No, he knew she was from the future. He’d know that whatever her involvement, it had been recent and likely unintentional.
“Why did you come to Picktillum?” Rourke demanded, turning to Talon.
Julia looked away, knowing he’d lie and not wanting to hear it.
“I came to find the chalice. To take it back to the man who claims he’s the rightful owner.”
“And who is that?”
“Niall Brodie, the chieftain of the Brodies of Loch Laggan.”
Julia’s gaze jerked to him in surprise. “The Brodies of Loch Laggan?”
Rourke’s gaze pinned her. “That surprises you?”
“I’m descended from the Brodies of Loch Laggan. My father was the youngest son of the laird. In my ...” Time, she finished silently, her voice dying as she remembered the other men in the room. Men who didn’t know she’d come from the future.
The viscount’s pale eyes narrowed, but his gaze turned to Talon. “How much of what you told me is the truth? About Hegarty? About Julia?”
Talon turned and met her gaze. Trying to silently warn her not to tell the others the truth, no doubt, though she saw nothing that looked like a warning in his eyes.
No, the look in his eyes didn’t feel like a warning, but a plea. A promise.
He turned to look at Rourke. “I’ll tell you want you wish to know, but I’ll have no audience but you and your viscountess. And Julia.”
Kinross looked at him long and hard. “You’ll stay on your knees or I’ll kill you.” The look in those pale, pale eyes promised he’d make good on his word.
Talon nodded.
The viscount motioned his men to the door with a sharp move of his head. “Ye’ll be leaving us.”
When the door closed behind the two men, Talon met the viscount’s pale gaze. “Little of what I told ye was the truth.” His eyes swung to Julia.
Again, she felt that promise. As if the words he meant to say were for her and her alone.
“I wear Hegarty’s ring,” he said quietly. The truth. He’d given Rourke the truth. As a gift, his eyes said. A gift for her.
A sweet warmth fluttered over her skin. Soft emotion caressed her heart and made her eyes ache as she held his gaze.
Dear God, he’d let himself be captured, she realized. He hadn’t fought them.
For her.
What if they killed him?
“You came into my house to steal from me?” Rourke asked coldly.
“Aye.”
Rourke motioned to the chalice. “How did you know where to find that thing? How did you know it was here?”
“As I said, I wear Hegarty’s ring.”
“Magic,” Brenna said softly. “Were you in the future, too?”
“Nay.”
“Then why did he give it to you?”
Talon shrugged. “I was a lad.”
Brenna nodded. “Hegarty seems to have a soft spot for children in need. I’d assumed he’d sent them all to the future.”
“The ring provided the things I needed. I’ve learned to make it help me ... find things.”
“What things?” Rourke demanded coldly.
Talon met his gaze, his mouth hardening. “Whatever I’m paid to retrieve.”
Rourke stilled, his eyes widening with understanding. “You’re the Wizard.” A small, humorless laugh escaped his throat.
“Aye.”
Silence reigned for another minute, then the viscount swung that pale gaze to her.
“How did Julia get here?”
Talon took a deep breath and let it out in a single harsh rush. “The ring called her. Apparently the amethyst has the ability to call the other stones. Why it called her to me, I’ve yet to discover. I ask the ring for something and it gives me a clue. Or a tool, which it takes away again when I’m done with it. I believe the amethyst will send her home when she’s performed whatever task it brought her here for.”
Brenna made a sound of disbelief. “I can’t believe Hegarty hasn’t come for your ring yet. He’s already taken my sapphire.”
“He’s come for it.” Talon met Julia’s gaze again. “He’s come for both of our stones.”
Julia started. “When?”
“Last night. In the inn. You were sound asleep. He couldna wake you and he couldna take the stone from you without your consent.”
“If I’d been awake ... he would have sent me home?”
Talon nodded. “Aye.” He swallowed and looked away, breaking the bond of their gazes. “He knows you dinna belong here. He’ll send you home.”
“He didn’t try to take your ring?”
