“Thank you, Fáelán.” She gifted him with one of her heart-piercing smiles. “You don’t have to flatter me, you know.”
“The Fianna do not flatter, and I speak only the truth.” He reached for her hand and held it between his. “Tell me why ye doubt my sincerity, love.”
She shook her head, her features softening. Her expression held a tender kind of sadness he’d not seen afore, and his heart dropped. More than anything, he wanted to see her smile again. The need to know she felt secure, the desire to see her confident of his regard . . . when had these things become his driving force?
“I just know how hard you’re trying to fall—”
“Ye know I’m sworn to speak only truth, and your doubt cuts me to the quick.” Even he was surprised by how true his words were. “I would never tell ye false. I’ll not say what I do not mean. Ever.”
Her brow creased, and her smile disappeared. She slid her hand out from beneath his and rearranged the linen napkin on her lap, keeping her eyes downcast. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, Fáelán. But my take on things is a little different from yours. I understand how much you want to love me and why. Let’s face it. The only reason we’re together is because of a stupid curse, and because I happen to have the ability to see you when you’re in the void. Not the best foundation on which to build a relationship, is it?” Her eyes met his. “Our being together has nothing at all to do with who I am, and everything to do with ending your captivity.”
He cut loose a string of curses under his breath and scrubbed his face with both hands. Lowering his hands, he leaned as far across the table as he could and fixed her in his gaze. “How can ye dismiss what is between us so easily? Do ye not feel the same quickening pulse, the same breathless gladness when ye set eyes upon me that I do when I lay eyes upon ye?”
She opened her mouth as if to speak, and at that moment, their dinners arrived. Regan’s eyes were overly bright. They waited in silence as their plates were set before them and the waiter left.
“Have you given it even a second’s thought how all of this is affecting me?” She pushed the roasted vegetables around her plate with her fork. “I’m not dismissing what I feel for you, Fáelán, but it’s . . .” She cleared her throat. “It’s going to crush me if you disappear after our five days together. I’m trying to be rational about all of this. I’m trying to—”
“Protect yourself.” Feck. He’d considered only himself and what he needed. He hadn’t spared even a fleeting thought for her feelings. “I beg your forgiveness, mo a grá. ’Tis clear I’ve been selfish.” A fierce yearning rose within him. He wanted a future with Regan. He wanted to give her children, a home and a lifetime filled with love. “Can we set the matter aside for now and enjoy this fine meal?”
“I don’t think you’re selfish, Fáelán. If the accursed shoe were on my wee foot, I’d be desperate too.” Her expression filled with sympathy. “I want you to know I’m here for you, and even though I can only imagine what it’s been like, I can empathize.”
He couldn’t speak past the prickling at the back of his throat. Nodding, he cut a portion of his salmon and placed it on her plate. He struggled to gain control over the powerful emotions churning through him. Her compassion humbled him, and he was in awe of her beauty, both inside and out. “Eat, lassie, and then we’ll dance.”
“Here,” she said, placing one of her lamb chops on his plate.
They ate in silence. Regan was a rare woman indeed. In all his long life, he’d never met her equal. Brave, caring and generous, she fairly shone with goodness and beauty. “Ye’d have made a grand Fiann, Regan, and I would have been proud to serve with ye.”
“I don’t think so.” She huffed out a laugh. “No way could I bind my hair and run for miles without a single strand coming loose. I wouldn’t even try.”
“I want ye,” he rasped out.
She stilled. “I want you too.”
“How would ye feel about going home early?”
“I’d like that.”
They finished their meal to Irish music being played in the bar. They’d dance another night. Right now he wanted to take Regan home and show her how he felt about her. Fáelán signaled their server for the bill. The waiter disappeared into the back, then reappeared, accompanied by Fáelán’s cousin.
“How’s my favorite investor?” Daniel asked, clasping Fáelán’s hand in a hearty shake. He glanced curiously toward Regan.
“Daniel, this is Regan MacCarthy. Regan, this is Daniel O’Boyle, another one of my many cousins. We missed ye at the gatherin’, boyo.”
