“Why would you keep the dagger with you when it can kill you?”
“Tullius can find me anywhere when I’m in my human form, except on this island, which is cloaked by my magic.”
I wasn’t following, and Storm must have seen the confusion on my face.
“The island is bound to me, Lexi. Because of that bond, nothing happens around it without my knowledge. I know when a child is born or when someone dies. When I’m at peace, the island thrives. When I’m not, it doesn’t. Because of me, we get thunder and lightning if we lose someone. When I mourn or I’m pissed, the island experiences it. The magic that hides me from Tullius also hides the island from him.”
Holy crap! Everything made sense now. The thunder and lightning after he lost the two men the night we’d arrive. The storm after I’d told the black stallion I was planning on leaving.
“I put my crew and the islanders in danger whenever I leave, yet I cannot hide on the island.” His brow furrowed. “My people depend on me to protect them and their interests, make trading deals, form partnerships with other islanders, mediate disputes, and protect the more vulnerable islands from Tullius. The dagger is my insurance in case he catches up with me. I have to protect my islanders because he does not just want to destroy the island and make us homeless; he wants everyone who escaped to return to Hy’Brasil so he can show the people there that our way of life is wrong and unsustainable.”
What Storm was saying finally sunk in, the implication staggering. “You’d kill yourself to protect the island and its people?”
He shook his head. “I wouldn’t see it as killing myself. More like severing the tie between the island and me, so one of my brothers can take my place. Right now they are bonded to me, just like the island. If I should sever the tie with the island, one of them must take my place.”
What he meant was if he died, one of his brothers would take his place. Just when I’d thought I understood him, he threw some information at me that made me see him in a whole different light. He was kind of amazing.
“Do the rest of the islanders know about this?” I asked.
“The elders and my brothers do, but I’d never burden the rest of my people with that knowledge. They’d live in fear of something happening to me and become focused on protecting me when it should be the other way around. Right now, all they know is the six of us found the island and would do anything to protect them from Tullius. They don’t need to know we made a deal to protect them and the island.” He touched the coiled tattoo around his neck.
I’d met quite a few of the islanders over the last two days, and none of them had bridles on their necks.
“With whom did you make a deal?”
“Moria, Gráinne, and Murchadh, the gatekeeper.” He wrapped the dagger in its special cloth. “Moria gave me the dagger. Now you know about it too, just like my brothers and the elders.”
“Delia?” I asked.
“She is part of the new, younger elders, so she hasn’t been told yet.”
What kind of a vicious marauding pirate was willing to sacrifice his life so others could live? Storm was the most extraordinary man I’d ever met. He wasn’t just kind of amazing. He was that and much more. Honorable. Caring. Giving. I imagined being at the center of all that goodness, and I felt a little lightheaded. I could fall in love with this man.
“I don’t understand you,” I whispered.
“You will. With time. That’s all I ask of you, lass. We already have trust. Now I need time to prove that I’m your true mate, the one destined to love you the way you’re meant to be loved. The one who can make you happy.”
Someone pounded on the door.
“I’m going to kill him.” Storm disappeared into the living room. Then I heard, “What do you want?”
I angled my head to catch the conversation, but I couldn’t hear what the person said. Storm’s words were clearer.
“Kraken’s breath, Ryun. What were you thinking?” Silence and then, “I’m still going to kick your ass and spread your carcass all over the damned island for pulling that shit on her. No, you’re not. Just for once, stop being an ass.”
Once again, I couldn’t hear Ryun’s words.
“Not today.” The door slammed.
I didn’t wait long before Storm appeared in the bedroom with a basket of fresh fruit. “That was Ryun trying to worm his way back into your good graces.”
I was beside Storm before he finished talking. Papaya, mangoes, grapes, and apples. I plucked a green grape and popped it into my mouth.
“He’s forgiven.”
“No, he’s not. A lifetime supply of fruit should do it.”
