“Don’t,” he said softly. “Look at me, please.”
She opened them. “You must face the you that is Marcus.”
“And you worry whether or not I can do that?”
“His power entices and is hard to ignore.”
“Your power is hard to ignore.”
“My power is based on light, his on darkness.”
He smiled. “I can tell the difference.”
That impressed her. “I am pleased; that means you have learned.”
“I’ve learned more than you think.”
“But tell me,” she said, her hand falling softly to his shoulder.
“Can you control his power? Keep it in hand?”
“I have a good teacher.”
“And you are an apt pupil.”
His smile faded. “Trust in me, Tempest.”
“I trust you, Michael,” she said softly. “I truly do.”
He stood and kissed her gently, tasting her as if for the first time, and she responded as if kissed for the first time, hesitantly, nervously and cautiously.
“Trust me,” he whispered again and his kiss turned more demanding.
She attempted to withdraw, but he wouldn’t let her.
“Trust me,” he said again and scooped her up into his arms and carried her out of the kitchen.
Chapter Thirty
They undressed each other with haste and fell on the bed together just as hastily. But Michael took control, capturing her hands in one of his and exploring her body with his free hand.
“Not fair,” she said on a harsh whisper.
He laughed and slipped his fingers between her legs. “I know.”
She moaned when he began to pleasure her.
He leaned down and took the erotic sounds into his mouth. He kissed her deeply and drank his full of her, quenching her thirst along with his own. He finished with a brush of his lips across hers. “I love the sounds you make when I touch you.”
And with a smile he ran the tip of his tongue over her hard nipple.
She let out a sensual moan that sent shivers racing over him.
He continued to torment her with a skillful tongue and she responded, arching her back, moaning her pleasure and begging him not to stop.
He didn’t. He made love to her with the intensity of a madman and she responded madly.
Suddenly they could stand the wait no longer and he moved over her and into her with a sharp entrance that had them both moaning their pleasure.
It was a quick and explosive climax for them both and they clung tightly to each other as wave after wave of pure, endless pleasure rushed over them.
“I love you, Tempest, then, now and forever,” he whispered breathlessly in her ear.
Tears filled her eyes and a lump kept her from speaking. She could only hug him fiercely to her to show him how much she cared and wanted never to let him go.
They slept peacefully that night. No haunting dreams, no reminders of the past, just a calm slumber before the inevitable storm.
Morning brought spring sunshine and the promise of a new day but then that was the continuous cycle of life—always a new day, a new start, a new beginning.
They began with a walk in the woods, surrounding themselves with the purity and magic of nature. And when Tempest disposed of her shoes and socks, Michael joined right in doing the same. His actions startled her.
He ran around like a young boy who had only discovered the joy of going barefoot. “Damn, this feels good.”
“Energy,” she explained, watching him act like a child.
He grinned. “I can feel it run up my legs. People should do this more often.”
“Mortals don’t understand the importance of such a simple act.”
He looked at her, his smile gone. “I never did.”
She smiled. “That’s because you never understood magic.”
His grin returned. “But I’m learning.”
“And doing a good job.”
“Teach me more,” he said like an eager student.
“I’ve taught you all I can and given you all you need to know. The rest is up to you.”
His expression was again changed, only this time he looked uncertain and a little fearful. “I’m not certain what to do.”
She took his hand and felt the strength of him. “Continue to search for who you once were so you know who you’ve become.”
“I catch glimpses of him and—” He stopped and shook his head. “I don’t understand why Marcus hasn’t fully returned. His power is tremendous. Why doesn’t he just become who he once was? Why do I interfere?”
Tempest realized that Michael continued to speak as though Marcus and he were separate entities. He had yet to realize that he was Marcus and that he would need to merge the two. Only then could the choice be made and the spell completed.
“The spell gave you an opportunity to rectify your past and build a new future, a new day, a new beginning. You chose that new beginning, you built a new you, yet,” —she paused briefly— “your past lives within you, all that you were, good or bad. That doesn’t just disappear. It may lay dormant, but eventually it must be faced and dealt with. Therefore, you must know who you truly are here and now.”
They walked hand in hand to a fallen tree to sit, their feet remaining bare.
“Tell me about you,” he said.
She laughed softly and it sounded like tinkling chimes. “You know me. You know me better than most.”
“No, I don’t think I do,” he said seriously. “I know you’re the Ancient One, a wise woman who many seek to learn from and wish to emulate. I know you’re a woman who cares deeply for family and friends. I know you’re a woman who gives much of herself for the benefit of others and yet seeks no compensation. And I know you’re a woman who loves deeply and forever.”
“What else, then, is there for you to know about me?”
“Much,” he said with a tender kiss to her cheek. “Tell me what you wish for yourself.”
“For myself?” she asked as if the question were too odd to understand.
