The Stag Lord

by Darby Kaye

  “Not the time nor the place, Shay Doyle,” she muttered to herself.

  Entering the master bedroom, she headed to the closet and stepped inside, marveling as she always did over a storage area as large as her own bedroom. It had been a favorite place of hers when she and her brother and her cousins had played hide-and-seek as children during the many clan get-togethers. She rummaged through a shelf full of Hugh’s T-shirts and sweats. She plucked one from a stack and shook it out. No, not gray. Too boring. I want something to set off his eyes. Gods, what would I give to have lashes like those? Cor’s got them, too. He’s going to drive the girls crazy in just a few more years. She folded it back up and continued her search, wondering why she was even spending this much mind space on a frikkin’ T-shirt. Locating just the right shade, she grabbed it when another color caught her eye. “Hmm.” With a sudden grin, she snagged them both, then hurried back.

  Bann was still seated when she stepped into the room, eyelids closed, lashes a dark fringe along his cheeks. His hair was wet and slicked back and his face clean. Without opening his eyes, he spoke. “Let me guess. Blue, right?”

  “Nope. Pink.”

  His eyes flew open in alarm.

  “It was the only one I could find that would fit you.” She held up the T-shirt, its garish bubblegum color a slap in the face to the austere bathroom. She kept her other hand behind her back.

  Bann’s mouth opened and closed a few times. He reluctantly reached for it, holding it at arm’s length between thumb and finger as if the color alone might emasculate him. Wincing as he lifted his injured arm, he pulled it over his head.

  Biting the inside of her lip, Shay watched in the mirror as he tugged it straight. “That shade looks good on you. Especially with your coloring.”

  Bann stared at himself. “Does Hugh wear this?”

  “Sure. Redheads look great in pink, too.”

  She waited in the doorway, fighting a smile as Bann steeled himself for his public appearance. Just as he started out of the bathroom, she laid a hand on his chest. “You’re so gullible, Bannerman Boru.” She held up the other T-shirt she had brought along.

  He blinked. “Why…why, ye manky trickster.” Amusement pulled at a corner of his mouth. Pushing against her hand, he advanced, forcing her to retreat.

  Laughing, she backed up. “Oh my gods, you should’ve seen the look on your face when—Oh!”

  Bann lunged for her. Twisting, she ducked under his hand and darted around to the far side of her bed, putting it between them. “Look, I brought you another shirt.” She waved the blue one at him. “Truce and all that.”

  “‘Twill do ye no good now,” he growled, deepening his brogue. “Ye’ve insulted a Knight with yer shenanigans and yer foul sartorial choice.”

  “Wow, you know big words. You must read a lot of—”

  Bann flung himself across the mattress, warrior-agile. Before she could dart away, he landed on her side of the bed and snagged her wrist. Plucking the shirt from her clutches, he tossed it over his shoulder. Then, catching hold of her other arm, he steered her backwards, his fingers firm but gentle handcuffs around her wrists, until she bumped against the wall. “And for the insult, ye must pay for yer crime.”

  She shook a strand of hair out of her eyes. “So, what’s the punishment?” Still grinning, she stared up in a silent challenge.

  Bann stared back. Between one heartbeat and the next, the playfulness faded from his face. It was replaced by an expression that made her cheeks, and other parts, grow warm. The light abrasion on her skin from his callused fingers sent her stomach a-fluttering. Letting go of her wrists, he braced his hands on the wall on either side of her head.

  “A kiss.”

  “Sadist.”

  “Aye.” He leaned closer and fastened his mouth onto hers. As his lips moved, he pressed closer until his body was a scant inch from hers. An inch too far.

  Yeah, I don’t think so. Shay placed her hands on his hips—actually, on his ass—and tugged him closer. He obliged, pinning her to the wall with chest and belly and hips.

  She gasped when he not only parted her lips with mouth and tongue, but brought his knee up and nudged her legs apart as well, pressing his thigh against her crotch. She responded, rocking her hips ever so slightly. She could feel his erection, an impressive denim-encased package to be sure, on her hip. Meanwhile, his tongue was doing things to her mouth that made her toes curl. Before she was ready to quit—actually, just about when she was ready to topple him onto the bed—Bann pulled back, panting.

