Their fae princess was actually here? And talking to her?
She gulped, her throat so dry. Of course she’d heard of the legend surrounding Cherub, that she could manipulate her element of air, both cloak herself and become as one with it by taking on a mist form. Yet naught could have ever prepared her for this meeting, at this very moment.
“You appear stunned.” Cherub’s blond hair whipped all about her, her skin sparkling as if touched by the very stars themselves, all glittery and dazzling.
“I—I—” Her tongue got stuck to the roof of her mouth. “Legend says you’ve lived over a thousand years, that you can open portals and travel through time. Is it true?”
“Aye, I’m an immortal time-walker and aid my people wherever and however I can, whether that be in the future or far in the past.” She pulled her hands from the muff and swished them through the air. A wicker basket materialized out of nowhere and floated toward her. “This is for you.”
“Oh my.” The basket bumped softly down on the grass at her feet and no matter how many times she blinked, it remained right there. “Where did this come from, and how did you do that?”
“It’s come from my mate’s twenty-first century time, and ’tis a little trick I’ve learnt over the centuries. ’Tis wonderful to meet you, Fiona, and this basket of goodies is for you. I’ve just spoken to Kyla, gave her quite the surprise when I did. She told me of what happened between you and Coll last eve, although I’m no’ surprised to learn of it.” Smiling rather mischievously, Cherub lifted her hands into the air again and swirled the wind once more. It whipped about, sent the fire’s flames soaring higher and the branches overhead swaying. The grass rippled in all directions and the river water churned as it flowed faster downstream. “’Tis time for Coll and you to both accept your destiny. No more will I permit him to ignore your mated bond. He allowed you to wed another, even now intends on speaking vows with a lass he does no’ care for, and that I cannae permit. Setting you aside a second time is unacceptable, and since you’ve begun the hunt, you must now ensure he sees it fully through.”
“I may have begun this chase, but he’s so very stubborn and—and—are you certain we’re mated?” She clutched her chest, her hope so high. If anyone could confirm their bond existed, it would be Cherub.
“Very certain, although I fear he’ll never choose you when his honor is at stake. In his eyes, his duty to his clan must prevail and even though he is now honor-bound to wed Elizabeth MacRae, the lass is still no’ for him. Dinnae give up on him, but embrace this new challenge in your life. He is certainly a man driven this night and rides this way as we speak, right along with Duncan and Ella.” Cherub lifted a few inches from the ground and swept backward. “I must go afore he arrives, but within the basket you’ll find some treats to enjoy.” Cherub blew her a kiss and just as quickly as she’d come, shimmered away within the swirling wind.
The breeze calmed, so swiftly, and the pounding of horses’ hooves echoed toward her.
She hurried to the center of the clearing and through the dense line of the darkened trees, three riders broke free, their mounts snorting misty air. Coll at the front, then Duncan and Ella right behind him.
They pulled their horses to a halt, grim anger slashing Coll’s face, the emotion pulsing through the air and smothering her. Wonderful, so now he shared his emotions. Well, he was about to get a handful of her own too. Cherub had decreed they were soul bound, which meant she needed him to accept that fact as well.
With a fierce bellow, Coll bounded from his destrier and stormed toward her. He planted his feet wide, slapped his hands on his sides and sent her yet another whirlwind of his wrath. “Woman, you cannae simply ride from my keep and cross these mountains without a guard.”
“I know this land as well as you do, Coll MacKenzie.” She’d certainly never tell him she’d gotten lost, because well, she barely had gotten lost and that’s all that counted. What also counted was the fact he’d come after her. She’d instigated the hunt, and he’d begun the chase. “Although I do appreciate that you’re now here.”
“Appreciate?” Another bellowing word.
“Coll, please, I am no’ a simpering lass who you can berate however you wish.” She jabbed a finger into his chest, his very big and immoveable chest. “How could you agree to wed another lass without speaking to me about it first? Explain that.”
