The Fae Ring

by C. A. Szarek

  She yelped, then struggled against his hold.

  He ignored her, holding firmly but trying not to crush her. After gliding to the back of the massive cavern, he landed a foot or so from the wall.

  Xander pressed his mate into the smoothest part of the natural surface and blocked her in. He put his palms to the stone on either side of Janet.

  Their bodies were close, but no longer touching, and he had to stop himself from leaning into her lush breasts. Flashes of her bare in his arms shot through his mind. Her scent tickled his nose and made his cock twitch. He tried to tamp down his ardor.

  The globes he’s summoned to brighten their shelter made her beautiful face radiant. Janet didn’t shirk away when their gazes collided. Anger skittered across her expression, sparked in those deep blue eyes. Reverberated in their bond, too.

  His admiration of her rose even higher. Xander’s MacLeod lass was strong. That he’d already known. However, he was tall and broad, intentionally intimidating her.

  She wasn’t afraid of him, even trapped against a cave wall with no space between their bodies.

  By the gods, she’s gorgeous.

  “Just because we’re—”

  “As difficult as it may be, I need you to mind me.”

  Janet scowled. “Mind you?”

  “If we do not stick together, we’re not going to get back the Human Realm. Capture by Fae Warriors means death. I’m a banished traitor. You’re human. We’ve gone over this many times now, Janie.”

  Fear he hadn’t seen in three days flickered in her eyes and she nodded. Her full mouth parted and it took all he was made of not to kiss her. Claim her like he’d wanted to in the pool, like he’d been resisting since that night.

  His promise to Alana that he wouldn’t fight the mating bond burst into his mind, but he ignored it.

  That’s not what this is about.

  Right?

  Xander cleared his throat. “I’m sorry I grabbed you. But you cannot leave this cave. King Fillan knows we’re here. Worse, he knows I am here. I can’t risk taking you back to the Faery Stones just yet.”

  “When, then?”

  “I don’t know.” He’d told her of his talk with Mikhias and what was involved with opening the Stones. She’d said she wanted to help. Janet didn’t like feeling helpless. Magic, as well as knowledge from getting to know her over the past few days told him that.

  “I still trust you…” Her whisper was pained, despite her words.

  “Good.”

  Silence fell, but Xander didn’t move away from her. He couldn’t.

  They stared at each other.

  Janet swallowed and he wanted to kiss her throat. “Wha’ happened?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You…and…me?” Hurt skipped across her face, as well as pulsed in the bond. “The other nigh’…”

  “This was forced upon us.” Xander gentled his voice.

  “I…thought tha’ stopped matterin’. At least, it did for me.” Janet closed her eyes.

  The vulnerability he saw when their gazes met again made his heart jump. He felt her nerves through the mating bond.

  She was reaching out to him.

  For him.

  The rest would be up to Xander.

  He wished he could read her mind at that moment more than any before. Xander had always thought she was beautiful. Had always watched her—even before the ring had revealed they were mates. He’d been intrigued with Janet MacLeod since he’d learned he couldn’t read her mind. Never would he have figured it was because she was supposed to be his.

  Supposed to be mine.

  She is mine.

  Mine.

  “I hurt you,” he croaked.

  Janet nodded and lowered her lashes.

  Her honesty was refreshing. And it touched him, made him hurt for her. “I’m sorry,” Xander whispered.

  She didn’t respond. Wouldn’t look at him.

  He caressed her cheek and cupped her face, tugging up so she had to meet his eyes. The tears in hers rocked him. Xander couldn’t muster any words. He had to wipe that look away.

  Now.

  Xander dipped his head down and covered her mouth with his. Janet moved into his kiss, not away, snaking her arms around his neck. She arched her body, rubbing him from chest to waist.

  His cock hardened to the point of pain, straining against his breeches.

  She opened for him without urging. Their tongues mingled, danced, and dueled. He kissed her harder, slanting his mouth over hers again and again.

  Janet was right with him, her fervor belying her lack of experience, just like in the pool. She clung to him, molding her body to his.

