Dark Warrior [5] Midnight's Kiss

by Donna Grant

  “Do you often help her on her digs?”

  Pete chuckled and looked at him. “No. Ronnie has long since been on her own. She likes having me drop by, but it’s just as a friend not a professor. She’s the one teaching me now.”

  “But you help her,” Arran urged.

  “In a way. I help set up the parties to maintain the donations so she can continue her work. Archeology is an expensive business.”

  Arran nodded. “Which is why Ronnie is friends with Saffron.”

  “Ah, yes, Miss Fletcher who has become Mrs. MacKenna. Saffron’s company has been a supporter, beginning with donations by her father. Even when Saffron seemed to disappear, the money was still sent to Ronnie to continue her digs.”

  “With Saffron’s donations, why do you need more?”

  Pete threw back his head and let out a full-bodied laugh. He ran a hand down his face before he reached beneath his cot to a bag and pulled out a flask. He unscrewed the lid and tilted back the flask for a hearty drink.

  “No thanks,” Arran said when Pete offered him a drink.

  Pete took another drink, then screwed the cap back on. “Saffron’s donations are large, but it doesn’t cover everything. It does allow us not to have to ask for quite so much from others, however.”

  “I see.” And Arran did see. Pete had moved on from the actual digging to keeping Ronnie digging.

  “I think you’ll fit in nicely here.” Pete turned and lay back on the bed. He threw an arm over his eyes and grunted. “If only this damned place would get dark when it was supposed to.”

  “Where will Ronnie go after this dig?”

  Pete shrugged. “This is her third year in Britain, and it looks like she has no intentions of leaving. I keep trying to get her back to Egypt, but she’s determined to remain here. I have no idea what it is about this land that keeps her finding things.”

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  “Nothing.” Pete lifted his arm and looked at Arran a moment. “There is more history in Egypt is all I’m saying.”

  Arran didn’t respond as Pete’s arm once more covered his eyes.

  “The National Trust of Britain is sure happy to have her, though.”

  “Meaning?” Arran asked with a frown.

  “Meaning that she gives all her finds to them.”

  “All?”

  “Oh, she’ll keep something small every now and again, like the necklace she wears.”

  “I thought part of being an archeologist is giving the finds to the government.”

  “It is.”

  But there was something in Pete’s voice that made Arran wary. “I suspect the government demands the finds in exchange for digging on their land.”

  “Yep. It’s the way it’s always been. Archeologists do all the work, and get a little of the praise. Long after the artifacts are placed in a museum, the ones who found them are forgotten.”

  Arran relaxed at his words. He’d thought for a moment that Pete had been motivated by money, but now Arran understood the tone that had been in his voice.

  “How does Ronnie feel about it?” Arran asked.

  “She doesn’t seem to care. For her, it’s just part of who she is.”

  Arran let the silence grow after Pete finished talking. There was much about Ronnie that Arran had learned, and he’d yet to find anything he didn’t like.

  An image of her tall, lithe body standing in her tent with her shirts soaked and clinging to her skin flashed in Arran’s mind. His damned cock began to harden when he remembered holding her.

  He tried to push it aside, but it was too late. His body heated, instantly ready and needy. If he felt such an overwhelming need for her now, what would it be like if he ever kissed her?

  It can no’ happen.

  But he wanted it to. Desperately.

  All it took to wash away those thoughts was Fallon and Larena, and the other couples at MacLeod Castle who wanted to bind the gods and have a normal life.

  As if they could live normally. They’d spent hundreds of years as immortals, as Warriors who had powers of their own. For Arran, he was able to control ice and snow.

  It came second nature to him. Did he want to live where he couldn’t use that power? Did he want a life where he couldn’t see in the dark as a Warrior did, or hear as a Warrior did?

  To have the speed and strength of his god taken away from him?

  He didn’t, but this wasn’t about him. This was about his friends.

  Arran told himself he didn’t have to have his god bound, but in the back of his mind he worried that once that spell was out there, anyone could bind his god.

  Anyone.

  Was that a chance he wanted to take?

  What if evil returned? Because it would. Eventually. What would happen to the world if the Warriors weren’t there to stop the evil?

  Arran didn’t want to find out.

  CHAPTER

  FIVE

  Ronnie sighed as she sat up from her cot and yawned. She hadn’t been able to sleep last night. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw golden ones staring back at her.

  Even awake Arran haunted her mind. She couldn’t stop thinking of how at ease he’d been. Until she’d mentioned the old Celtic story.

  The predator she sensed in him had woken at that moment. It was such a part of him that he probably hadn’t even realized he’d leaned toward her, his body seeming to bow up as if waiting for a fight.

  And for just an instant, she could have sworn his eyes flashed … white.

  It proved how exhausted she was that her mind played tricks on her.

  “Eyes flashing white. Yeah. Like that actually happens,” Ronnie mumbled as she swung her legs over the side of the cot and rose.

  The storm had stopped only a few hours before, but that wasn’t going to halt the dig. She splashed water on her face and dressed in another pair of jeans and a thicker button-down. She was brushing out her hair when she heard Arran’s voice.

