by Donna Grant
Fear encased her as she walked toward Moira. She was scared of losing her sister after just finding her. Scared Moira wouldn’t want to be her sister now. But most of all she was scared of being alone again.
She stood behind Moira and watched as she scribbled on a parchment, deep in thought. Moira was everything she wasn’t. Self-assured, in control of her destiny, poised, tall, beautiful and loved. Tears sprung and rolled down her face, but she didn’t wipe them away. She loathed herself for what she had done and prayed it wasn’t in her nature to lash out like that at others.
I don’t think I can ever apologize enough for what I did.
Moira turned and stood. “There’s nothing for you to apologize for. I shouldn’t have waited to tell you.”
“You heard me?”
“I did,” she smiled, her green eyes sad. “We’ve a connection being sisters. I didn’t know about it until recently though, or I would’ve done anything in my power to get you from MacNeil years ago.”
The tears flowed freely now. She shook her head to try to stop Moira’s words. “Don’t. We can’t change the past.”
“We can only make the future,” Moira finished with a smile, and held out her arms.
Glenna rushed into her sister’s arms and reveled in the love and safety. After a few moments, she lifted her head. “Did the fire hurt you?”
“I’m fine,” Moira said, and brushed at her own tears. “My healing abilities have grown over the years.”
“We’re strangers really, with so many years to catch up on.”
“And we’ve got the rest of our lives to do it.”
“After we fulfill the prophecy, that is.”
Moira’s face lit into a smile. “Then let’s not waste any more time.”
* * * * *
“When are ye going to tell her?”
Conall looked up to find Angus standing before the table. He lifted his goblet and drained the rest of his ale before he glanced around the hall to see who might be listening. “What are you talking about?”
Angus sighed and sat in the chair beside him. “When are ye going to tell Glenna she’s to be yer wife?”
“How did you know?” He hadn’t told a soul so there was no way Angus could know for sure.
“I see the way you look at her. If I’d find a lass like her I’d make her me wife quick.”
Conall shook his head but couldn’t stop the grin. “She wants to live with the Druids.”
“After the display in her chamber, I think she’s making the right decision.”
He didn’t tell Angus the real reason. That Glenna had made this castle a home, and for the first time since his mother’s death he had some hope. Now that hope was fading once again. “I can’t let her go.”
“Well, that only affirms she’s yer mate.”
“If only it was that easy.”
“She’s one powerful Druid, and she doesn’t even know it.”
Conall groaned. “Aye.”
“What are ye going to do?”
“Convince her we’re meant to be together and then convince her to forget about the Druids.”
Angus slowly gained his feet. “Ye ask the impossible of her. Maybe ye should reconsider how ye view the Druids. If ye want her, ye’ll have to accept what she is.”
“That I can’t do, my friend.”
“Then ye don’t deserve her,” Angus said.
“I have oaths I must consider.”
“Ye aren’t going to be able to carry through with both oaths. Even if ye marry her it doesn’t solve yer problem.”
“I know,” Conall sighed. “My oaths are my bond, my honor. If I don’t honor them I’m not fit to be laird.”
“Ye’re consumed by those oaths and aren’t using yer head,” he said, and walked away.
Conall stared after his long-time friend lost in thought until he recalled Angus might have news for him. He gained his feet and strode after him. “Hold, Angus,” he called.
Angus stopped and waited. “Change yer mind already?”
Conall looked pointedly at him. “What did you find from the men? Any of them know of a man who’s been with Effie, or who might have shot that arrow at Ailsa?”
“Nothing. Everyone I’ve talked with so far said Effie refused to see any of them. She told them she’d found someone else.”
“Did they know who the other man was?”
“Nay. I’m still working on that. There’s a lot of men in our clan.”
“Ailsa?”
“Nothing there either. I never thought it’d be this hard to get information from our clan. I do not like this, Conall. Not one bit. I never thought I’d see the day that we had a traitor among us.”
“We must hurry. I’ve a bad feeling about all of this.”
“Me as well.”
Conall set out to find Gregor, hoping he had found something from the gatehouse guards. But Gregor was nowhere to be found.
He decided to try the gatehouse. After grilling the guards, he was surprised to find Gregor hadn’t questioned them. Suspicion began to gnaw in his gut like a hungry rat. Gregor had told him MacNeil’s plan, but he had also protected him and the people in the castle. Was Gregor Glenna’s attacker? Could he have been so wrong about someone that he let a potential threat into his clan without even knowing it?
