The Magic Knot

by Helen Scott Taylor

  Relief surged through Rose, brought her to her feet. Guilt tinged her pleasure as Michael backed away with a reluctant smile. “Lost me chance. Ah, well. Places to go, people to see.” He ambled across the room and pressed his half-full glass against Niall’s chest. “Tank up, boyo, and enjoy.”

  Michael left, closing the door. Niall stood stiffly, his camouflage pants and flight jacket out of place in the de cadent splendor of the room. His usual mask of indifference slipped. Doubt creased his brow. Confusion flickered in his eyes.

  Rose didn’t know what to say. She wanted to be angry with him for walking away, but the emotion wouldn’t come. Uncertainty crept up as her initial relief faded. Did Niall really want her, or had she forced him into this relationship by touching his Magic Knot? Finally he roused himself and prowled across the room toward her.

  Rose’s skin hummed, ready, waiting for his touch.

  He halted a few feet before her, downed the rest of Michael’s whiskey, and tossed the glass aside to land with a muffled crack on the thick carpet.

  She shifted awkwardly, aware of her ripped dress, muddy shoes, and smudged makeup. She had no illusions that she was pretty, while even scruffy and scratched, Niall was beautiful. She’d forced him into this. Many times he’d made it clear that he wasn’t interested. He’d walked away, for God’s sake. Troy had fetched him back. Rose curled her fingers around the bedpost as heat flooded her face. “Don’t feel you have to do this,” she choked out.

  Surprise flashed in his eyes. “Use your senses, lass.”

  He reached out, pulled her toward him, and pressed his mouth to hers. The hot demand of his need flared in her mind, consuming all doubt. The cool demand of his night-chilled lips opened her mouth to the taste of whiskey, blended with the delicious flavor of man.

  Cupping the back of her head, he released her lips. With a sigh he laid his forehead against hers. “Forgive me?”

  Compassion, desire, and emotions Rose had never felt before surged up, making her tremble. Every cell in her body screamed to touch him. She put her arms around his neck, pressing against the rigid strength of him.

  Trapped between them, her Magic Knot throbbed in time with her heart, echoing her desire. She wanted to complete their bond and prove she trusted him, so he’d let himself trust her. Easing back, she pulled the chain bearing her stones from inside her dress.

  He looked down as she cradled the three stone rings, his eyes intense blue slits between thick, dark lashes. “You don’t have to go doing this now, Rose.”

  “I want to.” Reaching behind her neck, she released the chain, then dropped into his hand the stones that held the essence of her mind, body, and spirit. The thread of connection between them pulled at her heart, taut and quivering. Every cell in her body reoriented itself.

  Niall slipped her chain around his neck and fastened it.

  She was no longer alone.

  Rose closed her eyes, leaned her head against his chest, and let go. Her consciousness flowed into him. They were one, somewhere—everywhere. She’d expected boundaries. Niall’s borders. Her own. But there were none. The sense of boundlessness stole her breath.

  Niall stroked her hair. “You can’t take this back. I’ll be with you always.”

  She sensed his presence inside her, a core of masculine strength. For the first time since she’d embarked on her quest, she really believed she could save the piskies, because she didn’t have to do it alone. She remembered the first tarot card she’d drawn for Niall and sensed the balance of his nature. “You are Justice,” she murmured against his chest. “You’ll be the man to save us all.”

  “If you believe in me.”

  She looked up into his face, awed at the determination in his eyes.

  He touched her cheek, ran a thumb across her lips. “Now ’tis time to awaken your fairy side to keep the Fearsome Goddess happy.”

  Rose pulled a face. “This has got nothing to do with her. This is for us.”

  “Aye, lass. Just you and me.” Niall dipped his head, feathering his lips across her cheek and over her mouth. Rose closed her eyes as need rippled through her body. He lowered the zipper on the back of her dress, eased the fabric off her shoulders, then pulled away and watched the green silk slither to the floor.

  Niall ran a sizzling look over her white cotton bra and pan ties. She wished she’d thought to invest in something more enticing when she’d bought the dress. It had never occurred to her that anyone would see her underwear on this trip.

  He ran a fingertip across the seamless white cup, making nerves spark beneath her skin, and gave a rare grin. “You’re a practical lass, Rose. ’Tis a valuable quality.”

  She blinked away her little surge of regret. Practical was okay. Right now she’d rather be pretty.

  Niall’s fingers trailed over her ribs and back toward the closure on her bra. Rose could see she was about to end up naked while Niall was fully dressed. “Uh-uh.” She wriggled away and pushed the lapels of his flight jacket over his shoulders. It fell to the ground with a metallic thunk.

  She frowned at the sound.

  He raised his eyebrows. “’Tis best to be prepared.”

  “To open a hardware shop?” It sounded as though he had the contents of a toolbox in each pocket.

  Now that his jacket was off, she could see that his shirtsleeves were folded up. She examined the webbing and Velcro wrist sheaths, each holding a crystal-bladed knife. “How very untraditional of you.”

  He opened the Velcro and dropped the knives and sheaths onto the nightstand. “’Tis more comfortable and convenient. I told you, lass, I value practicality.”

