Midnight's Seduction

by Donna Grant

Arran snorted, his lips twisted in resignation. “Just what we need.”

  “Shall we go left then?” Camdyn asked.

  Saffron had intended to stay near Camdyn because he’d promised to keep her safe, but if he was going to lead the way down a dark, dank, small tunnel, she’d prefer to stay behind.

  She’d never been claustrophobic before, but three years in Declan’s prison had changed all of that. Now, she couldn’t stand to be closed in.

  Already her scalp tingled and her nerves were stretched tight from every little sound she heard in the labyrinth. And they hadn’t even really gotten started yet.

  No one had any idea how big this maze was or how long it would take them to reach Laria.

  “Left it is,” Fallon said. He held out his hand and Larena took it with a small smile.

  It was better to have the Warriors go down a corridor first since they were immortal. But eventually the Druids would have to walk that same path.

  Saffron had seen plenty of movies in her life. She knew how things could happen with one small misstep. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to get hurt.

  But what they were doing was extremely dangerous. Not just belowground, but above as Deirdre awaited them. It would be a miracle if everyone returned to the castle hale and whole.

  She looked at Camdyn. She couldn’t imagine him injured. He had always been so resilient and tough.

  “We’re through,” Fallon called, breaking into Saffron’s thoughts.

  The next to follow were Hayden and Isla, and when they made it through unscathed, the rest of them followed. When it was time for Saffron to walk the long corridor, she wanted to keep her eyes ahead of her to where the others waited to help ease her anxiety, but she was so worried about stepping on a wrong stone that her eyes were glued to the floor.

  It seemed an eternity before she, Camdyn, and Braden reached the others. Saffron inhaled a deep breath and slowly let it out.

  Camdyn knew Saffron wasn’t handling being underground well, but so far she was keeping it together. At the rate they were going, however, he didn’t know how long that would last.

  He noticed how she sidled closer to him when she thought there was a threat. Unfortunately, he quite liked having her so close.

  Unlike the other Druids, Saffron hadn’t removed her jacket, though her gloves had been stuffed into her coat pockets and her scarf now draped loosely about her shoulders.

  Her walnut-colored hair hung down her back, its thickness and silkiness causing him to lean close and inhale her moonlight and snow scent.

  No matter what he did, no matter how he tried to walk away from her, he couldn’t seem to do it. And after holding her, tasting her, caressing her, he didn’t want to walk away.

  Ever.

  “Sonya,” Lucan called.

  Sonya and Broc worked their way through the group until they stood at the next crossroads.

  Broc scowled at Lucan. “Why did you call Sonya?”

  Cara lifted her finger, and said, “Reaghan was the first artifact, and Sonya found the second in the amulet. We assume it’s the second to be used.”

  “She has a point,” Sonya said. She pulled out the amulet she wore around her neck and lifted it over her head. “But what do I do with it?”

  “Good question,” Quinn mumbled.

  Dani stepped forward and moved Hayden’s arm to see more of the wall in front of them. “There has to be a place to put it, is my guess. What else would you do with it?”

  “Maybe just wearing it will aid her,” Marcail offered.

  Sonya returned the amulet to her neck. “We have to choose a way again. Left or right?”

  It was decided to try left again. Camdyn kept Saffron beside him, though he made sure to move a bit in front of her to safeguard her.

  They went through four more crossroads before they came to a dead end and had to turn back. Since they had gone left each time, it was easy to return to where they had been.

  “It would be so much easier if we could split up,” Ramsey said.

  Logan nodded. “And faster.”

  “But we need the artifacts in certain places before we go forward,” Reaghan said.

  Camdyn felt Saffron’s fingers tighten around his hand, and he answered with a slight squeeze of his own. “It’s with an understanding this could take a very long time, but we need to move forward.”

  “Aye, we do,” Sonya admitted. She and Broc once more stepped forward and they turned right this time.

