“We’ll speak later,” she returned. “You’ve gone too far this time. Lir may be a shifter, but he’s as much a man as you are—if not more—and it’s time you realize it.”
Beside her she felt Lir stiffen with surprise.
“As you say.” Devlin turned back to Lir. “That apology was freely given, by the way, not because it was forced out of me. I won’t say I was wrong about you distracting her, but I can see you’re more to her than just a pet.”
A look passed between the two men and then Lir gave a terse nod.
“I’d wish you peace,” Devlin added, “but I suspect you’re staying.”
“Am I?” was the enigmatic reply.
Devlin inclined his head to Isleen. “The ritual begins soon. We’ll be waiting to escort you.” He jerked his head at his two warriors and strode to the end of the dock.
Only her bodyguard Owen remained behind. “My lady?” Owen was a beautiful, golden-haired young man, but she hadn’t chosen him simply for that reason. He was also hard-working and conscientious. “Should I stay?”
She clenched her teeth and reminded herself that Owen was just doing his job. “Go,” she ordered. “I’m safe with Lir.” She glanced at the shapeshifter. “That much I know.”
She waited until Owen had joined Devlin and the two warriors before turning to Lir. “I’m sorry about that. My cousin forgot himself.”
He nodded, his jaw tight. “He’s only saying what most fae think. What you think, Isleen.”
“That’s not true.”
“No? You never thought of me as your equal. I was a pet, like Devlin said.”
“Not a pet, Lir. Never a pet.” She dragged a hand over her hair. “Maybe I didn’t treat you as good as I should have, but it wasn’t just because you’re a púca. It’s because you were so damn young. I’m four hundred years older than you, damn it—I felt like a bloody cradle robber.”
He blinked. “You thought I was too young for you?”
“Yes. You were just starting your life. Look what you’ve done without me. If you’d stayed, you’d never have been anything but my bodyguard.”
He shook his head slowly. “Maybe, but I didn’t leave just because of Devlin, or even to prove myself to you. I left because I told you I loved you—and you laughed in my face.”
“Because you didn’t love me, Lir.” He started to argue and she held up a hand. “I know you meant it when you said it, but you were a kid. I was your first love. I couldn’t let myself love you back. Because you’d grow up, and find someone else, and then where would I be?”
“Then why try to keep me when I came to say I was leaving?” He had her by the shoulders now. “You amped up that goddamn glamour of yours like I was just another fish in your net.”
She looked away. She wasn’t proud of what she’d done. But she was a fae, and used to getting what she wanted. When it came down to it, she’d been willing to keep him with her by any means necessary.
“Isleen?” He gave her a little shake. “Talk to me.”
“Damn you, Lir.” She swallowed convulsively. “Just go already. Go now, or I swear on everything holy that I will ensnare you with my glamour. And this time, you won’t—”
He shut her up by jerking her close. His mouth descended on hers in a hard kiss.
She didn’t even try to fight. Instead, she melted against him and kissed him back with all the wanting in her heart. She felt when he softened. The kiss changed, became so tender that her heart turned over.
He lifted his head but kept his mouth against hers. “I see you,” he said softly. “I’ll always see you. Just you.”
“Damn you, Lir.” Her eyes were stinging. She blinked. She never cried.
He pulled back enough so he could look her in the face and cocked a brow at her. Waiting.
“Please stay.” She drew a ragged breath. “I love you, all right? If you want me to beg, I will. Only please don’t go. Or if you have to leave, promise you’ll come back. We can work something out, only don’t go. Not again. I—”
“Tears, Isleen?” He pressed a kiss to first one of her eyes, then the other. “For me?” His tone was wondering.
“Go to Hades.” She tried to jerk away, but he simply wrapped her in his long arms.
“Oh, no, love. You’re not getting away from me now.” He rocked his hips against hers. “You’re mine, Isleen. Say it.”
“Did you mean it?” she said against his chest. “That you’d die for me?”
“Did you mean that I’m as much a man as Devlin—or any fae?” he countered.
“Yes, of course. I’m only sorry it took me so long to see it.”
“Then give me the words. Say it.”
“I’m yours, Lir.” She gave him a hard hug. “I love you—and I’ve never said that to any man, púca or no púca. Please stay.”
“Always. I love you, Isleen.” He nuzzled her cheek until she looked up again, and then he gazed down at her intently as if still waiting for something.
That’s when she realized the icy ball in the pit of her stomach was gone. In its place was something that felt like a piece of the summer sun. The heat spread from her center outward and settled in her heart.
Her eyes widened. Goddess, she was a fool. “You…we’re…mates.”
“We are.” He gazed down at her unsmiling, but way back in his eyes, she saw gold sparkles.
“But why didn’t you tell me?”
“I couldn’t.”
“You couldn’t?”
He moved a shoulder. “I’m a púca. It’s too easy for us to trick someone into mating with us, so the gods made it that the mate has to come to it on their own. Otherwise the bond is never complete.”
“But that’s”—she shook her head—“I’ve never heard a word about it.”
“It’s our greatest secret—and curse. A geas. We can’t tell anyone, even if we want to. You’ll be bound by the same prohibition.”
He wasn’t smiling, but his eyes were so warm with love she felt awed, and a little humbled. They moved at the same time, their mouths meeting in the middle. It was more than a kiss, it was a promise—of love, of commitment, of a bond that would last until death and even beyond.