“Be nice.” I took one of the apples, rubbed it on my skirt, sank my teeth into it, and sighed blissfully. It was crunchy, tart, and yet sweet. Storm grimaced watching me. “Don’t judge. You stick to your rum and wine and nasty sauces. I’ll take fruit any day. Ryun and I are going to be best buddies from now on.”
Storm set the basket on the table and moved to the bed. “I was afraid you were going to say that. Maybe I should take you with me.”
I looked up from plucking a grape and saw the teasing gleam in his eyes. I chucked the grape at him. He caught it, popped it into his mouth, and made a face.
“Stick to the rum, pirate, and leave my fruit alone.”
“You threw it at me, lass.”
“You were messing with me, so technically it’s your fault.”
“Come here.”
I joined him. He showed me where he hid the dagger whenever he came back from sailing or whenever he planned to cross the Veil. The presence of that knife was going to haunt me for a very long time.
We sat at the window, where he tucked me under his chin, leaned back, and closed his eyes, while I stuffed my face with fruit. We’d missed dinner while talking and ended up raiding the kitchen again. This time, I made sure we didn’t leave a single crumb for Gráinne to find.
Chapter 4
Are you up, lass?”
Delia’s voice woke me up. I scrambled and went to open the door. She never knocked or waited for me to let her in. She stood outside our bedroom door with a worried expression.
“How are you doing, she’lahn?”
“Good. Storm explained everything, and I’m okay with it.”
She sighed with relief and hugged me. “I knew you were too sensible to let what we are change your opinion of us. Did he apologize for Ryun’s behavior?”
He’d threatened to knock Ryun’s teeth out just this morning.
“In his way, and Ryun apologized, too.” I indicated the basket of fruit.
Delia sighed. “Ryun has island fever, and it won’t go away until he sails. Whenever they sail, they spend half the time in the sea and shift back and forth. He can’t do that on the island.”
“Not even on the canal?”
“The canal is part of the sea. Just a couple of months and he can go back.”
Poor Ryun. “I’m not angry with him. I needed to know anyway, instead of walking around ignorant. And he sent the fruits. They’re so good.”
“He is a good lad. They all are. I don’t know where we’d be without them. How is your head?”
I touched where the bump should have been. “It’s gone.”
“That’s how fast the healing gel works. Let’s take a look at those hands.” She unwrapped them. My left was healed, the right one almost. “I’ll bring the gel and your breakfast.”
“No, I’m coming downstairs with you.” I grabbed my fruit basket.
She chuckled. “Okay. The lasses can prepare your bath while you eat breakfast. Storm will be leaving soon. They’ve decided to use the west gate, so the ships will stop by the Hall. You will see him off?”
“Yes. How long will they be gone?”
“I don’t know, lass. Hy’Brasil is several days away, and finding Deck is hard when he doesn’t want to be found.” She chuckled. “The lad is a handful, and a wee bit stubborn.”
She told me to
go to her place while she disappeared into the kitchen. I got a knife from a peg and started peeling an apple. When she returned with my breakfast, I added grapes and bits of apples to the oatmeal. Delia shook her head as she watched me.
“I’ll select something for you to wear. Some of your new clothes will be ready today or tomorrow. Lorelei is not used to large orders, but her needlework is exquisite.” A frown chased the smile from her face. “She had the best teacher.” She looked like she was about to say more, then sighed and left.
I ate the oatmeal, the meat, and finished my apple. I left the bread for later. Gráinne nodded when I took the dirty plates to the kitchen. No nasty comments? Progress.
“Did you get enough to eat last night?” she asked instead.
“Yes, Gráinne. Sorry we missed dinner and raided the kitchen again.”
“No need to be sorry. You had a lot to deal with yesterday, and you didn’t leave my kitchen in a mess.” Her eyes narrowed. “If you have questions the lad can’t answer, come find me.”
“Thank you.”
“Now get out of my kitchen—unless you want to join my staff.”