His gaze swung back to her. “He tried. I kicked him out of the inn.” His face grew hard. “He’ll not take my ring.”
Brenna frowned. “So you didn’t know our connection to Hegarty when you came to Picktillum?”
“Nay,” Talon said. “The ring told me this was where I would find the chalice I’ve been sent to find. And it was.”
“Seems massively coincidental, doesn’t it?” Brenna asked.
Julia looked at her. “What do you mean?”
“Hegarty’s ring sends you to Hertford—”
“Talon.”
Brenna nodded. “Hegarty’s ring sends you to Talon, then the two of you to us. Maybe it really is just a coincidence, but it seems unlikely, doesn’t it?”
Rourke picked up the chalice and ran his thumb across the inch-long etchings around the rim. “I’ve never seen this thing before.”
“Then how did it get here?” Brenna asked.
“I dinna ken.” Kinross handed the chalice to Brenna, then pulled out a long, wicked-looking knife and turned to Talon.
Julia froze.
Brenna gasped. “Rourke.”
But while Talon watched him carefully, he didn’t seem concerned.
Rourke scowled. “I’m just going to untie him.” When he’d cut Talon’s ropes, he said, “Have a seat.”
Talon nodded once and rose. “Niall Brodie claims the chalice, the Fire Chalice of Veskin, is theirs, stolen sometime within the past twenty years. He doesn’t know when it was taken or by whom. The Brodies didn’t realize it was missing until recently and don’t know how long it’s been gone.”
“So, when you were hired to find it, your ring told you to come here?”
Talon snorted. “In a roundabout, pain-in-the-arse way. The ring does as the ring does.”
“Sounds like a Hegarty ring,” Brenna muttered.
“Can I see the chalice?” Julia asked, intensely curious about the thing now.
Brenna handed it to her. Julia expected to feel cool metal. But as her fingers came in contact with the gold, shock ripped up her hands and into her arms, an electrical current that short-circuited her brain.
Her vision went black.
And suddenly she wasn’t in the castle anymore, but a dark, firelit cave. A cave that smelled of copper and excrement and fear.
Shadows danced on walls splattered in bright red paint.
No, not paint.
Blood.
Talon lunged for Julia, grabbing her before she fell. As he swept her into his arms, the chalice fell from her fingers to land with a thud on the tapestry that adorned the floor.
“Julia.”
Her lashes fluttered up, her eyes dark against a face as pale as death. Eyes filled with horror. But she was alive and he could breathe again.
“What happened?” she asked, her gaze catching his and clinging.
“’ Tis what we all wish to know,” Rourke said.
Talon felt a shudder go through her. “Easy, lass. You’re safe.” He lowered himself to the sofa, holding her tight against his chest.
Julia hooked her arm around his neck, making no move to leave him. “I saw something. A cave. Blood.”
“Do you get visions like this often?” Brenna asked.
“No. Never.” She was shaking even as perspiration dampened her brow.
“Do you think it was the chalice?” Brenna aske
d. “Or the necklace? Or maybe the combination of the two? We are dealing with Hegarty’s magic, after all.”
Julia sat up straighter, her fingers going to the jewel at her throat as she looked at Brenna. “Do you think if I take it off, I won’t see the blood?”
Brenna shrugged. “I have no idea. I was just wondering out loud.”
Julia’s fingers closed around the small stone—the thing that had sent her through time and would send her home again. Her thumb brushed over the smooth surface. Taking a deep breath, she pulled it off over her head.
Talon held out his hand, wondering if she would trust him with it this time. Without hesitation, she dropped it into his palm, then made a move as if to rise off his lap to retrieve the chalice.
He held her fast, unwilling to let her go.
As if reading his mind, Brenna picked up the chalice and handed it to him.
Julia reached for it, then stilled, her arm tightening around his neck as if afraid to touch it again.
“You don’t have to do this,” he told her softly.
She glanced at him, meeting his gaze with troubled eyes. “I need to know.” With another deep breath, she reached for the chalice. The moment her fingers touched the gold, she jerked, then froze. Her eyes started to roll back into her head.