“It’s time, Isleen,” Devlin called.
She reluctantly pulled away from Lir to see that a dozen of the clan’s most prominent members had joined Devlin at the end of the dock, their expressions ranging from disapproval to astonishment.
She lifted her chin. They’d damn well accept the mating, and be happy for her.
“That’s my woman,” Lir said in low voice.
“Coming,” she called back to Devlin. She turned to Lir and held out her hand. “Join us, love?”
There was a murmur from the waiting sun fae. There was only one reason she’d invite an outsider to the ritual.
Lir lifted a brow. “I thought only your people are allowed to attend.”
“Only my people—and their mates.”
“Then I’d be honored,” he said gravely. “If you’ll just give me a minute—”
She waited as he returned to the boat and put on the silky blue shirt from last night before rejoining her on the dock. “My lady.” He held out his hand, that grave expression still on his face.
She inclined her head, equally serious, as she took the proffered hand. This wasn’t going to be easy. They’d have to work out where they’d live and how to juggle her responsibilities and his. But she’d do anything to make Lir happy, and she knew through the bond that he felt the same.
And then Lir smiled. A smile that started in his eyes and spread across his whole face.
Her heart skipped a beat. She stared up at him, arrested, and then her own lips curved.
“Let’s go, then.” She linked her fingers through his, and they walked down the dock. The waiting sun fae parted to let them through, and together, she and her mate led the way up the hill to where the rest of the clan was gathering at the ritual circle.
Above them the clouds loomed,
heavy and gray. It was going to rain again, but she couldn’t stop smiling. Because it was Yule, and sunrise was just around the corner.
The End
* * *
A Note from the Author
To the Reader:
Can’t get enough of those sexy fada shapeshifters? If you’d like the series to continue, please consider leaving a review at the e-store where you purchased this story. Reviews are more important than ever to authors. They help us improve our craft and guide other readers to our books.
Other books in the Fada Shapeshifter Series
SEDUCING THE SUN FAE: A Fada Novel, Book 1
*2016 EPIC eBook Awards Finalist for Best Fantasy/Paranormal Romance*
A Dark Shifter Alpha…
Dion, alpha of a clan of river shapeshifters, has had enough. The sun fae queen has seduced many of his best warriors, leaving them fit for little but fishing and drinking wine, and draining life-energy from all his clan in the process. Then comes the final straw—she works her wiles on his youngest brother. It’s time to turn the tables on the shallow, pleasure-loving queen.
A Jaded Fae Queen…
Cleia is a two-hundred-year-old fae whose powerful glamour gets her any man she wants. But she’s bored. She wants something more—and all she knows is that the river fada men have it. So when she meets the big, untamed river fada, she decides she’s going to have him.
She all but orders him to her bed.
That’s just what Dion is counting on…
Amazon
CLAIMING VALERIA: A Fada Novel, Book 2
He wants a second chance…
Rui do Mar has everything he’s ever wanted. He's the Rock Run clan's second and he’s found his mate, the sexy Portuguese shifter Valeria. But it all falls apart when he assassinates an innocent man, leaving the man’s young daughter an orphan. Sick at heart, he brings the girl home to Valeria and then leaves--for an entire year.
But can she trust him with her heart?
It was the hardest thing she's ever done, but Valeria has forged a new life for herself and her adopted daughter. She's even found a new man. Then Rock Run’s alpha is kidnapped by the sun fae and Rui steps in to reclaim his position as second. Now he’s determined to win back Valeria as well.
A dark secret threatens them all…
But Valeria's new man is hiding a dark Gift. Soon she and Rui are in a fight for not just their love but their lives, and that of the little girl they’ve both come to adore.
Amazon
TEMPTING THE DRYAD: A Fada Novel, Book 3
His dark Gift...
Rock Run warrior Tiago do Rio is hiding a dark Gift, one so powerful and easily misused it could make him a pariah in his own clan. Worse, he lusts after the beautiful sun fae queen—his own brother's mate. The temptation to use his Gift to make his darkest fantasies come true is almost irresistible. The only good thing in his life is his friendship with the dryad Alesia.
Her shifter mate...
Wild, solitary fae Alesia lives on an uninhabited island in Rock Run territory. Her Gift is to make things grow. She spends her days tending to her woodland home, but her nights are lonely—until she meets the sexy Latino shifter. Now she and Tiago are best friends, but she longs for more.
A clan’s fate at stake...
Then just as the two realize they may be mates, a den of rogue shifters threatens to bring war down on the Rock Run clan—and Tiago and Alesia are caught in the middle. Can Tiago master his terrifying Gift in time? Or will he lose his mate as well as his soul?
Amazon
Coming soon: Books 4, 5 and 6, featuring Adric and the Baltimore Earth Fada.
And look for a novella in the Fada Shapeshifter world!
* * *
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—Rebecca Rivard
Copyright
Lir’s Lady: A Fada Shapeshifter Story
The Fada Shapeshifter Series
Copyright ©2016 by Rebecca Rivard
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.
Cover art and design by Laura Gordon/The Book Cover Machine
All rights reserved.
The uploading, scanning, and distribution of this book in any form or by any means—including but not limited to electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of the copyright holder is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized editions of this work, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
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