When she came back to the bed with the large tray, she placed it beside him and they happily began sampling the tasty food.
“And how is that the wee fairies are able to send us sustenance through the barrier you created if they cannot come within this location?” Killian wondered aloud.
“By way of magic they are able; they simply cannot enter within the barrier themselves.”
“And is it not a bit uncharitable of us to disallow them from entering this area when it ’tis their own glade?”
“In truth, the glade is enormous, Killian, almost incomprehensibly so. They will not feel slighted that I have secured this small private haven for the limited days we have together here. I am most certain regarding the matter.”
He grinned at her in agreement and continued to eat heartily.
“ ’Tis such a welcome relief to be mostly done with the putrid stomach for it was not a pleasant consideration to either retch continuously or to experience the unsettled stomach constantly. Now I often feel ravenously hungry!” she admitted.
Killian watched her eat and found that only proved to further enhance his arousal. He continued eating himself and then responded to her previous comment.
“I would have much preferred it if you’d informed me about the child earlier, Alainn. I understand your reasons for keeping it from me, but I feel I have missed a lot already.”
She attempted to make light of the situation. “You have missed seeing me spew and retch a good deal of the time. The journey to Galway took ever so long, stopping so frequently that I might retch fitfully. I think Pierce and Cookson were never so glad to get anywhere as when we finally made it there.” Alainn noticed his sudden serious expression, and she questioned him. “What has you so deep in thought, Killian?”
“Do you believe in a predestined fate, Alainn? With all your magical, mystical powers, do you believe we are surely destined to live a life already long since predetermined?”
Something in his words caused her great unease and she shivered, attempting to push the disturbing thoughts far back within her mind as she responded. “Aye, to some degree, I think we are fated to live our lives a certain way. I most certainly believe you and I were destined to be together, to fall in love, but I try not to dwell on that too intently for I become consumed with the enormity and the complexity of it all.! It leaves me feeling most unsettled”
“Why is that, my Lainna?”
“Well, if we were fated to be together, is that what led to the grievously tragic chain of events that ensured you were made to come to live with your aunt and uncle; was that the reason your mother died, or your father’s castle was attacked and he taken away never to be located? I pray that is not so.”
His green eyes narrowed and he shook his head, not allowing it to be something he would dare to consider. “No, I can’t believe that would be so. Our love is far too perfect, too rare, and precious to be the reason for death or devastation. But, I do believe if I had not seen you on the beach in Galway that we would surely not be together now. I think you would have done all things possible to elude me, and to have me wed Mary.” His brow furrowed and his eyes filled with pensiveness as he spoke further. “I don’t know if it was fate, but it was an unexplainable feeling, an incredibly strong indication I experienced that I absolutely must go to Galway. The others were in favor of it for the day grew late and all welcomed a break in the journey, but it was I who suggested we travel out of our way to go to Galway. And when I saw you standin’ on the beach, lookin’ radiant and lovely, surrounded by all those wee children, I knew why I had been urged by some unknown force to journey there. I do believe it was destined to be so!”
“I believed Mary was a better match, would make a better wife. I thought I would cause you undue tribulations and endanger you by connecting my life with yours!” Alainn quietly confessed.
“But you already carried our child, Alainn. How could you consider leaving me or not telling me of the babe?”
“I feared for you and was uncertain about the babe because of the curse.”
“And now?” He dared to question.
“For now, I suspect all is well with the child, but my most immediate fear is for you, Killian. I maintain anger and trepidation that you felt you must issue the challenge.”
“No talk of that now, Alainn. No talk of anything unpleasant. Now, would you be in favor of a swim in the spring?”
“Aye, I would gladly welcome a swim with you, Killian!” she agreed and they eagerly headed out to the water.
The days passed rapidly and soon they’d been in the fairy glade over half the time they would be allowed. Their days were spent making love, happily walking unclothed hand in hand by the spring, swimming and playing within the water, and lying on the water’s edge, talking endlessly of the past and, more importantly, of their future. They had seen or heard no sign of the fairies or any other beings other than Killian’s horse. Often soft, sweet enchanting Celtic music would drift over to them, and always there would be trays of food left for them morning and evening.
One morning as Killian stared down at the food upon the tray that had come to be their staple diet, he looked up at Alainn and his desire for something more substantial and more to his accustomed taste, was clear on his tanned face. Alainn searched for the garment she’d worn to the glade but it was clearly nowhere to be found. She noted Killian’s clothes were also missing. Improvising, she selected a section of the drapery around their bed and wound it around herself so that her intimate areas were covered in a fashion. Killian was curious as to what she intended, but she assured him she would be back directly. When she returned she wore a broad smile on her face.
“What has you lookin’ so entirely smug, Lainna?”
“I have been granted permission to serve you meat. The fairies have agreed as long as the animal’s life is not taken here within the glade, they will allow it.”
“But how do you intend to get it here?”