  “A moment.” He took a breath, then let it out slowly.

  “About to go over the edge?” she teased.

  “Certainly approaching the rim.” He wiped a layer of sweat from his upper lip. “I feel like a lad in the hay with his first maiden.”

  “Me, too,” she whispered back. The question hovered between them. “What about Cor?”

  “What about him?”

  “Won’t he be upset if we…you know?” Shay felt her face growing hot. Screwed each other senseless?

  Bann reached up and fingered a lock of her hair. “No, I do not think so.” Uncertainty deepened the blue of his eyes.

  Shay brushed her knuckles along his jaw, savoring the rasp of the dark stubble. “I won’t do anything that hurts him.” In spite of the heat of the moment, her heart swelled at the thought of the younger Boru. “I must admit something, Bann. I think I’m falling in love with your son.” Maybe, you, too.

  “Then he is a fortunate boyo.”

  “Max?” Hearing Cor’s voice calling for the dog, Shay and Bann looked at each other.

  Later, perhaps?

  You can count on it.

  With a trace of a wink, Bann snatched the other T-shirt off the bed and disappeared across the hall.

  A few moments later, Max burst into the room, Cor on his tail. “Ann told me to call her Ann and to tell you to come eat,” he said in one long breath. He glanced around. “Where’s Dad?”

  “Room across the hall.” Shay chuckled when boy and dog banged into each other trying to bolt through the doorway at the same time. Cor’s got a permanent shadow now. Which is good. Max is as effective a guard for the kid as any of us could be.

  Taking a moment, Shay combed her hair, tying it back into a ponytail, then washed her face and hands before heading out of her room. Bann’s door was shut. Even so, she could hear Cor protesting, a mix of laughter and nervousness in his tone.

  “No way, Dad! I’m not wearing that!”

  “I don’t see why not. True, it’s a wee bit large, but…”

  “‘Cuz it’s pink!” Cor’s voice rose to a shrill pitch.

  Shay grinned all the way to the kitchen.

  24

  “I WISH I COULD say I’m surprised, Bann, but I wouldn’t put it past Quinn Tully to do something like that out of malice,” Ann said, passing a basket of breadsticks to Cor sitting next to her.

  On the opposite side of the dining table, Shay sat by Bann, enjoying watching him out of the corner of her eye as he ate. Overhead, a chandelier, crafted from elk antlers, warmed the rustic pine furniture with a golden glow. She noticed that both Bann and Cor had glanced up at it more than once during the meal. When Ann jabbed a fork at her, she squirmed in her chair, knowing what was coming.

  “I’m not one to say, ‘I told you so,’” her aunt began.

  “Then don’t,” Shay muttered.

  “But if you recall”—Ann plowed ahead, ignoring the quip—“I warned you when you first started dating him it would end badly. Those Tullys are a black-souled clan.”

  Shay reached for her wineglass and took another sip. Its mellow warmth settled in her bones. “I thought Quinn was different.”

  Next to her, Bann laid down his fork and knife and pushed his empty plate away. “How long were you and Tully seeing each other?”

  “Just a few months.” Shay made a face at the memory. “He was nice enough at the beginning but became jealous of my position as a Healer
. He couldn’t understand that, sometimes, work had to come first.”

  “Well, he’s certainly shown his true colors.” Hugh shook his head, then rose from his seat at the head of the table and stepped to the sideboard. Picking up the wine carafe, he made the rounds, pouring more.

  Shay noticed Bann refused a second glass. I bet he’s not much of a wine drinker. “Um, no thanks, Hugh,” she said to her uncle’s offer. “I think I’ll switch to beer. Anyone else? Bann?”

  “Aye, thank you.” Bann smiled up at her as she rose.

  She fluffed her ponytail off her neck as she entered a kitchen that would be the envy of every chef that ever chopped cilantro. A heated flush spread throughout her body. Must be the wine, she lied, knowing it was Bann’s smile. Humming to herself, she searched through the stainless-steel refrigerator, stocked with enough food to feed, well, a clan. She finally located a couple of Coors. Snagging a pair of glasses, she headed back to the dining room. Bann stood and helped her with her chair.

