The Magic Knot

by Helen Scott Taylor

  She lay motionless beneath a tan blanket and his flight jacket, her face scarlet and swollen. Niall pressed his palm against her burning forehead. Closing his eyes, he extended his touch into her mind. With a burst of relief heady as a shot of finest Irish malt, he slid along the delicate thread of connection between them. He skimmed around the taut boundary of her consciousness. Drawn in tightly, she had instinctively focused her strength inward to survive and recover.

  Niall’s relief faded to fear as he sensed the shallow-ness of her breath, her thready pulse. Rest alone would not mend her. She needed some form of human medical care fast.

  Or she needed to activate her fairy half.

  “What shall we do?” Nightshade asked from the doorway.

  Niall stared at him, imagining Rose’s slim, naked body pressed against the muscular bulk of the stalker. Much as he hated the idea, he would make any sacrifice to save Rose. But she was in no condition to run the light with the stalker now.

  Niall looked down at the shallow rise and fall of her chest. “We’ll have to get the lass to a hospital.”

  Nightshade snorted. “Impossible.”

  “There’s no other way. To all intents and purposes, she’s human. If we let them treat her, she’ll recover.”

  “Eventually,” Nightshade added scathingly. “After she’s suffered.”

  Niall jumped up. “Do you have a better idea?”

  “Let me run the light with her.”

  “Not with the lass sick.”

  Nightshade approached and halted just out of reach. “There’s a chance my bite will have the same effect as sex.”

  “Aye. And you’ll be blood-bonded to my woman!” Jaw clenched, Niall rode the wave of jealousy that surged through him. When his turmoil subsided, he pressed his temples. He must put Rose first, what ever it cost him.

  “If you’re in her mind when I bite, the blood bond won’t form.”

  “And what if you’re wrong?”

  “You’re fully bound to her, Irish. Her link with you is strong enough to prevent another bond from forming.”

  Niall gazed at the brown carpet. “Looks like I’m out of choices.” He glanced at Rose and sighed. “Are you wanting me on the sofa with her?”

  Nightshade scanned him from head to toe. His nostrils flared. “The sofa is good.”

  After easing Rose’s limp body onto his lap, he sank back into the couch, his back against the armrest. She moaned and mumbled his name.

  He pulled her closer, touching his lips to her ear. “Rose, me love. I be here with you now.” Loosening the boundaries of his mind, he extended his awareness, enveloping her with his strength. He hated to feel her weak and suffering. This must work.

  The ancient sofa creaked in protest as Nightshade knelt beside them. Niall had become so used to the stalker’s almond scent he normally didn’t notice it. Now the sweet fragrance swamped his senses. Nightshade leaned close, staring into Niall’s eyes. “You’ll feel it when I bite her.”

  Niall shifted Rose on his lap, positioning her between him and Nightshade. “Just pretend I’m not here.”

  Nightshade licked his lips, and the glistening white points of his fangs appeared.

  Great Danu! Have I lost me mind?

  With effort, Niall clamped down on his instinct to push Nightshade away. He focused on Rose, on her pain grating in his mind. “Don’t you go taking too much of her blood.”

  Nightshade inclined his head in agreement. “I have her best interests at heart. She’s my queen.”

  Niall considered Nightshade’s expression, judged his words true, and relaxed a notch. “It goes without saying, I’ll have to kill you if you bite me.”

  With a flick of his eyebrows, Nightshade grinned, exposing hooked fangs. “I have a taste for O’Connor blood, but I’ll endeavor to restrain myself.”

  Tilting Rose’s head to the side, Niall exposed her neck. “Don’t go touching her.”

  “That’s going to be difficult if you want me to bite her.”

  “I’m meaning don’t go putting your hands on her.”

  “In Ireland you sent me to her bed. Now I mustn’t even lay a hand on her?”

  Niall stared at the glowing electric fire. He remembered Rose’s anger when he’d told her he would send another man to run the light. “I had no right to go making that decision for her. We won’t be taking liberties while she’s unconscious.”

  “Very well. You have my word.” Placing one hand on the sofa’s back and the other on the arm, Nightshade corralled Niall and Rose between his arms. Muscles trembling with the instinct to escape, Niall leaned back as the stalker bent over Rose’s throat.

  Long, cool hair slithered across Niall’s neck. Ignoring the stalker, he concentrated on Rose, praying this would activate her fairy half. He focused on the warm weight of her against his thighs, chest, and groin. With a sigh he sank into her mind, slowed the tripping beat of her heart, drew her breath in and out steadily, softened the clench of nausea pinching her gut.

  “Ready?” Nightshade whispered.

  “Get it over with.”

  “Your wish is my command…Niall.”

  Sweet, sharp pain radiated through Niall’s head and neck. He hung on to his connection with Rose, pushed deeper, boosted her endurance. The pain resolved into tiny points of ecstasy in his neck—no, Rose’s neck— then spiraled along his nerves in a dark dance of sensation in which pain and pleasure became one.

