The MacLomain Series: Later Years - a Scottish Time Travel Romance Boxed Set

by Sky Purington

He shook his head. “I dinnae know.” A frown settled on his face, and she had to appreciate how honest he was. “I saw the pleasure you took in Tait’s arms, and I couldnae fight a feeling of rage.”

  “You mean jealousy.”

  “Aye, mayhap. Rage fueled by jealousy.” His eyes held hers. “And that doesnae happen to me. Ever.”

  Erin ignored the jolt of awareness that shot through her. She had always been picky about men and especially disliked the insecure ones. Yet Rònan seemed as far from insecure as a guy could get. “I don’t understand.” Then she said something she wished she hadn’t. Something that made her sound a little too aware of his actions...of him in general. “You seemed happy enough with the Viking woman.”

  “Aye, happy enough I suppose,” he admitted, but she didn’t miss the flare of renewed interest in his eyes. “And though it shouldnae, it pleases me that you noticed.”

  While she meant to make a comment about him not getting hopeful, instead she said, “Why shouldn’t it please you that I noticed?”

  “Because I assume Jackie is the lass meant for me.”

  “Ah.” She shrugged and worked to keep her voice level as she became more and more aware of him. He made her nerve endings spark in a whole new way. It was alarming, and she didn’t like it. “Well, I’m all for you being meant for Jackie. She’s a good woman.”

  “Aye,” he agreed. “So it seems.”

  They might be talking about him being with another woman, but she was well aware of his arousal.

  “Until I find Jackie, I mean to keep you safe,” he grunted.

  He said nothing more as his hand splayed and his fingers flexed across her back. Erin meant to speak—meant to tell him she could take care of herself—when his hand clamped down and pulled her closer.

  “Rònan,” she warned because she wasn’t sure what was happening.

  “Erin,” he whispered.

  Raging fire flared beneath her skin when her eyes met his. There was nothing but lust there. And it drove her crazy with need. So much need. The kind that made her blind with desire. Aroused beyond belief.

  Ready.

  Not only for intimacy but something more...something dangerous and different.

  Erin was attracted to him before, but now it was a hundred times more intense. Why? What had changed?

  She knew holding his gaze wasn’t good. That a great deal of what flared between them had to do with those verdant eyes of his. There was a compelling fire in them that spoke to her. Yet he was everything she despised. Well, parts of him. Not all. Because right now, in his arms, pressed against him, what he was didn’t bother her in the least. No, it was the furthest thing from her mind. Why was it again that she so avidly disliked dragon-shifters? For the life of her, she couldn’t remember.

  She didn’t want to.

  She wanted him.

  Right here.

  Right now.

  Erin had no idea he’d been slowly walking her backward until her back met one of the building’s support beams. And she had no clue his hand was on her ass until he slowly lifted her so that their lips were much closer. Centimeters apart. Their breathing became harsher as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

  God, he was rock solid and throbbing against her.

  A raging ache blossomed between her legs, spread down her thighs and up her stomach. He inhaled deeply, and she swore actual flames burned in his eyes. When he ground against her, she bit her lower lip and arched. One more thrust and she knew her body would let go. She was that close.

  “Um, guys.”

  Nicole sounded far, far away.

  “Ye need to get yerself under control, Cousin,” Niall warned. Like Nicole, it sounded like he spoke from a great distance.

  Someone tapped her shoulder. “You two might wanna knock it off,” Nicole said. “Like right now.”

  Something about Nicole touching her snapped Erin back from wherever she had gone. Discombobulated, she blinked several times as the room slowly came into focus. Now she knew why they were so concerned. Several Viking men, including Tait and Bjorn, stood nearby. All had their eyes locked on her with what she’d call ferocious lust. And fire flickered in each and every steady gaze.

  “Put me down, Rònan,” she said through clenched teeth, pulling out several blades. Rònan did as asked and repositioned himself to defend her as he pulled his blade free as well.

  “I had hoped this might go smoother, but it seems you are too much of a draw for the young dragons,” the Viking King said softly as he joined them. “Though they will protect you, it is best that you avoid them for now.”