“I am no’ a man who you can berate however you wish either. Nor must I clear all my doings with you first.” His dark war coat studded with bits of steel flapped open at his sides and gave a glimpse of his lethally sharp blade sheathed at his hip. “Last I heard, you belonged to Matthew, and I’d had no knowledge of that changing.”
“I’ve never belonged to Matthew. He never once demanded marital rights or even bestowed more than a kiss on my cheek, whereas your coming marriage to Elizabeth MacRae will be consummated in every way.”
“I cannae set Elizabeth aside simply because you and I have touched.”
“Excuse me.” Duncan dismounted and swung Ella down from her steed, their horses whinnying. “You two clearly need some privacy for this argument you’re having.”
“There is no argument,” Coll snapped back at him.
“Aye, there is.” His brother collected their horses’ reins, looped their leads to a boulder near the stream then scooped Ella into his arms. “Do excuse us. We have some of our own arguing to undertake.”
“Oooh, I do love a good arguing session with you.” Ella wrapped her arms around Duncan’s neck and nipped his ear. “You are about to get an ear-lashing.”
“One with all the right noises, I hope.” Grinning, Duncan jogged off with her into the trees and the two disappeared.
“You should never have walked into my bedchamber last eve.” Coll leaned closer, the muscle in his jaw thumping a hard and fast beat.
She breathed out, tried to center herself then once assured she could speak calmly, met his irrefutable gaze. “You cannae marry Elizabeth MacRae. I willnae allow it.”
“You have no right to say who I can or cannae marry.” Slowly, he circled her, his gaze roaming down her body, from her head to the low neckline of her gown then her hips, legs and back up again.
She followed his very predatory move, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides, his brown leather pants hugging his muscular legs and his white tunic flapping freely under his coat. “Do you like what you see?” She planted her own hands on her hips. “My stubborn one.”
“What happened between us last eve should never have happened.” He halted in front of her. “I touched you in ways I had no right to.”
“You had every right considering our mated bond.”
“There is no bond, and if I’d known about Matthew’s death at the time, or that I wasn’t dreaming but you were actually there in my chamber, then we would never have even kissed.”
“Are you angry at me for speaking vows with Matthew?” He had every right to be now she’d been made aware of their bond. Yet at the time, she’d seen no other way past their issues. Her father had threatened that she must choose a husband soon, or if she didn’t, then he’d have chosen one for her. So too Coll’s father wouldn’t have waited forever before finally demanding his son wed Kyla, and Coll had been the most obvious choice from amongst their chief’s three sons. Their chief certainly wished to ensure that only the strongest fae blood continued to flow through his direct line, and Kyla’s was as strong as it could possibly come.
“To begin with, aye, but I soon recognized he was the best choice for you.”
“Matthew suffered such deep depression. He should never have passed away from the small arm wound he’d taken in training, but it festered and he succumbed so quickly.” She’d never told another soul, but she’d caught Matthew deepening his wound with his own dirk, almost slicing right across his wrist. He’d been deep within a fever at the time and thrashing about in his sickbed. In his hazed grief for Elspeth, he’d looked at her and even called her by
his dead wife’s name. His last words had been a promise to his beloved, that he’d join her now and not wait another day. Then he’d stabbed himself right in the belly and with his immense strength, she’d been unable to halt his hand. His blood had flowed like an endless river across the grooves in his torso, then trickled from his mouth. Tears had burned behind her eyes. She’d failed Matthew.
Her pain and heartache from that day swarmed her now.
Living without the one their heart desired was sheer torture, and she had no desire to continue living an empty and lonely life without Coll any longer. “I want you, Coll. You hold the other half of my soul, just as I hold the other half of yours and even Cherub, our fae princess, has declared that is so. She visited me here, mere minutes ago, even left me a basket of treats from her chosen one’s twenty-first century time.” She gestured to the basket. “I didnae leave Carron Castle with that.”
“Cherub’s truly been here?” He lifted a brow, his brown eyes darkening. “As in the guardian to our fae people? You’ve truly seen her?”