  That deep, smooth voice sent chills racing over her skin. He laughed, and she wondered who he was talking to. And then, his voice faded away. She hated that she was disappointed in not hearing more of him.

  “Get a grip,” she said as she glared at her reflection in the small mirror. “He’s a guy. There’s no time for that.”

  Not that there ever was time.

  Ronnie pulled her hair back into a ponytail, then twisted the long strands around and around before wrapping the hair into a bun. She stuck three bobby pins in her hair to hold it and then reached for her jacket as she rose.

  As soon as she walked out of her tent, Andy was waiting for her.

  “Hey, Ronnie,” he said, and looked at his clipboard. “I’m happy to say that all the tarps held last night through the storm. Looks like we had very little damage. A little rain got in some sites, but not all.”

  “How about the newest one?”

  “Nope. All clean,” he answered with a smile.

  She nodded and made her way to the tent that was set up with food. “Just what I wanted to hear. What other news?”

  “I’ve sent our newest volunteer to help dig today. Since he’s rather strong, he’ll be doing some heavy lifting.”

  Ronnie paused in pouring her coffee and looked at Andy. “You put him with me?”

  “You said yesterday you wanted to concentrate on this new section, and that means getting deeper than the four inches we got yesterday.”

  “He could destroy any finds.”

  Andy shook his head. “I don’t think so. He seems capable, and I’ve got others watching to make sure he doesn’t.”

  “Fine,” Ronnie said with a sigh. She grabbed a croissant and a few strawberries and headed out of the tent.

  Andy was right on her heels. “I thought you liked Arran. If it’s an issue, I’ll move him somewhere else.”

  “No, it’s fine.” It wasn’t, but if she had Andy move Arran, then it would alert Pete and Arran that she had an issue with him.

  Th
at she wanted to avoid.

  When she reached the site, the tarp had been removed and Arran stood leaning on a shovel, laughing at something one of the other guys said.

  He’d taken off his shirt, revealing an amazing amount of exposed muscle all the way to the very low waist of his dark jeans. Dirt and sweat already coated his chest.

  He was raw masculinity, dominant and commanding. Compelling. Without even trying, he drew every eye to him—including her own.

  Her breathing grew erratic, her blood heating until her skin was damp from the visceral, innate desire just being near him brought her.

  Even his smile, which he directed at someone else, caused her stomach to flutter. She licked her lips and let her gaze slide slowly down his wide chest, seeing the power and strength in every corded muscle.

  Her eyes paused when she reached the waist of his low-hung jeans, just giving her a glimpse of that sexy V of sinew that disappeared into his pants.

  She knew the feel of his arousal, the hardness, the length. Her mouth went dry as she thought of it against her. It had haunted her dreams. But in those dreams, she had rocked against him, not stood there like an idiot, waiting for him to do something.

  Ronnie swallowed and mentally shook herself. She had to stay away from Arran. He was temptation in its purest form.

  “I thought he just got here. What did he do, fall in the dirt?” she asked, not trying to hide her irritation.

  Andy chuckled and tucked his pencil behind his ear. “Actually, he’s been working for about two hours now.”

  She turned her surprised gaze from Arran to Andy. “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah. He was awake when I got up, and then he helped me remove all the tarps. He wanted to get to work right away. The next thing I knew, everyone else was getting up.”

  Ronnie looked back at Arran to find his gaze on her. He gave a slight nod of his head as if he knew she was talking about him, and then turned his attention to his new friends.

  Damn, but she didn’t want to notice him.

  A look around showed she wasn’t the only one. All the women were ogling him, which she couldn’t blame them for. A hunk of a man like Arran couldn’t—wouldn’t—be ignored.

  Just when she thought she was going to have to tell him to put on his shirt and go somewhere else, he said something to the men and began digging again.

  A second later, everyone else got back to work as well. Even the women gawking at him.

  “I’ve always heard there were people who were natural leaders,” Andy leaned close and whispered. “I’d never seen it before today. Arran doesn’t even have to say anything. They just follow him.”

  “They’re working, that’s what matters.” But Ronnie was just as amazed—and awed—as Andy.

  She’d never seen someone command attention the way Arran did. It wasn’t just his good looks and muscles, it was his manners and demeanor.

  It was as if everyone recognized him as a leader and gave him the position.

  Ronnie walked around the section they were digging, inspecting things as she did. She could feel the artifacts below the dirt. Their song was only one she could hear. It led her to them each and every time. This time, the song was stronger, more urgent. Ronnie had never felt such urgency from an artifact before, and it made her wonder what could be hidden beneath all the tons of dirt and rock.

  She was so deep in thought, listening to the song from the artifact that she didn’t realize she had stopped behind Arran until he turned to her.

  “Did I do something wrong?”

  “Actually, no,” she said, and turned her mind from the sweet song. “I hear you’ve been working for a few hours.”

  He shrugged and leaned a hand on the shovel. “I was awake and eager to get started.”

  “As you know, the days are really long this time of year. I like to take advantage of that.”

  His smile was slow as it spread. “Aye, lass. And you’ll come to learn we Highlanders doona mind hard work. Or long hours. We have natural endurance we use every chance we get.”

