Romancing the Guardians Series: Part One (Romancing the Guardians Box Set Book 1)

by Lyn Horner

  “You okay?” he asked, brushing damp strands of hair from her cheek.

  All she could do was nod.

  “Good. I wondered for a minute there if you’d fainted.”

  “I-I’m sorry. It’s been such a long time that I … couldn’t wait.” She avoided his eyes, feeling embarrassed and guilty.

  “Nothing to be sorry for, sweetheart. You needed to find out you’re still a woman with a woman’s needs. I’m mighty glad you let me help you prove that to yourself.”

  “But you … you didn’t … you know,” she forced out, speaking to his chest.

  “The night’s not over, honey.”

  She looked up, seeing his long, surprisingly soft lips crook into a smile, and she smiled in return. “No, it’s not.” Rising onto her elbows, she slithered farther up his sweat-slick body and traced those sexy lips with her tongue.

  His response was immediate. Fusing their mouths together, he flipped her onto her back and proceeded to awaken her desire again. He took only seconds to shed his pants and get rid of hers. Then his hands, body and hungry kisses drove her mad with fresh longing.

  “I want you inside me! Please, Conn!”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he mouthed against her throat. He nudged her legs apart with one knee and started to move over her. Then he stopped, a sudden frustrated expression sweeping across his face. “Hold on! I need to grab a condom from my wallet. Don’t move,” he ordered, jumping off the bed.

  Every bit as frustrated as him, Lara closed her eyes and squeezed her legs together, trying to contain the throbbing need he’d created. She heard him mutter impatiently as he wrestled with his discarded jeans, searching and finding what he sought. Then the bed creaked beneath his weight as he settled beside her once more. She opened her eyes to watch him tear open a small foil packet with his teeth and unfurl its contents down his stiff penis.

  Locking his gaze with hers, he shifted to lie between her legs. She caught her breath and shuttered her eyes in anticipation when his blunt staff butted against her eager flesh. Leaning on one elbow, he reached between them to position himself at her opening. Her passage had tightened with the long drought, and he was big. Even though wet and ready for him, it stung as he pushed into her. Hearing her catch her breath, he paused, half in, half out.

  “Am I hurting you?”

  “N-no, not really. It’s just been such a long time,” she repeated.

  “You want me to stop?” he asked in a strained voice.

  “No! Don’t stop.”

  “All right then. Hold onto me.”

  She gripped his shoulders as he buried himself to the root inside her. He paused for a moment, breath whistling through his teeth, giving her a chance to adjust to the feel of him. Her own breath came in short, shallow gusts, but the stinging pain had abated. Loosening her hold on him, she ran her hands down his back and smiled into his slitted gray eyes.

  “I’m okay, truly.”

  “Good, because I have to move,” he rasped, slowly withdrawing then gliding back into her, making her catch her breath again, for an entirely different reason. “Lord, you’re so hot and … tight. You feel amazing.”

  “So do … you.”

  He gradually quickened the pace of his thrusts, tantalizing her with ever increasing jolts of pleasure. Bucking under him, thrashing her head from side to side, she dug her fingers into his flexing buttocks. “Can’t stand … much more! Finish it!”

  Growling deep in his chest, he lifted her hips and pistoned in and out like a madman, touching the very core of her, driving her up, up, up and over the edge. She screamed, shattering in a starburst of sensory overload, accompanied by his roar of ecstasy.

  Some while later, Lara lay curled around Conn, with her head on his shoulder, one leg bent across his, with his arms surrounding her. She reveled in the feel of his powerful body, the comforting beat of his heart and the warm male scent of him. He was a man through and through, as irresistible to a woman as a magnet to iron.

  While in the throws of passion, she hadn’t spared a thought to the past or to why he wanted her. All that mattered then was satisfying the bonfire of need he’d ignited within her. But now … .

  “Conn, I … I have to know why.”

  “Why what, darlin’?” he asked drowsily.

  “Why you want me, scarred and crippled as I am.” She felt him tense and feared she’d angered him again, but then he cupped her chin and tilted her face up, forcing her to meet his gray eyes. She read caring and a hint of sadness in their depths.