  “I’ve never seen this sort of behavior from them,” Rònan said to the King. “I dinnae ken.”

  “No, it’s quite obvious you do not.” He gestured for them to follow. “Come. All of you. I will explain.”

  Erin felt a strange flutter in her stomach as Megan joined them and they headed outside. Why did she have the feeling they were about to tell her something that was going to change everything? When Rònan put a comforting hand against her back, she almost pulled away. But unlike everyone else’s touch, his didn’t put her off. Instead, it felt like it belonged there.

  That last thought did make her pull away.

  Erin only appreciated Rònan’s touch because she was long overdue for some sexual release and he fit the bill. She conveniently ignored the fact that Tait, Bjorn or any number of the sexy Vikings didn’t do a thing for her. And they damn well should have.

  “Please.” The King gestured to several seats around a small fire in what she guessed was his and Megan’s lodge. When they sat down, the servants handed them mugs of ale.

  Naðr sat across from them and contemplated Erin for several moments before he spoke. “You will not like what I have to tell you, but it needs to be told.”

  Erin clenched her hand around the mug but kept a smooth expression. Nicole remained close for support. While Erin appreciated it, she was good. Whatever the King had to say, she was ready to hear it. “Tell me,” she demanded.

  The King glanced at Megan before he nodded and met Erin’s eyes. “The reason male dragon-shifters are so drawn to you is because you possess dragon blood. Though it’s clear that you have never shifted, you are a female dragon. And they are very rare. In fact, these men have never come across one that is of no relation to them.”

  Her blood froze in her veins. In the crazy reality in which she’d been thrust, Erin expected Naor to say just about anything...but not that. Never that.

  “What did you just say?” Erin asked, shocked and confused. There’s no way she heard him correctly.

  “You are a dragon,” the King repeated.

  “Bloody hell,” Rònan whispered.

  Nicole squeezed Erin’s hand, understanding that she was rendered speechless.

  “Okay, way to drop a bomb.” Nicole’s eyes narrowed on the King. “You need to keep talking now.”

  “We don’t have all the details and we may never,” Megan said. “All we know for certain is that she has dragon blood.” Her eyes locked on Erin. “And that she’s not only a Broun but a DeLaunde. That, as it turns out, was my maiden name.”

  If she wasn’t frozen before, she was downright frigid now. “DeLaunde?”

  “Holy shit,” Nicole whispered.

  “You know the name then?” Megan murmured.

  Erin tried to respond but couldn’t.

  “I would hope so,” Nicole filled in. “Her name is Erin DeLaunde.”

  Megan smiled. “Of course it is.”

  Erin meant to shoot to her feet, to defy what she was hearing, but remained frozen in place. Stunned. In shock as too many bad memories assaulted her.

  Megan strode around the fire, crouched in front of her and seized her hands, eyes warm but voice intensely firm. “You descend from me and King Naðr, Erin. You are our distant offspring.”

  “No,” she mouthed and shook her head.

  Flashes of her father burning flickered in her mind.

&nb
sp; She could not be half dragon. She just couldn’t be.

  “So what does that mean?” Nicole asked. “That she’s related to Rònan as well?”

  “No. No more than you are to Niall through the Brouns. The bloodline has thinned out over the centuries.” Megan kept her eyes on Erin. “Honestly, we don’t know how this is possible just that it is.” She squeezed her hands. “You are one of us and are always welcome here.”

  Here? Where was here? Ancient Scandinavia? Medieval Scotland? Erin yanked her hands away, stood and pulled the blades she’d pocketed when they left the main lodge. Though she had no intention of using them, they were her safety net. And boy, did she need that right now.

  “You’re all deranged.” She backed away. “I’m outta here.”

  She had just walked out the door when she bumped into a hard chest.

  “You go nowhere without being escorted. It’s not safe.”

  Bjorn.

  She had only backed into the lodge a few steps when she met another hard wall. When she spun, Rònan grabbed her wrists before she could use her blades. Which she wouldn’t have...would she? Nothing made sense. She no longer had an identity. What was she? Who was she? One thing was for sure, she didn’t want to be part of a dragon family.