* * * * *
Gregor looked straight ahead and ignored the plaintive looks from Ailsa. For the first time in his life he had considered murdering a woman. Effie hadn’t bothered to tell him they would be taking Ailsa, but then again, Gregor really didn’t have an option. He had chosen his lot in life, and he would see it through.
He was good at what he did. One of the best and that is why he made as much coin as he did. But a child?
After that first look into Ailsa’s silver gaze that was identical to Conall’s, Gregor had refused to glance at her again. If MacNeil wanted Conall’s ire, he would definitely have it now. Only a maniac would kidnap a child.
“Please,” Ailsa whispered.
Gregor clenched his teeth together at her scared voice.
“Shut up,” Effie screeched, and slapped Ailsa on the side of the head.
Without hesitation Gregor reached over and plucked Ailsa from Effie’s horse and sat her in front of him. “Hit her again and you’ll feel my hand,” he warned Effie.
“Just whose side are you on?”
“You know who’s paying me. Just don’t hit the child again.”
Effie stared at him a moment before nodding and falling behind him as the lane became more narrow.
Gregor could feel Ailsa trembling. “Whatever happens, keep your mouth shut, Ailsa.” He wrapped his arm around her and memories of his sister surfaced like a flood.
She would never have let him take this course, but then again, if he hadn’t killed her he would never have left the clan. He should have listened to his instincts when they told him to run from Conall.
Being at MacInnes Castle had done something to him. Something he didn’t want to think about. Changed him somehow and he didn’t like it. Not one whit. He would have to be sure to push aside these emotions being around Conall brought out. But first he would have to make sure Ailsa returned home safe and sound.
His conscience couldn’t afford another death on it. His sister’s had done enough damage for one lifetime.
Chapter Seventeen
The late afternoon sun sank behind the mountains. Glenna quickened her pace back to the castle. She decided against venturing into the caves despite her recent victory over them. Besides, nature gave her solace.
She stopped to admire one of the giant oaks and stroked its gnarled trunk. It beckoned to her. She placed both hands on the tree and could have sworn it heated beneath her. Memories of the clearing and the mound filled her.
Her feet moved of their own accord, taking her to the clearing. She had thought it was beautiful with the moon shining down upon it, but it was just as lovely in the sunlight. Butterflies abound here. All different
colors and sizes twittered over the mound as if waiting to be let in.
The mound itself was a brighter green than the surrounding grass, and Glenna could almost swear she could feel its magic. The power within her pulsed as she neared the mound. Hesitantly, she fell to her knees and gently laid her hand on the raised ground. Had she dreamed Beltaine and the Fae?
Surely not.
A songbird perched on an oak near the mound called to her. Glenna rose and walked to the oak. She smiled to the little bird before it flew off. She had been gone a long time, and she didn’t want Conall worried.
With one last look at the oak she turned and found Conall lounging against a large boulder, twirling a blade a grass in his fingers. His raven locks hung loose about his bare chest and blew in the soft breeze that trickled through the branches.
But it was the half smile that stole her heart. “I didn’t expect to find you here.”
“I missed you,” he said, and winked.
She tripped over her own feet, surprised at his playfulness. But she couldn’t hide the excitement in her voice. “Really?”
His smile broadened. “Aye. How was your day?”
“Wonderful. I’m getting to know my sister, and I can tell you it’s quite fantastic to have a family.” It wasn’t until after the words left her mouth that she realized her mistake.
He tried to hide the flicker of sadness from her, but she saw it nonetheless. “How much longer on your training?”
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t hide the fact he hated her coming here, and the exhilaration at finding him waiting for her waned. “Why are you doing this?”
His smile dropped and his forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Doing what, lass?”
“You don’t like me coming here.”
“Here?” he asked, and looked around. “This is a nemeton. It’s sacred to the Druids, which is why Beltaine and the other feasts are held here.”
“Sacred?”
His eyes twinkled. “I can’t believe Moira didn’t tell you.”
“She doesn’t know I was here during Beltaine.”
“The raised ground is what some call a Faerie mound.”
She gasped. “That’s where the beings came out. How can I reach them? I want to speak with them.”