  “I don’t see you that way. I see you as a beautiful, sexy woman.” He feathered her scarred cheek with one finger, then reached down and gently ran his hand along her injured leg. “You have a few battle scars. You limp and walk with a cane. So what? It’s what’s in here that counts.” He laid his hand over her heart.

  Tears flooded her eyes and her lips trembled. She couldn’t find words; not that she could have spoken past the lump in her throat. It didn’t matter, though, because his mouth claimed hers, chasing away rational thought, leading her back into the world of pure sensation toward the pinnacle of delight.

  *

  The next two days were peaceful. Although Lara feared Bigfoot, or whatever the creature was, might return, she saw no sign of it. Neither did Conn during his frequent patrols around the lodge and forays into the surrounding woods.

  Still, she remained on edge, feeling completely safe only in her stalwart lover’s arms at night. When he slipped out of bed to walk the property in the dark, just as he had done back in County Kerry, she invariably awoke, urging him to be careful. Reassuring her with a promise and a kiss, he’d go, leaving her stiff with fear for him until he returned, chilled from the night air. Only then, with his arms around her, his body warming and his lips inflaming her, could she relax. His lovemaking made her forget her fears, if only for a few precious hours.

  During the day, she worried constantly about the Scroll of Danu she guarded. The realization that it could be lost forever if she were killed had struck like a thunderbolt while she huddled in terror, hiding from the ape creature, and it continued to plague her. More and more, she longed to confide in Conn and let him share her burden, with a promise to keep the scroll safe if something happened to her. But the oath of secrecy she’d sworn before the Council of Guardians forestalled her.

  Uncle Malcolm had informed her of one exception to the oath. A guardian was free to reveal the scrolls’ existence to his or her true mate. Might Conn be hers? She loved him, Lara admitted, but did he love her? He’d promised to always come back to her. Did he really mean that as in forever? How was she to know?

  On the third morning after the creature’s appearance, Lara called Dev Medina. She’d contacted him once already, just before she and Conn left Shreveport. He’d had no progress to report in his efforts to decipher Uncle Malcolm’s codebook, but she hoped for better news now. He answered on the third ring of his cell phone.

  “Yeah?” he said sharply.

  “H-hello, Dev. It’s Lara.”

  Silence hung in the air for a moment. Then she heard him sigh. “Hi, Lara. Sorry for snapping at you.”

  “That’s all right. I … I take it you haven’t succeeded in breaking the code yet,” she said downheartedly.

  He laughed, surprising her. “Actually, I’m getting close. That’s why I was so short when I answered. You caught me in the middle of working out the letter sequence.”

  “Oh! That’s wonderful!” Excitement made her heart thump. She wanted to reach across the distance and hug him. “I’m sorry for interrupting you.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I was hoping you’d call soon so I could tell you I’ll have the book decoded soon.”

  “Dev, I’m forever grateful to you for doing this.” Looking up, she smiled ecstatically as Conn walked in the front door, returning from his latest tour of the grounds. “Dev,” she mouthed silently, pointing to the phone she held as he ambled across the great room to the chair where she sat.
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  “Always glad to help out a pretty lady, Ms. Lara,” drawled the deep voice in her ear. “Give me another day or two and I should be done.”

  “Great! I’ll call you in two days then, okay?” He agreed, they said goodbye and disconnected. Excited to share the good news, Lara jumped to her feet and threw her arms around Conn’s neck. “Dev has almost broken the code.”

  Pressing her close, he laughed and kissed her forehead. “That’s terrific, and you’re getting mighty quick on your feet, honey.”

  She giggled in pure joy. “Better watch out, handsome, or I’ll outrun you.”

  “Un-uh, not gonna let you get away.” Clamping his hands on her bottom, he lifted her off her feet and kissed her thoroughly. Then he transferred his mouth to her throat, saying between kisses, “I’ve got an idea. How about we celebrate by packing a lunch and taking that big ole pontoon out on the lake?” He nipped her ear lightly, shooting sparks of pleasure down her spine, making her hum with delight. “We can find a quiet cove and drift while we eat. Then I’ll nibble you all over for dessert.”

  “That sounds delightful,” she said in a throaty whisper.