Talon yanked the cursed cup out of her hands and dropped it to the floor, gathering her tight against him. Her head fell to his shoulder, but she groaned, telling him she remained conscious.
“Julia?” he asked worriedly.
“I saw ... the cave again, only . . .”
When she didn’t immediately reply, Talon gently ran his fingers into her hair, pushing it back from her face. “What, lass? Only ... what?”
“It was different. Daylight instead of firelight.”
“No blood this time?”
She shuddered and he pulled her closer. “Lots of blood, the same as before. But something else this time. A foot. Just ... a severed, bloody foot. A girl’s, I think.”
“Perhaps some kind of animal got to her.” Talon pressed her head to his shoulder and stroked it gently as her body began to tremble violently.
“Did anyone else see it?” Julia asked softly.
“Nay. Only you. You’ve a gift, lass. Mayhap the chalice is the conduit.”
“More Hegarty magic,” Brenna muttered.
“A gift?” Julia snorted. “Where can I return it?”
Talon rubbed his chin over hair. “Perhaps you’re seeing the future. Or the past.”
Julia made a sound of dismay. “Do you think this is why the ring called me? Because I’m supposed to see something in the chalice?”
“I canna say. But you needn’t touch it again if ye dinna wish to.”
She shuddered. “I don’t. Ever.”
“I’m with you,” Brenna said softly. “Do we really need this thing, Rourke?”
“Nay.” The viscount shook his head. “Take it with you when you go, Wizard. I dinna ken why that thing is in my home, but I want it gone. If the Brodie wants it, the Brodie can have it.”
Talon nodded. Finally, he had what he wanted. What he’d come for. Yet he felt no satisfaction. No elation.
It was time to go. Time to take the chalice and leave Julia behind. Hegarty would see her safely home. He believed that.
But his hands refused to loosen their grip on the woman in his arms. He met Rourke’s gaze. “May I remain until first light?” He stroked Julia’s hair. “Until I’m certain she’s recovered?”
Rourke studied him for a moment, then nodded.
Talon rested his chin lightly on the top of her head, feeling as if his chest would cave. How was he to leave her behind?
“You’ll see that Hegarty sends her home?”
Rourke nodded. “We will.” His gaze swung to Brenna. “We’ll go to Old Inghinn on the morrow.”
Brenna’s face fell, but she gave a nod that quickly dissolved into a yawn. “I’d love to stay up and chat, but I’m nearly asleep on my feet. Julia, do you want me to stay with you tonight? Or ...” She met Talon’s gaze.
Talon’s grip on Julia tightened.
Julia raised her head. “I’m feeling better. I’ll be fine, Brenna. Thanks.” But as she started to rise from his lap, Talon caught her tight against him and rose. “I’ll carry ye back to your chamber, lass.”
“You don’t have to do that.” But she hooked her arm around his neck and held on.
“Aye, I do.”
Rourke picked up the chalice. “I’ll put this somewhere safe tonight and give it to you in the morning.”
Talon nodded his thanks. He didn’t want the thing anywhere near Julia, but he refused to release her to take it. Not until he had to.
As Talon carried Julia back to her chamber, he felt her fingers in his hair, the sweet touch stealing a measure of the chill that had come over him when she’d walked into the solar to find him on his knees.
The press of her soft lips to his temple dispelled the rest of the cold. “Thank you for telling them the truth. It meant a lot to me that you did that.”
“Aye. ’Tis the reason I did.”
He felt her smile, and felt her head brush his own. “I know.”
When they reached her door, she lifted her head and met his gaze. “Come in with me.” Her eyes glowed with a softness that wove through his heart and a heat that had the blood pumping hard through his veins.
Her cool fingers trailed down his cheek. “If this is our last night together, I want ...” She looked away, a shyness stealing over her features. Finding her courage, she again met his gaze. “I want you to teach me what it can be like. I want ...”