  With a relaxed smile, he took her hand and drew her toward the side of the bed. “Unless me sums are wrong, I’ve removed three pieces of clothing, and you’ve taken off only one.” He hooked one of his sexy long fingers beneath the shoulder strap of her bra and flicked his eyebrows. “I’m thinking ’tis your turn again.”

  Rose laid her hands on his chest and reveled in the flex of muscle beneath his shirt. Soon she would have her hands on his skin. All her inhibitions fell away as she grinned up at him. His eyes glowed with pleasure. For a moment time seemed to stop. Was it possible to lose oneself in the gap between seconds and feel like this forever?

  Niall blinked; her heart stumbled and she snatched a breath. “Weapons don’t count,” she said, trying to keep a straight face.

  “Who says?”

  “Me.”

  With a little grunt, Niall wrapped an arm around her waist and flung her backward onto the bed. Rose squealed as he trapped her legs between his knees and tickled her. “I say we get equal voting rights on this, and ’tis me vote that weapons count.”

  He grazed his fingertips across the front of her panties. The muscles in Rose’s stomach quivered and jumped. An aching clench of need grabbed low in her belly.

  “Oh, God,” she whispered, and stilled. Suddenly she didn’t care who took what off, as long as all the clothes came off and fast.

  “I say we both take something off.” He nudged the tip of his finger beneath the waistband of her pan ties. Rose grabbed his wrist, felt his tendons flex beneath the skin. Their eyes met and held for a beat. Rose remembered to breathe.

  She pushed up on an elbow, unhooked her bra, and tossed it away without caring where it landed.

  Niall stared at her breasts. A flush of arousal crept across his cheeks, and he licked his lips.

  “Your turn,” Rose said softly.

  “Aye.” Niall pulled his shirt over his head without unfastening it. Rose bit her lip, hard.

  She’d imagined he’d look the same as Michael, but Niall’s muscles were precisely defined, his body a living sculpture. With an unsteady hand she traced the bulge of his pecs, his ribs, the ridges of his abs, solid as warm wood beneath her fingertips. Anticipation rippled through her, making her hand tremble against his skin.

  When she touched the waistband of his pants, his abs tightened and she heard him swallow. She glanced a
t his face, but he was looking down at her hand. Rose brushed her fingers across the heavy cotton of his combat pants, and flattened her palm over the ridge of his erection.

  Niall closed his eyes. His nostrils flared. In precise, economic movements, he stripped off the rest of his clothes.

  Rose lay back and dug her fingers into the satin bedcovers. Heat sizzled beneath her skin as he moved toward her, lean muscles rippling beneath silky skin.

  “Move back.” Niall knelt next to her, his eyes devouring her body as she slid up the bed. Stretching out beside her, he placed his palm on her belly and splayed his fingers. “You’re so smooth.”

  Running her hands over his shoulders, she molded his muscles in her palms like a sculptor savoring her creation. He kissed her, his body warm and heavy against her side. The swirling well of emotion filled her chest, leaving her light-headed.

  With work-calloused hands, Niall rubbed her breasts, cradling them in his palms, first one, then the other, as though he wanted to learn her shape. Rose closed her eyes as his kneading fingers shot silky ribbons of pleasure through her.

  “Rose, lass.” He waited for her to open her eyes. “Watch me.” Then he touched the tip of his tongue to her nipple.

  Oh, my God. Rose flexed against him. Wanting more. Wanting everything. Now.

  When he closed his mouth over her breast and sucked, flashes of fire raced across her skin, igniting a flaming core of need low in her belly.

  Burying her fingers in his hair, she pulled him closer, moving her thigh against the hot, hard length of his erection. With a small grunt of pleasure, he rubbed against her, the friction sending shocks of desire into her tender places. She pressed her nose to his face, drugging herself with the fragrance of him: green leaves, spicy wood, the tang of mountain air.

  The bumps and hollows of his muscles flexed beneath her palm as she fingered his biceps. She ran her hand along the taut strength of his forearm, his ribs, gripped the angle of his hip. He stilled when her fingers drifted onto his belly, hissed in a breath as her hand slid lower. Wrapping her fingers around his hard, silky shaft, she explored the sensitive parts of him until he gasped and pulled away.

  Niall raised his head, hair tousled, cheeks flushed, pupils huge and dark. “I want you naked.”

  With shaky legs, Rose lifted her hips. He stripped her pan ties and tossed them away.

  Niall sprawled over her, heavy, hard, hot, pressing her into the soft embrace of the mattress. Her Magic Knot around his neck throbbed between them. With the rough hunger of dwindling control, he found her mouth, demanded her body, and she gave him her soul. Rose clutched at his back, wrapped her legs around his waist, lost herself in the sensual press of him against her delicate flesh.

  “Not this way,” he mumbled, and raised his head. He slid to the side, exposing her to his gaze, and grazed his palm down her body to the join of her legs. He touched her with exploring fingers, watching her face as he found his way inside.

  Rose closed her eyes, trembling on the edge of losing herself as he stroked.

  He pressed his mouth against her ear. The wet tip of his tongue circled, and then he whispered, “Must be sitting up.”