  *

  After a couple hours of slow cruising on the lake, investigating several possibilities, Conn found the secluded spot he’d promised. Widening off of a narrow inlet, surrounded by cypress trees and moss, the little bay offered privacy from all but the most inquisitive boaters. Since this was a week day in the off season, he figured they’d be safe from prying eyes and turned off the pontoon’s engine.

  They said little as they ate, too aware of each other to require words. He watched Lara take ladylike bites of her sandwich while he devoured his, hardly tasting the slices of turkey and ham. It was a warm autumn day and he sweated with the humidity, but even more with need of his woman. She was his and he intended to keep her, by God! Because he wasn’t sure he could live without her now, after the past mind-blowing nights in her bed. No other woman had left him breathless the way she did, and he knew in his soul that none ever would.

  It wasn’t just the sex, though. He admired Lara’s courage and determination to protect the family treasure she remained so tight-lipped about, a thorn in his side, he admitted. Even so, he gave her credit for keeping her word to her uncle. She was the kind of woman a man could trust with his deepest secrets. Noticing the tense set of her lips and the fine line between her brows, he frowned.

  “Is something bothering you, Lara?”

  She looked up wearing a startled expression. After staring at him for a moment, she set aside her unfinished sandwich, took a deep breath and said, “Yes, as a matter of fact, I’ve been struggling over a matter that involves you, Conn.”

  “What matter is that?” He lifted his brows expectantly.

  “I … I’ve decided to tell you about the … heirloom I’m pledged to guard.”

  That was the last thing he expected to hear. Had she somehow read his thoughts a minute ago? “Yeah? Why now?”

  “Because I fear what will happen to the object if I should be killed.”

  Her blunt reply shocked him. “No one’s gonna kill you. Not while I’m alive.”

  She smiled, gaze softening. “I know you mean that, but sometimes things happen that are beyond our control, which is why I need you to know the truth. But first, you must swear not to reveal what I tell you to anyone. Will you do that?”

  Seeing she was deadly serious, he nodded solemnly. “I give you my word your secret’s safe with me,” he vowed, reminded of the day he’d sworn to protect his country.

  “Thank you. Where should I begin?” She touched the Celtic pendant at her throat as she often did when thinking, and shrugged. “At the beginning, I suppose.” Settling herself more comfortably against one of the pontoon’s bench seats, she asked, “Have you ever heard of the Tuatha Dé Danann?”

  “Not that I recall.” Conn leaned back against the opposite seat and crossed his arms.

  “In Irish legend they’re a race of gods, or demi-gods, descended from the goddess Danu. They wielded magic and are said to have arrived in Ireland from the west in a great cloud. They defeated the Firbolg and Fomorians, prehistoric people of Ireland, but were later conquered by Milesians from the Iberian Peninsula. Where Spain and Portugal are today, that is. Driven to the underworld, they came to be called the Aes Sidhe, meaning People of the Mounds, for they live in fairy mounds and are invisible to mortals. However, in a battle against evil, they will fight beside mankind, wielding lances of blue flame and carrying snow-white shields.”

  “Good story,” Conn said, “but what’s it got to do with you and whatever you’re protecting?”

  She smiled. “Quite a bit, actually. You see, the Tuatha Dé Danann weren’t merely mythical beings. They were real and they’re my ancestors.”

  He pursed his lips, eyeing her skeptically. “I’m not doubting your word, but how can you possibly know that?”

  “I know it because of a set of scrolls that have been handed down through the millennia. They’re called the Scrolls of Danu.”

  “After that goddess you mentioned.”

  “Yes. They contain prophesies recorded by the last great oracle of the Tuatha Dé. There are seven of them.”

  He saw where this was leading. “Seven is the number of people in the secret society your uncle headed up. That you head up now.”

  Nodding, she drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. “We are the Guardians of the Word of Danu. Each of us safeguards one precious scroll. Because Uncle Malcolm chose me to be his successor as High Guardian, I hold the final, ruling scroll.” She sighed heavily. “But I’m not qualified for the job.”

  “Your uncle must have thought you were,” Conn said, smiling encouragement.

