Her hands clenched on the arms of the chair, but she forced herself to relax.
“From what Joseph described, you were able to transport through the solid rock wall of their keep, across the water and through the walls of our keep.”
She nodded. She couldn’t very well deny it.
“How?” Asher interrupted. “I’ve never heard of anyone having those powers. How do you do it?”
She met her former lover’s gaze. “I can’t tell you. It isn’t mine to share.” She briefly glanced at Micah to include him in her answer. “The Hafan people took me in, healed me and allowed me to live there with them. I promised to never betray them. The only reason I used the spell in Pryderi was because I feared for Asher and Joseph’s lives.”
Both men exchanged a glance. She wondered what they were saying now.
“Tyr was willing to do just about anything to coerce me to stay on as healer.”
She watched both men intently, wondering if they’d be willing to attempt similar coercion to keep her here.
“At least, tell us how it works,” Asher demanded.
She shook her head. “If I were free to, I would.” It was a simple enough process. As long as she’d been to the place she was shifting to and that place had large rocks, she could make her way there.
Micah’s lips quirked into a small smile. “I’m disappointed, of course. But I understand.”
Asher nodded, almost as if he didn’t quite believe her.
She looked away from him and focused on the overlord. “Thank you.”
After getting more details on the Pryderi, Micah walked them out into the hallway. With a sinking spirit, she knew that she’d likely have no better chance for escape tonight. While the men were discussing sending a message to Tyr about their return to Maelgwn, Neeve almost silently whispered the incantation.
Relief and regret mixed sourly in the pit of her stomach. Asher’s lie had sealed her decision. It didn’t matter how much she loved him if she couldn’t trust him. She stepped through the translucent spot in the wall and turned in time to catch sight of Asher sprinting toward her, his expression full of anguish.
“I love you,” she said. “I’m sorry.” She had no idea if he’d heard her, but with the stone wall thickening and closing in front of her face, she doubted it.
Asher threw himself at the wall only to find it as solid and unforgiving as ever. Neeve’s words echoed in his ears as her image faded as if it had never been there. He wondered if she’d been aware of the tears coursing down her face.
He pressed his head to the stone. She did love him. He hadn’t imagined it. He could feel it as surely as he could feel her shifting through layers of rock. Granite. Sandstone. Shale. He had no idea how it was possible, but he felt her moving further away from him by the moment. Until finally the movement stopped, and he could feel nothing but pain and loss.
Pushing off the wall, he whirled to face Micah.
“Go,” the other man told him, naked sympathy in his eyes. “Find her.”
Neeve had to have returned to Hafan, her adoptive home. Micah’s grandmother had taken her in when she’d first escaped Maelgwn, and it made sense for her to go there now. If only he knew where that was.
* * * *
It had been days since she’d left him. Again. He’d searched the length and breadth of Maelgwn and had come up empty. Every once in a while, he’d see a flash of what she was looking at, but none of it was familiar. She wasn’t anywhere he’d ever been. He wasn’t even sure why he was seeing what she was seeing. Then it hit him. The last time they’d been together, the words from the joining ceremony had been tumbling around in his head. Had he unintentionally mated them? It was the only thing he could think of that would explain his sudden ability to see through her mind.
Closing his eyes, he reached out, sending his thoughts to her. Though she’d never been able to hear him before, perhaps she could now. He knew Micah and Elizabeth had experienced something similar after they were joined.
Neeve, where are you?
The landscape he could see in his mind’s eye rotated rapidly as if someone spun in a circle, searching for something. Or someone. She could hear him. She moved more slowly, and he watched through her eyes as a circle of tall standing stones came into view. Hope leapt in his chest. Finally, a landmark he recognized. A small island barely visible off Maelgwn’s western shore. Too far to swim, the only way there was by boat, but with the rough coastal water very few people ever attempted it. Magic was the most reliable way onto the island. He couldn’t use rock as a passage, but he had another way.
Turning his focus inward, he transformed, his bones and muscles compressing and reshaping themselves. Down and feathers sprouted from his skin as talons burst from his toes. Flapping his wings, he lifted himself into the air and flew off into the direction of the setting sun. The flight into the headwind was exhausting, but as full dark settled on the island beneath him, he landed at the top of one of the stones opposite of where Neeve sat with her back against another one.
He cocked his avian head to the side and watched her. She stared off into the distance, occasionally brushing the backs of her hands across her cheeks. This close to her, it was impossible not to feel the loneliness and grief that emanated from her. He glided to the ground to land at her feet. She jerked, startled by the hawk’s sudden appearance. Her eyes widened as he shifted back into his rightful form.
Lips parted, she scrambled to the side, stumbling to a standing position. “How…what…how did you find me?” she finally managed.
He stood and stepped toward her, brushing the tears from her face with his thumbs. “We’re joined, Neeve. We belong together.”