  As before, nothing happened. It put Camdyn on edge. He’d been fully prepared for something to shoot out of the walls at Sonya and Broc since they’d gone through fine when they turned left. But the same had happened going right?

  Never knowing if there was a booby trap or not was only going to make this expedition of theirs even more nerve-racking.

  Sonya and Broc took a left at the next crossroads and had them walking down a hallway that Camdyn didn’t think would ever end.

  When it did, they all thought they had reached another dead end until the fire from Hayden’s hand showed a massive double spiral that took up the width of the entire door.

  “It’s the same as the amulet,” Sonya said. She lifted it over her neck to hold it up to the etching when a pulse of magic flew from the door over them, causing everyone to take a step back from the force of it.

  At the same time, a slot in the door appeared that was the exact shape of the amulet. Without hesitation Sonya stepped forward and put the amulet in the hole.

  There was a loud click, then a bang as the door began to lift upward. Dust and earth rained down upon them while the door slowly moved upward, allowing them entrance farther into the labyrinth.

  They all hurried quickly through the door since they didn’t know how long it would stay open. When the last of them were through, the door began to lower.

  “Wait,” Sonya said as the door shut with a boom. “The amulet.”

  “The maze took it,” Reaghan said. “At least now Deirdre won’t ever get it.”

  Camdyn had bent over to get the dirt out of his hair when he heard Fallon’s low hiss just before the sound of metal hitting stone filled the silence.

  He lifted his head to find the sword they had stolen from Deirdre lying on the floor. “What happened?”

  “It burned me,” Fallon answered.

  Quinn wrapped his hand about it, and promptly released it. “Mine as well.”

  Without pause Lucan tried, but just as with his brothers, he was burned.

  “We all try then,” Ramsey said.

  One by one the Warriors tried to touch the sword, and each time it rejected them. Camdyn was the last to step forward.

  “Maybe a Warrior is no’ supposed to carry it,” Camdyn said as he studied the sword.

  Hayden shook his head. “A Warrior is supposed to carry it.”

  Camdyn released a breath and gripped the hilt of the sword. He expected to feel pain, but all he felt was the cool touch of metal against his palm.

  “Bloody hell,” Galen muttered.

  Fallon smiled. “Looks like the sword found who it wanted. You’re up next, Camdyn.”

  Camdyn dreaded this part. He could either leave Saffron with Ramsey and Arran to watch, or take her with him. And he suspected she wouldn’t like either option.

  “Aye,” he called. Camdyn felt a tremble run through Saffron. He turned to her and said, “Ramsey will keep you safe.”

  He wasn’t finished speaking before her head was moving back and forth. “You promised,” she said.

  Just as he figured. He let out a sigh. “All right.”

  He walked forward, Saffron on his heels. Now, it was up to him to make the decisions. He looked to the left of the crossroads, then to the right.

  Nothing could help him make a decision on which way to go. And there was no way he was going to put Saffron’s life in danger, not if he could help it.

  Camdyn went down on his haunches and put his hand on the floor. He commanded the earth to answe
r him, to help detect patterns where there was something other than rock and stone to help keep them safe.

  But the Druids had been too smart for him. Their magic coated every inch of the labyrinth. He rose with a curse and pointed to the right.

  “I’m going to try this way.”

  He took two steps and looked back at the others. On his third step, he felt the earth move in a way that had nothing to do with booby traps.

  “Get clear,” he shouted as he reached out and grabbed hold of Saffron’s arms.

  He yanked her out of the way before the rocks collapsed on her. For several more minutes dirt and rocks continued to rain around them, but Camdyn used his power to keep it away from him and Saffron.

  When he lifted his head he found himself being attacked, but not by wyrran or Deirdre.

  By Saffron.

  It was all Camdyn could do to keep her from breaking out of his hold. Whether she knew it or not, she was using her magic mixed with her terror and it was a powerful combination.

