Time of the Draig

by Lisa Dawn Wadler

  Jeff’s hand closed around hers. “You’ve already been in since dawn. Faolan and Boomer will kill me if I let you go back in again. Save those ideas for tomorrow.”

  Samantha blinked and looked around the chamber. It was empty except for her desk and computer. The linens had been removed from the bed, since she hadn’t slept in the chamber since her first night with Faolan. Even her fragrant tokens had been removed from the bedside. The chamber was as desolate as her lab. The word isolated rang in her mind. What do I need to isolate?

  “Major Sykes, you’re scaring me now.” Jeff said.

  She turned to stare at Jeff and breathed until she only saw the worried man before her. “Sorry, I tend to drift after a session.”

  The door opened and Boomer said, “You drift after too long of a session.”

  She hurried to stand before him and gingerly touched his thigh. “How is it?”

  “No fighting for a week, but I’m good,” Boomer replied and pulled her in for a hug. “Sorry I left you, Sam.”

  Jeff laughed. “How about we go downstairs? Just being in here with that thing makes me uneasy,” he said as he pointed at UNK005.

  Samantha laughed and pointed to the door. “Jeff, we’ve talked about this. It likes you.”

  Samantha groaned as she pushed the plate away from her. “No more, Faolan. I’m stuffed.”

  He leaned over and rubbed her stomach. “You missed the midday meal. I would nay have you grow weak.”

  “As soon as Miller gives permission, I’ll show you how strong I am by kicking Boomer’s ass again.” Samantha laughed as Boomer challenged the statement and some of the men offered to place bets on the outcome. There was no great surprise that they gave her two-to-one odds.

  Over the laughter of the small gathering in the hall, Faolan whispered, “Later you can show me your strength, my heart.”

  Samantha smiled and leaned into his arm around her shoulder. While she knew the night held the promise of passion, their conversation came first. In the quiet of their chamber, Faolan would speak of how he spent his day and ask about her progress. Not for the first time that week, she wondered if she truly couldn’t find the path back to her lab or if her subconscious prevented the needed revelation. Her life with Faolan was so perfect and blissful and doomed to be limited.

  Dana was entertaining them with tales of her children and the other clans in the area. The stories she wove spoke of a full life and happy days. It was still a secret what had been so terrible about her first few weeks there, but her pride in her family seemed to outweigh the past. Dana’s hope for the future shone in her tales of her grandchildren.

  Theoretical mechanics went through Samantha’s mind over past, present, and future. It was all linked and all so separate, yet bound together in a manner that eluded her. Unbidden, her hand opened and closed and opened and closed. Samantha’s eyes closed as Dana’s voice faded and particles danced before her eyes. Jeff’s laughter could be heard in her thoughts, and it linked a path between the two bubbles she had created. Bound, yet separate whirled in her thoughts until she felt the kiss to her hair.

  “Your time of work has passed, my heart. Be here with me,” Faolan whispered while his hand closed over hers.

  She blinked in surprise at how far she had wandered from the gathering. Though Dana still spoke, it was now about duties the household needed to see done, given the change in season; summer was upon them. Even that hurt. If she were staying, it would be matters she should know. Samantha gripped Faolan’s hand that rested on her shoulder to keep herself grounded in the moment at hand and to not think about the necessary return to the lab.

  She shifted enough to glance up at Faolan and offer him a reassuring smile. He gave her a wink and turned to face Jeff across the table.

  “When we met, I offered to trade my hereditary dagger for the woman I now call my wife,” Faolan said, holding Jeff’s gaze. “I heard you mock my offering as you stood apart from me. You made mention of the shiny dagger in my boot.”

  He lifted his hand from her shoulder, reached down his leg, and then placed the jeweled dagger on the table. “While it may have worth in the market, it means nothing to me.”

  Jeff chuckled as he looked at the table. “I can’t believe you heard me say that. For the record, it was meant as a joke.”

  “The wind carried all you said to my ears. I heard the jest and wished for you to know why this was nay offered,” Faolan said as he looked back at her and cupped her cheek. “My mother gave me the dagger of the Draig after my father’s death. ‘Tis the one my grandfather stole from the warrior-priests, though none had heard that tale until last week. She said my father had given it to her as proof of his devotion to her as my grandfather did to my grandmother. I offered it in trade for Samantha as proof of my wish to see her safe, though you could nay read my heart with the offering.”

  Samantha wondered where he was going with his tale, as she heard Dana choke on her drink. The older woman laughed and cleared her throat but said nothing.

  Faolan lifted the Draig dagger in his hand and placed it in front of her. “Samantha is mine, and I am hers as it should be.” Faolan stared into her eyes. “Take my dagger, my heart. Let all see it bound to your side as proof of my love for you.”

  Samantha blinked and lifted her hand to cover the dagger and felt tears prick her eyes. She barely managed to whisper, “Thank you.” Her hand tightened on the carved handle as Faolan placed a kiss to her head.

  He held the jeweled dagger out to Jeff. “Take it in trade. Use it to cut your meat or to carve walking sticks for Boomer while he heals. Sell it to buy what you would nay ask me to provide.” Faolan winked at her and continued with a barely restrained laugh. “I would nay have you say I cheated you out of payment due for this fine woman.”