“Sorry I couldn’t make it, but I knew I’d be seeing you tonight.” His gaze swung back to Regan. “You have no idea how glad we all are to meet you, Regan. In honor of this momentous occasion, tonight’s meal is on the house.” Daniel rubbed his hands together. “Dessert is on the way.”
“Everything we had was outstanding, but I don’t have any room for dessert.” Regan placed her hand on her midriff. “I am full.”
“We’d like to retire early this eve, but we’ll be back soon,” Fáelán told him. “Go raigh maith agat.”
“Yes, thank you,” Regan added.
“You are both more than welcome, and I look forward to future visits.” He sent Fáelán a meaningful look. “May the rest of your week go without a hitch. Safe home to you both. Slán abhaile. I’ll have the dessert boxed and brought out right away.” With that, Dan left them.
Their waiter brought them the to-go box. He and Regan gathered their things, and Fáelán dropped a generous tip on the table. He could hardly wait to have Regan in his bed. Tonight he’d fall asleep with her in his arms. He’d be surrounded by her scent with her sweet curves pressed against him the whole night through. Placing his hand at the small of her back, he guided her out into the warmth of a fine summer’s eve.
He couldn’t remember a time when he’d felt quite this happy or this optimistic.
“Thank you for the wonderful dinner, Fáelán,” Regan said as they reached his car.
“Ye are most welcome.” He couldn’t get them home fast enough, and for the first time, he missed his ability to will himself where he wished to be. He took Regan by the hand, fixed his mind upon his bedroom and gave it a try. Naught happened. “Hmph.” He opened her door for her.
“Hmph?” Regan repeated.
“I wanted to see what happened if I tried to will us into my bed to save time.” He flashed her a wry look. “Didn’t work.”
She laughed. “It’s not a long drive.” She settled into the MINI Cooper.
“Is it not?” He hurried around to the driver’s side and got them going down the road toward home. “May there be many more dinners out yet to come for us,” he said under his breath. Regan placed her hand over his on the gearshift, and his insides melted. He switched so that his hand rested atop hers. “I have not told ye enough how very beautiful ye are, Regan, and ’tis not flattery, but the truth.”
“Yeah, you’re just trying to get me into your bed,” she teased, a sweet smile playing across her kissable mouth.
“Aye, that too.” He squeezed her fingers. Her laughter washed through him, dispelling his worries and gladdening his heart.
By the time he pulled the car in to the driveway, he was breathless with his need for Regan. Fáelán grabbed the bag from the pharmacy, and Regan took the to-go box. Thankfully, they found the house quiet as they entered. “I’ll put this dessert into the fridge,” he said, trading sacks with Regan. “Go on. I’ll be up in a moment.”
“All right.” She started up the stairs.
Transfixed, he watched the way her hips swayed, the graceful way she ran her hand along the polished banister. She glanced back, catching him ogling her.
She arched a brow. “How long do you plan to stand there?”
“Not a second longer.” He turned on his heel and strode to the kitchen, put the dessert away and jogged back to the stairs. Far be it from him to keep his beauty waiting. He opened his door to fi
nd Regan’s dress pooled upon the rug just over the threshold. His pulse raced as he caught sight of her shoes, and beyond them, a flash of something lacy in front of his bedroom door. He groaned and followed the trail she’d left him, unbuttoning his shirt along the way.
He found her naked and lying on her side upon his bed. “What a sight ye are, Álainn, a feast for the senses.” He kicked off his shoes and stripped. Her sultry gaze ran over him, and his cock twitched. Climbing onto the bed, he stared into her eyes and growled, stalking her. “Your wolf is about to take a bite.”
Laughing, she welcomed him into her arms, and their mouths came together in a scorching kiss. He learned her body with his hands and his mouth, reveling in each delectable bit of her luscious curves. “Mmm.” He kissed his way down her neck to her soft, plump breasts. “Delicious.” He took a hardened nipple into his mouth, sucking and nipping until she moaned and arched into him.
