“It was a mistake. An honest one, at that,” Gwen said, squaring off with Loch so that they were face to face. Well, they would have been, except for him being so tall she had to lean back to look up at him.
“We don’t have room for mistakes. Not if you want us to protect you and help you find your treasure,” Loch said, his eyes all but glowing with anger.
“I never asked for you to protect me,” Gwen hissed, and surprised Loch by poking him in the chest with her finger. She wasn’t surprised to be met with a wall of muscle, as she’d felt it when he’d cradled her to his chest earlier.
“I never asked to protect you. It’s a punishment, okay?” Loch almost shouted. Gwen inadvertently took a step back, even more upset than before. “I couldn’t care less about this stupid quest, aside from the fact that it allows me to kill Domnua, which I delight in doing. But protecting you? Yeah, it’s nothing but a punishment for me. So get that straight the next time you want to do something so stupid as singing down a mountain of Domnua on your head and almost getting killed on the spot. Some of us are here because of our duty and nothing else. You have no right to put our lives on the line.”
Gwen felt like the air had been sucked out of her in one big whoosh. She was left gasping when Loch stormed off, throwing off the bow lines himself and firing up the engine. They pulled away from the dock as quickly as the yacht could move, putting distance between themselves and the land where Domnua might still roam. Gwen turned to move to the front of the boat, her hands clutching the railing as she looked blindly out over the rough waves, not caring about the salty spray hitting her face.
“Here,” Bianca said, nudging Gwen and holding out a steaming cup of what turned out to be tea spiked with whiskey.
“Thanks,” Gwen said, carefully taking the cup. She braced herself against the railing so she could hold on with one hand and still sip the tea without falling over.
“Don’t let him get to you,” Bianca said, but Gwen shook her head, stopping her friend.
“He’s right, though. I was careless. And I have no right to be putting any of you in danger, whether you’re here for punishment or a job or whatever. I should really just go my own way and figure this out alone. It’s not fair to any of you,” Gwen said, her eyes still out on the horizon, feeling deflated.
“Sounds like you’re having a bit of a pity party. Not on my watch,” Bianca said sternly, and Gwen turned and raised an eyebrow at her. “Here’s the deal, sweets. Seamus and I? We’re in this. Period. We know the risks, and we’ve been in a lot of battles over the past few months. But this is about more than just us. We’re fighting for the good – for life as we know it. For all the people out there who don’t even know they’re in danger. Babies being born, lovers getting married, grandmothers having tea with their knitting circles. It’s about more than just you or me or even Loch and his people. And guess what? You didn’t sign up for this either. It was assigned to you. It could be viewed as a punishment for you, too. And yet you embraced it as a challenge and have smiled cheerfully in the face of danger. Now is not the time for a pity party, my friend. Not in the slightest.”
Gwen smiled and bumped Bianca’s shoulder with her own, feeling the truth of her words settle over her shoulders. Taking a sip of whiskey, she let the warmth fill her as the salty spray continued to buffet them in the face.
“Thanks. You’re good for me, my friend,” Gwen said.
“Don’t let Loch get to you. Seriously. He’s just shaken up because you were surrounded and he was worried he wouldn’t get to you in time. Did you see how he cradled you in his arms to protect you from the arrows? Swoon,” Bianca gushed, making Gwen laugh.
“He’s quite strong,” Gwen agreed. “Though he put some spell on the door to keep me from getting out of the berth below. It really made me angry – all I could do was listen to the sounds of the battle and not help.”
“See? He just wanted to keep you safe. You can’t fault him for that. He’s not used to discussing his feelings, is all. But don’t let him off too easy, girl. Men like him aren’t used to apologizing. He needs to grovel a bit,” Bianca assured her, tapping the rim of her glass against Gwen’s.
“Oh, he doesn’t need to apologize. It’s not a big deal. Really. And I don’t think he has feelings. Trust me, it’s not like that,” Gwen protested.