“You don’t mean that. As soon as the year is up—” Her voice broke, but she pushed on. “As soon as the year is up, if not before, you’ll grow bored, and I’ll be cast aside for the next woman who intrigues you.”
He shook his head and opened his mouth. “I—”
“It nearly killed me to leave you. I couldn’t handle it if you cast me aside. When you cast me aside.”
He could feel her anguish just as clearly as he felt his own. She truly believed she was nothing more than a contract to be fulfilled. He heard his words in his head. You owe me a year. Guilt twisted his gut.
She lifted her hand and cupped his cheek, her eyes glistening with tears. “I know you mean well, but it won’t work between us.”
“You love me.” It sounded like an accusation. “I heard you.”
She took a step back, and her arm dropped to her side. “It doesn’t mean we belong together.”
He shook his head. “That’s where you’re wrong.” He moved closer, pinning her to the stone with his body. “I don’t want you as a consort. I want you as my mate. I want you body, soul and mind. And I offer you the same in return. I belong to you.” He smiled sadly. “Whether you welcome it or not, I’m yours.”
Before she could speak, he slipped an arm around her waist and lifted her chin with his free hand. Her still wary eyes held his gaze. Instead of trying to convince her further, he lowered his mouth to hers, capturing her trembling lips in a breathless, aching kiss.
“I love you.” He pressed another kiss to her forehead. As much as he might want to, he couldn’t force her to return with him. Pressuring her to come with him was no better than lying to her. If they were going to have any kind of chance together, she’d need to come to him of her own free will. No contracts. No lies. Nothing but her love and trust. Even if it killed him. “You know where to find me if you decide I’m what you want.”
Stepping away from her, he transformed, lifting himself into the air and away from the woman he wanted more than anything.
* * * *
The sun was setting again, and still Neeve sat in the sacred stone circle, staring out over the sea. The waning light cast elongated shadows that crept along the ground in front of her. Another shadow joined those of the stones. Tamara. Her friend and the sister to the overlord.
>
She sat down next to Neeve, resting her back against the same rock. “How long are you going to sit here and make him suffer? How long are you going to make yourself suffer?”
Neeve looked at the other woman. “What?”
“You love him.”
“That’s not what matters here.”
The woman raised her eyebrow. “Really. And what does matter here?”
Neeve turned her face away from Tamara unwilling to let the other woman see her gathering tears. But that didn’t stop Tamara from continuing to talk.
“You will always have a home here. That will never change, but your heart belongs with him.”
Neeve stifled a sigh. Her friend was right. It had been his from the moment they’d met.
“Don’t you at least owe it to yourself—to both of you—to try again? To start over?”
Neeve watched her friend walk away. Tamara might be right. Neeve’s heart might belong to Asher, but did it matter? Love without trust wasn’t really love at all. He’d taken a huge risk by leaving her alone to make her decision. He’d finally been honest with her. He was trusting her to come back. She needed to offer him the same trust.
* * * *
It had only been a little over a week since Neeve had left Maelgwn, but it felt more like years. The worry she carried with her was almost as heavy as the hope.
The final barrier of Asher’s chamber wall thinned before her, and she could see him seated at the table, head bowed over piles of maps. A half empty bottle of mead sat in the middle of one of the continents, along with a barely touched plate of food. His shoulders slumped, and she made out the faint sound of his quill scratching against the parchment.
Quietly, she stepped through the wall into the room. Her stomach fluttered nervously as she forced herself to cross the last of the distance separating them. Of course, it wasn’t really the last of the distance. He’d said he loved her and wanted her with him, but perhaps he’d changed his mind. After all, she had rejected him. Twice. She winced at the thought.
She must have made a noise, because he whirled around, rising from his chair. The quill dropped to the floor forgotten, and he took a step forward.
“You’re actually here?”
Black smudges marred the skin beneath his red-rimmed eyes. He looked awful. And absolutely beautiful.
“I’m here,” she forced out.
He was across the room and had her wrapped in his embrace before she could blink. All of the tension drained from her muscles at the sensation of his arms around her and his body pressed to hers. She laid her head against his chest. This was where she belonged. She was foolish to have thought otherwise.
She raised her head and looked into his exhausted eyes. Before she could speak, he covered her lips with his own, stealing both her breath and her thoughts. Finally releasing her mouth, he rested his forehead against hers. “I’ve dreamt of you constantly. So much so that when I wake I’m surprised to find myself alone,” he murmured. “I’m so sorry. You’ve never owed me anything. I was desperate and willing to say anything to convince you to stay.”
She cupped his face, smoothing her thumb over the sharp angle of his cheekbone. “You could have told me that.”
“I was stupid.” He paused, looking uncomfortable. “And I was afraid that you wouldn’t stay if I’d just asked. By that time…” He shrugged. “It was too late.”
She met his anguished eyes. “I do love you. I loved you when I left the first time.” She shook her head. “I never stopped loving you.”
