by C. A. Szarek
Janet maintained his gaze as her body stiffened beneath his, and she called his name. Her nails dug into his shoulders and she arched into his chest. Her orgasm pitched him over the edge. His ears roared, but Xander couldn’t tell if it was Grànnda Falls or magic-enhanced-pleasure so sharp his head spun. He panted her name like a mantra.
Her core contracted, milking him. His cock kicked and he spilled himself inside her.
They both shook from head to toe and he struggled for breath. Never…ever…in all his years had Xander experienced something like taking Janet.
She still clutched his shoulders, but he didn’t care if she drew blood. His head spun.
The bond dominated his vision, but instead of appearing like the rope they’d both been used to seeing, they were surrounded in golden light, like two melded auras where their bodies were touching.
“Xander?”
Words wouldn’t form, so he lowered his mouth and took hers, pushing his tongue deep. She kissed him back, and it melted into something heated and languorous, leaving them both moaning and squeezing each other tight.
“Mò aingeal,” he finally managed, the words tangled in the movement of their lips.
“Xander,” Janet repeated.
Xander shifted his hips, his softening arousal slipping from her body. He rolled to his side, taking her with him.
“Hold me?” She snuggled into his chest, throwing her arm across his middle.
“Aye, mò aingeal, always.”
She flashed a smile that had his stomach flipping.
After about ten minutes of companionable silence and sweet kisses, he talked her into letting him get something to clean them up. His head spun as he wiped the blood from his sex and his thighs.
Janet was no longer innocent.
She was wholly his.
Xander’s head and heart were floating, wrapped up in the golden magic of the mating bond...and in Janet.
He gently cleaned his mate with a scrap of linen saturated with warm water from the pool, smiling at her pink cheeks. Xander scrambled to clear his mind, but all he could see was the lass waiting for him, opening her arms to pull him into a warm embrace.
By the gods, I still have to protect her.
Get her home.
He vowed to maintain the control to keep his angel safe.
No matter what he had to do.
Chapter Fifteen
She stilled against Xander. He’d pulled her back to him as soon as he’d returned to the bed, but something was wasn’t right. Her fated husband was stiff, even though he’d plastered her to his broad chest. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, lass.” He punctuated his words by pressing his lips to her temple.
Nay.
“I…feel…wha’ you do. You’re….unsure.” Hurt surged up from Janet’s gut and she shook, even though his warmth surrounded her.
Her warrior wasn’t being honest.
It was worse than the rejection she’d felt after he’d touched her in the pool.
Now Janet belonged to Xander.
“Do…do…you regret bein’ with me?” she whispered.
“Nay.” His voice was hard.
Air rushed from her lungs as she felt Xander’s truth from their bond.
“Look at me, mò aingeal.”
She didn’t refuse the order. Janet locked gazes with his beautiful violet eyes.
“You are perfect. I regret nothing.” He cupped her cheeks.
Again, truth reverberated from the link they shared.
She relaxed against him, reveling in his heat. Janet felt protected, but something bothered her. Despite being able to sense him in a way she’d never thought possible of another, there was something missing.
What is he not telling me?
Janet was new to magic, after all. Xander had been using it his whole life.
What if she only felt what he wanted her to?
She stared into his face, but saw—felt—nothing to worry about.
He looked back upon her with tenderness and warmth. When Xander reached out and stroked her face, she leaned into him, sighing.
“Can we have a wedding?” she blurted. Heat crept up her neck, settling in her cheeks. She chided herself for the embarrassment. After what they’d shared, it was silly.
A smile bloomed on his delectable lips, and her stomach flipped. “Aye, if you wish it.”
Janet nodded, then regained some composure. She smirked. “Come ta think on it, my brother will no’ allow otherwise.”
Xander chuckled and her insides tingled. Seeing him relaxed—as well as feeling it—was detrimental to her ability to think properly. He was even more beautiful.