“She is real, and told me ’twas time for you to accept your destiny, that since I’ve begun the hunt, you must see the chase through. Please say you believe me.”
“I proposed to another woman. If I was mated to you, I’d never have been able to do so. That is the only truth that matters.”
“I understand you wish to secure a stronger alliance with the Chief of MacRae, but surely there is another way.”
“The only way is through marriage vows, and I’ll be speaking them with Elizabeth by the week’s end. The future safety of our clan depends upon it.”
“And what of my feelings for you?” She stepped around him, tugged his war coat off his shoulders and down his arms.
“What are you doing?” His muscles tensed, biceps rippling under the thin white cloth of his tunic.
“Undressing you. I need to show you how very deep my feelings run. I wish to seduce you.” She dropped his coat on the ground next to her satchel. “We can complete the bond here if you wish. Duncan and Ella willnae return unless one of us calls out to them.”
“I willnae allow any form of seduction to occur between us, and I meant it when I said there was no bond.” He reached for his coat but she stepped into his way.
“You are so terribly stubborn.” She gripped the dangling ties of his tunic where the deep V collar lay loosely laced and tugged on them. “No more fighting, Coll. We’ve denied this bond for years, but no longer can we do so. You’re the only one I’ve ever desired.”
“That desire is called lust, no’ the mated bond.” The breeze lifted his shirt hem and gave a mouth watering show of his golden skin and the roped muscles either side of his abs.
“Kiss me.” She leaned into him, brushed her chest against his. Seduce him she would, without another moment’s delay.
“I intend on taking you back to Ardan where you can stay with Duncan and Ella. You’re not to continue on to your father’s home since he’ll have you wed to another man afore too long. You’ll be safe with Duncan. He’ll never allow any harm to come to you.”
“I said kiss me.”
“You’re no’ listening, Fiona.” He pushed her back against the tree and shoved his heavenly body up hard against hers. “There is no bond.”
“All I understand is that you’re saying one thing with your mouth, and another with your body. You clearly wish to keep me close. Put your hands on me, anywhere you please. My body is yours, my heart is yours, and my soul will be yours throughout all eternity. I give myself freely to you.”
“My betrothal is as binding as a marriage contract can be.” Such agony crossed his face, and his pained emotions slammed into her, over and over. Never had he allowed her to sense his feelings so deeply before, and it meant the world to her that he now did. She would try and ease his agony, and with the truth no less.
“You are all I’ve ever desired, all I’ve ever wished for. Never have I understood Matthew’s great pain so deeply until now.” She too would never survive his death should it occur. “Make love to me, claim my body and fuse the golden strands of our mated bond fully together.”
“I’ve signed a damned agreement and there is naught I can do to end my betrothal.”
“Are you asking me to let you go again?”
“I’ve never been yours to let go.”
“Aye, that is exactly what you’re asking then.” Her tears fell. Giving him up a second time would destroy her, all of her.
* * * *
“Dinnae cry. Please, dinnae cry.” Fiona’s pain gripped Coll’s heart like a fist and naught could stem the pressure unless he—aye, he needed to kiss her. He dipped his head and touched his mouth to hers. He wanted to kiss her softly and cherish this moment, but instead the renewed taste of her sent his senses swirling into a maelstrom.
They couldn’t be soul bound, but they were most definitely attracted to each other. Aye, this was lust and he simply needed to expend it. Pulling back a touch, he looked deep into her eyes and when another tear slid free down her cheek, his chest near collapsed in on itself. He captured her mouth again and kissed her ravenously, with all the desperate desire and need to see those tears gone.
“Aye, give me more of your kisses. I’ll take whatever you’re willing to offer for now.” She rocked her hips against his hips and his cock swelled painfully as the pressure to take her and truly make her his roared through him. Nay, he couldn’t give into his own base desires, not when doing so would mean he’d fail his people. Those at Carron remained under his protection and must always come first, not his own needs or desires.
“I adore your kisses, Coll.” Whispered words against his lips.