Laughter from the other women followed me when I ran out of the room. I was sure my expression showed my feelings. I’d rather do rounds with Delia than join the kitchen staff.
Upstairs, Delia was already done selecting what I should wear. The laundresses must have washed the clothes I’d worn the night I’d arrived because they were hanging on the screen. I wondered if she chose the other Tuh’ren women’s clothes.
I took my time bathing. The ships hadn’t arrived yet when I finished. I got dressed and debated what to do next. I was about to head downstairs when I heard the shieldmaidens. I took the stairs to the roof.
Kai was showing one of the shieldmaidens how to wield two swords. I studied her footwork as well as her body and arm positioning. She was smooth, and she made each execution look effortless. Could I ever move like that? I was imitating her moves when sounds came from behind me.
I glanced over my shoulder to find Storm walking toward me. The heated look in his eyes caused warmth to unfurl in my stomach. He didn’t bother to hide the fact that he wanted me. That was something I was slowly coming to accept, along with the fact that I was insanely attracted to him.
He’d changed into another pristine white sailor shirt, tucked into black pants that matched his boots. The pants were not the usual ones with drawstrings. This pair had shiny brass buttons in the fly region and along the sides.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” he said.
“When are you leaving?”
“Soon.” He came to stand behind me, boxing me in, wrapping me with his scent. “What do you think of Kai and her shieldmaidens?”
“They’re amazing. Can I become one of them?”
“Why?”
“Why not? I think it would be cool to be a shieldmaiden and sail the seas with you.”
He chuckled and I leaned into him. He buried his head in my hair, inhaled, and held the breath as though holding on to my scent. His hot breath fanned my scalp when he exhaled, and my skin tightened.
“You want me to talk to Kai?” he asked in a voice gone smoky and velvet.
I forced myself to study the instructor when all I wanted to do was turn around and kiss him.
“No. She’ll be forced to say yes because of you.”
He pressed a kiss on my shoulder and nuzzled my neck before lowering his head to rest his chin on my shoulder. Man or Kelpie, they had the same mannerisms.
“She only teaches the elite,” he said. “And you are elite material.”
When he said things like that, I wanted to tackle him to the ground and kiss him senseless. “I hope I can prove that.”
He lifted my healed hand and kissed my palm. My heart leaped from normal to infinity. He placed my hand on his neck so my fingers touched his scar. I stroked it.
“You don’t hope for things to happen, lass. You do.”
I tilted my head and glanced at him. Whatever I wanted to say died on my lips at the heat in his eyes. He looped an arm around my waist and turned me around while gently nudging me closer. I had to tilt my head to look at him.
“Do you want me, Lexi?”
Oh God yes! “Now?”
“Yes.”
I pursed my lips and pretended to think about it, but my entire body hummed. It was already responding to his close proximity.
“I don’t know. Give me a reason to.”
He laughed, the sound echoing around us. “Stop messing with me and kiss me, lass.”
I didn’t need him to repeat himself. I gripped his shirt and pulled him down for a kiss. His lips were soft and yielding. He didn’t take over, letting me play.
I nibbled on his lips, then ran my tongue along the seam of his mouth until he let me in. I didn’t have much experience kissing, but I was learning from him. I swiped his tongue with mine, and his arms tightened around me. Getting bolder, I took his lower lip, sucked on it, and bit down gently. A groan rumbled through his chest, and the next thing I knew I was being lifted as he took over.
I wrapped my legs around him, my skirts behaving for once, and threw my arms around his neck to hold him closer. He took over my will to hold back. Not that I wanted to. He tore his lips from mine and buried his mouth in my neck, mumbling words in his language, his voice low and intense.
“I have to taste you before I leave, Lexi,” he whispered against my skin, reverting to English, pausing between words to nibble my skin. “You might not be ready to mate, but I can take your scent and the taste of you with me.”
“I’m ready,” I whispered. When he kissed me and said things like that, I could agree to just about anything to be close to him.