  By the gods, he wanted her. Three days had been too long.

  Xander tore his mouth away, panting hard against her breasts. “I want you,” he breathed. If he kissed her much longer, he was liable to lift her skirts and plunge into her body.

  It wasn’t fair to her.

  She’d never given herself to a man. It fired his blood to know he would be her one and only—ever—but Xander needed to temper his lust and take her properly.

  Gently, the first time.

  Her breathing was rough too, and his erection jolted when her pink tongue shot out to moisten her kiss-swollen bottom lip. Janet’s dark hair was disheveled, and her face flushed. Passion and need throbbed from her to him through their mating bond.

  Xander bit back a groan.

  Awareness and desire shone in that sapphire gaze. “I…burn, Xander.”

  The confession made his blood sing. He flexed his wings as a tremor shot down his spine. His arousal pulsed and kicked. Threatened to blow as it rubbed against the soft fabric of his trews. “You want me, lass, like I want you. I feel it.”

  “I’m hot all over. Worse than t’other nigh’. I…feel as if my body isna’ my own. I…need ta touch you. You to touch me again. Is this magic?”

  Her words lit him up from the inside out, as good as a caress trailing his whole body, intensified through the golden rope between them. But he laughed. “I’d like to think that tis me, as an accomplished lover, but the drive you feel is partly because of our bond, aye.”

  Janet’s cheeks went crimson, but she didn’t avert her eyes. “Alana said if we don’—” she swallowed, “make love, we get sick.” The last part was so low he’d almost missed it.

  Xander leaned in, his mouth hovering over hers. “Do not doubt that I want you. It has little to do with magic.”

  Those blue eyes went wide but then slipped shut as she met his lips for another kiss. “Now?” she breathed into his mouth.

  He gathered her to him, moving them away from the side of the cavern. Xander couldn’t resist her or their bond any longer. “Now, my Janie,” he whispered.

  She paused, looking up at him, a smile playing at her kiss-swollen lips. “I wan’ to be your Janie.” The declaration made her flushed face even more red and his stomach somersaulted.

  Xander kissed her cheeks, then pressed his lips to her forehead. “As you wish.”

  Janet took an audible breath. “What do you wish, Xander?”

  “I belong to you. I told you such in the pool.” He dipped low to kiss her throat.

  “Fate. No considerin’ what you and I want. A part of me…needs to know, Xander. You’ve said you want me…but wha’ of us? The mating bond. The other nigh’ in the pool, you said wouldna take me. Was tha’ for my brother’s benefit?”

  “I made a vow to Alana I wouldn’t fight this.”

  Her expression fell and she averted her eyes.

  Hurt thumped through the magic that joined them, and he regretted his choice of words. “Lass,” he whispered.

  Janet still wouldn’t look at him.

  “What I mean to say is I don’t want to fight the mating bond.”

  Only then did she meet his gaze, her sapphire eyes misty. “Truly?”

  “Truly.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  She threw her arms around
his neck and fused her mouth to his.

  Xander didn’t fight the press of her body or her kiss. He twined his tongue around hers, exploring her, feasting on her. He tore at the bodice covering her ivory leine. The ties weren’t cooperating with his trembling fingers. He needed her naked, now. Xander wished she was still clad in only her chemise, like when they’d shed their wet clothing, like every night when he’d lain beside her.

  It’d been torture watching the rise and fall of her breasts as she slept. Resisting the urge—the drive from the bond—to touch her, like he’d done in the pool.

  Cover her body with his.

  Take her. Make her his.

  “No more.” Xander pressed the words into her mouth.

  Janet pulled back, confusion dancing across her face. “No more?”

  He laughed and kissed her, hard and fast. “I’m sorry, mò aingeal. I was speaking to myself.”

  She smiled, slow and sensual. “Angel?”

  “Aye.”

  “But you’re tha one with wings.” Janet cocked her head to one side. “Your Gaelic is good.”

  “Most Gaelic is not so different from Fae. We don’t use the word angel, but I know of it; I know what it means.” Xander tightened his grip on his mate. He pumped his wings, lifting them into the air.

