The queen turned to Duncan. “As she lay dying, she begged me to be merciful to you and your family. Begged me as she was dying from a broken heart. I had such hopes for you, Duncan. You would have ruled at her side in the Isle of Fae. She would have borne you many children, as is our way. They would have done the world so many good deeds. You chose money over the most precious of gifts—love.”
Allora walked to her daughter and placed a kiss upon her brow. The anguish on her face was more than the onlookers could take and all kneeled in reverence to the queen and what she had lost.
Pulling the necklace from around her daughter, she turned and faced Duncan and his family again. Stretching out her arms, she cried, “You of magicked blood, you the Donovans who worship the Goddess of creation, I do curse thee. From the magic of the Fae I call upon the Goddess, the mother of us all, and she has granted me this small act of justice.”
Placing the diamond in her palm, her tears falling upon it, she withdrew a dagger from her sleeve. She held it up high. “From this moment forward, no daughter of Donovan shall live longer than my sweet Ariel. On their twenty-fifth year of life they shall die. The time leading up to their end, they shall know the heartache that my Ariel knew. They shall feel her pain, know her every tear.”
The queen plunged the dagger into the heart of the jewel and it cracked into three parts. Allora raised her hand and blew, the pieces scattering into the wind.
Duncan, overcome with grief, ran to the side of his Niamh’s body. He laid his hand upon her cheek as he had the last time he saw her. “My love, please, please forgive me for my weakness. I never deserved you. Your mother is within her rights to punish me as she sees fit. I love you, Niamh, always.” He kissed her brow and turned and went down on his knees before the Fae queen. “Your Highness, please take your revenge upon me, not my family. It is my fault alone that Niamh is dead.”
Allora, being the wise and compassionate woman that she was, stepped forward and touched Duncan’s head. “I will give your family a chance to break the curse. When the time is right, three sons will find the jewels. They will be in the possession of three very fine women. Women as my Ariel was, strong, wise and having a beautiful soul. It will be up to the sons to retrieve the jewels and bring them back together. No magic may be used. They must be given in love. True love, the kind that Ariel had for you.” Allora looked to the crowd. “This is my will, and so it shall be.”
* * * * *
Alli slowly blinked her eyes and became very aware of the heat at her back. She also felt something very hard poking her in the spine. She sat up, still a bit dazed from the vision that she shared with Sully. He scooted from out behind her and went to the other side of the couch.
“Is that it?” she asked. “Whatever happened to Duncan?”
“He never married the French woman. Instead he found a peasant who became his wife. She was said to be very kind and thoughtful but Duncan never loved her the way a woman should be loved. His heart remained with Niamh. He continued on with his life and had six children. True to the curse, his two daughters became ill and died on their twenty-fifth birthdays, as has every female Donovan born since then. That is why Heather is so sick. She is in the first stages of the curse and if we can’t get the jewels united in the next six months, my baby sister will die. Each jewel retrieved will give her additional strength until all three are united and the curse is broken.”
Alli took Sully’s hand. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. I know that we are asking a lot from you. We will all understand if you can’t help us. Falling in love is not something you can plan and we Donovans know that,” Sully said quietly.
Alli felt emotionally battered. It had been a rough day. With Finn pressing her and Mr. Donovan telling her what had to happen, she was inundated with conflicting emotions. Sully sharing the story of Duncan and Niamh helped explain the family’s need to help Heather from the same fate but she was exhausted, body and soul.
Releasing her hand, he stood. “You need to get some rest.” Sully kissed her soft cheek one last time and whispered, “Think no more of this tonight, Alli, and get some sleep.”
Chapter Ten
A very pissed-off Finn jerked Sully awake the next morning. “Where the hell did you take her last night, asshole?”
Sully actually grinned at him. He was obviously taking pleasure in Finn’s discomfort. “Settle down, big brother. I took her to her house and we talked before I sent her to sleep.”
Finn paced the room as he watched his younger brother for a sign he was lying through his teeth. He knew Sully had a soft spot for his future sister-in-law but Finn was not into sharing his woman. Worried since dawn, he’d decided he couldn’t wait for Sully to wake up on his own.
“What did you tell her?”
“The truth, man. I shared the vision with her.” He put his hand up before Finn could rip into him again. “I only shared about the curse. Your time on the island is up to you to explain, brother.”
“How close did you have to get to her to share?” Finn knew what it took to share in a vision. Only Sully had that ability and Finn found that he was jealous.
“I held her, Finn. Nothing untoward happened, I swear. I know that she belongs to you.”
“You’re damn straight she belongs to me. Don’t put your hands on her again.”
Sully leaned back and laughed. “Oh man, you have it bad.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You love her.” It was a statement, not a question.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I want her and I am going to marry her.” Finn stormed out the door to the sound of Sully laughing at his expense.
He kept his hands in tight fists to keep from hitting a wall. He had to control the overwhelming anger coursing through his body or the house was going to start shaking. One of the hazards of being a witch was trying to control the power when you got too emotional.
Alli, she was all he could think about and since Pop had scared the hell out of her last night, Finn was going to have to change his strategy with her. He had been trying to woo her in his own way but she was too skittish and ran away from him. Now he was going for a full-on assault of her senses. He would make her so hot and wet for him that she couldn’t resist.