  Almost instantly Camdyn sensed the unmistakable feel of drough magic from above him. There was no doubt it was Deirdre. With Deirdre above him trying to break through his power, and Saffron in front of him doing her damnedest to get away, Camdyn was holding on by a thin thread.

  He had to get Saffron under control somehow, someway.

  “Saffron,” he called.

  By the way she kept clawing at his face it was obvious she couldn’t hear him. If he couldn’t get through to her that way, he would have to use another.

  Camdyn didn’t want to touch her with his claws and risk cutting her, and he needed his god unbound in order to keep the earth from crushing them.

  With no other choice, he urged his claws to disappear before he grabbed first one wrist, then the other and held them above Saffron’s head. Her head thrashed from side to side as she screamed at him to let her go.

  Somehow he managed to tamp his god down enough that his fangs vanished, but he was still able to use his power. That was all he needed to do to claim her mouth. She bucked against him and tried to turn her head, but he wasn’t about to give up. He had to calm her so they could fight Deirdre together.

  He licked at her lips, pressing his mouth against hers hard and with all the passion he’d held in check until that moment. She took a breath, and when she did he swept his tongue inside her mouth and ran it along hers.

  Her soft moan was his undoing. His cock hardened as her leg wound around his waist. Camdyn kissed her with all the abandon, all the need, he’d held back from her—and himself.

  He kissed her as if there were no tomorrow. Because for them, there might not be.

  He kissed her as if he’d waited his entire life to taste her. Because he had.

  He kissed her as if he never wanted to kiss another woman.

  Because he didn’t.

  CHAPTER

  EIGHTEEN

  Saffron knew the moment Camdyn’s lips touched hers that she was powerless to resist his temptation. His kissed coaxed, teased. Enticed.

  His hard body pressed against hers, urging her passion higher, driving her need deeper. Even through her thick jacket she could feel the passion radiating from his body. She was drowning in it. And it felt blissful.

  When his tongue slid between her lips, Saffron melted against him. She wanted to touch him, hold him, but Camdyn wouldn’t release her wrists.

  With one hand he held her arms above her while he continued to ravish her mouth with need so strong it never entered her mind to turn him away. All she wanted was more of him and his kisses that made her weak all over.

  She moaned when he tilted his head and deepened the kiss. He took, he demanded. He claimed.

  He released her hands and slid his beneath her jacket and under her sweater to touch bare skin. Saffron lifted her leg to wrap around his waist and bring him closer, to have him against her.

  The hard length of his arousal only heightened her own desires, which were quickly blazing out of control. It had been so long since her body had found release, so terribly long since she’d been in a man’s arms.

  She wanted Camdyn. Yearned for him, craved him. His kisses were like a drug, an intoxication she couldn’t get enough of.

  “By the saints, you taste so damned good,” he muttered and kissed her again.

  Deeply. Intensely.

  And Saffron was captivated.

  She arched against him as his hand slid over her buttocks and rocked her against his rigid length. Her body pulsed with unquenched need as she felt herself grow damp. Need, forceful and urgent, slid over her like silk.

  Her body wasn’t her own as she waited to feel more of Camdyn, hungered to touch him as he was touching her.

  He held her still against the stone wall with his hard body while he kissed her to reckless abandon, wild need. His kiss took, it seized. And she was more than happy to give him everything he wanted.

  She could only stand there, her body on fire, as his hands rubbed down her arms before dragging her against him.

  Saffron plunged her hands into the cool strands of his coal-black hair and kissed him with all the desire, all the longing, within her.

  His kiss turned insistent, almost desperate as the fires raged amid them. Saffron could feel the need tightening between her legs as he continued to rock against her.

  And then he ended the kiss as suddenly as he began it.

  Saffron blinked open her eyes as she fought to get her breathing back under control. For several moments they simply stared at each other, their ragged breaths the only sound to be heard.

  She could only make out his silhouette in the darkness, and she longed to look into his eyes, to see if the passion she felt had been real.

  “I need your help,” he finally said, his breathing harsh, his lips wet from their kisses.