  While the assembly laughed at the comment, her elbow jabbed into his ribs. “Hey, I’m still not a goat.”

  Even irritated, there was no resistance as Faolan leaned down to place a kiss to her pouting mouth. He kissed a path to her ear and whispered, “The man refuses all the gifts he has earned. Play with me and make him take this with my gratitude.”

  I married a very good man. In a way, he is right. It was obvious Rolph, as the trainer, received more than the rest of the warriors. Jeff had accepted none of the small tokens Faolan had tried to offer. She looked across the table at her captain. “You should probably take that before I throw another tantrum.”

  Jeff laughed and picked up the blade. His eyes grew thoughtful. “I like the idea of carving. Tell me, is there a chess board anywhere?”

  Dana sighed wistfully. “Nothing even close to one. I haven’t thought about that game in years.”

  “I wonder how long it would take me to make one?” Jeff mused aloud. He turned to Keira. “It is a strategy game worthy of kings. I’ll teach you to play.”

  And so plans for the future happened whether she wanted to hear them or not. Samantha liked the notion of Jeff spending quiet nights with his head over a chessboard. She knew Faolan would love the complex nature of the game and that it would be years before he would even be able to think of beating Jeff. The captain was a master strategist.

  “What about me?” Boomer asked from her side.

  Faolan lost his smile and stared at her friend. “When the time comes, Dark Mountain, when the time comes.”

  Their small party sat in silence before Dana spoke. “There is one more question I have about all of this. How in the world have you kept that laptop charged? Mine used to die every two days if not plugged in.”

  Samantha laughed. “UNK005 keeps it charged. They only need to be next to each other. No plugs are needed. I found that out after I forgot to plug mine in and was fairly surprised.”

  The blunt answer satisfied the woman as simple truths always did. Samantha marveled at the way she acc
epted information. Dana was a unique woman with an endless stream of energy, like UNK005. The woman was in the kitchen from dawn ‘til dusk seven days a week with no complaint. Endless stream of energy . . . The thought repeated in her head. UNK005 had an endless stream of energy. The phrase shortened. An endless stream . . .

  Boomer interrupted the pattern of thought taking shape in her mind. “Do you need to go back in tonight?”

  Yes was the answer, but she wasn’t ready to face UNK005 again. She had had the most uncontrolled session earlier that day. It had seemed as if UNK005 fought her commands and desired paths of research. What it had tried to show her made no sense, yet it fought her return to other areas of probability. Endless stream again danced in her thoughts combined with the frustration of a fruitless day.

  She had mentally fought with UNK005 and lost. Time’s stability was riddled with risk, and her only hope of restoring balance fought her at every turn. Phrases slipped beyond her reasoning: one, simplicity, open and closed, endless stream, and bound together. She wondered what UNK005 would think of such a simple input of data, of such basic words instead of the complex algorithms and scientific theory worthy of a dissertation. She refused to ponder the implication that her tool had refused to be used. There was no chance she would be able to rationalize the end of the day’s log-in. UNK005 had disengaged before she did, a disturbing first.

  Faolan’s grip tightened on her shoulder as he spoke to Boomer. “My wife is done with her tasks for the day.” A soft kiss brushed her temple. “My wife needs to realize that fact.”

  Samantha shook the tangle of thoughts from her mind and smiled up at the man who had no subtlety. A sigh escaped as his gaze held hers with none of its usual mirth. Her lack of concentration on the events at the evening meal had clearly upset him.

  “Thanks, but no thanks, Boomer,” Samantha said with her eyes locked on Faolan. “Tomorrow is soon enough.” Her head turned to smile at her friend, the one who hadn’t asked about her minor temper tantrum when UNK005 had mentally kicked her out that afternoon.

  With herculean effort, she followed the conversation at the table, laughed when appropriate, and leaned into Faolan’s strong body. Her body savored the near gravitational pull of his hold, as if it were something she could not escape. The moment was one she wished to never escape from, an evening surrounded by family, and friends who had become family. Rank had no meaning when emotions were involved.

  The word escape chilled the warmth in her heart. While she would never try to escape from Faolan, the fate she didn’t believe in had her back to the proverbial wall. She had already escaped her lab once. Theoretically, escape would not happen a second time.

  As if sensing her drifting, Faolan rose to his feet and pulled her up to stand by his side. “Gran, thank you for the fine meal and the better tales. If you would all excuse us, I have waited all day to have time alone with my wife.”

  Samantha stepped to the stairs with Faolan’s hand resting on her back. She laughed when Jeff called out, “You paid for her, and there are no returns.”

  Tears again threatened to fall as Faolan called back, “‘Tis fine. I would keep her for all of time.”

  “You can’t say things like that, Faolan. It kills me when you do,” she whispered as they reached the top of the stairs. He only growled in response and led her into their chamber.

  The tear fell as she saw the small bouquet of wildflowers on the table in front of the fireplace. She paused and stared at the soft blues and whites in the clay cup. Even with all he had to accomplish to ensure the survival of his people, he had thought of her.