For the second time that day, he lost himself in Regan’s beauty. They were perfect together, and making love to her was like coming home to a warm, welcoming heaven on earth. Drawing her closer, he flipped them so that she was on top. He slid his palms down her back to cup her bottom. “Ah, Regan, ye amaze and humble me, ye do.” He gazed at her, smoothing her hair back from her face. By all that was holy, she was beautiful, beautiful and precious beyond imagining. Fáelán was nearly brought to tears as feelings of possessiveness, tenderness and desire to protect her washed through him in a deluge.
Regan kissed his forehead, then both of his eyelids, his cheeks and finally his mouth. “You’re pretty amazing yourself,” she whispered before nipping his neck.
The sound of her breathing, she soft way it touched his skin, sent a cascade of shivers down his spine. He ached to be inside her. She shifted to lie by his side and took him in her hand, stroking and fondling his cock until he thrust helplessly into her touch, wanting more, wanting her. “Condom.”
“Right here,” she replied, reaching under a pillow. “Do you need help?”
“’Tis certain I can figure it out for myself.” He took the foil wrapper from her and tore it open. He’d been around long enough to know of them and how they worked. “I’m more clever than ye think,” he muttered, rolling the sheath over himself. “’Tis like wearing a slicker on a sunny day,” he grumbled.
She caressed his aching balls, and he forgot all about how much he disliked protection. “I’ve the desire for dessert after all.” He took her nipple into his mouth again, first one then the other. “Open for me, mo a grá.”
She did, and he found the sensitive nub of her sex. Her slick readiness drove him mad. He worshipped her body with his hands and kissed his way down her torso. Seeing her so open to him, he lost the ability to think. Instinct took over, and he made love to her with his mouth, flicking his tongue over her clit until she cried out and pressed herself against him. He plunged a finger into her welcoming heat, nipped, licked and teased until she came apart. Before the last pulse of pleasure receded, he entered her.
Forcing himself to think of other things, he remained still for a moment, lest he come at the first thrust. Regan moved beneath him, drawing his attention to her.
“What’s wrong?” She slid her hands up his arms to his shoulders.
Fáelán touched her forehead with his. “There’s naught wrong, my beauty. I need a wee bit of control, is all.”
“What if I don’t want you to be in control?” She thrust her hips against him again.
He chuckled. “Have it your way.” Fáelán made love to her, slowly at first, increasing his pace as the groans and gasps she made drove him over the edge. This was more than sex, more a merging of souls, and he shattered with his release, coming together again as a new man. He dropped to the mattress beside her, wrapped his arms around her, unable to speak.
Snuggling up to him, Regan traced his tattoos with her finger, occasionally dropping kisses here and there. “Do your tattoos mean anything, or are they purely decorative?” she asked, touching the leaping salmon over his heart.
“Aye.” A sigh of utter contentment escaped. “The salmon identifies me as one of the Fianna. It’s Fionn MacCumhaill’s symbol. The other on my chest is my clan’s symbol, and upon my back ye’ll see another that identifies me as the son of Breck.” He peered into her eyes. “See, if I’d been slain far from home, I’m stamped with my return address. That way, my remains would make it home to my kin without difficulty.”
“That’s . . . macabre.” She yawned.
“Nay, ’tis but good sense.” He ran his hand up and down her back. “The tattoos on my shoulders are to commemorate victories in battle.”
“I love your tattoos.” She yawned again and snuggled closer. “Your cousin, the one who looks just like you, mentioned the resemblance came in handy. What did he mean?”
“When my appearance is needed, he darkens his hair with dye and stands in for me.”
“When would your appearance be needed?” Regan lifted herself slightly to peer at him.
“I wished to get an education, which is not easy when one can only walk in the earthly realm twenty days out of the year. With the help of my kin, I did what I could online, dictating research papers, whilst they entered my words into the computer. I’d read the textbooks whilst one of them turned the pages for me.”
