by Donna Grant
Camdyn smoothed away a lock of his hair that fallen into his eyes. “Aye. Why else would Laria choose Saffron?”
“Or you to watch her?”
He looked into Hayden’s black eyes and nodded. “Or me.”
Hayden’s eyes widened a fraction as he turned to face Camdyn. “You expect to die during the battle,” he said with surprise and fury lacing his voice.
“I doona have a wife. The only ones who are no’ mated are me, Ramsey, and Arran. I would rather it be my life than yours or that of one of the other Warriors with a wife.”
Hayden shook his head, disbelief hardening his features. “If you fall, who is going to keep Saffron from Declan?”
It was if Hayden knew exactly what to say to rile Camdyn. He took two deep breaths before he said, “Ramsey or Arran would gladly watch over her.”
“Hm. Of the three of you, why did Laria choose you to watch over Saffron?”
Camdyn gave a nonchalant shrug. “I doona know.”
“You do know. You know and you willna admit it.” Hayden took a step closer and looked deep into Camdyn’s eyes. “I know you lost a wife. I know you doona want to feel that kind of pain again, but I’ve also seen the way you look at Saffron. It’s no secret where you slept last night, Camdyn. So if you want to lie to yourself, go ahead. But do your brethren the courtesy of no’ lying to us.”
Hayden stalked past Camdyn, knocking his shoulder into Camdyn’s.
Camdyn blew out a breath and turned around. “Hayden. Wait.”
Hayden halted and spun around.
“Aye, I was with Saffron last eve, even when I knew I shouldna be.”
Hayden’s face relaxed and he walked back to Camdyn. “I know you, Logan, Ian, Ramsey, and Arran are all still adjusting to this time. Relationships between men and women are no’ taken as seriously as they were four centuries ago. Saffron is…”
“No’ like others,” Camdyn said. “Aye. I know.”
“We doona even know what Declan did to her.”
“I do.” Camdyn saw Hayden’s surprise and nodded. “I know why she doesna want to tell anyone. I doona know why she told me, but if I get the chance, I’m going to rip his head from his body.”
Hayden took a deep breath and glanced at the sky. “Saffron trusted you. It was that trust that got both of you through the labyrinth and to Laria. It could very well be that trust that Deirdre will attack.”
“I should never have gone to her last night. I can no’ give myself to someone as I did Allison. Watching Allison die broke me, Hayden. If I was a different man, a whole man, I might see where this leads with Saffron. But I can no’.”
“I think I understand. I know how lost I felt, how my soul shattered when I thought Isla was dead. She is my life. There will no’ be another woman for me.”
Camdyn nodded, but he had no words because he could see another woman for him.
Saffron.
“What are you going to do?” Hayden asked.
“I’ve no idea.”
“Do you know how Saffron feels? Has she said anything?”
Camdyn shook his head. “It’s no’ as if we’ve talked about this. The attraction is nigh crushing. I see her and I have to have her.”
“She’s one of the only single females in the castle. Maybe that’s all this is. Verra casual.”
“Casual?” Camdyn mulled that over for a moment and recalled how the passion had taken them, swept them. Seized them.
Casual it was not.
“Aye,” Hayden said. “Two people coming together who need each other during a short time. It can be an explosive relationship, from what I’ve read.”
Explosive. That could certainly apply to the hunger for Saffron that had consumed him last night. And even now.
“These relationships never last long,” Hayden continued.
“Do they end badly?”
Hayden shrugged. “Sometimes.”
“How do you know this?”
“Books, the telly, and of course the Internet.”
“How do you know the difference between a casual relationship and one that’s much more serious?”
Hayden scratched his cheek as he looked around him and leaned close. “Isla has a thing about reading romance novels. I picked one up to see what it was about. It’s amazing what you can learn about women from those books. Those books tell about serious relationships. You should borrow one sometime.”