  Refusing to meet her aunt’s shrewd gaze, she glanced over at Cor. The boy was slumped in his chair, having waved the napkin of defeat to a second helping of everything. Even as she watched, he yawned, barely remembering to cover his mouth in time. His eyelids fluttered, then closed. Shay nudged Bann. “Cor’s about to do a faceplant in his supper.”

  With a bemused expression, Bann stood up. He walked around the table and dragged his half-asleep son to his feet, then hoisted him up under the armpits with a grunt. Cor murmured something about dessert, wrapped his arms and legs around his father like a squirrel hugging a tree trunk, then laid his head on the broad shoulder and promptly fell asleep again. “Ann. Hugh. My apologies. I’ll return shortly.” Hoisting Cor higher in his arms, he teased his son about certain boyos who stuff themselves so much their fathers can scarcely pick them up.

  Shay watched as the Boru men disappeared toward the stairs. A throat clearing caught her attention. She refrained from rolling her eyes. Barely. “I already know what you’re going to say, Ann. And that’s not my goal in life, okay? I have a calling that keeps me busy—”

  “You can have both if it’s with the right guy. So, I’m going to say it. Shay Doyle,” her aunt announced, “think about marrying that man. Or I will. Just to keep him in the family.”

  “Polygamy.” Hugh pondered the idea, swirling his wine, the glass dwarfed by fingers thick enough and strong enough to snap the stem. “Why, that would make a curious addition to our heritage.” Mischief lit up his eyes. “Certainly to our marriage, eh, Ann? To our marriage bed, eh? Eh?” His ginger eyebrows waggled up and down in case his wife didn’t get it.

  Tempted to stuff her fingers in her ears and start humming, Shay hastily interrupted her uncle. “Marriage? Ann, I just met him barely three weeks ago. And it’s not like we’re getting to know each other under normal, everyday conditions.”

  “All the better,” Hugh said. “You discover a person’s true nature when they are in the midst of battle. Of any sort. And you have to admit, Bannerman Boru’s nature is of the highest caliber.”

  “Even when he beat the crap out of Quinn?”

  “One of his finest moments.”

  Deciding to change a conversation she was pretty sure—well, ninety-five percent sure—she wasn’t ready to have, Shay continued. “Speaking of battle, what are we going to do?” She held up a hand and began ticking off on her fingers. “We’ve got the Stag Lord after Cor, for reasons we still don’t know. We’ve got a pack of Fir Bolgs on our tails, possibly rogue ones. And now Quinn has joined the crazies.” She made a face. “Plus, my house is wrecked. There’s probably a foot of snow piling up inside from this blizzard.”

  “One problem at a time, lass.” Hugh scratched his beard in thought. “Well, for now, we’re safe here. The Fir Bolgs cannot get in, nor can Cernunnos, not with the wards we have all around the property.”

  “And Tully? What’s to stop him from removing your wards as he did mine?” She took another drink of her beer. “What?” she added when Hugh and Ann grinned at each other.

  “In the light of everything that has been happening, just last week we had a special ceremony performed on ours, and had them repositioned them on the inside of the walls, as well,” Hugh said. “We thought it prudent to have at least one impenetrable refuge for the clan. And since our place can accommodate a large number, we went ahead. Now I’m glad we did.”

  “Nobody can touch our wards except Hugh or me,” Ann said. “If they do, they’ll find themselves on the ground and wondering where most of their skin and the last few days have gone.”

  Relief flooded Shay. It was followed by an overwhelming affection for what was practically her second set of parents. “What would I do without you guys?”

  “I could say the same for all the Doyles.” Bann appeared in the archway. “I do not know how I am to repay you all for—”

  “Hush that right now, Bannerman Boru.” Ann shook a stern finger at him. “No more talk of debt or repayment or such nonsense.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Now, would anyone like tea before bed? No? Then off you go. Hugh and I will clean up.”

  “We will?” Hugh said.

  “Oh, no, you don’t.” Shay leaped to her feet. “You’ve done enough. Bann and I’ll take of this.”

  “We will?” Bann said.

  “Excellent. Shut off the lights when you’re finished.” Hugh grinned at Bann. Offering his arm to his wife, he wished them a good night and left. Shay could hear them whispering all the way across the foyer and up the stairs.