He shifted and drew her back down against his chest. “But many classes were not offered online, so Jeremy attended them for me.” He arched a brow. “’Twas I who did all the work, though. He recorded the lectures for me, and in return, I paid for his education.”
“That’s fair. So, you have a degree?”
“Aye, in anthropology and ancient history. I want to continue and get a PhD in archaeology.”
“Really?”
“Aye. Since I actually know where significant sites can be found, just think what I might be able to accomplish.”
“Wow. I’m impressed.”
“Perhaps I’ll also be a professor.”
“Sounds like a good plan.” Regan sighed and closed her eyes. “Comfy bed.”
“Comfy woman,” he whispered, cupping her breast. As soon as she fell asleep, he turned to his side and wrapped himself protectively around her. Nothing in this world compared to having Regan in his bed and in his arms. He’d waited nearly two thousand years to feel like this, and the thought that he might lose her could not be borne.
Her warmth seeped into him, and worries plagued him. Why had he not realized sooner? ’Twould not be him Morrigan would harm, but Regan. Hence the part of the curse where he’d be willing to lay down his life for hers.
More than anything, he needed Regan to be safe. If ending the curse meant trading her well-being for his, he’d refuse. He clenched his jaw against the ache in his chest. These five days might be all he’d ever have with Regan, for he would not put her life in peril for his freedom. He would not give her his heart fully, because to do so meant putting her in danger. Once again, he’d thwart Morrigan, and there was no telling what she’d do or how she’d react to his defiance.
Chapter Eight
“You want to lean your hips back to find the sweet spot where you can hold the pose without strain.” Regan corrected Fáelán’s downward-facing dog. Any excuse to touch him worked for her. He’d asked her to teach him yoga, and since he insisted on practicing naked, of course she’d agreed. Because of the naked part, she’d suggested they practice in her bedroom with the blinds closed. She didn’t need her neighbors getting an eyeful of her gorgeous Fiann, and the curtains over the living room windows never closed completely.
“On your next exhale, go from downward-facing dog into the lunge. Let me demonstrate again.” She moved into the lunge, conscious of his appreciative stare. Of course, he’d insisted she be naked too. Coming to standing, she gestured. “Now you try.” She slid her hand down his back to fondle his fine butt as he moved into the asana.
“Regan . . .”
“Yes, Fáelán?”
“Ye are distracting m
e.”
“Am I?” How could this already be the end of day three together? Panic careened through her at the thought of how quickly their time together might end. She forced herself into a calmer state. They had right now, and she didn’t want to miss a second with him because of what might happen in the future.
“From lunge, bring your feet together, toes pointing in slightly, heels apart. Inhale, straighten your legs and go back to touching your toes again. Well, eventually you’ll be able to touch your toes,” she teased. “For now, let your hands dangle. On your next exhale, release a bit deeper into the pose.”
Fáelán groaned. “Why do I want to touch my toes again?”
“To stretch and open your spine and your joints, that’s why. You’re not there yet, and that’s OK. You don’t want to injure yourself, so don’t force it. Exhale, and roll up slowly, stacking one vertebrae at a time. Then move into the standing backbend again, with your arms raised over your head. Good. Inhale and come back to the mudra pose with your hands over your heart. You’re doing really well. Hatha Yoga is the basis of all forms of yoga, and once you’ve mastered the basics, we can explore other more challenging disciplines.”
“Grand. First let’s have sex, and then we can fall asleep in each other’s arms. My favorite thing in all the world is falling asleep with you beside me.”
She snorted. “Sex first, though?”
“Aye—first, second and third.” He scooped her up and carried her to the bed. “I’ve centuries without ye to make up for.”
“Is that what you’re trying to do? Make up for centuries without having sex with me?” She snuggled closer against him.
He laid her on the bed and stretched out beside her. “Aye, though I know ’tis impossible.” He kissed her forehead and then her eyelids. “Do ye mind?” he whispered into her ear, causing a pleasant tickle.
Tangled in Time (The McCarthy Sisters) Page 13