She pressed her cheek to his and whispered in his ear. “I want you to make love to me. Stay with me, Talon.”
As his body caught fire, he squeezed her close to his chest, wondering how he was ever going to live without her.
FIFTEEN
Julia clung tightly to Talon’s neck as he carried her into her room. All her life she’d told herself she didn’t need anyone. All her life she’d lied.
Sadness swept over her as she pressed her head against his, filling her lungs with his scent, a scent that had become increasingly familiar. Increasingly dear.
How was she going to stand it, knowing she’d never see him again? Knowing that the moment she returned to her own time, he’d be long dead?
Her arms tightened around his neck. In the morning he’d leave and she’d stay, waiting for Hegarty to come and send her home.
She’d never see Talon again.
Talon pushed the door closed with his shoulder, then strode with her to the bed. She looked up at him in the dim glow of the hearth embers. A shiver tore through her at the thought of giving herself to him totally. Was she sure she wanted to do this? The thing was, she knew he wanted to. And the thought of giving him this ultimate gift—her body and her trust—filled her with a sweet pleasure all its own.
A gift. To the man who’d shown her caring and friendship, loyalty and tenderness, when no one else ever had.
A gift. To the man she’d come to care for beyond anything that was wise.
She’d never thought of sex as a gift. There had never been anyone she’d wanted to give herself to. It didn’t matter that she wouldn’t enjoy the act itself. Holding him in her arms as he found pleasure and release in her body was enough.
Talon laid her gently on the bed, then turned away.
“Talon ...” Was he leaving? Hadn’t he understood? But as she sat up, she realized he was only going to the hearth to put on another log.
He tossed the wood on the embers, sending sparks leaping and flying, then rose and returned to her, his walk strong and sure, his face in shadow. But when he reached the bed, he didn’t take her into his arms. He didn’t try to undress her ... or himself. Instead, he sat on the edge of the bed, facing her, his thigh brushing hers.
When he lifted his hand it was only to trail his knuckles softly down her cheek. “You’re so beautiful, Julia-lass. I
don’t ever want to forget you.”
She reached up and took his hand, then pulled it to her mouth and kissed his knuckles. Her heart began to flutter in her chest like a trapped bird. She was as inexperienced at seduction as a virgin.
“Make love to me, Talon.” She couldn’t quite force herself to meet his gaze, but she felt him watching her intently.
He made no move to comply, and she was suddenly afraid he didn’t want her after all. With his free hand, he slid his fingers into her hair, cradling her head.
“Look at me, Julia.” When she forced herself to, his gaze bore into hers as if he were trying to delve into her mind. “Why, lass? Why do ye want me?”
She watched him uncertainly. “You don’t want me?”
“Aye, I do. More than anything. But what do you want?”
Her gaze fell to his chest. “I want ... to hold you. While you find pleasure.”
His thumb traced soft circles on her cheek. “And what of your pleasure?”
“I’ll find mine, too,” she added hastily, suddenly remembering all the talk in movies and magazines about women faking orgasms to spare their partner’s pride. Could she do that? Fake an orgasm? Probably. She’d seen When Harry Met Sally three times.
The problem was, Talon had made her come for real last night in the inn and she’d been so out of control, she didn’t have any idea what sounds she’d made, or how she’d acted. She had no way of knowing how to duplicate that.
Would he know the difference? Could guys tell these things?
Talon continued to stroke her cheek, watching her as if reading her thoughts. If he didn’t make a move soon, she was going to lose her nerve. Shoving through deep layers of inhibitions, she reached down between his legs and slid her fingers along the thick ridge of him. The thick, huge ridge of him.
Talon sucked in a hard breath.
Julia’s hand recoiled at the thought of that thickness pressing painfully inside her.
“Lass, ye needn’t ...”
“I want to.”
“Julia.” He framed her face, looking deeply into her eyes. “I think ye do. But I think ye don’t.” His thumbs stroked her cheeks. “Ye can stop it at any time, aye? Tell me to stop and I will.”
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