  She wrapped herself around him as he glided the short distance to the mattress.

  “I’ll do this right. Make it special for you,” he whispered when they’d landed.

  Janet stared up at him, trust and desire shining from those blue eyes. Pink graced her high cheekbones, from their kisses as well as a sudden shyness that made Xander smile.

  His wife nodded. “I want to be wit’ you,” she said finally. “Tha rest matters no’.”

  Through the mating bond he felt her sincerity. Xander caressed her cheeks, unable to keep his hands to himself. This time, he didn’t have to. “Undress, mò aingeal. I want to see you, like I didn’t get to the other night. The water hid you from me.”

  She stepped back, finishing the job he’d been unable to do with her bodice. The stiff material fell away from her body, her leine loosening, hiding her slender waist and the curve of her hips, the fullness of her breasts.

  Does not matter.

  He’d see her in moments.

  Xander stood transfixed as her skirts fell, pooling at her feet on the cavern floor.

  Janet pulled her leine up and off, and it joined the navy blue wool.

  He could see through her chemise, the skin of her nipples darker than the rest, teasing him. His cock pulsed and he reached for the ties on his trews, but his fingers blundered. Xander couldn’t stop watching his wife, and she wasn’t even nude yet.

  “Xander?” She paused, her hands bunching fabric at her waist.

  “Aye, mò aingeal?”

  “You…you’re no’…”

  “I will disrobe. Your beauty stuns me, lass.” He swallowed, because his mouth had gone dry as the truth drifted from his lips.

  Her face went even redder, but his lass didn’t look away. She lifted the chemise over her head without loosening the ties at the neckline. Janet dropped it to the rocky floor, her perfect breasts heaving as if she’d taken a breath.

  Xander lost the ability to catch his own. Through the blessed—blessed—magic globes in the large space, he could see every inch of his fated mate.

  Gorgeous was too weak a word. Ethereal perfection was before him.

  Light surrounded her like an aura. The mating bond shone brightly, as if their link had strengthened even more.

  His eyes trailed her frame, trying to take her all in at once. He’d felt her curves in the pool, but now Xander could see them. Her slender waist, her rounded hips, her long, long legs. His gaze rested at the apex of her thighs.

  Tight dark curls guarded her core. That should’ve given him pause, since he’d never had a human lover, and Fae women were bare over their sexes, but it did nothing to detract from Janet’s allure. His drive, his desire was to possess her.

  Now.

  “Mò aingeal,” Xander croaked, but he didn’t care. “Come here, lass. Come to me, mò aingeal.”

  She didn’t hesitate as she closed the distance between them.

  Tremors started all over his whole body, including jarring his wings as he reached for her. Janet wrapped her arms around him, the heat of her body seeping through his tunic. He dragged his hands down her bare back, palming her smooth skin. Following the curve of her bottom made Xander groan, and his wife shudder in his arms.

  “Xander,” she whispered. “Please. I need to touch your skin.”

  Forcing himself to release her, Xander whipped off his tunic. He didn’t push Janet away from the ties on his trews, letting her loosen the garment. His cock kicked, begging the same kind of attention.

  She helped him push the breeches off his hips. Janet’s eyes stayed below his waist, even after the brushed leather hit the cave floor.

  His cock liked the appraisal, springing forward.

  Janet reached for him, but then paused. She met his eyes and embarrassment rippled through their bond.

  Xander screamed at himself to relax. “You…can touch me…anywhere. As I told you...” He shoved the thick words out of his mouth.

  She nodded, stroking his length, her fingers skimming his most sensitive skin.

  He gasped, and his hips pitched forward of their own accord.

  “No hair,” Janet whispered. She encircled him, exploring with a bravery he admired, but shot his excitement beyond his limit. Her hand continued down, cupping him from below.

  “What do you know of such things, my innocent lass?” His voice was too fragmented for his tease to carry, but his wife must’ve caught it, because amusement darted across her pretty face.

  “Innocent doesna’ mean naïve, my husband.”