The golden rope of the bond was visible when she touched him, but he was also surrounded by radiant light.
She raised her hand, fingers spread wide, also glowing. “Light, everywhere,” she whispered. “What is this?”
“Our bond, mò aingeal.”
Janet’s stomach fluttered and she nestled even closer to him. Xander rubbed her back with long, soft strokes. Her limbs melted, going even more boneless. She slipped her arms around his neck, kissing his jaw line and flattening her breasts against his chest.
He made a noise in his throat and squeezed his arms around her.
Janet reached for his wings.
Xander shivered, so she dragged her fingertips over the iridescent flesh. “Can you feel that?” she whispered.
“Aye.”
She pulled back to meet his eyes.
He nodded. “They’re a part of my body. Like any other skin. They can be injured and cause pain. Bleed when torn.”
Frowning, she continued to caress him. The flesh felt like any other, except it shimmered like a prism, different colors popping up when they caught the light of the magic globes. “But you don’t have them in the Human Realm.”
“My wings are a part of my magic, which is diminished in the Human Realm.”
“So, you canna’ fly.”
“Not there, no.”
“But…” Janet lowered her lashes. Sadness sat heavy in her stomach. She clenched her jaw to keep tears at bay. The strength of the emotion washed over her, confusing, but she hurt for him.
How hard missing a piece of himself must be...
Xander shifted. “But what, mò aingeal?”
She looked down, grateful her dark hair curtained her face, but her husband tucked some strands behind her ear. He pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her, enclosing them both with his wings at the same time.
Janet smiled, but she had to swallow hard, too.
“What has you upset?”
“When we’re home—my home—in the Human Realm, a part of you is missing.” Janet shuddered—and felt worse.
“Our home.”
“Our home?” Her heart missed a beat when she felt sincerity through the bond.
“Aye. The Human Realm is my home now. I don’t regret it. I belong at Alana’s side. I’m sworn to protect her. Angus, too, since he’s her lad. And the bairn she carries. They’re my responsibility, as well.”
Something akin to jealousy hit in a wave. Janet tried not to show it in her face when she met his gaze. “She’s your cousin.”
“Aye. More than that, she’s family. They are family. Alana is more like a sister to me than cousin.”
What am I to you? Janet bit back the question. Wife. Now lover. He said he wouldn’t fight the bond—that he didn’t want to. Was it still a vow to Alana, or for her, as his fated mate?
She tried to ignore the hurt that made her chest ache. He would feel it. Janet swallowed a wince. “You sacrificed for her.” Her voice had an odd edge, even to her own ears. She couldn’t look at him. “You love her.”
Not me.
Janet chided herself for foolishness. They’d been bonded without wishing it—and for mere days. Made love so they wouldn’t get sick.
What else did she expect?
It was all so new.
I don’t love him,
either. But…could I?
“Aye,” Xander said. It was as if he was answering her question, like he’d read her mind.
Janet jumped.
“I need thank my cousin, mò aingeal.”
When she finally was able to look at him, her fated mate was smiling.
“Because of Alana’s desire to be with your brother, I found you, my Janie.”
She swallowed and her lips parted.
Xander tugged her closer, burying his hand in the hair at the back of her neck. He pressed his mouth to hers.
Janet didn’t fight him. She opened, inviting his tongue inside, like she’d welcomed him into her body. Her sex throbbed.
She wanted him again.
Despite the pain of first penetration, making love with Xander had given her more pleasure than she’d ever imagined the intimacies of a man and woman would—or could.
She dragged her hand down his muscled chest and kissed him harder.
Xander responded by slanting his mouth over hers again, groaning as their tongues mingled, then dueled. His erection burned her thigh, and her core pulsed. Janet felt empty. Only the man kissing her to oblivion could fill her.
Hooking her leg over his hip made him grunt, but he didn’t fight when she tugged him on top of her.
He chuckled into their kiss. “In a rush, mò aingeal?”