  His voice had a teasing lilt to it, but she saw the seriousness in his golden eyes as well as the sexual undertone. And how she loved his brogue. She could listen to it all day.

  “It appears all your muscles are going to be needed throughout the day. I just don’t want you wasting them too soon.”

  “Doona worry. I doona tire easily.”

  She nodded and walked away before she did something really stupid like reach up to touch his muscles again. Or kiss him. When all she wanted to do was keep talking to him, to get close and feel the heat radiating off him. Ronnie hated herself for it, too.

  The morning soon turned into noon, but she hardly noticed. She drank when a bottle of water was put in her hand, but she rarely looked up from her work.

  Unless she heard Arran’s voice.

  His was the only thing that could break into the growing song that occupied her mind. There were artifacts all over the land, but the ones in the area where she dug were important.

  It’s the only reason they would be so loud and insistent. At least that’s what she told herself. There had been relics before who had been almost as loud and been extremely important.

  What would she find this time? An ancient sword? Maybe a hidden burial chamber? She loved to guess and see if she was right when she finally did unearth it.

  She just hoped it wasn’t another mass grave like the one she’d found two years ago that dated back to the Saxon invasion. There had been over thirty bodies in that grave, all of them women and children. It was those times she remembered that the UK had seen many bloody wars.

  The sound of Arran’s voice pulled her gaze to him once more. A couple of times he’d come to her side and helped her move a large rock, but he kept his distance. Ronnie was thankful and angry about it all at the same time.

  She finally called for lunch at half past noon. When she stood, she saw just how much progress they’d made.

  “Wow,” Andy said as he came up beside her. “We’ve never dug a section so quick.”

  “No,” she said, but she knew a large part was owed to Arran.

  “We’ve done five times as much this morning as we did yesterday alone.”

  Ronnie glanced at the other sections. “What’s the update on section three?”

  “We found nothing until about thirty minutes ago, and then we found an arm bone.”

  “Human?”

  Andy nodded. He hated to find remains, but it was something they ran across frequently.

  “Any other parts of the skeleton?” she asked.

  “Possibly. I’ll let you know as soon as something is found. In section two, there’s been nothing.”

  “Hmm. Keep digging the rest of the day. There might be something under all that dirt yet.”

  “A bowl matching the one dating back to Rome would be nice,” Andy said as he walked away.

  Ronnie drained the rest of her water. When she turned to make her way to the food tent, it was to find Arran blocking her path.

  “They made you a sandwich,” he said, and held out a wrapped package.

  She took it and a bag of chips. “Thanks.” Though she knew she shouldn’t, she found herself saying, “Why don’t you eat with me?”

  He gave a nod and followed her to her tent. Inside, Ronnie sank onto her narrow cot and let Arran have the chair. They ate in silence for a few minutes before she couldn’t hold it in any longer.

  “What do you think of your first day so far? Want to return home?”

  Arran chuckled, his gaze locked on her, and finished swallowing his food. “Nay. I’m enjoying it immensely. I’m used to a lot of activity, and over the past few months, there hasna been much to do. This is just what I needed.”

  “And you’re getting everyone to work, and work hard. How did you do that?”

  He shrugged. “I didna do anything.”

  “Where do you live in Scotland?”

  He put down his sandwich and said
around his food, “The Highlands, of course.”

  “Of course,” she said. But she saw the look of pride and satisfaction that came over him when he spoke of the Highlands.

  “Do you have a family?”

  “What’s the sudden interest in my life?” he asked, though a grin played at the edges of his lips.

  It was her turn to shrug. “I’m just curious to know one of Saffron’s friends. I’ve known Saffron awhile. She’s spoken of her husband and new baby a lot, and every once in a while she’ll mention something about her husband’s friends. You’d be one of those, right?”

  “Aye.”

  “I get the feeling you all do something important. What do you work for, MI5 or MI6? Scotland Yard, maybe?”

  Arran shook his head, a half grin pulling up one side of his lips. “Nay, nothing like that. No’ sure why she thinks we’re important.”

  “She said it was you all who found her.”

  It didn’t go unnoticed how still Arran got at her words. “Aye,” he finally said. “What did she tell you?”

  “Only that. The papers made light of her disappearance, but I saw in her face that there was much more to it. Three years is a long time to be gone. I’m so glad you all found her.”

  “Us as well.”

  Ronnie smiled and cracked a chip in two with her finger. “I also gather that you all are a rather tight-knit group.”

  “You could say that.”

  “So you can’t tell me, because you do work for the government, right?”

  He leaned forward and peered at her. “Why does it matter?”

  “I don’t know,” she lied. She couldn’t exactly tell him she wanted to know all there was about him because she couldn’t stop thinking about dragging him into bed with her. “I just like to figure people out, and there is so much about you that doesn’t fit together nicely like everyone else.”

  “It makes me more interesting.”

  That it did. “Listen, I know Saffron knows you, but … I don’t.”

  “And you’re leery,” he finished for her. “I’m just here to work.”

  It was time to get to the heart of things. “Things have been stolen from me in the past. I like to know the people working for me, whether they’re being paid or not. Saffron gave me her word you were a good man. Can I trust that? Should I trust that?”