“Aye.” Camdyn cleared his throat, still not totally convinced Hayden was speaking the truth. It was difficult not to believe him though.
Hayden had lived through four centuries while Camdyn had leapfrogged over them. So much had changed during that time, much more than just how women dressed.
“Maybe you’re right.”
“Of course I am,” Hayden said, and slapped him on the shoulder as he turned on his heel and walked away.
Camdyn watched Hayden walk away, thinking over all he had said.
Suddenly Hayden paused just before jumping down to the bailey and said, “At least you have no’ felt her magic different than other Druids. Because then you’d really be in trouble, my friend.”
Camdyn could only stare at the spot Hayden had been in, his mouth hanging open. He took two strides and leaped to the bailey, landing near Hayden.
“Stop,” he said. “Tell me what you mean.”
Hayden’s smile slowly disappeared. “As a Warrior you feel a Druid’s magic, aye?”
“Aye.”
“They all feel the same, aye?”
Again Camdyn said, “Aye.”
“I knew Isla was different the moment I felt her magic. It was unlike anything I had experienced before. I know where she is at all times because her magic has a different feel than that of other Druids.”
Camdyn’s chest constricted, his gaze going to the ground as the world tilted precariously around him.
“Lucan, Quinn, Galen, Broc, Logan, and Ian all say the same thing about their wife’s magic. So you have nothing to worry about.”
Camdyn slowly lifted his gaze to Hayden.
“Oh, fuck,” Hayden muttered.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-SIX
Camdyn’s ears began to ring as his mind refused to believe what Hayden had told him. After all he had suffered, Fate couldn’t have done this to him again.
“… you’ll see.”
Camdyn blinked and realized Hayden had been talking to him. He had no idea what Hayden had said, and at the moment it didn’t matter. He was still reeling from what he had learned.
“Just because I feel her magic differently doesna mean she’s meant to be mine, right?”
Hayden rubbed his hand over his jaw. “I can no’ answer that for sure. I doona know if anyone can.”
Camdyn turned away when he saw Quinn emerge from the castle and start toward them.
“What’s going on?” Quinn asked.
Hayden glanced at Camdyn before he said, “A wee bit of trouble.”
“It’s no’ anything to concern yourself over,” Camdyn said before Quinn could question him. “I’ll deal with it.”
“You shouldna have to deal with anything alone,” Quinn said.
But Camdyn was used to being alone, used to doing things on his own. Even at the castle, he kept to himself. It was a fact no one had questioned before.
Camdyn had learned at a very early age after being moved from family to family that if he wanted anything he had to rely only on himself. That became even clearer when Deirdre unbound his god.
“Quinn’s right, you know,” Hayden said.
Quinn’s green gaze was steadfast. “We’ll help you through whatever this is.”
Camdyn let out a bark of laughter. “The only thing that can help me now is distance, and I willna be getting that anytime soon.”
“This has to do with Saffron, does it no’?” Quinn asked.
“He feels her magic,” Hayden said to Quinn.
Quinn let out a long, low whistle.
Camd
yn ran a hand through his hair and sighed loudly. “I was content by myself. Happy even. I didna ask for this.”
“Running away willna help. You can no’ run away from this,” Hayden said.
Quinn inhaled a deep breath. “You doona have to be alone in this world. Why no’ take what is before you?”
“I did take it,” Camdyn said with a curse. “I took Saffron even knowing I could never be anything more to her.”
Quinn’s brow furrowed. “Why is that?”
“I will never give my heart to another woman. I did that once already. And I certainly willna give it to a mortal woman so I can watch her grow old and die again.” Camdyn peeled back his lips and let loose the growl that had risen within him. “Never again.”
Hayden’s gaze followed Camdyn as he stormed away and leaped back to the top of the battlements. Hayden turned to Quinn and said, “This isna going to turn out well.”
“For Saffron’s sake, I hope it does.”
“It willna,” Ian said as he came out of the shadows of the stables.