“I need you.” Janet panted as the golden magic made her head spin as much as his mouth moving over hers. “I…feel everythin’,” she whispered.
“It’s the magic. It’s everywhere, but it flows through us, too.” He cupped her breasts, teasing her nipples with his thumbs.
“Will it always be like this?” She had to force the words out, because his ministrations scattered her thoughts and shot heat to her center.
“I don’t know how strong it’ll be once we’re no longer in this realm.” Xander dragged wet kisses down her neck. He rocked his hips, making her even hotter. “But I hope so.”
Her husband wasn’t in the right place. Janet threw her head back and whimpered, wriggling against him. He gave her no relief as he moved down her body, kissing and licking his way across her belly. The falls roaring took her attention, but it rivaled the noise in her head.
Xander parted her thighs with gentle hands, his wings trembling and held high above them as he hunkered down. She watched the play of moving colors as they swayed. Until her fated mate took all her attention.
She screamed his name at the first swipe of his tongue, but he allowed her no recovery time, sucking her into his mouth, teasing, twirling the bundle of nerves at the top of her sex. Janet buried her hands in his short hair, needing to hold onto something. Her hips lifted off the mattress of their own accord, but Xander gripped her, holding her down without stopping.
Pleasure crashed over her in waves. Her thighs trembled, and she whimpered and writhed. Janet’s body stiffened and she closed her eyes, letting her head fall to the soft bedding beneath her. Magic and physical ecstasy made her dizzy.
She panted, clutching at Xander’s shoulders, his wings, anything she could reach. When climax made her cry out, he was there, pulling her into his chest, kissing her deeply, pushing his erection into her at the same moment.
With his first thrust, her pleasure intensified and she moaned into his mouth. His kiss tasted different this time, mixed with her essence, but it just made Janet burn even more. She wasn’t close enough to him, even with Xander moving in and out of her.
Wrapping her arms and legs around him, she met his next plunge, rubbing her breasts against him, encouraging him to go faster. He complied, taking her mouth again, this time harder.
Hunger washed over the bond. Whether it was his for her, or hers for him, she cared not, as long as he didn’t separate from her body.
Xander stiffened above her, his erection kicking inside her as he climaxed. His orgasm brought on hers, washing over their magic as well as her form. Janet’s muscles tightened of their own accord and she cried out.
They clung to each other as they came down, a pleasant aftershock of passion passing over her when he slipped from her core. Warmth spread across her belly and she begged for one more kiss as Xander settled beside her.
He wrapped her in his wings for the second time, and Janet smiled against his chest. “I like how tha’ feels.”
Xander chuckled at her whisper. “I like how you feel.”
Janet met that violet gaze and her head spun.
Is it magic, or something more?
She couldn’t answer the question—even in her own head. It didn’t matter.
Janet MacLeod had met her match.
She was already lost to her fated mate. Her stomach flipped, and she pressed her lips to his.
Chapter Sixteen
The sound of rushing boots jarred Xander awake. He sat up gently, as to not disturb the lass asleep against him, and opened his eyes wider, scanning the cavern.
His heart thundered, and he couldn’t take a calming breath, even though he saw nothing out of the ordinary in their hiding place.
Dim light surrounded them; he’d lessened the magic in the globes so they could sleep. Their clothing was piled haphazardly where they’d dropped it for the second night in a row.
He’d left twice, both for short trips to the Faery Stones. The first time, there’d been six winged warriors. The second, there had only been three; Mikhias and Ruark, and a blond Fae Warrior Xander hadn’t known. The two warriors he’d stunned and questioned looked normal.
Flying high above, with his invisibility spell in place, Xander had sensed a large warding, either intended for protection or defense—a clue that Ruark remembered and reported their encounter.
