ye know ye’re about to marry a verra selfish man. I shouldha let ye eat and rest before I claimed your pleasures once more.”
His face growing serious, Latharn rubbed his lips across her forehead. “But I needed to be inside ye. I needed to fill ye again, to mark ye as my own. We were meant to be this way, Nessa. We’re a single soul, and when I thought I’d lost ye, I couldna stand it.”
Nessa snuggled deeper into his arms. She sighed. Her heart swelled with emotions too deep for words. “I needed you to take me. I needed to feel you, to know you’re still real and I’m not just having another dream. When I thought I’d never see you again I nearly gave up. I can’t imagine life without you.”
She traced a fingertip across his chest and stared into the flames. Then Nessa remembered this day was supposed to be the night of her rather unorthodox wedding. She released a shuddering sigh as she worried with the hair on his chest.
“We’ve missed the autumnal equinox. Is there any way your ancestors and the Auld One can attend our wedding if we have it on a regular full moon?”
Latharn stretched and lifted a cup of rich steaming b
roth down, from the table, holding it to Nessa’s lips. “This day is not done. The sun is just now setting and the moon has yet to reach its zenith. If ye have the strength, we could still speak our vows to each other upon this very night.”
Nessa grew quiet and avoided Latharn’s gaze as she peered down into the steaming mug. “It’s just…I wanted tonight to be special. I wanted to dress up for you. Now it’ll just be plain old me.”
“Nessa,” Latharn chided as he cupped her chin in his palm and lifted her face to his. “There is no such thing as ‘plain old you.’ All I see before me is my beautiful bride. Ye shine in body as well as in soul.”
He waved his hand over her body as he grazed her lips with his mouth. Latharn raised his head and watched her. He waited for her reaction as she became aware of the gown he’d summoned for her.
The color of perfect sapphires sparkling in sunlight, Nessa caught her breath as she ran her hands over the satiny folds. She moved to stand in front of the floor length mirror, gasping at her reflection. The deep blue of the velvet collar, just off her shoulders, framed her ivory skin and mirrored her sparkling eyes.
Walking up behind her, Latharn placed his hand to the pulse beating at the base of her throat and his eyes became remote once again. With a satisfied smile, a teardrop shaped sapphire harkened to his call and sparkled at the end of a golden chain around Nessa’s neck. “This is my gift to you upon our wedding night. But its beauty pales in comparison with yours.”
Nessa blinked against unshed tears, sniffing as she cradled the precious gem in her hands. She caught her lower lip between her teeth and took a slight step back. As Latharn moved beside her, the jewel glistening in her hands was forgotten. Running her gaze up and down his well-sculpted body, she couldn’t resist licking her lips. “I’m ready to go up to the rooftop and say our vows, but don’t you think you’re slightly underdressed?”
Latharn glanced down at his naked body. With a grin, he waved his hands across his powerful torso. As soon as his hands lifted, he appeared in his family’s colors. He hadn’t worn his dress kilt since before Deardha’s curse. He stood taller and squared his shoulders with pride.