Quinn jerked his chin to Ian. “You heard?”
“Aye. And I tried to warn Camdyn away from her last eve,” Ian said. “Dani says Saffron is vulnerable right now.”
Hayden grunted and crossed his arms over his chest. “She certainly is, but there’s no denying there is something that is pulling those two together.”
“They would make a fine pair,” Quinn said.
Ian brushed the snow from his shoulder. “If Camdyn will allow her. He’s closed himself off, and no’ just to Saffron.”
“He’s always been a loner,” Hayden said. “I only knew of him because of Galen. But I had never met Camdyn before he arrived here.”
Quinn said, “I also lost a wife before Marcail came into my life. Maybe I can help him.”
“Camdyn is a stubborn one. The only one that will be able to change his mind and open his heart is Saffron,” Ian said.
Hayden nodded as he considered Ian’s words. “She’s certainly strong enough. We’ll need to keep a close eye on those two.”
“Especially since Laria has said Deirdre will target Saffron,” Quinn stated.
The three looked at each other, their faces grim.
* * *
Saffron ended her phone call with her bank and stretched her arms over her head before she fell back on her bed. The hours were crawling by as everyone waited anxiously for Deirdre to attack.
She had cleaned, she’d watched a movie, she’d listened to music, and she’d stared out the tower windows. And still it was only early evening.
The men were guarding the castle and keeping watch around the area. With night falling Broc was supposed to take to the skies and look for anyone approaching.
The mood in the castle had turned from strained to troubled when the only thing Sonya learned from the trees was that Deirdre and Declan had met at the Ring of Brodgar. Then they reiterated what the wind had already told Gwynn, that trouble was coming.
Saffron rolled her eyes. As if they needed to be warned of that. It was a given.
Yet, from the moment Sonya had told them about Declan and Deirdre meeting, Saffron’s stomach had been in knots. Declan had used considerable magic to pull Deirdre to their time. He’d never told her why, but she had heard the exhilaration in his voice when he had succeeded.
Declan didn’t give up on the things he wanted. He just pursued them harder. If Declan wanted Deirdre for something, then she suspected that he had made some kind of alliance with her.
She’d told the others that, and for several hours they had discussed what Declan and Deirdre could do together. Saffron’s mind had gone numb with all the things she had come up with. Added to that were the stories the Warriors had told of things Deirdre had done.
And it just made Saffron nauseous.
She’d been saved when the call she had placed earlier to Arthur had been returned. She wasn’t much help to everyone at the castle since her visions came on their own, but there was one thing she had that they could use. Money.
Saffron had transferred a million dollars into an account at the Bank of Scotland that was set up so that the MacLeods could access it at any time.
She’d bought an entire houseful of furniture that Lucan had designed and built. What house she planned to put it in she hadn’t decided yet.
The idea of staying in Scotland appealed to her in many ways. If she survived the battle, that is. Even if she didn’t find a house, the furniture would be placed in storage, with the key given to the MacLeods at the reading of her will.
Saffron swiped at her bangs and sat up. Her will had been something else she’d taken care of that day. It was revised and heading overnight through UPS to arrive at her bank in Edinburgh where she hoped she could convince Fallon to jump her tomorrow.
The quicker she got the papers signed, the quicker the will would go into effect.
She rose from the bed and glanced at the clock. It was time for her to help with dinner. She’d never enjoyed cooking, but being with the others and actually being able to help was something she found she did like.
But once she opened her door the delicious aroma that was unmistakably pizza reached her.
Saffron hurried to the stairs and descended into the great hall to find boxes and boxes of pizza. New York pizza, at that. There was a huge bucket filled with snow and packed with just about every brand of beer available.
“There you are,” Cara said. “We were just about to go looking for you.”
“What’s this?” she asked.
Gwynn shrugged sheepishly. “I wanted pizza.”
“And I didn’t want to cook anything,” Isla said.
