by Donna Grant
Ronnie had learned that if she wanted anything done, she was going to have to be the one to do it. To have someone like Arran come to her aid and not expect anything in return was refreshing. It also didn’t help the attraction she felt.
Another glance showed that, as usual, Arran was surrounded. It must be his infectious smile or his easygoing nature. But she’d seen another part of him that he kept carefully guarded when he was around others.
She’d seen the predatory side, the part of him that was ready for whatever life threw him. A side that wouldn’t go down without a fight.
His golden eyes met hers, and for a moment she held his gaze before she looked away. Why did he hide that other part of him? She liked that part, which she didn’t understand.
She frowned as she continued to dig around the stone. She’d never been one who appreciated the muscular alpha guys. Until Arran. There was no doubt he was an alpha. Everyone else seemed to recognize it as well, which was why they flocked to him.
But why did she?
It was the attraction. At least that’s what she told herself.
“Need some help?”
The words were said in a low, seductive tone that sent chills racing over her skin and her heart to beat double time. Arran.
“I thought you already had a job to do,” Ronnie said as she continued to dig.
“I’ve done it. You look like you could use a hand.”
She did the wrong thing and looked at him. His golden eyes ensnared her, entranced her. Charmed her. Everything about Arran pulled at her, urged her to get closer to him.
Ronnie swallowed and rubbed some dirt from his cheek shadowed with whiskers.
“I didna shave,” he said with a frown. He rubbed at his jaw a moment. “I forgot.”
“It’s a good look for you. Not that you need any help.”
Was she flirting? Flirting! What the hell was wrong with her?
A lopsided grin stole across Arran’s lips. “Is that so?”
“You know it is. Look around you. Every woman here can’t keep her eyes off you.”
“Every woman but one.”
The smile was gone from his lips, and there was a serious thread to his words. He meant her, she knew, and for the life of her, she didn’t know how to respond.
“How is your hand?” he asked.
Ronnie was grateful for the change of subject. “It’s a little sore where the glass penetrated the skin. Other than my neck being tender from the impact, I’m fine.”
“Good.”
He didn’t move away, and his gaze didn’t shift. He was so close she could see the dark ring of gold around his eyes and a bead of sweat as it ran down the side of his cheek. Her gaze dropped to his mouth.
His lips were wide and firm. No smile turned up the sides now, no sweet words made her heart race. Yet it didn’t dampen the fire he’d ignited.
It was only the sounds of the site that kept her from making a fool of herself and leaning in to kiss him. But oh, how she wanted to. His lips looked too damn good not to kiss. She looked up in time to see his gaze drop to her mouth, and she barely suppressed a groan.
Her nipples pebbled painfully. Her entire body ached to be closer to him, to have him touch her. Ronnie didn’t know how, but she was certain he would be an exceptional lover.
To have a man take care of her, even if it was for a few hours, sounded too good to be true. It all hinged on her allowing him close.
Someone shouted her name. Twice. No longer could she ignore those around her.
Ronnie cleared her throat and looked away. “Thank you again for helping me last night.”
“Has anything odd happened recently? Any people hanging around you doona recognize?”
She jerked her head to him. “Why?”
“Just curious.” He shrugged while his gaze swept the scene around them.
“There’s been nothing.”
“Let me know if there is.”
“Just as soon as you tell me why.
His nostrils flared in agitation. “Saffron said there might be people thinking to harm you.”
Ronnie chuckled and shook her head. “There are always those out there who think that history should stay in the ground. It doesn’t matter what country I’m in, there are people who want to harm me for digging into their pasts. I tend to think it’s because they fear what I’m going to find.”
“Or want what you’re finding.” He leaned close. “It’s a threat Saffron felt I needed to know, which means you need to take it seriously, Ronnie. Keep your eyes open.”
“Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?”
He gave a quick shake of his head. “Nay. That really does need to be private. But I’d like to make that talk happen soon.”
By the way he spoke, she knew this “talk” wasn’t going to be about the attraction between them. Her heart pounded as she realized how often he watched her. Did he know her secret? Had he worked out that she used her abilities to find the relics?
“There’s no need to be frightened of me,” Arran hastily said. “I’m your friend, Ronnie. I want to help you, protect you. There are … things … about me that could help. If you’ll let me.”
He rose and walked away before she could respond. For long moments she stared after him, his words reverberating in her head. He knew. He knew her secret.
But what could he have that could help her? It was a question only he could answer, and one she would demand as soon as she knew exactly what he thought he knew of her.
The rest of the afternoon Ronnie would glance up every now and again while she worked. Arran was always near, but she also looked around her as he’d asked. She didn’t know what she was looking for. Despite her focus shifting constantly, they were able to make a good bit of headway around the arch.
It appeared Arran had been right, and it was a doorway of some kind. There was still so much dirt blocking their way, and every time they moved some, more would suddenly fall and fill in the spot.
Wooden barriers that resembled small fences were made and put into place. Still, the dirt fell through the cracks of the barriers and slowed their progress considerably.