  “You need to calm down, lass,” he said softly. “We’ll figure this out.”

  “We won’t figure out anything.” When she tried to push him away, he held tight. She knew exactly what to do to get free yet instead she stilled, calmed almost. How was it that he inflamed her one second and she found absolute peace beneath his touch the next?

  His eyes locked on hers. “We will figure this out.”

  “It’s okay,” Nicole said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Rònan’s right. We got this.”

  When Erin frowned, Nicole shrugged and cocked the corner of her lips. “So you’re a horse-loving witchy biker chick one sec and a dragon-shifter the next. It’s all workable.”

  Right, she was supposedly a witch as well.

  It was impossible to stop the tug at the corner of her lips. While she typically found Nicole’s sense of humor overbearing, she didn’t right now. What was going on with her? Lusting after Rònan for all to see then finding humor in Nicole’s wiseass comments.

  Nothing made sense anymore.

  Okay, maybe lusting after Rònan wasn’t so far-fetched. She was human. Or so she hoped. But what they’d done was completely out of character for her. She wasn’t a fan of public displays of affection. Hell, any affection for that matter. At least not in a very long time.

  “Let me go, Rònan,” she said softly, but with just enough threat.

  “Nay.” He clasped her tighter. “’Twould be unwise.”

  Though she was tempted to spit, “Get off!” something told her not to. They were connected somehow. She might feel emotionally charged, but she was no fool. Whatever was happening between them kept her contained in a way she didn’t understand. And while she might want to fight them all tooth and nail, she knew that was unwise. If nothing else, she was sorely outnumbered.

  Her eyes shot to the Viking King. “Two things. I want proof and some time alone to think things over. Is there someplace I can rest?”

  “The proof is in your blood,” the King murmured. “And something you alone must discover and accept.” His eyes met Megan’s. “I think perhaps you would be the best person to escort her to her lodgings.”

  Megan nodded and looked at Rònan. “Release her.”

  When he did, Megan took her hand and urged her to follow.

  “Hey, I’m coming too,” Nicole started, but Megan shook her head. “No, only Rònan.”

  “I said I wanted to be alone,” Erin reminded as she followed the woman outside.

  “Regrettably, that’s not an option,” Megan said. “Based on what we saw in the main lodge, it’s unwise to leave you alone. Rònan will stay with you. Bjorn will keep watch outside.”

  The last thing she needed was to be alone in a building with Rònan. “It’s snowing and freezing out here. Bjorn’s gonna stand out in this all night?”

  “Bjorn is a Viking and used to the weather,” Megan reminded. “No one will come near you with my first-born guarding you.”

  When she glanced over her shoulder at the tall man, his eyes were locked on her. “So who’s going to protect me from Bjorn?” Her brows furrowed. “Rònan?”

  “You say that as if you dinnae think I could,” Rònan grumbled.

  Erin shrugged and glanced at Bjorn again. He and Rònan were well-matched in height and build, but Bjorn was a damn Viking. For some reason, that translated into a smidge more fierceness.

  “Okay then.” Her eyes met Megan’s. “Who’s gonna protect me from Rònan because he seems just as drawn to me as the rest of ‘em.”

  “That, regrettably, is for you to deal with,” Megan said as she led Erin into an impressively large lodge. “All I know is that not only Grant but Rònan’s mother, Torra, wants him by your side at all times. He’s a MacLomain dragon and best suited to guard that ring of yours.”

  Erin narrowed her eyes. “And why would that be?”

  She knew the stone at the center of the ring was supposed to become a gem to match the MacLomain wizard’s eyes she was meant for. And it was not Rònan. Besides, she had stolen the ring so technically it shouldn’t be on her finger, to begin with.

  “Torra and Grant gave no reason, and we’re not in the habit of questioning them,” Megan said as she nodded at a circular table in the corner of the room. “We’ve had food and drink provided for you.” Then she gestured at a trunk. “Both of you will find a change of clothes in there.”