As he adored hers and hell, if he could just lessen this edge of hunger riding him so hard, then mayhap he’d be able to think more clearly afterward. It didn’t help that she was wearing his gift, the red velvet gown he’d had the seamstress fashion for her. He stroked the soft fabric at her hips, the color bringing out the red highlights in her silky locks and the flush stealing across the upper swells of her breasts. Aye, he’d held those full mounds in his hands last eve and tasted the sweet treasure of them too. Mayhap one more time.
He plucked the front laces of her cinched bodice loose and the low neckline embroidered with white detailing drooped open and exposed a slight tease of her pink nipples. Gently, he eased his hand fully inside the bodice, soft velvet sliding sensuously across the back of his hand and with a staggered breath, he palmed her lush flesh. “I shouldnae be touching you so.”
“You may touch me as freely as you wish. I’m yours and there’s no part of me I’d now keep from you.” She pressed his hands tighter against her breasts, until the heavy beat of her heart pulsed against his palms. “My heart is yours, Coll. My soul is yours, and I wish for my body to be yours as well.”
“I cannae take any more from you than I already have.” He swiped both his thumbs over her nipples and they puckered all pink and tight. Not enough. He needed to touch more of her. He shoved the sleeves of her gown down her arms and exposed her creamy skin bathed in the golden glow of the moon. His mind hazed with lust and he bent and licked one nipple then gently blew across it until it stiffened even further.
“Mmm, do that again,” she whimpered, clutching his shirtfront.
“You should be telling me to halt.” Slowly, carefully, he drew one bud deep inside his mouth and tickled the tip with his tongue. Hell, she tasted divine, like the sweetest nectar of the sweetest fruit. More. He tweaked her other nipple then laved and treasured it, just as he’d done with the first.
“Dinnae stop, Coll.” Eyes closed, she arched her back and he scooped her up and laid her down on her plaid before the fire. She smiled, so damn seductively and he got lost.
“I love the way you’re looking at me.”
“I love the way you’re looking at me too.” She tugged the ties of his pants loose and grinned as his cock bobbed free.
“Wait.” A grating request.
/> “Nay, I’m done waiting, my stubborn one.” She curled her fingers around his shaft and gripped him as if she owned him, which right now she surely did.
“Halt,” he croaked, the plea barely making it past his lips. “I’ll come in an instant if you continue to touch me there.”
“That’s exactly what I’d like, for you to come and to never forget either me or my touch.” She swiped one finger over the head of his cock and his shaft pulsed in her hand, so greedy for more.
“Fiona, I cannae give you any more than this one moment in time.” He dropped his head to her neck and sucked on the sensitive skin where her shoulder and neck met.
“Even though I want all of you, I’ll agree to whatever you’re willing to offer right now.”
“I still shouldnae be doing this.” Yet he captured her mouth again and kissed her, as if his very life depended upon it. These past sixteen months while she’d been beyond his reach at Rhue had near killed him, and now she was here and no longer wed to Matthew, ’twas a dream come true. He bunched up her skirts, slid his hand between her legs and nudged them farther apart. “I’m going to touch you below. Say aye.”
“Aye.” She fisted his shaft tighter and he rocked deeper into her exquisite hold and groaned, his need to take all she offered riding him hard.
“You are more than a wicked temptress.” He cupped her mound, slowly stroked along her hot folds then caressed her nub which had her gripping him tighter and gasping with pleasure. “Matthew never touched you here did he?” He nipped her ear, needing to know for certain. “Tell me he didnae.”
“He was in love with Elspeth, would never have touched me when all he desired was her. He was always the consummate gentleman.” Breasts heaving, the fiery light in her blue eyes bright with fierce passion, she whispered, “What of you? Have you ever touched another woman as you’re touching me?”
When he’d tried to touch Elizabeth and offer her a kiss, he’d only ended up backing away when his gut had soured and bile had risen. “Nay.”
Highlander's Touch: Medieval Romance Page 7