Asher kissed her again, claiming her mouth like he had her heart. “Stay,” he whispered between kisses. “Be my mate.” He trailed his lips along her neck, sending shivers through her body as she pressed closer to him. Lifting his head, he held her breathless with his gaze. “I love you, cariad.”
She nodded. “I love you, too.” A thought occurred to her. “But guardians are forbidden to take mates.”
“Not anymore.” His smile spread, reaching his eyes and brightening the small shadows of doubt until there were none. Only the surety of love and the anticipation of their future together remained.
Asher scooped her into his arms and dropped her on the bed, looming over her and pinning her to the mattress, his rapidly filling cock nudging her mound. Desire flooded her body, tightening her nipples and dampening her pussy. She shifted beneath him, rocking against his erection.
Holding her wrists in one hand, he grabbed a small fabric pouch from the bedside table before deftly unlacing her bodice and baring her breasts to his heated gaze. He pressed tender kisses over the scars marring her flesh before drawing her nipple between his lips. Her back bowed as he scraped his teeth across the aching peak. Without warning, he released her and something clamped down on the swollen tip. Her eyes flew open.
Asher dangled another nipple clamp from the tip of his pinky finger, brilliant green stones glinting in the candlelight.
“I had some presents made for you,” he said, his eyes shining with mischief.
“So you knew I’d be back?” she asked on a gasp as he stroked the captive flesh with his thumb.
His gaze softened, and he shook his head. “No. But I hoped.”
Tears escaped the corners of her eyes. Trusting their love had been the right choice.
Asher brushed away her tears before lowering his head and claiming her lips, still stunned that she was actually here with him. He’d imagined he saw her face in every rock, every stone wall. He’d lost track of the times he’d dozed off only to startle awake, thinking he’d heard her voice. When he had slept, his dreams of her had been so vivid, he’d been surprised to wake alone. But there was no mistaking the reality of her warm body pressed to his. No mistaking the arousal in her shuddering breaths or emotion in her eyes.
“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you,” she choked out. “I’m so sorry.”
He silenced her with another kiss—a slow, languid joining of lips and spirits. Raising his head, he met her still anguished gaze. “It’s all right.”
She didn’t look convinced.
“But no more lies,” he added. “No more running or hiding. Just us. For the rest of our lives.”
She nodded slowly, trust brightening her dark eyes. She slipped her hand around the back of his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. As their mouths clashed, the hurt dissolved leaving nothing behind but love and hunger.
In between kisses, she tugged at his shirt, yanking it over his head and letting it drop to the floor. Her sense of urgency bled into his until they were naked and he was sinking into her slick, welcoming body. Tight, fiery heat engulfed him, and for a moment, and he paused, trying desperately not to come. Then she moved.
Lifting her hips into his, Neeve chased away any ability to stay still that he’d possessed. Pulling back, he dragged his cock through her clasping channel to pound forward again. Her whispered words of encouragement tore through the last remnant of his restraint. He slipped a hand underneath her ass and shafted her faster and harder, and she clung to him, demanding more.
Her body strained against his as she lifted her hips to meet his, wordless cries falling from her lips. Her cunt rippled and pulsed around him as he fought his release, driving her closer to the edge. Finally, she stiffened, her climax tearing from her on a scream. The raw pleasure in her voice drew his balls up tight, and he knew he wouldn’t last much longer. Sharp streaks of need raced along his spine before pooling at the small of his back. Unable to hold back as her body milked him, he thrust several more times before he erupted inside her, filling her completely. He dropped his head to her shoulder as aftershocks rolled through his body.
Neeve smoothed her hand up and down his back while their breathing slowly returned to normal. “Promise me that you’ll love me like that for the rest of our lives?”
Her tone was teasing, but her dark eyes were serious.
“The rest of our lives and beyond. Our souls are bound together forever.”
A radiant smile curved her
lips, reaching all the way to her eyes. “I love you,” she whispered.
Happiness filled his soul. He couldn’t have asked for a more perfect mate.
Unwilling to release her for even the barest moment, he kept his arms around her while carefully pulling free of her body. Asher tugged her into shelter of his body and watched as she drifted to sleep, the shadow of a smile still on her face.
He startled awake some time later. Neeve stirred, and he immediately relaxed. She was truly there with him. It hadn’t been a dream. A sense of serenity blanketed him as she snuggled closer, and he tightened his arms around her. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to drift off, holding the woman he loved. Though Maelgwn was still in turmoil, its chancellor was finally at peace.
About the Author
Bronwyn lives in Michigan with her wonderful husband, two amazing sons and six somewhat-psychotic cats. When not tormenting her characters, she can usually be found helping with reading and writing projects in her sons’ classrooms as well as being the car pool mom extraordinaire for five teens and a couple of preteens. Besides writing, she also enjoys reading, knitting, sewing, cross stitching, pottery, drawing—basically anything that helps her avoid the tortures of cleaning and cooking.
Bronwyn loves to talk to her readers and can be found at www.bronwyngreen.com.
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Guardian's Challenge Page 11