Finn was going to make Alli his in every way possible. For too many years now, he had fantasized about her. How her soft body felt against his hard one. He was going to make love to her as no other man had ever done.
The idea of her being with another man made Finn tremble. The thought of some other guy touching her face, suckling her nipples, filling up her pussy. It drove Finn crazy.
Now was the time. Alli was his and he was going to get her and show her where she truly belonged, with him. It was time she knew the truth about what happened to him when he was sent to Avalon. He needed to be honest with her, but it scared the hell out of him because he didn’t want her to feel pity for him.
It was only right she know all the facts.
Finn let himself into her home. She was still asleep on the couch where his brother had left her.
He went to his knees and stroked the hair from her eyes. “Baby, wake up. I need to talk to you.”
Her eyes fluttered opened and his name slid out on a sigh. His gut clenched, wishing he was waking her up by sliding into her.
“Scoot over, sleepyhead, I have some things I need to tell you.”
She moved over and he slid in beside her.
“What’s so important? Is something wrong with Heather?”
He feathered a kiss across her forehead; just like her to think of others. “No, she’s fine. I need to tell you what happened when I was sent away.”
Her face scrunched up and deep frown lines marred her pretty features. “I don’t think I’m going to like what I hear after what I saw yesterday.”
“You sound like a mama bear.” Finn smiled.
“I don’t like wha
t that woman said to you. I can infer some of what went on. It took everything I had not to punch her in the nose.”
“Damn, I adore you and I’ll show you how much, but first I need to tell you my story.”
He gently wrapped his hands around hers. “I was taken to the island in the mist. I was terrified the minute I stepped off the boat and was taken to see the high priestess. You can imagine how unhappy the women of the island were to receive me, but that is the place where we’re sent to be judged and punished for crimes like I had committed.”
“Finn, you didn’t force me to do anything.” Alli was fierce as she squeezed his hand. “I made the choice to have sex with you that night.”
He kissed her knuckles. She was trying to defend his actions. “Alli, baby, unlike normal society where women are often treated badly, in our community it is the opposite. You are revered, in you lies the ability of creation. Your nurturing and your emotional strength are considered gifts.
“Men are your counterparts, your companions and the ones who should hold you up high. Always there to protect you and tend to your needs. What I did was wrong and goes against all I had ever been taught. My mother was so mortified at my actions. It hurt her deeply on a level that I will never understand. She finally forgave me before she died but she had been bitterly disappointed by my actions.” His throat felt raw at the memories of the shame he’d brought upon himself and his family.
His finger skimmed along her cheek. “You’ve no idea how truly precious you are to this world, to me. A man is nothing without the strength and love of a woman. I’m nothing without your strength and forgiveness. Our night together went beyond spectacular. In fact I’m not sure I can find the right words to tell you what that night meant to me, how it’s haunted my dreams every night. How I wished like hell I could have spent these last years in your arms.”
At the reminder of the night they had spent together and the aftermath of it, she flushed a deep red and let go of Finn. The air between them felt cold. Would he ever find the right thing to say to her? She pulled the covers to her chin but he didn’t miss the tears gathering in the corners of her beautiful eyes. He didn’t want her to feel humiliated by what they shared, it was magical and joyful and he’d never experienced it ever again.
“Alli,” his voice so solemn, “I have never apologized to you for that night.”
“You don’t have to,” she mumbled, waving her hand.
“I do. I won’t say I’m sorry for making love with you. It took me by surprise, the things that you made me feel then. I do apologize for giving in to the need to fit in with the guys. For making that stupid bet in the first place. I will never forget or feel bad about having you beneath me. For you giving me your virginity, for making me feel something I had never felt before or since until now. All because of you, Alli. I wouldn’t trade that night with you for anything in the world.”
Finn leaned down and kissed her deeply. Trying to imprint every part of her mouth on his tongue.
The kiss alone did Alli in. Her embarrassment faded into the background as his tongue claimed her mouth. Nothing had ever felt so right. His mouth was made for hers. Every touch of his tongue lit a fire in her stomach and tightened her chest. She met him kiss for kiss, giving and taking as much as he was.
He fell back against the pillows, taking her with him. Pulling away, Alli stared into his face. Such a handsome, rugged face. His nose not quite straight, his lips plump and firm, and cheekbones chiseled to perfection. She began kissing that face, tracing it with her fingers and her tongue. His smooth forehead, running her hands from it down his slightly stubbled cheek. She traced his perfectly formed, sensual lips. Imprinting the feel of them against her skin. She wanted to know every ridge and plane, feel his skin burn beneath her fingers.
He caught one of her fingers in his mouth and sucked on it long and hard. Her pussy became instantly slick with need. Throbbing along with the finger in his hot mouth.
Licking his jaw, going slowly up one side and down the other. His hands moved down her thigh until he found her wet center. Teasing her outer lips while her mouth moved to his shoulders, biting the rock-hard flesh before soothing them with her tongue. Sucking hard on his neck, she nipped the skin there, leaving her mark on his throat as his finger dipped inside her pussy. It clamped around him and he groaned with satisfaction.