Ronnie wasn’t ready to stop work when the dinner bell tolled, but she was the only one. She sat back as the others readily put away their tools and walked to the food tent.
Lines of exhaustion were clear on their faces. She’d pushed them all hard, but even that hadn’t gotten her what she wanted. Which was the entire arch visible to her so she could see what it was.
She planned to continue working when Andy was suddenly beside her, pulling her by her arm to stand up. He dragged her toward the food tent while he filled her in on the other sections around the camp.
It was only right before she walked into the tent that she spotted Arran striding around the perimeter of the site.
* * *
Arran made a third round of the site, looking at every parked car and camper. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but Saffron’s visions were never wrong.
Events could change and thereby render her visions mute, but if she’d been right and Ronnie was terrified, then Arran doubted the events could change enough to prevent that.
There was a slight stir in the air and he turned to find Fallon behind him. “Bloody hell,” he ground out. “Anyone could’ve seen you.”
Fallon grinned. “Ah, but they didna. How are things?”
“The usual. I’ve yet to find anything.”
“Us either. The same bad people that seem to populate the world with murders, rapes, and such, but nothing that would suggest droughs.”
Arran crossed his arms over his chest. “They’re out there. Just as the mies are.”
“Aye, but where? If someone was taking Declan’s place, I think we’d have heard something by now.”
“I’m no’ so sure. It could be they’re waiting for something.”
“Like what?”
Arran looked at the spot Ronnie had been digging. Almost half t
he arch could be seen now. “Maybe they’re waiting to see what Ronnie finds.”
“Shite,” Fallon said, and raked a hand through his dark hair. His green eyes glittered with anger. “I’d thought we were finished with such evil. I want to give Larena the babe she craves so desperately.”
Arran dropped his arms to his sides. He hated the spot Fallon and the others were in. He didn’t want to bind his god as they did, but he understood their need to make their mates happy.
“Tell me of Ronnie.”
Arran raised a brow at Fallon. “I’m sure Saffron told you all there is to know. And knowing Gwynn with her computer skills, she was able to pull up Ronnie’s entire past.”
“Aye,” Fallon said with a nod. “But I want your take on her.”
“She’s stubborn. Talented. Beautiful. There’s a wee bit of pride in her as well, but it’s understandable, being as good as she is in her field. Though she’s that good because it’s her magic leading her to the artifacts. She’s good to her people, both paid and volunteers. She’s also verra private and keeps men at arm’s length. I think it has to do with her past.”
“It does.”
Arran glanced at the food tent, where he’d last seen her. He wanted to know her past. It would help him get closer to her, to know what paths to take and which ones to steer clear of.
“Her parents died when she was only four,” Fallon said. “There were no relatives to take her in, so she went into the foster system in Arizona. A couple with five other foster children took her in and raised her.”
Arran nodded as he listened to Fallon. “There was a man she was involved with, was there no’?”
“Aye. A man named Max Drummond.”
“He broke her heart.” Arran turned his gaze back to Fallon. It wasn’t a wild guess. It would explain her hesitation to give in to her desires. “What did he do to her?”
“He lied in order to get close so he could steal the relics she was finding and sell them on the black market.”
Arran closed his eyes at the realization that there were parallels between him and Max. They both got close to Ronnie for something she was digging for.
But whereas Max had done it purely for the money, Arran was doing it for his friends. Though he didn’t like lying to her. He planned to tell her all of it when he spoke to her about her magic.
He hoped she wouldn’t be too angry with him, but in all likelihood, she’d kick him off the site. How he wished Max was in front of him so he could put his fist into his face for what he’d done to Ronnie.
Now Arran understood why she was so hesitant to give in to the attraction between them. He’d have to work harder to earn her trust. He hadn’t expected it or wanted it, but he cared about Ronnie.
As soon as the thought went through his mind, it felt as if he’d been kicked in the stomach by a horse. He did care for Ronnie.
Shite.
When he opened his eyes, it was to find Fallon staring at him curiously. “What? Ronnie is a good person who didna deserve such treatment.”
“Hmm.”
“What happened to this Max Drummond?”
Fallon shrugged. “He disappeared before authorities could find him.”
“Did Gwynn find anything about him through the computer?”
“Nothing.”
“What about Saffron? Any visions? Have Cara, Dani, Marcail, or any of the other Druids been able to use their magic to find him?”
“It’s like he never existed.”
Arran fisted his hands. “I doona like the sound of that.”
“Neither did I, which is why I called Charon. He’s using his network of men to see what they can discover.”
Arran hated that they still relied on Charon. He’d forgiven the Warrior for spying all those decades, but it didn’t mean Arran had to like the guy.
Fallon shifted his shoulders, and Arran smiled.
“You feel the magic of this place.” He wasn’t posing a question, and Fallon nodded in response.
“You were no’ lying when you said it was overpowering. This is definitely the spot for the items sent from Edinburgh, then.”
