She understood why he didn’t call it ‘their’ stone. Who wanted such to be part of their coming together? But then, as she'd sensed before, that stone had meaning to them. Seen clearly in the way their incarnates held hands and smiled at each other, at one time, that rock, or more specifically, the sacrificial table that ended up in the Irish Stonehenge, was special. For she had a feeling they'd sat there often.
“Something is happening,” Marek’s Fianna said to Chara’s incarnate, drawing their attention to the ongoing conversation between the couple. “I can feel it, and ‘tis not good.”
“I feel it too,” she said softly. “There’s an encroaching darkness.”
“Yes.” He frowned. “I fear for ye in my dreams, lassie. ‘Tis as if this darkness seeks ye out before ‘tis too late...as if time dwindles down before...”
“I know.” Chara’s incarnate sighed and finished his sentence for him. “Before my power wanes and I am more human than unicorn.”
“Bloody hell,” Marek said into her mind, understanding. “She became vulnerable to the Brotherhood not just because of all she did for others but because we fell in love. It changed her and not just in obvious ways.”
“You're right,” she agreed, understanding as well. “Our love sparked a change that would eventually become permanent. I was...losing my unicorn.”
“Aye, but not entirely,” he replied as Marek’s incarnate put his arm around his lass’s shoulders and held her close. “I think part of it always stayed with you, but as your former self just said, your powers would have been diminished.”
Something their former couple clearly wasn't concerned about.
“I wish there was a way to speed up the process,” Chara’s incarnate murmured. “Perhaps my inner unicorn is wrong. Perhaps there is no risk in being together sooner.”
By ‘together,’ she meant losing her virginity.
“Nay, I will not risk it.” Marek's Fianna cupped her cheek. “We will heed the wisdom of your magic and wait. Wait and do what comes natural to us.”
“Because I'm so mystical and the last of my kind,” Chara said, sensing the meaning behind his words, “we can’t sleep together until I’m fully human.”
It would obviously be too late by then, though. The Brotherhood wanted her while she still possessed what they needed to execute their foul deed.
“What comes natural to us?” Chara pondered what his Fianna had just said before she understood. “Friendship and love. Chaste love, that is. They need to let things progress naturally in their new reality before they can take it any further.” She looked at Marek. “Not all that unlike how things have been for us since we met in reality.”
He went to respond but paused when everything faded away, and they were once again on his horse in Scotland. All was as it had been before. They hadn’t drifted off from the retinue.
She wasn’t surprised to find Destiny riding on one side of them now and Leviathan on the other. Based on their expressions, they knew Chara and Marek had just traveled back.
“Marek and I never slept together in that life, did we?” she asked Destiny softly, though she already knew the answer. “We never got the chance.”
“No.” Destiny shook her head. “I’m afraid not.”
Though sadness flickered in her friend’s eyes, so did a flash of awe if Chara wasn’t mistaken.
“Yet your souls went on and found each other again,” Destiny continued. “I might be able to control many things, but not that. No god can. It’s a pull beyond comprehension. One that some might say defies the laws of nature.” She shrugged. “But then mankind is nowhere close to understanding the laws they think they know so well.”
“So...nature brought us back together?” Chara asked.
Destiny winked. “At the very least.” She looked between Chara and Marek. “What it did, interestingly, is bring you together in a dream at an early age to prepare you for this. Now, though it might have felt like it at first, there’s no need for you to start all over. You’ve been together in every sense of the word, at least in dreams, and that’s far more than you had in your last life.”
“Which means they are far better prepared to face what comes for them in this life,” Leviathan deciphered, approval in his eyes when he looked at Marek. “Add us, the power of the ring, and their kin, and defeating this darkness should come easily.”
Though a shadow crossed Destiny’s face, it was gone as fast as it came, and she smiled at Chara with reassurance. “That’s what I’m hoping.”
“Why merely hope, demi-god,” Leviathan said dryly, casting her a pointed look, “when it seems obvious all should go well?”
“Because hope is always good to have no matter what, Viking.” Rather than be goaded, Destiny kept smiling at Chara and Marek and gestured ahead. “We make camp soon. Tonight we get some much-needed rest.” She perked a brow at Leviathan. “Meanwhile, though I’d prefer otherwise, you and I should see to the surroundings, mystical and otherwise, to ensure just that.”
“Ja,” he muttered. Despite his wariness of Destiny, Chara swore she saw a flash of anticipation in the Viking's eyes when he spurred his horse and followed her.
She glanced at Marek, wondering about her friend and the Ancient. “You don’t think those two...”
“’Tis hard to imagine but mayhap.” He shook his head. “Though ‘tis safe to say if they got together ‘twould be volatile.”
She chuckled. “No doubt.”
Though she tried to focus on their conversation, it was next to impossible. Not when her body kicked into overdrive at the feel of his warm breath against her tender flesh. At the feel of the light kisses he peppered down her neck. She wanted off this horse. To go somewhere private. Based on his growl of approval, he felt the same.
Yet it seemed, based on what happened next, their wants wouldn’t come quite so easily.