  The words zinged like a caress down his spine as she continued to move her hand. Xander was about to come out of his skin. He stood trembling in her grip until he could take no more. His bollocks tightened, his erection kicked as if he would orgasm. He needed her to stop before he released all over her hands, but words would not form. He moaned.

  Janet’s eyes sought his face. “Did I…hurt you?”

  He grabbed her knuckles and lavished kisses all over them. “No, lass. Your touch is…perfect. But…you make me burn for you. If you continue, this’ll be over before it starts.”

  “Oh.” She looked down.

  Xander reached for her, making her meet his gaze, tucking a strand of her dark hair behind one ear. “This is a good thing, lass. I want you.” He brushed his lips over hers, and Janet moved into his body, pressing her lush breasts against him. They both gasped at the contact.

  “Have me, make me yours.”

  “Oh, mò aingeal, you are already mine.” He kissed her again, and Janet kissed him back hard, rubbing her tongue into his. His body was on fire as Xander pushed her into the stolen bedding. His chest brushed her nipples as he followed her down, settling into the cradle of her body.

  Janet moaned, gripping the back of his neck. Then her hands were on his shoulders, going down as far as she could reach. She caressed the base of his wings and Xander shook. He closed his eyes and dragged warm wet kisses along her exposed throat.

  “Xander.” His name was a breathless whisper that flipped his heart; his erection pulsed in response.

  He dragged his tongue down her collarbone and nibbled the hard tips of her nipples.

  She arched into him. “Please…”

  Xander teased his fingers down her belly and she squirmed. He caressed her inner thighs, then finally buried his hand in the heaven between her legs. “Wet. Mò aingeal, you’re already wet for me.” A shudder racked his frame.

  He rubbed the bundle of nerves at the top of her sex. Little whimpers fell from her lips and when she clutched him close, scrambling for another kiss, Xander couldn’t take it anymore. She was ready, and he had to have her.

  “Lass, I need you.”

&nbs
p; “Aye,” Janet said. “I canna’ take anamore!”

  Xander slipped a hand between them, positioning his arousal at her sex. The drive to make them one took over, and he didn’t pause to consider her innocence. He filled her to the hilt with one stroke forward.

  They both gasped.

  The mating bond went radiant. Xander squinted against the brightness, warmth crashing over his whole body. His wings shook and shifted and heat settled in his chest, so hot it should’ve scorched, but it didn’t.

  Rightness enveloped him, like it had on the beach when he’d first kissed Janet.

  Emotion smacked into him and he dipped his head, taking her mouth and starting to thrust, because he couldn’t do anything else.

  She whimpered but moved her mouth under his.

  Xander pulled away, opening his eyes as the fog started to fade, and his heart jumped. He’d joined them roughly. Janet had been a virgin. “Gods, mò aingeal. Are you well? Did I hurt you?”

  Her sapphire eyes were hazy and heavy-lidded. “It doesna’ hurt anymore. I…burn…for you to move within me.”

  “As you wish,” he groaned and slanted his mouth over hers again, shifting his hips slowly, rocking until he found a gentle rhythm.

  Janet broke their kiss and threw her head back. “More.”

  Through their bond, he felt her word, her demand, as well as her pleasure. He swallowed a moan as the sensations washed over him like a physical caress.

  Xander felt her completely.

  He couldn’t read her mind, but he could feel her emotions. They mixed with his, threatening to overwhelm as his body demanded he take her hard, make her feel him from the inside out.

  Janet tilted her hips and rubbed her breasts into his chest, as if she could read his mind. He shivered, but couldn’t refuse her. Xander pulled back and plunged forward. His wife met his thrust, moaning her encouragement as well as squeezing his rear end with both hands.

  Raw feelings, every emotion from Janet melded into his chest, guiding his hips like a command. His were the same, falling into the bond until magic was all he could sense; it surrounded them like a bubble. Xander couldn’t look away from Janet’s sapphire eyes, either.

  Their touches, kisses, thrusts had no rhythm. He couldn’t think. Xander could only feel.