  Niall’s muscles spasmed. The back of his head thumped against the sofa. His groans mingled with soft gasps from Rose. He fought to stay detached as primitive longings lured him deeper. Dark lust pulsed in his heart, inside Rose, outside her. pleasure tasted hot, thick, metallic.

  Light flowed into her belly, his belly, gathered in a spinning ball, hummed along veins, chased away doubts. Went supernova. Niall’s body arched. Rose groaned, and her bottom ground into his groin. pleasure exploded in flashes of dark and light that seared the sense from him.

  A long way off on the edge of awareness, Nightshade sniggered softly.

  The world was dark, silent, unbearably sweet. Niall floated in the dreamy aftermath of pleasure. There was somewhere he should be. If only he could remember.

  “Niall?”

  The soft entreaty in the voice snagged him, pulled him up through diaphanous layers until he felt breath fill his lungs. He became aware of a warm weight on his lap. His eyes snapped open, and Rose stared back at him, an enigmatic smile on her face.

  “Rose. Shit! Sorry. It worked.” Relief washed through him, mixed with wonder as he stared at her smooth, pale skin and glowing green eyes. “You’re looking…”

  “Beautiful,” Nightshade finished for him.

  Niall turned at the sound of the stalker’s voice. His vision wavered, as if the room were full of water. Nightshade grinned with predatory satisfaction that shot warning bolts up Niall’s spine.

  “Well, well, Irish. Who would have guessed you’re so…sensitive?”

  Niall shook his head to clear the fluff out of his brain. “What in the Furies are you talking about?”

  Rose framed his face between her hands and feathered his lips with hers. His recent pleasure echoed through him.

  “Thank you, my love. I knew you’ come for me.” She grinned, a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. Pressing her cheek against his, she whispered into his ear, “We won’t tell anyone you came for Nightshade as well.”

  The truth sucker punched him. He squeezed his eyes closed. When Michael found out, Niall would never live this down.

  Chapter Fifteen

  As Niall maneuvered the rental car through the narrow Cornish lanes, Rose flipped down her sun visor and stared at herself in the mirror for the hundredth time. Not only were her burns healed, but she looked amazing. Her features were finer, her skin smooth and glowing. She’d always wondered why she didn’t resemble her mother. With her fairy half activated, she did. If Ailla could see her now, she wouldn’t call her plain anymore.

  What wo
uld her work colleagues think? She’d have to tell them she’d had an extreme makeover— administered by a bloodsucking fairy. She smiled and snapped the visor up. Okay, maybe not. Her smile fell away. She shivered with a strange mix of emotions. Maybe she wouldn’t see her old colleagues again. Everything had changed so fast.

  She glanced over her shoulder at Jacca lying under a blanket on the backseat. He grinned and blew on the tips of his fingers as if he’d burned them. You’re hot, he mouthed silently.

  The smile flitted back to her lips. At least Jacca appreciated the change in her appearance. She cast a sideways glance at Niall’s stoic expression. Maybe she shouldn’t have teased him about losing control. Niall was lucky to have found release. Since Nightshade’s bite she’d been primed and ready. If she’d been alone with Niall, she’d have made him pull the car over and jumped him long ago.

  When they arrived at the Elephant’s Nest half an hour later, Jacca left to report to Tristan.

  Rose followed Niall in through the bar. The same fair-haired woman who’d been serving the night Rose first arrived stared at her with no recognition. She really was a different person from the accountant who’d walked in a week ago.

  There was no going back. Ever.

  For a moment the realization froze her in place. Then a little thrill of excitement crawled into her belly. She didn’t want to go back. This new life was her future. Niall—she breathed through her mouth to control her swell of emotion—Niall was her future. And she’d damn well break through his protective shell and make him understand.

  “Is Michael back?” Niall asked.

  The woman grinned. “Few minutes ago. He got a taxi from the station.”

  They mounted the steps toward the kitchen. Michael’s presence glowed on the other side of the door like the promise of a warm fire in winter. With her new fairy senses, she could feel any fairy who came close, and each had his own energy signature.

  Pausing with her hand on the door, she glanced at Niall. The feel of him melted into her, permeating every cell of her body. She sensed confusion. The burn of desire tempered by wariness. She touched his arm. “Now that Jacca’s gone, please talk to me.”

  He shook his head. “I need to clean up.”

  Without thinking, Rose dropped her gaze to the stain at his crotch. The shadowy barrier he used to keep her out of his mind fell back into place.

  “Niall, I didn’t mean—”

  “Later.” He pulled away, turned, and walked off down the hall.

  Rose sighed and shoved open the kitchen door. Michael stood in his usual spot against the counter with a cigarette in his hand. He grinned at her and waggled his eyebrows. “Wowee, Rose, darlin’.”

  She couldn’t help smiling at him as he stubbed out his cigarette and advanced on her.

  He grasped her hips and shimmied closer. “You’re looking scrumptious.” He pulled a face. “What a foolish fellow I am for passing you on to me brother. D’you think there’s a chance I can change your mind?”