“I know what I see. But… as Seamus says, I can be a bit of a meddler. I’ll just be letting this one run its course. Now, I’m ready to get in, out of this spray and wind. What about you?”
“I’m going to finish my tea out here and then I’ll be in,” Gwen said, then reached out impulsively to hug her friend. “Thanks for the talk. I needed it. I’m feeling more sorted out now.”
“That’s what I’m here for!”
Chapter Twenty
Gwen kept quiet through the dinner preparations and the meal, offering her help whenever she could. It took most of her willpower to ignore Loch, as she wasn’t one to hold a grudge, but somehow she managed to do so. When Bianca and Seamus both looked weary on their feet, Loch instructed them to go to bed, and promised to wake Seamus at four o’clock to switch watch. From what Gwen understood, it was to be a longer crossing than she had expected, largely due to the swells making the boat rock back and forth, slowing their progress.
Still feeling guilty from earlier – though intellectually she understood that she didn’t need to – Gwen decided to deliver a cup of coffee to Loch on the bridge.
“Coffee,” Gwen said, infusing some niceness into her voice. It just wasn’t in her to be petty or angry, though Loch probably deserved her being cold to him.
Loch glanced over at her from where he stood, arms crossed on his chest, eyes trained on the digital instruments in front of him.
“Appreciate it,” Loch finally said, reaching out and taking the cup from her. Gwen tried to ignore the little tingle of electricity that seemed to jump from him to her when his fingers brushed over hers. Silence stretched out before them, and Gwen settled in to wait, knowing that eventually he’d talk. It always amused her when people didn’t seem to understand that silence was an excellent tool in negotiations. And right now, she wanted to know what this punishment of Loch’s was all about. Taking a seat in the captain’s chair – which Loch had eschewed to stand, glowering, at the window – she crossed her legs and stared at the dark windows. Nothing but the glow from the bow lights showed against the water.
“I’m sorry,” Loch finally said, startling Gwen from her daydream about mermaids and sirens. The words sounded unused against his lips, which made them even more meaningful to Gwen. Deciding to be kind, she shrugged a shoulder even though he wasn’t looking at her.
“I’m getting used to your outbursts now. Don’t think anything of it,” Gwen said cheerfully.
“Outbursts? I don’t have outbursts,” Loch said, slanting a glance at her in the cozy light of the room.
“As I’m the one on the receiving end of most of them, I’d be saying they’re outbursts,” Gwen said easily.
“Perhaps the last one might be considered more expressive than I usually am,” Loch admitted.
Gwen was delighted to see a wry smile cross his face. If the man was handsome when he glowered at her, he was devastating when he smiled. He was going to make some fairy princess quite happy someday.
“Care to tell me about this punishment that’s been inflicted upon you?” Gwen asked, deciding they were back on somewhat equal ground now.
“Not in the slightest,” Loch said, but his tone held less bite. He straightened and adjusted something on the screen and Gwen felt a subtle shift in the boat.
“That’s fine. I’ve a great imagination. I read a lot of comic books and fantasy stories. Let me think…” Gwen drummed her fingers on her lips and then snapped them. “You were meant to save a princess from drinking a potion that would turn her into a dragon. You didn’t get there in time and she slaughtered a whole village with her fiery wrath.”
Loch cast a ‘you must b
e crazy’ look at her and shook his head, but she saw his lips twitch. Encouraged, she tried again.
“No? Okay, um, let’s see. Tiny garden gnomes came to life and took their years of angst about people stealing from their gardens out on the village. A bloodbath ensued, with the gnomes ultimately using the blood of the dead to harvest the best crop of vegetables they’d had in a hundred years.”
At that Loch turned, both eyebrows raised.
“You’re a bloodthirsty woman, aren’t you?”
“Not particularly. Just a healthy imagination.” Gwen laughed at herself. “Plus, I figured it was something dramatic and blood-ridden to get a sorcerer like you punished. But maybe I’m embellishing. I suppose I don’t know anything that isn’t myths about the fae. I imagine everything in your world is fairly dramatic and magickal.”