  Erin was about to respond when Megan embraced her. Freezing at the human contact, unable to hug her back, she remained aloof. Finally, Megan pulled away and eyed her warmly. “It’ll be all right. I promise. Take the night to think things over. You’re safe here.” She glanced at Rònan. “Believe it or not, you have a friend in him.”

  Before Erin could say a word, Megan strode out.

  A frown in place, she eyed the room. Like the others, it had a high thatch-covered ceiling. Various weapons hung on the walls, and a fire crackled. Her eyes shot to the big bed, and her frown deepened.

  One bed.

  That’s it.

  Considering how easily she had fallen into Rònan’s arms earlier that was a really bad thing.

  “Dinnae worry, lass,” he murmured and headed for the table. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”

  Erin eyed the plush throw on the floor in front of the fire. It looked comfortable enough. At any rate, he wouldn’t be on the hardwood. “Yeah, you will.”

  Because the two of them absolutely could not sleep in the same bed.

  She didn’t trust him.

  More than that, she didn’t trust herself.

  Rònan filled two mugs then handed her one. It was hard to read the look on his face. He had to be working through the King’s revelation just like she was.

  “Thanks,” she murmured and slid down against the wall. Feet on the floor, knees bent, she took a deep swig then focused on the fire. As if he sensed she needed space, Rònan slid down against the opposite wall, stretched out his legs and said nothing.

  Accustomed to having her own place and complete privacy, she felt his presence like a heavy weight. He made it impossible for her to think clearly. Maybe she could get him to leave. “If you want to take a stroll or something, maybe find that blond again, I won’t tell.”

  “I didnae want to dance with the blond, to begin with,” he said softly.

  “Well, you should have,” Erin grunted. “She wasn’t half bad looking.”

  No, she was gorgeous.

  Rònan didn’t drink nor did he say a word. Instead, he eyed her with that same unreadable expression.

  “Enough.” Erin sighed. “Spit out what’s on your mind and stop looking at me like that.”

  “Like what?”

  “Honestly?” She shrugged. “Like I’ve go
t three heads and a tail.”

  She scowled at her own words. Dragons had tails.

  Rònan contemplated her for another moment before he relented. “’Tis just that the only other female dragon-shifter I’ve met is my Ma.” He shook his head. “Besides the Viking lasses, I didnae know any others existed. And one from the future no less.”

  “Listen, I may not have pitched a fit back there, but I don’t buy what the King’s selling,” she informed. “So what if Megan and I share the same last name. That doesn’t prove a thing. Technically I should share a last name with the King for this to make any sense.”

  Rònan shrugged, evidently no more concerned with that detail than the others. “Anything’s possible. Mayhap his family took Queen Megan’s surname to keep those like you safe.”

  “Either way,” she said. “I still don’t believe it.”

  “What about how the dragon-shifters are responding to you?” His eyes never left hers. “And explain what happened betwixt you and I back there?”

  “As to the dragon-shifters, they’re probably just drawn to the new girl in town.” She shrugged. “As to you and me?” Erin was careful with her words and remained nonchalant. “Heat of the moment. It happens.”

  But it didn’t.

  Not ever.

  Heck if she would admit it, though.

  Rònan, however, wasn’t nearly as casual about their encounter. “That has never happened to me before.” His eyes remained firmly locked on hers. “I’ve never been consumed by another, and I’ve never lost control.”

  “Consumed?” She snorted and shook her head. “It was just lust, Rònan. Something I know you’re more than familiar with.”

  “Aye, lust indeed.” He leaned forward, his arms now braced on bent knees. “But more than that. Something deeper. Something that took me right out of this world and sent me somewhere else.” He cocked his head. “Tell me you didnae feel it too.”

  “I didn’t,” she lied. “All I felt was plain ole’ fashioned arousal.” She kept her eyes on his because she backed down from no man. “It happens to the best of us.”

  “It doesnae happen like that.” His eyes narrowed. “It doesnae happen like it did betwixt us.”

  “It does,” she shot back. “So stop trying to see something that wasn’t there.”