  She opened her eyes and watched him trail his hand up her body to rest over her heart. “Why?”

  “’Tis the way it works, lass.” He pulled her into a sitting position, then balanced the pillows behind him and sat, his back against the ornate gold headboard. “Come here.”

  With gentle command, he steadied and guided her as she lowered herself onto his lap. Hands on his shoulders, she gazed, breathless with wonder, at the eager intent on his face. He nipped his lip between his teeth and stared at her body as though she were a priceless treasure.

  The fact that he trusted her enough to accept her Magic Knot and reveal his emotions brought tears to her eyes. He was normally so guarded. She would never hurt him, never make him regret this. Rose framed his beautiful face in her hands and pressed her lips against his forehead, his eyes, his nose, breathing him in, languishing in the heat undulating around them like a warm sea.

  Her career, her professional image, the acceptance of her colleagues—none of it mattered anymore. Niall mattered. He’d help her make her future with the piskies. Confirmation of who she was and the acceptance she’d searched for all her life shone from his eyes.

  Gripping her hips, he pulled her closer. The hot length of his erection pulsed against her belly. Heat exploded through her. Rose gasped before pressing her mouth to his.

  “A ghrá.” Niall’s endearment whispered in her mind, wound silken threads around her heart. At his bidding, she let her weight carry her down on him. Colors exploded behind her eyelids as he slid inside. Holding her hips, he urged her down, pushing deep. pleasure rippled up through her, sighing from her lips.

  Rose pressed her cheek to his, shuddering as waves of sensual heat overtook her. Niall touched his mouth against her ear. “Move, my love. Move.”

  She watched the pleasure on his face as he lifted her, then let her slide back down. The flash of blue between his dark lashes glowed inhumanly bright, the light of a million stars trapped in sapphires. He moved within her, physically and with the boundless caress of the infinite. Deep memories stirred within the fabric of her being, unfolding toward the light.

  “Niall.” His name rolled over her tongue, dark and rich. Had she known he was the one from the first moment she saw him? “Niall,” she whispered against his lips, sharing the delicious sound.

  They devoured each other with long, breathless kisses feeding mind, body, and spirit. Blissful peace ran deep and quiet beneath the sparkling ripples of pleasure that shook her body. She’d waited all her life for this. She trusted him. He wouldn’t let her down.

  When the ache of delight grew too much to bear, Niall held her still and rubbed his lips over her face. “Steady, lass. Take your time.”

  He stared into her eyes, his gaze so deep and intense it mesmerized her. Slowly he lifted her, then let her slide back on him. Rose gripped his arms, his muscles granite hard as he took her weight. He rubbed the side of his nose against hers, nibbled her lips. Love consumed her, gave her the strength to forget what she’d been and become what she must.

  Nothing in her life had prepared her for these feelings. Ecstasy pulsed in rhythm with her heart. Was this her inner fairy waking up?

  “Now.” Niall urged her faster. Her thighs trembled as pleasure bloomed, a hot surge from her belly, streaking along her limbs, singeing the edges of her mind, consuming her. Niall put his face against her neck, held her down, grunted softly.

  Rose pressed her lips into his hair, stilled, breathed him, tasted him, felt him around her, inside her. All was perfect in the world, and she never wanted to move again.

  Niall sucked in a ragged breath against her skin. A tiny frisson of disquiet skittered through her. Warily she reached toward him mentally, and brushed cold ripples of pain. The breath locked in her throat. As cautiously as if she were handling a panicked animal, she cradled his head, stroking his hair. Slowly increasing her connection, she let warmth and love flow into him. “Are you all right, my love?”

  His eyes remained closed, lashes scrunched into dark semicircles against his skin. Disquiet grew into jagged spikes of fear. “Niall,” she whispered. “Talk to me.”

  Finally he raised his head. The cool distance in his eyes twisted her heart.

  She shook her head. “Don’t do this to me now. What just happened between us was fantastic.” She cupped her Magic Knot where it hung around his neck. “I trusted you.”

  “You shouldn’t.” Niall lifted her off him as though she weighed nothing. He slid from the bed, retrieved his clothes, and dressed.

  Confused tears swam into Rose’s eyes, and she banished them with anger. “What the hell’s the matter with you? At least explain what I did wrong. You owe me that much.”

  Niall unfastened her Magic Knot from his neck and placed it on the nightstand. “’Tis not you. I’m to blame.”

>   “And that’s all you’ve got to say, is it?” So angry she thought her brain would explode, Rose snatched up the sheet, yanked it over her nakedness, and stood on the bed glaring down at him. “Did you ever intend this to be serious or were you just after a quick shag?”

  He froze in the middle of pulling on his jacket and stared at her, wide-eyed. “Of course me intentions were serious.”

  “Then what the hell’s changed?”

  “I was misled, Rose.” His jaw knotted. “I’m not the one for you.” He flicked his wrists, practicing dropping his knives into his hands and flipping them point out.

  Rose’s breath came fast and shallow. Fury burned in her head, making her cheeks flame and her vision blur. She’d never wanted to hit anyone before in her life, but she wanted to slap Niall and knock some sense into his stupid, stubborn head. “That’s a load of crap, and you know it.”