He nodded and smiled. “You, yourself, Tempest.”
She thought a moment. “I have what I want for myself. I have accomplished much, have aided many—”
“For yourself,” he repeated.
This time she didn’t hesitate. “For myself I wish love and I have been granted my wish. You have been sent to me.”
He kissed her hand. “It is you who have been returned to me.”
She was surprised by his remark, though didn’t show it. Was he beginning to understand? She hoped so.
“And is that all you wish?”
“That is everything,” she said. “Love, true love when understood and given freely is everything anyone could ever hope for and yet most have no idea of its power. They take it for granted, abuse it and disregard it as if it meant nothing. And then they search for what they feel is missing in their lives when it is there if they would only reach out, grasp it and hold on to it.”
“Love isn’t easy to understand.”
“Love is simple; people make it difficult.”
“You’re wise, you know more than the average person,” he said.
She shook her head. “No, I just seek to understand.”
“Did Marcus seek understanding?” he asked.
“Marcus thought he possessed it.”
“But he didn’t?”
“He sought a side of the Craft that defied understanding, though he never fully realized its nature, and that was his mistake.”
“And yet his power was tremendous.”
“The base of his power was weak,” she said.
Michael became defensive. “How can you say that? I know what I feel. The power that surges through me is far from weak. It possesses a force of strength that is undeniable.”
“A foundation must be solid and dependable or else the structure is weak. When power is built on greed, jealousy and hate it makes for a faulty found
ation that could never truly sustain the structure. It is bound to crumble.”
“So what you’re telling me is that Marcus was doomed to fail.”
“It was inevitable,” she said sadly.
“And he never realized this?”
“His arrogance and pride got in the way, more parts to a faulty structure.”
“But he loved, he loved you. I felt it,” he said adamantly.
She nodded, slowly fighting the tears that threatened to fall. “Yes, I felt his love, if only briefly.”
“Then why didn’t his love for you help strengthen the structure?”
She took a moment to contain her tears. “Because he never told me that he loved me.”
“That’s all he had to do?”
“That and renounce his warlock beliefs.”
“Instead he went up against you.”
She nodded. “He threatened and mistreated those I protect. I could not stand by and watch harm come to the helpless.”
“He forced your hand.”
“I would not give him what he wanted. He thought lust was enough to hold me and I thought love was enough to change him. We were both wrong.”
“Were you?”
She looked at him strangely.
“You never gave up on him. When you cast the spell you wrapped it securely with your love. You sacrificed a part of yourself for him to have another chance to prove himself worthy.”
She let her tears fall then. “And you have.”
He wiped her tears away with his finger. “Your love carried me through many difficult times. Even when you allowed me to create my own life, you did so with an unselfish love and that love nourished and sustained me.”
“You did the work, not I,” she said softly.
“You started me off on a firm foundation.”
She smiled and cuddled close in his arms. “And you built a sturdy structure.”
He lifted her chin to deposit a kiss on her soft lips. “This time it won’t crumble.”
Tempest prayed he spoke the truth.
Michael sent Tempest back to the cottage, insisting he needed time alone to explore not the woods, but himself. He found he could think well when he was alone and he found he could access Marcus’s power more easily and keep it more controlled.
He found his abilities much more powerful inside the cave surrounding the altar. The cave became like a second home to him. He felt comfortable there and in control of himself and his power. And he felt the need to feel his power. It nourished and sustained, but in a different way from love. In a way that he had no business exploring and yet it fascinated him and he couldn’t deny its existence. It was part of him, a forceful part of him.
If he didn’t explore it, how would he ever understand it? Or understand himself.
At least that was his sane reasoning for an insane act. He knew damn well what he was doing. He was exploring the dark side of magic.
And in so doing, exploring Marcus.
He entered the dark cave and as he passed the torches they remained lifeless, no flames burned to light the way. He didn’t need light to guide him. His dark eyes could see clearly and his feet instinctively knew the direction to go.
He snapped his fingers when he entered the room and torches came to attention, as did the candles on the altar.
He was drawn to the stones in the bowl and their raw energy. They almost spoke to him when he touched them and when he threw out a cast on the altar top his eyes rounded in anticipation. It was a good one, he could tell. He wasn’t certain how, but he understood the results and that’s what mattered. He felt a surge of energy swirl around him and race up his body, filling him with intense power.
“Damn,” he muttered, the strange sensation making him feel invincible and capable of anything he chose to do.
So this was how Marcus had felt—how he had felt.
He had to begin to acknowledge that he was Marcus. That he had lived the life of a warlock centuries ago—a powerful warlock—one who had many followers and believers and one who controlled through his power.
What did he do with it? How did he compatibly merge the two sides of himself without destroying the qualities of each one?
Those were questions he had no answers for and ones that needed addressing.
You are me, I am you.