  She frowned and shook her head. “You don’t understand. A chosen apprentice must serve under the current High Guardian for years, learning the history and language of our race, and the duties he or she will be required to carry out. Uncle Malcolm taught me the language of the ancients and how their knowledge came to us, part of it at least, but before he could teach me the ceremonies and how to contact the other Guardians, an evil one raised his head, the leader of the Hellhounds.” Lara rubbed her arms as if chilled by the thought of her enemy.

  “Somehow, this monster learned my uncle’s identity,” she continued. “Wanting the scrolls for his own vile purposes, he sent messages threatening to kill Malcolm if he didn’t turn over the ruling scroll and reveal the whereabouts of the others.”

  “Your uncle obviously refused.”

  “Of course. Malcolm would never break his vows and give in to such evil. He possessed great power, of a kind I can’t imagine wielding, and believed he could defeat anyone the Hounds sent against him. He didn’t anticipate their cunning, vicious tactics.”

  “It didn’t occur to him they would tamper with his car, causing the wreck.”

  “No.” She stared into the distance. When she spoke again, her voice was raw with emotion. “He believed we had plenty of time left together. So did I.” Laying her head on her knees, she let out a grief-stricken sob.

  Conn rose and crossed the small space between them. Going down on one knee, he pulled her into his arms, absorbing her tearful tremors. “Hey, none of that. We’re supposed to be celebrating the news from Dev. We’ll figure out the rest as we go. You’re not alone anymore, sweetheart.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  His words were the sweetest Lara had ever heard. Sorrow turned to joy. Flinging her arms around his neck, she kissed him soundly. He crushed her to him and fervently returned her kiss. Desire coiled hot and urgent in the pit of her stomach. She yanked his black t-shirt free from his pants and slipped her hands under the fabric, eager to touch his warm, taut skin.

  Conn broke the kiss. “Give me a minute,” he said, easing away, leaving her panting while he grabbed the blanket they’d brought with them, shook it out and spread it on the deck. Then he pulled off his shirt and tossed it aside.

  “Come
here,” he said gruffly, kneeling on their makeshift bed. Without a word, Lara joined him there, splaying her hands across his abdomen and sliding them upward, palms tingling from the feel of his springy chest hair. He growled and caught her wrists, bringing her arms up to twine around his neck. Gray eyes flaring like liquid silver, he pressed her close, bent his head and sealed her parted lips with a long, drugging kiss, then began to undress her. Within moments they lay naked together under the dappled sunlight. Leaning on one elbow, Conn glided his hand along her trembling body.

  “You’re perfect, every inch of you,” he whispered, making her heart sing. Then his fingers probed the slick folds between her legs.

  “Conn!” she gasped. Needing him inside her, she reached for him, seeking to draw him close, but he resisted.

  “Not yet, sweetheart. I promised to nibble you all over, remember?”

  “Yes, but I don’t –”

  He cut her off by drawing an eager nipple into his mouth, wringing a cry of delight from her throat. “You don’t what, honey?”

  “I-I don’t … want to wait.” She squirmed beneath him as he slid his mouth to her other breast.

  “Sorry, but you’ll have to.”

  He stopped talking then, keeping his promise with tongue and teeth, ignoring her grasping hands and frantic pleas to take her. Now! Reaching the curls surrounding her cleft, he shifted to lie between her legs, slid his hands under her hips and lifted. She shrieked when he parted her folds and licked her. Fingers tangling in his hair, she gasped and jerked with every intimate stroke, craving fulfillment, yet wanting the excruciating pleasure to go on forever.

  He flicked his tongue at her center of desire again and again until she exploded and screamed. “That’s my girl,” he murmured, kissing her lovingly.

  She went limp, hands falling to her sides, eyes closed and lungs working in double time. Vaguely aware of Conn moving away, she heard the familiar sound of a foil packet being torn open; then he returned to gently caress her.

  He positioned himself over her and glided into her. Moaning, she opened her eyes, locking her gaze with his as he pulled out most of the way then drove into her again. He increased the speed and force of his thrusts gradually, rousing her passion again, grinding his teeth as he struggled to wait for her. Loving him for caring so much about her, Lara pushed herself against him, rotated her hips and convulsed with a choked cry.