“It’s certainly not as dull as human life seems to be. And yet we find ourselves drawn to humans all the time. We love watching the resilience of the human spirit, their often-foolhardy fearlessness, and their headlong slides into love. Aye, the fae world has its magick, but so does the human world.”
Gwen realized that was the nicest thing he had said yet about humans. Warming to him, she smiled brightly in his direction, surprised when he returned it with a smile of his own.
“That’s nice of you to say, at least about us lowly mortal beings. Well, perhaps the most poetic. You are a man of few words, Loch. Except when you’re yelling at me,” Gwen said, relaxing back into the chair, the rolling of the boat lulling her.
“You aren’t human, Gwen. You shouldn’t be forgetting that.”
That sent a shiver of excitement through her.
“I’m still getting used to that concept. I’ve lived my life as a full human until about a month ago when I stumbled upon my ice power. So forgive me if I identify as one.”
“That’s fair. Though it would be fun to see you dressed as a fairy princess, reveling in your power over the peasants below you.”
“I would be nothing if not benevolent in my ruling.” When Gwen laughed, Loch did as well, tension seeming to fall away from him as he leaned back to study her.
“I’m certain you would. My people would like you.”
“Can you tell me about them? My… family, I suppose?”
“I can. Even better, I’ll take you there when this is all over. We’ve got to go get your gran anyhow,” Loch said. “But I can tell you that the fae are an endlessly interesting people. We like to excel at all things, we love riddles and games, and we relish all the things that bring us pleasure – from shiny, sparkly jewelry and luscious silks to the pleasures of the flesh. We’re an organized society, one that defaults to following our court of royals, and rare it is for a fae to break the laws. Especially the most ancient and deadly of laws.” Loch muttered the last bit almost under his breath and Gwen tilted her head at him, pulling her mind away from images of fae cavorting in silk and making love under the stars.
“Which is what you did, isn’t it? You broke a sacred law.”
Loch paused for a moment, his eyes back on the dark windows, his face drawn, before he nodded once.
“Aye.”
“Well, you had to have done it for a good reason. You wouldn’t have just broken it for fun or greed,” Gwen said automatically, surprising Loch into looking at her.
“How could you possibly know that?”
“I just know. Sure, you’re crass and rough around the edges and more often cranky than not, but you’re also altruistic and honor-bound and ultimately, you show up when you’re needed. Even if you don’t want to be here, you don’t shirk your duty. No, something had to have forced your hand into breaking the law,” Gwen concluded, feeling a little breathless at the way his eyes stared at her while she talked, dropping once to her lips, before meeting hers again with such intensity that she felt a little lightheaded.
“Don’t get ideas about me, Princess Gwen. I’m not a good man,” Loch finally said, after a long moment.
“Ideas? I have no ideas about you other than I’m certain you wouldn’t break a sacred law unless absolutely necessary,” Gwen said, feeling miffed that he was turning this story into something more.
“I can see the way you look at me,” Loch said, “I can tell when a woman has… ideas.”
Gwen’s mouth dropped open in surprise as she looked at him, taking in the almost smug look on his handsome face before she burst into laughter.
“Men like you don’t go for women like me,” she said, her body convulsing in laughter. “Though I suppose you are used to women falling all over you, I’m well aware that I’m not the woman for you. But you’re quite handsome. I can see the appeal. I’m certain you have no trouble finding yourself a woman.”
Loch looked a little disgruntled at that, and Gwen sighed.
“I’m sorry if you were thinking there was more here or that I had a crush… it’s not like that. I just have an honest admiration for your sheer male beauty, but I’m well aware that I’m not your type.”
“Beauty?” Loch now looked disgusted. “And who says you aren’t my type? Why wouldn’t you be my type?”
Gwen pointed down to her baggy cardigan and loose pants.
“I’m a geek, I don’t wear flowing gowns or glitzy rings, and I’m certainly not an accomplished mistress. You probably go for, like, the Salma Hayek or Charlize Theron types. Badass women who have their way with men.”