  Saffron lowered her leg and nodded though she couldn’t dispel the desire within her as easily as Camdyn could. She drew in a ragged breath, trying to calm her racing heart. “What do you need?”

  “Deirdre is the one who collapsed the tunnel. I doona know how, but she did. She’s also using her magic against me so I can no’ put the earth back the way it was.”

  Saffron adjusted her sweater and tried to step out of his arms, but he wouldn’t allow it. “And I made it worse by fighting you.”

  “I doona blame you. But now that you are under control, your magic mixed with my power could overwhelm Deirdre’s black magic.”

  “I doubt it,” Saffron muttered, but she was willing to try anything to get some space back, even if it was the narrow tunnels of the labyrinth. “What do I do?”

  “Concentrate and focus your magic into me.”

  She saw his head lower to hers, felt his warm breath on her skin. Her eyes drifted closed and her body moved toward him. Just before their lips touched again, he turned away. Saffron’s mouth parted as she licked her lips and took a deep breath.

  Surprisingly, her magic was stronger than she had ever felt it as she called for it. It rushed through her body like a tidal wave, the force of it taking her breath.

  Saffron channeled the magic toward Camdyn. She pictured it invading his skin and filling his body much like it did hers.

  He grunted, his body stiff. The groan that rumbled from deep within him had nothing to do with pain. “Shite.”

  She smiled at his reaction, but that soon faded as she felt something push against her magic.

  “It’s Deirdre,” Camdyn said, his voice low and clipped.

  Saffron knew how powerful black magic was. She had experienced it firsthand for three years. She had been pulled from that hell, and there was no way she was going to die buried beneath tons of earth and rock.

  She put her hands in the middle of Camdyn’s back as she closed her eyes. The drums and chanting filled her ears as if they had been waiting for her.

  All Saffron wanted to do was go to them, but she held herself in check. She could feel her magic strengthening, but it was nothing compared to when
she had been staring at the fire. When she found herself forgetting Camdyn and listening only to the chanting, she stopped it immediately.

  It wasn’t just her and Camdyn who were trapped. The others could be as well. And regardless of her fears, she needed to step up and do what she could to fight Deirdre.

  “Saffron,” Camdyn murmured, his voice rough with desire.

  Her stomach flipped at the sound of his voice, the way her name was like a caress upon his lips. No one had ever said her name like that before, and she knew no one would again.

  Saffron heard something moving around them, but she didn’t open her eyes. Not yet.

  “I’m getting it,” he said.

  She smiled and took a step closer to him. The feel of his heat, his hard muscles beneath her palm, sent her heart pounding. There was no fear in her now. She knew Camdyn would keep her safe. He’d already proven it by preventing them from being crushed.

  Even when she had flipped out, he had gotten her under control while still keeping them safe. She couldn’t imagine how much power it took to keep all that weight from falling on top of them.

  Just thinking about it made a chill rush down her spine. Declan would enjoy it if he knew that he had made her afraid of being underground. And she hated that.

  “Almost,” Camdyn gritted out. “Doona let go of your magic.”

  “Never,” she whispered, and tightened her grip on him.

  His body quivered beneath her hands, but whether it was from the task of fighting against Deirdre or her magic, Saffron didn’t know.

  She heard their names being shouted frantically. “Camdyn.”

  “I hear them,” he said.

  Saffron turned her head to the side, but all she saw was darkness. She could hear the others as if they were getting closer. And then suddenly, she saw a ray of light break through the rock.

  “I told them you both were still alive,” Hayden said as he looked between two rocks.

  Saffron had never felt so happy to see light again. Being in the dark had reminded her of when she was blind, and though it was something she had gotten used to, now that she had once again taken in the amazing array of colors in the world, she couldn’t imagine not seeing them again.

  Camdyn gave a massive heave and Saffron looked up to see the top of the tunnel shift back into place. Hayden jumped back as the earth blocking them also returned to where it had been.