by Donna Grant
He’d always had control over himself and his god, but that control was rapidly unraveling as he recalled the feel of Saffron’s silky skin beneath his palms and her hot, wet sheath pulsing around his cock as she peaked.
No matter how many times he told himself he had to stay away, he couldn’t.
Camdyn turned to the stairs, taking them three at a time as he climbed to the top and paused. She was walking the corridors. Alone. Her magic calling to him, whispering to him.
Beckoning to him.
He groaned, his body reacting instantly. Camdyn leaned back against the wall and let his claws lengthen from his fingers to dig into the stones.
The desire, the longing. The yearning.
It was too much.
Sculel demanded he make Saffron his, insisted that Saffron succumb to the passion. And for once Camdyn was in complete agreement with his god.
Camdyn straightened when he felt her move closer to him. His gaze moved to the next set of stairs leading to the level above him. As silent as the shadows, Camdyn walked to the steps and waited.
Saffron hated when she couldn’t sleep and had decided a walk around the castle might help. She was returning to her room when she was suddenly yanked off the stairs and against a chest she knew all too well.
“Camdyn,” she whispered just before he pressed her against the wall and kissed her.
He swept his tongue into her mouth and claimed her with a kiss full of fire. And hunger. Just one touch from him and her body ignited, ready and waiting for him.
She clung to him, returning his kiss with all the need inside her. He tilted his head and deepened the kiss, a low moan rumbling from his chest.
Saffron’s slipper fell off her foot when his hand slipped behind her knee and pulled her leg up to his waist. She eagerly followed his direction. Wanting, needing him with an intensity that shook her to her very core.
She’d never felt anything remotely close to this with anyone else, and it scared her. But not even that hint of foreboding could make her leave his arms.
“I need you,” he whispered between kisses.
“Take me. I’m yours.”
As if he’d been waiting for her approval, he swung her up in his arms and strode toward her room.
“My slippers,” she hissed as the second dropped to the floor.
“Leave them. I’ll get them later.”
He nudged open her door, and with his shoulder, closed it behind them. Saffron next found herself standing. Camdyn’s dark eyes were filled with a potency that held her spellbound. He lifted a hand and his claws lengthened from his fingertips.
Saffron pulled in a shuddering breath as her arousal grew. She licked her lips when he placed one of his razor-sharp claws on her bare breast above the neckline to her jammie top.
“Do you fear me?”
His voice, all dark and husky, sent a thrill rushing over her, through her. “No,” she answered without hesitation.
With the barest of movements he split her top down the middle. Saffron glanced down at her torso, and just as she expected he hadn’t touched her skin.
She barely noticed his claws were gone when his hands gently, seductively pushed her top over her shoulders so it fell from her arms and fluttered to the floor.
“Lovely,” he muttered, and fell to his knees before her.
Saffron closed her eyes and dropped her head back when he cupped her breasts and kissed the inside of each one. Her fingers slid into his glossy black locks.
Her breasts swelled, eager for his touch. His hot, wet tongue flicked over a nipple before he suckled it deep within his mouth.
She cried out and gripped his head tighter. His hands roamed over her back and buttocks, touching and caressing. He gave a light nip on her turgid nipple and her knees buckled from the spike of pleasure.
His arms tightened around her, supporting her as he moved his mouth to her other breast. Where he repeated his teasing until her legs could no longer support her.
In an instant he stood, lifting her so that her legs wrapped around his waist. He turned them so that her back was to the wall. She whispered his name as he ground his thick rod against her aching flesh.
He kissed down her neck, leaving a trail of heat in his wake. He paused when he reached her ear where he sucked the lobe into his mouth and gave it a quick nip.
Saffron heard a rip and then felt cool air on her lower body. She smiled when she saw him toss aside the bottoms to her jammies.
The smile faded when she realized she was naked, but Camdyn was not. She clawed at his T-shirt, inching it up as they kissed. Somehow she managed to get it tangled about his arms when he tried to pull it off without letting her go.
She giggled, and a moment later his deep laughter joined hers before he ripped off the shirt and discarded it. Their eyes met, clashed, and the laughter died as the passion flared once more.
With his hands cupping her bottom, she worked desperately to unbutton his jeans and get them over his hips while he kicked them off his legs.
And then they were flesh to flesh.
Camdyn’s world had narrowed to include just him and Saffron. Nothing else existed. Nothing else mattered.
The way her body responded so quickly and heatedly to his touch left him aching for more. No matter how much he touched her, no matter how many times he kissed her, it was never enough.
And God help him, but he feared an eternity would never be enough.
He raised her by the hips so that she hovered above his cock. Her lids lifted and her tawny gaze found his. Slowly he lowered her until the blunt head of his cock touched her entrance.
She sucked in a breath, her pulse beating rapidly at the base of her throat. Her nipples stood hard against his chest and her wetness coated his rod.
He held her gaze as he lowered her upon his arousal until he was sheathed. Her lips were parted and her eyes dilated with passion.
And then he tilted her hips so that he went even deeper.