Sonya laughed. “So I suggested Fallon use his power and get us some authentic New York pizza.”
“He wasn’t exactly happy with how many pizzas we ordered,” Reaghan said.
Larena picked a pepperoni from a slice and dropped it into her mouth. “It was all bluster. Trust me, he wanted this.”
“Aye, he did,” Marcail said with a laugh.
Dani opened another lid and inhaled the aroma. “I’m starving.”
“Eat,” Fallon said as he strode into the castle from the bailey. “The men will eat in shifts since we’re keeping guard so doona wait on us.”
The women promptly ignored Fallon. Only when Galen, Quinn, and Ian walked in did Reaghan, Marcail, and Dani get their food. Saffron watched the couples as they interacted. The ease with which they touched, the secret smiles they shared, the soft words whispered only between them.
It made her realize just how much she wanted a relationship like theirs. For the longest time she hadn’t believed there could be such a thing except in books and movies.
Yet the couples at MacLeod Castle had changed her views long before she got her sight back. She might not have been able to see the shared intimacy before now, but she had heard it in their voices when they spoke to each other.
Maybe it was that longing that drew her to Camdyn. He hadn’t wanted her, or she hadn’t thought he wanted her. Until the previous night. What had changed? And did she really want to know why he had come to her?
She hadn’t gotten to speak to Camdyn because he’d been on guard, but even if she had, she wouldn’t have known what to say. Her past relationships had all been complete failures. Either because of the men, or because she hadn’t been willing to give herself completely to them. Because she hadn’t trusted them.
But she did trust Camdyn. Of that she was sure. Would that be enough to allow herself to open up to him, to see if there was more between them than incredible sex?
Saffron bit her lip and reached for a beer and a slice of pepperoni and sausage pizza. She didn’t have anyone to wait for. Oh, she could wait for Camdyn, but they hadn’t talked about the future. And she had gotten the feeling he wasn’t interested in a future with her.
The here and now was what mattered to him.
And maybe it should for her as well. Who knew what tomorrow would br
ing, or when Deirdre would attack. The only thing Saffron was sure of was that when the battle between Laria and Deirdre did occur, all hell would break loose.
With Declan now aligned with Deirdre, there was no doubt in Saffron’s mind that Declan would come for her.
There was no way she would go back to his prison, no way she would allow him to get close enough to put another of his spells upon her.
But Declan wouldn’t give up. He would come for her again and again. Saffron would fight again and again. Only one of them would win, and she knew it wouldn’t be her.
She sank onto one of the benches around the table and bit into the pizza. It had been four years since she’d tasted New York pizza. She’d had a layover in New York before her flight out to London and she’d made sure to eat a slice.
It brought back memories of the girl she had been then. A girl full of naïve dreams, uncaring if she traveled alone or not. A girl who thought the worst that could happen to her was being robbed.
A girl who couldn’t outrun her fate.
She’d always thought of herself as a strong person, but she hadn’t really had to reach for that strength until she’d been in Declan’s prison.
How she survived that, she’d never know. But she had, and it made her look at life differently.
Made her look at her life differently.
She didn’t want to be alone anymore. She wanted someone beside her, someone who made her knees weak when he looked at her. Someone who could make her forget her own name when he kissed her.
Someone who made love to her as if she were the only woman for him.
Someone like Camdyn.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-SEVEN
Camdyn managed to stay out of the castle and away from Saffron until midnight. That’s when his shift guarding was over. He wanted to stay, but Fallon was adamant about each of them having a rest.
Camdyn walked into the great hall and looked at the few pizza boxes still on the table. He’d never eaten pizza, and though he wanted to try it, his thoughts were on something else.
Someone else, actually.
Saffron.
All he had to do was close his eyes and he could pinpoint exactly where she was in the castle just by the feel of her magic. Her magic that affected him alone. Magic that made him want to bury himself deep inside her.