“I have my ways!” she merely stated as she closed her eyes and thought of Cook, she envisioned his kitchen and the many platters that would be within. She was soon rewarded with a large platter filled with ham and eggs, scones and cheese. She opened her eyes and could see Killian staring at her, his mouth fairly watering as she handed it to him. He ate it as though he’d been completely famished, and then he lay down beside her and felt himself growing sleepy in his contented state.
“So, how did you convince the fairies to allow meat here in the glade?” he asked as he absentmindedly played with the tresses of her hair.
“I told them you’d not be able to keep up your...husbandly duties if you didn’t eat more heartily,” she added playfully. “I told them human males need to keep their stomachs full in order to have enough strength and endurance to frequently pleasure their women.”
He chuckled lowly and opened one eye to gaze upon her. She had moved closer to him and was presently caressing him again in a very pleasing manner. When his body responded without question, she positioned herself above him, capably guided him within her, and began to slowly ride him. Killian grasped her hips and arched his body to meet hers. He closed his eyes and felt himself attempting to contain his ever-mounting passion. He was entirely stunned and dismayed when she unexpectedly moved from him entirely and simply lay down beside him.
“What exactly are you doin’ to me woman, you cannot simply stop in the middle of it. It leaves a man in a rather unenviable position. So tell me can tell me plain what it is you’re up to, for you never do anything without a specific reason.”
“I intend to keep you in such a lustful, needy state of arousal that you will love me as you once did!”
“As I once did? Am I to take this as an indication you are criticizing my way of loving you after only days of being wed to you?” She sensed he jested in part, but her words had wounded his male pride. “I’ve never had any complaints before!”
She sneered at this, realizing he was assuring her his other lovers had
never voiced anything but praise for his lovemaking mastery, but she went on to explain.
“I do not criticize, Killian, and these days have been unquestionably wonderful. You are a gifted lover and you have well pleased me, you’ve been tender and loving and gentle and made certain I know well how very much you love me. You have treated me like a treasure and I do most assuredly require that, but sometimes I need more than that.”
He maintained a wounded look as she furthered her explanation.
“If I’d never been with you previous to these last days, I would know no different, but sure you forget, I have. I know you willfully withhold your passion. You purposely bridle your deepest needs and keep your desires in reserve. I believe the next few months will seem insufferably and unnecessarily long if that is the way you intend to love me till after our babe is born. If it is in concern for the child, I assure you his safety will not be jeopardized by loving me more passionately.”
He looked at her seriously, an obvious skepticism in his green eyes. He knew well enough she was a learned healer and would surely know much regarding such topics, and she’d not willingly do anything to purposely put their unborn child at risk. He mulled it over within his mind as his mind and body waged battle. He made no attempt to touch her further, so she moved from the bed and pouted prettily as he watched her walk away.
“Suit yourself then, Killian. I admit full well, I shall sorely miss the intimacy we share most assuredly.”
“I’d say you’re cuttin’ off your nose to spite your face then, Alainn,” he said in a stubborn tone.
“It has absolutely nothing to do with my nose or my face!” she said as she neared the water and her bright blue eyes looked back at him seductively and she bent forward ever so slightly, her long shapely legs and round bottom in clear view to him. She sensually drizzled the warm water down her bare breasts. He could not tear his eyes away from her when she lay down upon the soft grass, and then looked back at him as if to question what he intended to do about the impasse they had reached.
“Surely you can’t mean you’ll truly not allow me to bed you simply because I won’t love you as roughly or take you as passionately as you would have it done.”
“Aye, I can and I mean to!” she said as she began to tilt her hips erotically. When she moved to stretch and then rest on her hands and knees, he knew he was done for. He left the bed and approached her with a hungry look upon his face that had nothing to do with food. He knelt beside her and touched his hands to her firm breasts. She did not prevent him from doing so. She gasped as he came up behind her and pushed inside her with a suddenness she reveled in.
But soon she noted he was once more purposely restraining his passion. She turned around and met his passionate gaze. “I know you have a strong faith, Killian!”
He did not respond, but slowly moved steadily within her. She began to pull away, but he held tight to her hips.
She spoke to him in a breathless manner. “Do you truly believe we are expected to produce children...to not be unfaithful...yet that we are not to be allowed to adequately display our love and our passion in all the many months a woman carries a child?” She managed through moans of extreme pleasure.
“By God’s bones, Alainn, would ye quit tryin’ to reason with me while I’m tryin’ to love you?”
“Then love me properly and well, without hesitation, for you’re creating a madness within me that I cannot control.” She moaned loudly as she skillfully moved to meet his thrusts.
She smiled as they began to increase in intensity and duration. She cried out as she felt herself taken to the edge and beyond and when she succumbed to the greatest of physical pleasures, he persisted with an urgency she recognized and welcomed. When he finally achieved his release, he lay beside her exhausted, and she touched her hand to his scar as she always did after their coupling.
“Was that more to your likin’ then, wife?” he breathlessly asked as he kissed her hand.