She cried out as her nails sank into his shoulders. But he wasn’t nearly done with her yet. He pulled out of her only to thrust hard. Once. Twice.
When she tried to rock against him, he held her still and smiled.
“Please,” she whispered, and kissed across his jaw.
Camdyn turned and started for the chair.
Saffron gasped, her entire body going taut, as she felt his cock shift within her every time he took a step. The way he rubbed against her clitoris and stroked her sex had her ready to peak before he reached the chair.
“No’ yet,” he said with a chuckle.
She shifted her hips, seeking more of the wonderful feel of him. But once more his large, callused hands held her steady.
He lowered them into the chair and her legs draped over the sides with her toes skimming the cold stones. His hands shifted from her hips to her breasts.
“So beautiful,” he whispered as he thumbed her nipples.
Saffron arched her back toward him as pleasure spiked through her and tightened into a pulsing mass at her sex. She rocked her hips forward.
His answering groan was all she needed to hear. She sensuously rotated her hips forward and back, taking him deeper. The feel of him so hot and hard inside her only heightened her arousal.
She gasped then moaned when he began to lift his hips. Each slide and answering plunge of his cock inside her wound her desire tighter and tighter.
“No’ yet,” he whispered.
Saffron tried to hold the tide of pleasure back, but it was so strong. She rocked faster as her desire built.
Camdyn was lost. Adrift.
He couldn’t look away from Saffron’s gaze. She held him captive, enslaved. Charmed.
Every instinct he had told him to run far away from her. But his body wouldn’t obey. His body wanted her, had to have her.
He held her hips, urging her faster as she rode him. Sweat glistened on their skin, their breaths harsh and ragged.
His gaze dropped to her breasts t
hat bounced enticingly. He bent and captured a nipple in his mouth and suckled. She moaned and rode him harder.
Camdyn reached between them and found the small, swollen nub. His fingers circled her clitoris in time with her hips.
Her body jerked as her climax hit her. Camdyn gripped her hips and thrust deep inside her with urgent, jerky movements. The feel of her body clutching around his cock sent him over the edge to his own orgasm.
She fell onto his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight as he spilled his seed inside her, his climax continuing each time her sheath tightened around him.
The power of their joining mixed with Saffron’s magic to surround them, envelop them. Hold them.
He didn’t try to hold back the peace and serenity that surrounded them, didn’t try to deny the exquisite pleasure he’d found in Saffron’s arms.
Camdyn didn’t want to look deeper into what had just happened. He couldn’t. Not yet. Mayhap not ever.
He stood, still holding Saffron, and walked to the bed. After he lowered her onto the mattress, he briefly thought about leaving, but then she opened her eyes and smiled contentedly.
Camdyn lifted the covers and climbed in next to her. He sighed as she snuggled against him, her head on his chest. It felt right to hold her, which was why he knew it was so wrong.
“Those were my favorite pair of jammies,” she murmured.
He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “I’ll buy you some more.”
“I’ve got more. You can destroy those, too. That was amazing.”
He stared at the ceiling and frowned. “Saffron—”
“Sh,” she interrupted him. “No words. Not tonight. Not after what we just experienced. They can wait until morning.”
He squeezed her and relented to her request. It was probably better that way since he really had no idea what he was going to tell her.
He wanted to tell her how wonderful and strong and beautiful she was. And he needed to tell her whatever was between them had to end.
But how could he when he didn’t want it to end?
Camdyn slung his other arm over his eyes. He’d known he had to stay away from Saffron. He’d known the attraction between them could only bring him trouble.
Yet he hadn’t turned away from her as he had countless other women through the years.
Whatever made her different from those faceless others also made her impossible to leave. And it wasn’t just for himself that he wanted to end this. He recalled all too well how Allison had suffered as his wife. That wasn’t the kind of life someone as vibrant as Saffron should lead.
Camdyn held her tighter because he knew it was going to be the last time. No matter what he might dream about when he slept, he had to walk away.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-EIGHT
Phelan looked at the naked woman beside him as she slept. He hadn’t even gotten her name, but then again he didn’t care to know it. He only wanted to relieve his body. That’s all women were good for anyway.
It had been Isla and Deirdre that showed him women—most especially Druids—couldn’t be trusted.
Still, he couldn’t seem to get the battle at the Ring of Brodgar out of his mind. It had only taken one look at the blond beauty who was with the MacLeods to know she was Deirdre’s twin.
He had watched the battle begin and how those from MacLeod Castle had helped the beautiful Druid against Deirdre. And just when Phelan thought Deirdre might be vanquished, she disappeared.
It was too bad. He’d hoped all the Druids would kill each other. However, the thought that there were Druids rising up against Deirdre intrigued him.
He’d seen Isla, of course, and the giant Warrior who guarded her constantly.
Phelan didn’t understand the Warriors from MacLeod Castle who readily and willingly protected Druids. Didn’t they realize it would be better for all if the Druids were wiped from the earth?
He blew out a breath and pulled his arm from beneath the wench at his side. She rolled onto her stomach, her shoulder-length ginger hair stark against the white sheets.