  Faolan wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. “Does it please you?”

  “You please me,” was the whispered reply.

  “I spend my days working to make certain the clan is fed, safe, and secure. My wife spends her days attempting to leave my side,” Faolan growled in her ear after he untied her braided hair. “I ken you are saving our clan, yet your goal is to be away from me. Do you ken how this kills me? And I must allow it to happen or our people die.” His fingers combed through her hair, and still he whispered what she did not want to hear. “My sweat is honest when I come back to bathe. All I want at the end of each day is you. How many days do we have, my heart? Each morn I wake wondering if it ‘tis the last one with you in our bed. I need to ken how much longer will I sleep with your soft flesh against mine.”

  Tears flowed unchecked down her cheeks, and she stared at the flowers, refusing to face him. “I don’t know. I can’t seem to find the answer I need. But it needs to happen soon, or this all ends.”

  Faolan’s hands shifted to the laces on the front of her dress. “My fear is nay in death, but in my certainty that you will succeed.”

  Her body turned to face his, and she buried her face in his chest, not wanting to see the moisture in his eyes. When she was able to speak, she vowed, “You will know first when I have found a way to save time.”

  His hands soothed her back with steady strokes. “Before you go, you will give me one day alone with you.”

  The choked sob came at the command in his tone. There is no force strong enough to prevent me from having one last day with him. The nod had barely come when Faolan pulled her back enough to see her face and then kissed her as if it were the last time. Strong arms lifted her to meet his harsh demands, and her arms wrapped around his neck.

  The kiss scared her. It was too demanding, almost violent with need, and brought home how much she would be missed. She couldn’t return the ferocity enough to be certain he felt her want of him. Tongues battled for dominance, lips meshed, and teeth bumped as he walked them to the bed.

  Frantic hands all but tore the dress from her body and threw it on the floor. Faolan didn’t fumble in removing her undergarments. The man from the dark ages had no issue releasing the hooks on her bra while he ravaged her mouth.

  Curses flew from his lips as he stared at her naked body and removed his clothing before she could move fast enough to do it for him. Again he lifted her, and her limbs wrapped tightly around him as he lowered them to the bed.

  As soon as her back hit the cool linens, he removed her hands from his neck and untangled her legs from his waist. His ragged breathing filled her ears and brown eyes stared down at her with raw determination glittering behind them.

  “You are mine, Samantha. I dinna care where or when you are, but you are mine. Do you hear me?” Faolan’s question spit out from between clenched teeth.

  She raised her hand to cup his face, and he lifted her hand to place a surprisingly gentle kiss to her palm. He whispered, “Mine.”

  With no warning, he used her hand to flip her over onto her stomach. The gasp flew from her lips at the sudden and unexpected movement. She cried out, “Faolan!” in shock.

  Soft lips kissed the head of her tattoo on her shoulder before he answered. “If you feel a touch on any part of you, ‘tis from only me. You are mine alone, my heart. Your beast kens me and waits for me to make us whole.” Faolan dragged open-mouthed, warm kisses down her dragon and stopped where the beast twisted just above her behind. “Only together are we whole, my heart.”

  “I love you so much,” she whimpered as he kissed down to the beast’s head on her thigh.

  “Then say you are mine for all time,” Faolan demanded, and his hands held her thighs in place.

  There was no denying the request. Her body hummed everywhere his lips had touched, and the rest of her wanted the same powerful attention. She craved him on a level that defied description. She whispered, “No matter where or when, I am yours. We were meant for each other. Everything I am means nothing without you.”

  His groan answered for him as his body shifted to cover her bare back. Though she couldn’t see it, she swore she could feel his dragon resting against hers, each a perfect mirror of the other.

 
His thighs nudged hers apart, and she felt him press against her. Immediately, her body shifted to allow his entry. Though he only teased her by barely entering her, she whimpered at the sensation. It was different from any other night they had shared. In the two weeks they had shared his bed, time had always been taken to explore and build anticipation. She was to experience the exception.

  The only warning she had was his hand gripping hers before he plunged deep inside her. Her breath caught at the different sensations the position brought. She was trapped beneath his weight and the hands that held hers down. Lost within his rough embrace, her mind emptied.

  There were no soft kisses and no sweet words. He took her with a rough passion. Yet her body reveled at the new sensation, and her hips lifted enough to ensure he knew she needed him.

  His voice was ragged in her ear. “Can you feel our beasts, my heart? Even now they are one, as are we. Nothing will ever change that. Distance will never change that. We are connected now and for all time. We will always be one.” She had no opportunity to reply as he filled her over and over.

  Sparks lit in her belly while he took her with abandon; it was no tender lovemaking. The wave threatened to overtake her and wash her away in pleasure until everything he growled in her ear connected in her mind. Her mind screamed in victory as her body convulsed from the intense pleasure that ripped through every fiber of her being. She screamed his name at the combination of ecstasy and discovery.

  Floating in a sea of exhaustion, she felt him shift off her back and pull her into his arms. Soft kisses covered her head and cheeks while tears slipped down her face at the emotional and physical overload.