“Aye, that was entirely what I needed!” She sighed contentedly as she felt herself drifting off to sleep in his arms.
“Aye, and me as well!” he whispered as they fell into slumber.
Chapter Eleven
The next days, Alainn and Killian spent growing ever closer, entirely comfortable with each other, and more intimately connected than either of them imagined possible. They talked of subjects they’d never broached before. She informed him of the many happenings in the realm of the gods and discussion of her magical abilities was both common and sometimes a cause of dissention between them. And when they argued, he realized she remained unsure of his intent of being with her for all their lives, even though he’d vowed to do so on the day they’d been wed. One morning their words had gotten heated and he determined he needed a time away from her to clear his mind.
“ ’Tis time we spent a few moments apart, Alainn, for clearly we’ll never come to an agreement on the subject.”
“But why was I given these unusual powers if not to assist you and those I love, in both simple and complicated matters?”
“The why of it may surely never be known, Alainn, but how you choose to use your powers is no longer entirely up to you.”
“Aye, well it has surely never been left entirely up to me. It was always Morag who insisted I not use them, but because of that they have not been developed or understood as well as they might have been. She instructed me to keep them hidden and guarded, at times forbade me to summon them at all, but if I have been given these magical abilities, there must be a purposeful reason and surely they are to be enlisted. You once assured me you’d not prevent me from using them.”
“Aye, ’tis true enough, but you will absolutely not employ your powers to assist me in the challenge against my uncle; it would be an unfair advantage and completely undermines what it is I need to prove and what he needs to learn!”
“But it is he who has made the challenge so clearly unfair. ’Tis true you are younger and unquestionably more capable than him, but he remains an able swordsman and he is still a strong man. Given his recent use of an unsafe combination of remedies and his near madness, he is not to be underestimated. Even Mac said his strength was most unusual.”
Her cheeks had grown pink with her fury in attempting to make him see things her way. She pushed her long hair from her eyes impatiently and raised her chin in defiance as she continued mincing words with him.
“And you will have the weight and weariness of two other challenges behind you. I’ve no doubt you can best the other two opponents if you fight with skill and wisdom as always, but the pith-axe and the morning star are heavy weapons and one missed step, one wrong move, and you will not only be sorely wounded, you could be killed. And in the battle with your uncle, I think he will not show quarter!”
“I don’t believe he’ll actually kill me, Alainn, even in his unpredictable state. ’Tis only to first blood. That is the condition of the bout!”
“But first blood with a broadsword leaves no room for error and most certainly can bring about death; we’ve both seen it before. You know it with no uncertainty, and your uncle may love you well, but he possesses a violent temper he oft cannot control, especially if he continues to consume the potions he has been taking. And ’tis plain he intends to teach you a hard lesson. If you simply allow me charm your sword or hex his, perhaps then it will truly be a fair match.”
“Alainn, you’re missing the entire point of it, and sure you’re bein’ as unreasonably stubborn as he is. When he hurt you and he attempted to violate you, it was to get to me. He wanted to punish me for opposing and defying him. He needed to show me he is not to be disobeyed or, that his word is not to be questioned, but he should not have tried to force himself on you!”
“Women are often taken against their will, ’tis not an uncommon happening!” She retaliated and downplayed her ordeal.
“Not my woman! And not by my uncle! You can’t truly believe it was by sheer coincidence that he picked that time to try to hav
e you. You’ve possessed a beauty and sensual appeal for years now, and he never made a solitary move toward you until I told him of my intentions to marry a commoner.”
“But you did not tell him it was me!”
She stood beside him with a determined look on her face, but by now his jaw had tensed and his eyes were filled with newly felt fury.
“You cannot imply he didn’t know it well enough. And you would dare defend him in any manner after what he did to you? And to me?”
“It wasn’t you there alone with him in the great hall, or your skin that crawled with the sensation of his unwanted hands upon it!”
His eyes revealed a stricken quality at her purposely cruel and telling words. “Maybe not, but it was done to me no less, for when you hurt, so do I. And he needed to strike at me with his power. He wanted to put me in my place, to emasculate me in his own way, and whether you know it or not, that is what you do, Alainn, when you won’t allow me to protect you!”
He had gently grasped her by the shoulders and stared down into her eyes, needing to allow her to see the magnitude of the subject they were discussing and how compelled he was to make her see his reasoning.
“You appear to suggest your powers can right all wrongs. They cannot! And if you think they’re the solution to all injustice then you’re dead wrong about that as well! Now where are my damnable clothes? I need a time apart from you before I say something I will surely regret!”
A tunic and trews instantly appeared in her hands and she threw them at him in a fury.
“Fine, Killian O’Brien, be off with you then, leave me whenever there is the slightest hint of unpleasantness or a trifle of disagreement between us!”
“I’m not cursedly well leavin’ you forever! I’m only takin’ a few moments to allow myself to calm my ire. Do you fault me even for that?” he said as he angrily pulled on his garments.
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