Alli slipped down farther to lick his flat brown nipple. Finn hissed as she ran her tongue across the top of it. She smiled as she brought it between her teeth and playfully bit. While licking one, she took her fingers and began a descent down his stomach. Running them through the soft hair there. Moaning loudly every time she hit a pleasure spot, Finn slammed his fingers deeper into her wet core.
Alli managed to push herself down farther along Finn’s body, which forced him to withdraw from her pussy. While she felt the emptiness, she wanted to experience giving him pleasure. She almost fainted as she watched Finn put his fingers in his mouth and suck greedily from them.
Her tongue dipped into his bellybutton as she found his stiff cock. He was so strong, so hard, and Alli wanted to purr as she slid her hand back and forth along it.
“Oh yeah, baby, touch me, just like that,” Finn coaxed her along. She felt powerful for the first time in a long while. His pleasure was in her touch, in her mouth and on her tongue. She was making him moan, begging her to touch him more, taste him further.
Alli brought her tongue around the broad head. Licking it slowly, sucking at the tip and taking his pre-cum into her mouth. She inhaled the smell of him, so hot and musky. Her mouth lapping up and down his shaft as her hand came to rest on his balls. Rolling the sac until it was tight against his body. His moans coming from deep in his chest, urging Alli on.
“Oh yes, baby, suck my cock.”
She smiled again and looked into his eyes. She took the mushroom head deep into her mouth.
He pushed his fingers into her hair, holding her head still as he pushed his cock in and out of her.
“Baby, I need you so fucking bad. You’re so damn hot. I can’t satisfy this driving need I have for you. It’s relentless, driving me insane. Ride me, baby,” he begged. She pulled herself off his cock. “Ride me hard, Alli, now,” he demanded as he pulled her atop him.
The look of lust in his eyes was so intense as she grabbed his rigid length, running it along her slit and teasing her clit with it.
“Hold your pussy open for me, Alli, so I can slide in and fuck you.”
Doing as he asked, Alli spread her lips apart. Finn grabbed the base of his cock and lined up the head with her opening. Grabbing one of her shoulders, he pushed her down, impaling her on his dick.
Alli pulled up and instead of going back down, she began to make circles with her hips.
“Teasing wench,” Finn said between gritted teeth. This was torture, being inside her but not nearly deep enough. He grabbed both shoulders this time and shoved her back all the way down. Her tender tissue tightened around him and he cried out at the pleasure.
Alli’s head fell back and her body arched, forcing her breasts upward. Finn grabbed the fleshy globes, basking in their perfection. He ran his fingers around both of them. Alli placed her hands on his shoulders as she rode him hard.
She watched as he slid one hand down to her clit and circled it with his thumb, his other hand pinching and plucking at her nipples. It was glorious as she started to bounce faster on his hard length. Her body rising and falling on his as she screamed her release. Her pussy tightening around his huge cock.
Finn sat up, wrapping his arms around her. Her juices flooding her thighs, Alli felt him slide his finger to her ass and start playing with her virgin hole.
She stiffened and Finn kissed her lips. “Relax, baby, I’m just going to play with it for a bit. I promise you it will feel so good,” he crooned in her ear.
By this time, he had gathered her wetness on his fingers. Spreading her sweet cream before placing his finger at the rim. When she slid down his cock,
he pushed his finger slightly into her. Every time she came down on him, he slid his finger deeper into her.
Alli was stunned at the fullness and pleasure she was receiving from his finger. After adjusting to it, they soon set a rhythm. Being filled from the front and the back was exquisite torture and had Alli moaning and crying. Big fat tears rolled down her face and she clung to him.
He grabbed her hair and kissed her in time with their thrusts. Alli had never felt so full, never been so connected to another human being. Rocking back and forth, taking his cock into her cunt again and again.
Alli was on fire as the sensations were everywhere at once, her skin sensitive everywhere their bodies touched. Every square inch was trembling as their orgasms built.
Like fire being steadily stoked until the inevitable flame burst forth from both of them, Alli constricting almost painfully around Finn’s shaft brought forth a huge stream of cum, shooting straight into Alli’s welcoming pussy. Mixing, melting into each other, both bodies an extension of one soul, one heart, one breath.
Both halves of the same whole, both devastated at the euphoria they gave each other.
Chapter Eleven
“You distracted me earlier when you started telling me where you got your scars,” Alli said as she lay wrapped in Finn’s embrace, their bodies aching and tired but satisfied all the same.
“Baby. You have to remember I was only eighteen and arrogant as hell when I was sent to the island.” His tone clearly said he didn’t want to discuss what happened but Alli had the right to know, she needed answers to fully understand what happened to him. “The first thing they did was to strip me bare and make me wear nothing but an old robe. It was ridiculous, something out of the Middle Ages.” Finn tried to keep the venom out of his voice as he spoke. “I was made to wait on the priestesses, obey their every wish. When I complained or rebelled, I was punished. They would strap me to a tree and I was given the lash. I was often bad and Claudia, the woman whom you met at the house, was the woman to give me my whippings. She has a sadistic streak running through her blood.”
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