Chapter Seventeen
“BY THE BLOODY rood!” Sensing the incoming arrow, Marek stopped it with his Viking blade before it hit Chara, then pulled her off the horse as the forest exploded with activity. Men were attacking from every angle. Based on their appearance, he would guess they fought for food rather than a king’s ransom.
“No worries.” Chara nodded at him in reassurance and pulled a dagger out that she’d apparently tucked in her boot. “As you know, I can fight thanks to you.”
While he knew she could in a dream, having spent time teaching her a variety of moves, reality was a little different, so he kept a close eye on her. It turned out she did well, more on the defense than offense, but that was all she needed for now. He would end any before they harmed her. That didn’t mean his heart wasn’t in his throat the whole time worrying about her, though.
He cut down two opponents with one swipe of his sword then punched another, not just keeping an eye on Chara but King David. Even though the boy was well protected by several of his kin, David kept a dagger at the ready. The lad had changed considerably since this all began, far braver now than before.
Though the enemy had greater numbers, the fighting ended in little time, and the miscreants who attacked them fled. He glanced at Leviathan, thinking he was at the root of what seemed too hasty a departure but realized, based on the way the Viking looked at Destiny, who the culprit was.
When Chara gave Destiny a nod of thanks, he knew he was right. One way or another, the goddess would see them safely across Scotland, not just for King David’s sake, but so they had time to save the MacLomain lineage.
“It was a trick of the eye,” Chara enlightened him telepathically. “Destiny made them suddenly see double our numbers.”
“Clever.” He looked Chara over with concern and spoke aloud. “Are you well, lass? Did you get nicked anywhere?”
He was almost certain she hadn’t been but wanted to be sure.
“No, I’m fine.” She sheathed her blade and eyed him with concern as well. “What about you?”
“All’s well, lass,” he replied, wiping the blood from hi
s sword.
Battling had always been one of his strong points. Now with his past life as a Fianna warrior influencing him, he was even better at it. He was careful not to let it go to his head, though. Magic or not, when a warrior became too arrogant, he let his guard down.
He was sheathing his blade when just like that, he was someplace else.
The woodland had changed, and everyone had vanished, including Chara.
By the looks of it, he was back in ancient Ireland, living out a moment as his former Fianna.
“I cannot make contact with Fionn Mac Cumhail about this, brother,” a voice said from behind him. “None of us can.” Ethyn’s former Fianna stopped beside him. “What can that possibly mean?”
“That great evil is at work.” Marek gestured that Ethyn’s incarnate follow him and made his way toward an all-too-familiar area, more uneasy by the moment. “Evil that is just ahead.”
They slowed and kept to the shadows as robed men gathered by Marek and Chara’s rock. A chill swept through him. What were they doing? Their faces were hidden beneath hoods as they formed a circle around the stone and chanted.
Moments later, the rock vanished, and it physically hurt. In a way, it almost felt as though they’d just torn his heart out.
Ethyn’s Fianna glanced at him with concern. “Are ye all right?”
“Nay.” He shook his head. The monks stopped chanting and started north along the cliff. “We need to follow them.”
Much to his shock, it turned out the Irish Stonehenge was just around the bend.
“The stone is in the circle now,” Ethyn’s incarnate noted as the monks made their way in that direction. He frowned. “Why would they move it to the blessed circle?”
“Because they mean great harm,” a woman said.
They spun to find Destiny standing behind them. Based on her attire and shadowy aura, she wasn’t the present day ‘her’ either. Alarmingly, she appeared more sinister with darkness pulsing around her.
While he recognized her, his Fianna didn’t. “Who are ye?”
“A friend.” At odds with her claim, her eyes flashed a threatening black. “One who needs yer help or all might be lost.”
He was about to reply when Ireland faded, and he found himself someplace else entirely.
Not the distant past but reliving one of his and Chara’s dreams from this life.
One he had fantasized about many times since.
“There you are,” Chara exclaimed, smiling at him. “I had hoped I’d see you on my Birthday.”
“Where else would I be?” He met her smile, bloody glad they had connected. “Especially on your eighteenth Birthday.”
They were in the forest amid the golden clovers where they’d first kissed. A warm breeze blew, and the day seemed particularly magical.
Undoubtedly because their imaginations wanted the setting to be perfect.
He embraced her, glad to hold her again before he pulled back enough to meet her eyes. “Do you want to swim or take a stroll or—”
She pressed a finger to his lips and shook her head. Though clearly a little shy, anticipation lit her eyes. “You know exactly what I want to do before this dream is over.”
“Are ye sure?” he asked, his brogue thickening with emotion, so damn eager it hurt. “Ye’re ready?”
Though they had kissed and even touched some, as promised, he had not taken her virtue before she turned eighteen.
“I’ve been ready for a long time,” she said softly. “We both have.”
“Aye,” he managed.
Done with talking, he cupped her cheeks and kissed her. Softly at first before he deepened the exchange. When she released a breathy moan of approval, he knew he would have to take this slower. For if he didn’t, she wouldn’t have the experience he wanted for her. So he forced himself to end the kiss, scooped her up, and lay her in a bed of golden clovers.