“No, my innocent, virgin lass. You’re far from ready.” He kissed my shoulder again.
“How do you know I’m a virgin?” I gripped his head and stared into the swirling pools of silver. I hadn’t realized he was walking until now. He pushed the door to the tower with his shoulder, entered, and closed it with his foot.
“I just know.” He went back to nuzzling my neck and taking nibbles. He cut across the living room to the bedroom. “That’s why I’m taking it slow.”
“Slow?” I laughed.
“This is slow. Show me you want me, lass. That it doesn’t matter what I am.”
I cupped his face, but instead of kissing him on the lips, I tilted his head and kissed the imbedded bridle on his neck. I gasped when it moved as though trying to separate from the skin.
Eyes wide, I looked at him. “It moved.”
“I know. That’s the first time it’s responded to a kiss from a lass.”
“What does it mean?”
“It means you are my true mate.”
Everything seemed to point to that no matter how hard I tried to ignore it or deny it. Yet, deep inside, I knew I could never be truly happy while my brother needed my help. I stared into Storm’s silver eyes, fascinated and, at the same time, wary. He made it so easy to want him and forget everything else.
“I can make it move, but only my true mate can make my body give it up willingly,” he added.
It bugged me that he’d noticed my reluctance to believe I was his true mate. Instead of lying to him and saying I was the one, I claimed his mouth, pouring all my blooming feelings into the kiss.
He lowered me to the bed, his mouth leaving me gasping for breath as he followed the curve of my jawline to my neck. I never knew my neck was sensitive until Storm. He swept his nose up and down my neck as though smelling every inch. Then he licked the skin while humming.
“Your scent drives me crazy, but the taste of you is even sweeter.” He trailed kisses back up to my lips and paused. He lifted his head to look at me, his eyelids lowered, eyes stormy. “I have to taste you all over, lass. I need to or I’ll be useless to my men. If you don’t want me to, tell me to leave now.”
I placed my hand along his neck. This time, I didn’t panic or
move my hand when the tattoo shifted. “Is this part of your mating ritual?”
“No. This is for me. I need to taste you, or I’ll go crazy.”
I leaned forward and kissed him, silently showing him I didn’t want him to leave. Kissing him was like playing with fire, yet I couldn’t stop. His body was tense, his breathing measured as though he was holding back. I didn’t want him to hold back. I wanted him to dominate my senses.
I bit on his lower lip, partly because I got a thrill out of doing it and partly because of the way he reacted. He growled and took over, his tongue swiping my mouth and rolling over mine. His kisses grew hungry and demanding, until my body threatened to burst at the seams with need. He trailed hungry kisses down my neck, sucking and nipping, sending sensations through me.
This was what I’d been waiting for all my life. To find a man who made me feel like I was part of something bigger and greater than myself. Made me need his touch until I couldn’t think straight.
He unlaced my bodice with such efficiency I knew this wasn’t the first time he’d undressed a woman wearing one. He pushed down the neckline of the blouse, the elastic offering no resistance. He dropped kisses along my shoulder and arm as he pulled the blouse off. Then he moved to the other arm.
Unfortunately, I had chosen to wear my sports bra under it. He knelt between by legs and glared at the offending piece of material.
“Take it off,” he ordered.
I gripped it with unsteady hands and pulled it up. My hair got tangled in it.
He helped me get rid of it, his touch gentle, yet his voice was rough when he growled, “I’m burning the damn thing. You don’t need it.”
I didn’t argue with him. I was never wearing it again. The bodice was enough. He finally removed it and threw it over his shoulder, his eyes not leaving me as I fell back against the pillow.
“Lexi,” he whispered, his eyes burning. He lowered his head, buried his face in the valley between my breasts, and inhaled. His tongue came out and laved the area, then the underside of each mound. A low groan escaped him.
[Phantom Islanders 02.0] Storm Revealed Page 7