  Twenty minutes later, Shay closed the door on the dishwasher and started it running. “There. Done and dusted.” She glanced over at Bann, who was rinsing out the sink. “Do you want some coffee or tea?” Or me? “Or another beer?”

  “Thank you, no.” Bann dried his hands, gazing out the bay window at the backyard, now partly obscured by driving snow. She joined him. For a moment, the only sound was the soft swoosh of the washer.

  “Nice yard, isn’t it?”

  Lights were strategically placed to illuminate winding pathways, wooden benches tucked here and there under trees, and, surprisingly, an elaborate jungle gym in the far corner. One part of it was simple and crude and crafted from nothing more than logs and weathered boards, while the other half was modern and complete with a slide and even a small trampoline.

  “We have a lot of clan gatherings here, so the jungle gym’s a great way to keep the younger children entertained. Cor might enjoy playing on it tomorrow, after we shovel it out.” She laughed softly. “You know, I treated my first broken bone by that trampoline when James fell off that older section. I was only fifteen, but my master had me set the bone right then and there. I’d been toying with the idea of becoming a Healer, but that sealed the deal for me.”

  “Is it difficult? To care for those who are suffering?”

  “Sure. But I tell myself to focus on what needs to be done. Do what I can to ease their pain. I can’t imagine myself being anything else.”

  “Nor can I. Although I stand by what I said earlier—you’re a fine warrior to boot.”

  “Why, thank you, kind sir.”

  “And a fine friend.” He looked down. “For the past year, I’ve missed having one.”

  Ann’s voice echoed in her skull. I wanted a friend. One who would want me to stand with him, on the field of battle, or in mundane trials of daily life.

  Bann hesitated, then continued in a quiet voice. “I’ll admit, ‘tis a bit wearisome being father all the time.”

  How about being lover? Shay nodded, afraid to open her mouth lest her thoughts tumbled out before she could stop them. “Well, I, um, I guess I’ll turn in now.”

  “I as well.”

  After turning off the downstairs lights, they walked upstairs in an uncomfortable silence. The light from a lone wall sconce cast most of the hallway in shadow. Pausing outside of her closed door, Shay waited, not sure if she should initiate moving it to the next level o
r leave it up to Bann. The next level being him naked in my bed. It didn’t help that the Knight simply stood there, as if waiting for a sign. Well, do you or don’t you?

  Suddenly, the illustration from her book of Brian Boru flashed in her mind. The warrior-king. So, she wasn’t one bit surprised—and was instead very pleased—when the long-son of the High King took a step forward. Then another. Until Shay was pressed against her door, his lips and body just brushing hers.

  “I misspoke earlier.”

  “A-About what?” Shay locked her knees to keep them from shaking.

  “I misspoke earlier,” he repeated, his breath warm on her cheek. “When ye offered to be a friend.”

  “You did?”

  “Aye. While I will always be proud to name ye friend, I wish for you to be more.” A hint of uncertainly crept into his voice. “If I am being too bold, then—”

  “Bann?”

  “Aye?”

  “Shut up and kiss—”

  Before she finished speaking, he captured her mouth, his body’s length measuring hers. While one hand cupped the back of her head, the other groped behind her, searching for the knob. The door flew open. They stumbled backward into the dark room. Only a quick move on Bann’s part, slapping his free hand on the doorframe while he supported Shay with the other, kept them from falling on their butts in the middle of the carpet.

  Shutting the door behind him with his heel, Bann broke off the kiss long enough to murmur in her ear. “I dinna plan for this.”

  “Me either. But sometimes, two people simply find themselves attracted to each other and—Oh.” She stepped back and gestured toward his groin. “You didn’t plan for this. No worries. You forget, I’m a Healer.”

  “You mean…?”

  “Of course. See, one of my tasks is to instruct our teens when they hit puberty. Back up what their parents tell them. Hold on a sec.” She stepped around him to the bathroom and flipped on the light. Hoping she still had the box of condoms from last month when she lectured a young cousin about safe sex—actually, in the girl’s case, unsafe sex—she opened a drawer in the vanity and rummaged through her supplies. Yes! After checking the expiration date, she pulled out a plastic-wrapped packet, paused, then grabbed a second one. Before leaving, she lit a scented candle and carried it out with her, turning off the bathroom light with an elbow.