Having paid attention to what others said over the years, he knew not rushing and showing her lots of affection the first time was the way to go. As it happened, despite his raging arousal, it came rather easily when he undressed her. For every wee part of Chara was well worth exploring. From her perfectly formed breasts to the soft curves of her body.
He liked the feel of her warm flesh against his lips. How she made tiny gasps and tensed, then relaxed as he explored every part of her. She was like a treasure map, revealing with different sounds where she liked being touched, licked, or stroked the most.
Naturally, the more she responded, the more enjoyable the experience.
In fact, he found what they were doing now, what lead up to the final act, truly pleasurable. Especially when he pulled a nipple into his mouth, and she cried out. Eager to keep sounds like that coming from her, he journeyed downward, tasting every inch of her.
Noting that her thighs were clamped shut, he looked up with concern. “Are ye well, lass? Should I stop?”
“God no,” she said on a hoarse whisper. “It just aches so much...”
Understanding what she needed and having a fairly good idea how to go about it, he kissed along her hip bones then her legs, urging her to relax. To let him in. Though her thighs trembled and she vice-gripped the grass, she finally opened herself to him.
Desperate to taste the core of her, he wasted no time sampling her soft folds. This time, they both groaned as he licked and tasted her sweetness, figuring out in no time just what to touch to pull even more sound from her.
Hungry for more, he settled in, intent to taste to his heart’s desire.
It seemed, however, he wouldn’t be settling in long.
“Marek,” she gasped. “I can’t...this...ohhh.”
He gripped her hips gently when she tried to writhe and suckled the tiny nub that seemed to bring her the most pleasure, fascinated when she cried out and arched. Moments later, she trembled even harder and provided more juices for him to enjoy.
“No...stop,” she gasped when he thought to keep going. “Here...I need you here.”
Understanding what she meant, that it was time to give her more, everything he could offer, he removed his plaid. Yet when he made his way back up her body and came over her, he discovered the unexpected.
Chapter Eighteen
CHARA WASN’T SURE when she stopped worrying about Marek and drifted off to sleep, but she did only to end up back in a dream she would never forget.
Their first time together.
“Marek,” she groaned as he removed his plaid. As she finally laid eyes on the hard thickness between his legs. She had felt it straining against her enough during passionate moments to know he was well endowed but still wondered if she could take him.
Then again, he had her so aroused after going down on her she felt capable of anything. Especially if it felt anything like what he’d just made her feel. The sheer untouchable pleasure he’d just brought her. Eager, desperate for more, she welcomed him between her thighs only to wake up.
“Chara?” Marek murmured, confused as his eyes met hers. Though it was night, moonlight brightened the tent. “What happened? Where are we?”
“Everything’s fine,” she whispered, so aroused it hurt. “We’ve made camp for the night. Destiny said she knows you have questions, and she’ll talk to you in the morning.”
Somehow they’d ended up in the same position as their dream without clothing. While some might be alarmed by that, she suspected stranger things would happen before all was said and done.
While she sensed his ongoing confusion and need to understand how he'd ended up here, she also felt his raging arousal. One that matched her own and offered potential relief from the terrible stress she'd been under since she’d lost him to an afternoon-long trance.
Relief it seemed their mutual dream had prepped them for.
She groaned at the feel of him hovering over her. The heat of his large body. The weight of his rock hard cock against her throbbing flesh. She needed him with a fierceness that took her breath away. A fierceness that made h
er writhe against him with desperation.
“I need—”
That’s all she got out before he closed his mouth over hers. Clearly as desperate as her, his kisses were hungry, his touches both soft and aggressive. More aggressive than they’d been in their dreams.
But she liked it.
Craved it in a way she didn’t fully understand.
In fact, she liked it so much she growled that he finally fill her. Make her his. Claim her in a way he hadn’t before. She didn’t want it gentle, but hard and fast. When her vision flashed red, she wasn’t alarmed but intrigued, liking the sensation. Despite what she’d been told, she hadn’t truly been convinced her inner dragon existed until this moment.
Until she felt its ravenous lust for him.
When his eyes met hers again and flashed with his inner beast too, she knew no matter how repressed, his dragon was responding to hers. She also knew when he finally pressed forward, he was taking her far more gently than he wanted to.
“’Tis yer first time, lass.” His voice was thick with desire. “So I willnae—”
That’s all he got out before his features twisted in bliss, and sheer pleasure took over. Understanding fully, barely able to draw breath, she only felt slight pressure and stretching as he filled her. As he finally did in reality, what he'd once done in a dream.
When he stopped to let her adjust to his intrusion, she shook her head. “No...don’t stop...”
They were the same words she’d said their first time having sex.
Where before he’d questioned her, just to be sure, he did no such thing now. Instead, barely held in check, straining with need, he moved. Where their first time had been slow and romantic, building slowly, this time was faster.
Intense.
Wild.
She’d thought the few times they’d done this in a dream were untouchable, but those experiences paled in comparison to this. To the reality of feeling the friction between their bodies. The heat and slickness.
The building inferno of pleasure as they raced toward their pinnacle.
A Scot's Retribution (The MacLomain Series: End of an Era Book 5) Page 11