Xander hadn’t chanced getting closer, in case the spell was simply an alarm, but there was a great deal of magic packed into it. He hadn’t had to touch it to feel it. To get them home, he’d have to break through it, damn the consequences, but he couldn’t risk taking the time to explore unless the guard was light, and he had his wife with him.
He hadn’t told Janet much upon his return to the cave, but when they were together, neither seemed to have much need for conversation. Now that he’d had her, he couldn’t keep his hands off her. He’d lost count of how many times he’d taken her, in the bed and in the spring at the back of the cavern.
Xander glanced over his shoulder, spotting the steam idly rising from the pool. Almost as if it was beckoning. It was quiet.
Normal, even with the roar of the falls.
He strained his ears, but still caught nothing more of what had woken him—what had sounded like an ambush.
Was I dreaming?
Nay.
His instincts screamed: Move. Now.
Janet made a noise in her sleep, nestling closer. The arm thrown across his waist tightened, her fingers squeezing his hip.
When he looked down, his mate’s face was drawn tight, although she wasn’t awake. As if she, too felt something.
Xander closed his eyes and sucked in a breath. He threw magic out into the cave, probing everything he could. He sensed no stealth magic, no warding. No protection spells or tricks. No Fae Warriors burst into the cave, either from the side of the cliff’s face, or through the rushing water.
It’d always been his talent, his gift to cast such stealth magic, as well as feel it.
Still, his gut, his magic was shouting that he needed to gather his wife up and get them away from Grànnda Falls.
This isn’t magic. It’s instinct.
He couldn’t afford to question it. Even now, the hair was standing on the back of his neck. Danger! it shouted. “Lass.” He smoothed her knitted brow. “Wake up, mò aingeal.” Xander caressed her cheeks, pushing her dark hair away from her face.
Janet came around slowly, blinking as she opened her beautiful sapphire eyes. “What’s wrong?” Her voice was thick with sleep, her lovely body sleep-warmed.
He wished nothing was wrong, that he could curl back up with her. Hold her, take her again. “We ne
ed to leave.”
She sat up, rubbing her eyes, but when their gazes met, his wife stiffened. “Somethin’s wrong.”
“Aye, I think so. We need to gather our things and go.”
Fright darted across her face and she latched onto his arm. “Wh-what’s happenin’?”
His stomach fluttered. Xander gathered her to him, kissing her softly. “We’re going home.”
She pulled back, staring hard. “Is it safe?”
“I don’t know, but my gut—as well as my magic—is saying we need to move now. I can keep us invisible until we get to the dais that holds the Faery Stones. They’re warded against stealth magic, but I’ll get the Stones open as quickly as I’m able.” He didn’t tell her about the large spell he’d sensed when he’d flown overhead that morning. Xander didn’t want to scare her any more than she already was, and he’d have to pray they’d get to the Stones unscathed.
Janet swallowed, but she nodded. “I trust you.”
He cupped her face, looking deep into her eyes. “I will get you home.”
“Us.”
“Aye, us.” He nodded. Her mixed emotions hit him from the mating bond, spreading slowly across his chest and down his limbs. “It will be all right, mò aingeal.”
Once again his wife nodded, but she made no move to pull away.
“If something happens, I need you to shut down our bond, lass.”
“Wh-what?”
“You’ll have to concentrate and shut me out. Push the magic away from you. We’ll still be bonded—that will never go—but it will shove my feelings and emotions to the back of your mind, like an echo.”
“Why, Xander?” Her whisper was so low he almost missed it.
When her eyes misted over, Xander almost lost his nerve. But he couldn’t. He needed to protect her. If they were captured, death wouldn’t be quick. He wouldn’t be able to endure if Janet could physically feel what they were doing to him—or the reverse. The Fae would hurt his wife in the worst way possible before they killed her.
Especially if the king discovered she was a MacLeod, but worse if his uncle found out she was Alex’s sister.
“It’s not difficult.” He cleared his throat when his voice cracked. “Picture the golden rope, gather it up, throw it away from you.”