The words echoed through his head and caused him to grab tightly to the stone altar to steady himself. Marcus was the strongest in this cave. His magic was here, the power that sustained him and each time Michael came here he felt himself grow stronger and stronger. He had warned himself to be careful and to approach Marcus’s power with caution, but the more he experienced its essence, the more he wanted.
It was who he was.
If he kept things in perspective and caused no harm perhaps he could understand and make use of his remarkable power. Tempest possessed immense power and Michael wished to equal hers.
And he didn’t want to fail her.
He loved her deeply. He hadn’t known a love like theirs could exist. He didn’t know a love like theirs was possible. But then Tempest always reminded him of possibilities in life.
Whoever thought he would fall in love with an ancient witch and that he was a warlock who had lived centuries ago?
Insanity.
That would have been his first thought, but now everything seemed to be making sense to him. He had never felt comfortable in all the places he’d traveled. He had always felt something had been missing in his life, a part of him he couldn’t find. He had found that part of himself here in Scotland. He had felt it when the ship had first docked and he touched ground. He felt as if he had come home; the overwhelming sensation almost made him shed a tear.
This was his home and would always be.
He felt it here, now—that sensation of coming home. It filled him with sheer joy and pleasure. He finally knew where he belonged and he would never leave.
He looked at the stones he had cast on the altar and recalled that he had thrown numerous casts over the years that had foretold many fortuitous events. He thought to throw another cast but something warned him that now was not a good time, perhaps it was actually time for no casts.
He felt a cold shiver race through him and knew that his own thoughts disturbed him, but that was all right because he understood. He understood that Marcus was part of him and would protest some decisions he made. He would be tolerant of Marcus, and the time would finally come when Marcus merged with Michael and they became one.
Suddenly he felt anxious to be with Tempest, to touch her warmth and to love her. He never wanted to stop loving her. He wanted to give her as much love as possible.
Fool.
The word echoed like thunder in his head.
Marcus had to remind him of his presence. But if Michael felt a fool, it was because he was a fool in love.
He didn’t bother to replace the stones in the bowl. He left them spread out, hurried out of the room and out the cave and went in search of Tempest.
Chapter Thirty-one
Tempest wasn’t surprised when Sydney materialized in her kitchen. Actually she had been expecting her. She had set the steeping teapot on the table, added a plate of shortbread cookies and arranged two settings for tea.
“I see I was expected,” Sydney said. And before joining Tempest at the table, asked, “I don’t intrude, do I?”
“Never,” Tempest said with a warm smile. “Please sit. I could use a wise woman to talk with.”
“I am flattered that you think of me as such.”
“I taught you, you could be nothing less and now you are here to help teach me.”
Sydney was stunned. “Teach you? What could I teach you?”
Tears pooled in Tempest’s eyes. “How to live without the man I love.”
Sydney reached a comforting hand out to her. “You fear Michael will make the wrong choice?”
She let her tears fall. Crying was a good way to cleanse her emotions, to rid herself of dou
bt and fear, to rebuild her strength and to face tomorrow. “I feel Marcus grow stronger.
And I know his power intoxicates.”
“You don’t think Michael has learned enough to combat that power?”
She wiped at her tears. “It’s not that. His power must be understood and dealt with. It must be turned from darkness into light.”
“And is that difficult to do?”
Tempest shook her head. “No, it is simple, though most would not know that.”
“Michael would?”
“Marcus would.”
Sydney understood. “The decision must be made by Marcus, then, not Michael.”
“Actually they both must decide. They must unite as one, understand that and accept or deny this existence.”
“So Michael presently wars with himself?”
Tempest nodded.
“And you fear his choice.”
Again she nodded. “I know most would think me foolish for reacting this way. I am the Ancient One, the wise woman with all the answers, the one who offers hope and love to all those who seek her...the one who knows.”
Sydney squeezed her hand and Tempest grasped onto her, needing her strength. “But you’re also a woman in love. And love can hurt, as you well know.”
“My heart broke the day I sent Marcus away.” She shook her head and brought her hands to cover her face for a moment, then wiped at her tears. “My heart didn’t break; it shattered into a million pieces and it took me a very, very long time to deal with the pain.”
“I understand,” Sydney said, her own tears threatening to spill.
“I remember when you lost Duncan. I remember your pain and your tears.”
“You helped me through it and I was forever grateful. You also told me to examine and understand what had happened and to learn and I did.”
“What did you learn?” she asked, as if the answer could help her.
“I learned that love is the strongest and most powerful emotion we possess and that it possesses true magic. I learned that love doesn’t hurt, but that we hurt love. I learned that unselfish love is the rarest of all and that you seldom find it or possess it. But if found it is truly magical. And I learned that you define unselfish love.”
Tempest couldn’t stop her tears. They ran down her cheeks and she let them have their freedom.
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