Phelan sat up and scrubbed a hand down his face. The battle had certainly been on his mind, but it was the other Warrior he’d spotted that really nudged his curiosity.
Who was he? He hadn’t helped either the MacLeods or Deirdre and the maroon Warrior at her side.
Phelan had thought he was the only Warrior left who hadn’t chosen a side. But then again, there had been four hundred years where Deirdre hadn’t been seen or heard from.
He hadn’t cared to discover what she was about. The simple fact that she’d left him alone was enough. Now, though, Phelan was beginning to wonder if he should find some answers.
The bed creaked as he rose and pulled on his jeans and black biker boots. It took him a moment to find his red T-shirt and black leather jacket.
Phelan ran his hands through his dark hair that now reached just past his shoulders. He should probably get it cut again, but he liked it long.
He grabbed his helmet and quietly walked from the room. Once in the hallway of the small inn, Phelan let his gaze wander first to the left then to the right before he made for the stairs.
Dawn was a couple of hours away when he put on his helmet and fastened it. He straddled his Ducati motorcycle and started it.
He revved the motorbike before he put his foot on the concrete and gunned it so that he did a quick one-eighty, his tires screeching in the wet pavement. He’d watched the direction the other Warrior had taken as he drove away, and Phelan had even followed him for a time.
Though Phelan didn’t know exactly where this other Warrior lived, he had a feeling it wouldn’t take long to find out.
* * *
Saffron came awake slowly, a smile upon her lips. She rolled to where Camdyn had been lying only to find the sheets cool to her touch.
Her eyes opened and the smile faded when she realized he was gone. She sat up and looked around the room, hoping he had just risen from the bed, but the silence surrounding her told her all she needed to know.
“Maybe it was his turn to guard again,” she mumbled to herself even though she knew it for the lie it was.
There was only one reason for a man to leave a woman’s bed before she woke. It was because he wanted to avoid any kind of conversation about what they had done.
Saffron squeezed her eyes closed as the hurt flowed through her, choking her so that she could barely breathe.
“Damn you, Camdyn. Damn you.”
She would have been fine had he not come to her last night. She hadn’t expected more from him, hadn’t thought there would be more.
But he had given her hope in the dark hours of the night as he made love to her then held her against him.
It didn’t take long for anger to replace her hurt. She threw off the covers and rose from the bed. She yanked open a drawer and pulled out clothes before she stomped into the bathroom and turned on the water.
Saffron stepped beneath the steaming water and began to wash away Camdyn’s scent from her body, though she would never be able to rid him so easily from her heart.
A tear dropped onto her cheek, but she refused to acknowledge it. She had been but a girl of eighteen the last time she had cried over a guy. And she wouldn’t do it now.
She washed herself three more times before she reached for the shampoo. Her fingers scrubbed against her scalp. She leaned her head back into the spray of the water to begin rinsing her hair when her magic welled inside her.
Saffron had little time to grab hold of the shower wall before the vision took her. Blackness swirled around her before she found herself staring into a bright blue sky.
She heard laughter—a man’s and a child’s. In the next instant Camdyn’s face filled her vision. His hair was shorter, and there was a light growth of a beard on his face. He laughed again, the corners of his dark eyes crinkling.
And then she saw the boy.
He had Camdyn’s same black hair with a
slight wave to it, the same chocolate-colored eyes. Saffron’s heart stilled as she recognized that she was looking at Camdyn with his son.
The vision ended abruptly. Saffron leaned over in the shower and wrapped her arms around her stomach. She blinked the soap from her eyes, not trying to stop her tears from flowing.
Not once in her twenty-seven years had she had a vision that involved herself. Not once. No matter how she felt about Camdyn, her vision had proven to her that they didn’t have a future together.
Camdyn would be happy though. He would find peace and the freedom to open his heart. His child could very well be the reason for it.
Saffron straightened, her body still weak from the vision. She wiped at the tears and finished rinsing her hair. It took all of her strength to shut off the water and wring out her hair before she reached for the towel.
She opened the shower door and stepped out onto the small rug. When she lifted her gaze it was to find herself looking at her reflection in the mirror.
Her eyes were red rimmed and her face blotchy. She always looked horrid when she cried. At least makeup would fix that.
She vigorously toweled off. It took extra time, but she used the flatiron to straighten her hair. She even put on additional makeup. She had an impression to make at the bank after all.
Saffron ignored the jeans and sweater she had pulled out earlier and reached for the black pencil skirt, the snug-fitting thin cream shirt that came to a low point over her breasts, and the matching cashmere cardigan. It showed enough to draw attention to her chest without being over the top.
She then slipped her feet into the four-inch black heels, added a Cartier watch, the platinum ring her father had given her at her college graduation that had been kept in the safe at the bank, and a Tiffany necklace with matching earrings.
Saffron gave herself one last look before pulling on her form-fitting long black coat and grabbing her purse. She took a deep breath and left her room. Her heels clicked loudly on the stones as she walked up the stairs to the master chamber where Fallon and Larena resided.
With her head held high she gave two quick knocks on Fallon’s door.