  Sudden tears filled her eyes. He always made her feel good about herself. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged fiercely.

  He yelped. “Mind me bruises. Fighting for your safety, I was, and not a word of a lie.”

  “I believe you.” She kissed his cheek and stared into his eyes until his smiling facade slipped. “Thank you, Michael. Thank you for being there for me when I needed you.”

  “It was nothing.” He glanced away, faint color in his cheeks.

  “Yes, it was. You could have taken advantage of me, and you didn’t.”

  Michael stood a little taller. “Well, sometimes I like to show me brother I’m not the waster he believes.” His tone was lighthearted, but there was a sharp edge of pain beneath the words. In his own way he was as complex and guarded as Niall.

  “I thought you wanted to stay in Ireland.”

  He sighed and touched her cheek wistfully. “Naw, lass. I’ve moved on. I can never go back to being one of Ciar’s pets. I want more from me life now.” He pressed his lips to her forehead and grinned. “Maybe some of Niall’s stubborn pride has gone and rubbed off on me. Think I’ll blame me brother. Always makes me feel better.” Michael laughed and, as usual, Rose couldn’t stop herself from joining in with the contagious sound.

  “This is cozy.” The sharpness of Niall’s voice cut off her laughter. She glanced at the door. He had changed his clothes, but obviously not his attitude.

  “You sharing the details of our jaunt with Michael?” He hid behind a menacing expression, but hurt hollowed his voice.

  Did he really believe she’d make fun of him the first chance she got? She wished she’d never teased him about the incident with Jacca. She should have realized he’d blow it up all out of proportion.

  He turned away and fury whipped through her. “Don’t be so bloody certain everyone’s out to hurt you. And take that ‘I’m above this silly emotional crap’ look off your face.” Rose stormed forward, grabbed the back of his jacket, and yanked him to a halt. “I love you. Don’t shut me out.”

  With a cough, Michael grabbed his cigarettes from the counter. “Time to make meself scarce, I think.”

  Niall tried to pull away. “I have to go check on Ana.”

  Pausing as he pushed past Niall in the doorway, Michael gave him a serious look. “You can’t go running away forever. Let me check on Ana for you.”

  Tightening her grip on Niall’s jacket, Rose tugged him back a step as Michael let the door slam. “Tell Ana I’ll be seeing her later,” Niall shouted after him.

  When Rose grasped Niall’s arm, he allowed her to turn him around. He stared down, his expression rigid with control.

  The angry knot inside her loosened, and she ached for him. He must have been hurt so much to be this defensive. “Talk to me, Niall,” she said gently. “How do you feel?”

  He shrugged, short and sharp. “Furious.”

  “Why?”

  He stared past her, his internal battle raging in his eyes. “You’re meant to be mine, but it took the stalker’s bite to turn you. I couldn’t and I…” He glanced down. “I made a fool of meself.”

  You’re meant to be mine soaked into her, sweet as honey. “You admit we should be together?”

  He cast her a brief glance. “That’s beside the point. I failed you.”

  “Crappy logic, Niall. I failed you as well. Ciar set us up to fail.”

  Niall swung away and paced to the window. He stared at the trees. “I shouldn’t have agreed to take you to Ireland. I knew the risks well enough.”

  Rose walked up behind him. “I didn’t give you a choice. I make my own decisions. Always have. Always will.” She laid her hand in the center of his back. “So you see, tough guy, however much you want to blame yourself, I won’t let you.” She ran her fingers up his spine and played with the short hair against his nape. “Let it go. Move on. Forget about what happened with Jacca.”

  He glanced at her over his shoulder, and she raised her eyebrows. “Gonna turn around and talk to me?”

  Facing her, he leaned back against the kitchen counter and crossed his arms.

  Rose swallowed her nervous ness at his reaction to what she wanted to say. On the outside she kept up her bravado, but on the inside her stomach churned with fear that he would turn her down again. “Here’s the deal. I give you something precious, and in return, you do the same for me.”

  He frowned but said nothing.

  She unfastened the chain bearing her Magic Knot. Niall watched silently. With every second he didn’t speak, the fear inside her swelled. Rose drew a shuddering breath and reached to fasten the chain around his neck.

  His expression softened, and the hint of a smile touched his lips as she carefully straightened her stones against the front of his clean brown shirt. “Have you got a date in mind, then?” he asked.

  “A date?”

  “The giving and receiving of Magic Knots is a symbol of handfasting. ’Tis like an engagement ring and a wedding ring roll
ed into one.”

  “Huh?” Rose stared at him with her mouth open as the words sank in. “So that means…” Her breath caught. “I’ve just…Crud.” She slapped her hand over her mouth. Her ears buzzed as the blood drained out of her head, then flashed back, making her cheeks sting. “You’ better give them back to me.” Just when she thought she was taking control and making progress, all she managed to do was make a fool of herself. How could she hope to help the piskies when she knew so little about fairy customs?

  All the stress and fear of the last few days tumbled back. Her lip trembled, and she bit it in an effort to keep control as she reached up to unfasten the chain.