“At least we hope,” Arran added. “Ronnie is close to finding something, I think. She unearthed a stone arch in the ground.”
“Is that where the magic is coming from?”
Arran shrugged. “It’s difficult to pinpoint the location. I feel the magic wherever I walk around the site. The arch does give me pause, though.”
“Is it a burial tomb?”
“I think so.”
Fallon’s lips flattened. “Be careful. I’ll call when I hear from Charon.”
And just like that, Fallon was gone. Arran might have gotten the power to control ice and snow, but Fallon’s was teleporting. It came in handy often.
He took a deep breath and turned to the food tent. He wanted to see Ronnie, not because he had something to tell her, but just because he needed to see her hazel eyes, wheat-colored hair, and smile.
He needed her beside him.
CHAPTER
TWELVE
Ronnie tossed and turned on her cot. Usually it never bothered her that the damn thing was so narrow, but tonight she couldn’t shut her brain off enough to get some sleep.
It was Arran. And it was the site.
She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Her fingers itched to be back in the dirt, scraping it away from the stones of the arch.
The song was so loud, she couldn’t shut it off. It kept calling to her, summoning her to it. The problem was, she could no longer wait. Morning seemed like an eternity away. She had to get to the box right then.
Only a few times since she’d become an archeologist had the need taken her so. One time had been when she found the trinity knot pendant.
What would be in the ground this time? What priceless relic was in the box hidden for hundreds of years, forgotten until she had located it?
Ronnie sighed and gave up forgetting about the site. The only way for her to find any kind of peace was to go dig.
She wound her hair into a bun and slipped back into her boots. The summer nights in Scotland only helped her. It was almost midnight and it was still light outside.
Since she didn’t know how long she’d be working, she found a light and kept it beside her so she could turn it on when it got dark.
It would have been better to keep the light on its stand, but it might wake others, and she’d rather be alone.
As soon as her fingers touched the dirt, she smiled. It calmed her in ways nothing else ever could. Except maybe Arran.
“Enough,” she whispered to herself as she thought of his golden eyes and heart-stopping smile.
The first time she’d taken a geology class and the professor had them dig in search of rocks, she knew what she wanted to do with her life.
While she dug around the stones, she thought of the next fund-raiser. She couldn’t go alone again. It was exhausting, trying to fend off the men. Not that she was a great beauty, but they seemed intrigued by what she did. Interested enough to keep pursuing her long after the party was over.
It had become a problem. She hated the things anyway. The thought of begging for money to continue her work irked her. She made a little money off the things she found, but it wasn’t enough to support her digs.
Since Pete had ruled himself and Andy out, there was no one else for her to choose from.
Arran.
“No,” she murmured.
She couldn’t ask him. She wouldn’t ask him.
First, because she knew he’d most likely say yes. Second, because she was inexplicably drawn to him and couldn’t say no for much longer. If she was put in close proximity with Arran for any amount of time, there was no telling what she’d do.
She found herself smiling at that. It wasn’t like she was ever the one who had taken control in a relationship. Yet, with Arran, she didn’t want to wait for him to kiss her. She wanted to kiss him.
So unlike her.
But then again, she hadn’t been herself since he arrived.
Ronnie shook her head and continued to dig around the stones of the arch. She was prone on the ground, stretched as far as her arms would allow her. She continued like that, working slowly and methodically around the stones until she had removed another four inches of dirt the entire four feet across the arch.
She sat back on her heels and surveyed the arch. In order to get any more work done, she’d have to climb down to where the barriers were holding back the sides of earth from crumbling on top of the arch again.
“Damn,” she said, and looked around the site.
Everyone was in their tents and campers, asleep. The few hours where the darkness crept across the sky had come without her even knowing it.
Still, Ronnie wasn’t tired. She wanted to keep working. Even if only for another hour.
She set her watch to countdown from an hour and jumped to where the barriers were. Ronnie stayed still for a few seconds to see if the barriers would hold.
On her knees, she could just see over the top of the ground, so even if the barriers gave way, she had plenty of time to get out before she was injured.
With that resolved, Ronnie went to work.
* * *
Arran was on his stomach, one arm hanging over the side of the cot when he jerked awake. He was instantly on alert. His god bellowed, welcoming a battle, but nothing moved.
He’d long gotten used to sleeping in his pants in case there was an emergency. Arran sat up and put his feet on the ground.
Arran sat with his eyes closed and allowed the heightened senses of his god to determine what had wrenched him out of his sleep. He was unsure how long he sat there before he heard the unmistakable sound of someone digging.
It was slight and soft, but it was there.
Arran walked out of his tent and found a light shining upon the section with the arch. He barely had time to register that it was Ronnie’s wheat-colored head he saw when he heard the ground shift.
There was no time to call out, nothing to do but get to her. Arran used his speed to cross the distance from the tents to the section just as there was a loud crack that reached him.
He slid across the ground, the claws of his right hand extended and digging into the ground as he went off the side just as the earth fell out from beneath Ronnie.