“And you think you aren’t a badass woman? I saw you mow down about a billion Domnua yesterday without blinking an eye,” Loch countered.
“Well, sure, I suppose badass like that. But not… er…” Gwen was about to say ‘in the bedroom,’ then blushed, glad that the soft glow from the bridge would hopefully mask the flush on her face.
“But not… where? In bed? As a lover? Are you timid then, sweet Gwen of the Sirens?” Loch laughed, then paused as he studied her face more closely. Gwen found herself blushing even more furiously, and deliberately turned her chin away so she didn’t meet his eyes.
She didn’t even hear him move. One moment he was on the other side of the bridge and the next he stood right in front of her, his arms on either side of the chair, locking her in place as he brought his face inches away from hers.
“Have you never been with a man?” Loch asked, surprise coating his every word, and embarrassment worked its way through Gwen.
“Of course I have. I was just raised that it isn’t polite to discuss… that… in company,” Gwen scoffed, her eyes still averted.
“Methinks you are lying,” Loch said, his breath whispering lightly over her face, bringing every nerve ending in her body to attention.
“I have! You’re just trying to intimidate me. I know how to be with a man,” Gwen said, exasperated and feeling annoyed about him cornering her in the chair. Deciding to put him off his game, she reached up and grabbed his face, pulling his lips to hers in a kiss.
Heat coursed between them, instantly awakening her, and she held still, her lips pressed to his and her eyes closed, unsure of what to do next. Her body was telling her one thing, but in all reality, she felt awkward and uncertain about anything to do with kissing or sex in general. Aside from a few sloppy kisses in school, she really had no experience with men.
Loch pulled back, his face still inches from hers, and met her eyes.
“See?” Gwen said, “I know what I’m doing. I’m just saying that I’m not your type, and we can both admit there is no chemistry here. I’m for bed then.” She stood and slipped beneath his arm to make a quick escape, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.
The breath rushed out of her when Loch whirled her to him, pressing her body fully against his length, his lips claiming hers in a kiss so powerful she felt it down to her toes. Frozen, unable to think, she squeaked while he explored her lips with his own, gently nibbling them until he urged them lightly apart to touch his tongue to hers. Gwen shuddered against him, pleasure careening through her as he explored her mouth, his kiss a quest, a promise o
f something so much deeper, and yet delivering so much pleasure on its own. When she moaned against his mouth, he pulled back, raking one hand through his hair.
“I’d say there’s chemistry here,” Loch said, not seeming to be entirely pleased by the thought.
Gwen gulped, unsure of how to respond or what to say. So in true geek fashion, she fled the bridge, letting the door slam behind her and the cool wind slap her in the face.
Touching her lips, she found them curved in a smile.
Chapter Twenty-One
Loch’s hands gripped the wheel. He needed something to hold onto. Everything in his gut screamed for him to go after this woman – Gwen of the Sirens. His mind flashed to her in the shower, lush curves begging for his touch, her red curls tumbling around her body. His body ached for release as he thought about burying himself deep inside her and showing her the pleasures of the flesh.
Aye, that was one thing he was certain of – Gwen was untouched. The thought of another man touching her, taking her innocence, made him want to rage.
Loch thought about earlier today, when she’d been casually walking on the beach, a small smile on her lips, her face turned to the sky. He admired so much about the way she handled things, to the point that he was almost a little jealous of it. No matter what, she seemed to look for – and find – the good in any situation or person. Here they were, loading a boat on a drizzly gray day and she had still looked to the sky and sung a song. It was the type of optimism that made his heart clench in his chest.
When the Domnua had poured over the hills, he’d panicked for a moment – and in that moment, he’d frozen. Luckily, his training had jarred him into motion, though it had taken his brain a few moments to catch up before he could start working protection magick to surround her. But in those few moments, seeing the arrows landing so close to where she stood, he’d come to a very serious conclusion.
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