“Only on a Druid festival does the veil between the worlds thin.”
“Oh,” she said, and turned away only to feel Conall’s hands close around her shoulders.
“An old wives’ tale says if you circle the mound nine times to the right you call a Faerie to your side,” he said into her ear.
She whirled around to face him. “You know so much. Why don’t you put aside your hatred and join the Druids?”
He sighed loudly. “I cannot help how I feel, Glenna. I am who I am.”
“As am I,” she countered. “You can’t stand the sight of Moira.”
“Not true,” he interrupted. “I don’t like what she is.”
“You’ll come to feel the same about me despite your vow.”
He shook his head. She held her breath when his hand rose to caress her jaw. “Never,” he vowed before he lowered his head.
The kiss seared her. Her body came to life under his hands as they roamed over her. She moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck for fear he would end the kiss. He crushed her to him. His cock pressed hungrily into her stomach. With a boldness she didn’t know she had she reached between their bodies and wrapped her fingers around him.
He groaned and deepened the kiss until she had no thought other than to be one with him. With one flick of his wrist his plaid fell away. She let her eyes roam freely over his body.
There wasn’t anywhere on his body where muscles didn’t bulge she realized as her eyes traveled from his head to the tips of his toes. A glance near the boulder showed her his boots. She wanted to ask how longed he had waited for her but didn’t want to ruin the moment.
He stood silently, waiting for her to finish her inspection, but she would have been content to gaze at his wonderful body all day, inspecting every inch of him with her eyes, hands, mouth and tongue.
She raised her eyes and found his gaze intense and searching. She knew what he wanted, and she wanted it nearly as badly as he. He smiled seductively when she began to divest herself of her clothes.
When she stood as naked as he, she found he had spread his plaid on the ground. He held out his hand and she didn’t hesitate to accept it. It seemed right for their joining to be outside amongst the trees and nature in this nemeton where magic rained around them.
As soon as she stepped onto the plaid, he had her flattened against him, his mouth hot, slick and demanding. The contact of skin on skin was just what her body needed, craved. Neither could get close enough to the other.
She groaned when he broke the kiss. He lowered her to the ground and lay beside her. She looked into his silver eyes, amazed at the desire burning fiercely for her. His fingers skimmed her skin as he traced patterns across her stomach then around her breasts to her neck. She closed her eyes and basked in the feel of his hands bringing her to life.
Conall stared down in wonder at the woman beside him. Even knowing how he felt about the Druids and his oath she was giving herself to him. “You’re mine.”
“Oh aye,” she agreed, and ran her hand down his chest.
Her touch, so soft, so gentle, set him afire. She was his mate. She was his. And after tonight she couldn’t run from him anymore. He had to make her see the Druid way would take her nowhere but away from him.
He bent his head and took a nipple in his mouth. It hardened as she gasped and raked her nails across his shoulders. He ran his hand up and down her legs, learning the feel of her, and when he lightly pushed them apart, she opened for him.
She whispered his name as she wound her fingers in his hair. He gloried in her skin, the color of cream, flawless except for a mole on her left hip. With his tongue he traced a path from her breast to the mole and kissed it.
He settled himself between her legs to give himself better access. She smoothed the hair from his face and gave him a heart-stopping smile. He kept eye contact with her as he bent his head and licked her navel.
Her eyes crinkled at the corners at his playfulness, but when his tongue swirled around a nipple, her eyes rolled back in her head, her breath coming in gulps. He focused his full attention on her breasts, sucking, squeezing and licking until she rubbed her hips against his abdomen. With his hand between their bodies he found her moist and ready. He couldn’t stand to wait another moment. He had to be inside her, to make them one.
Now and forever.
He guided the tip of himself inside and her eyes flew open.
“Aye,” she whispered, and brought his head down for a kiss.
His heart nearly burst. He slowly entered her, and to his surprise she wrapped her legs around him. “The stretching may hurt a wee bit.”
“I trust you,” she said, and lightly nipped his shoulder.
He lifted himself onto his elbows and stared into her golden-brown depths. “Look at me,” he told her as he pulled out then sank into her.
She gasped and clung to him. He held her tightly, wishing he could take away any discomfort.
“Is it over?”
He nearly choked. “Not even close.”
He moved within her. She gasped and matched his tempo, and she sent him to new heights, heights he had never come close to with other women. He rolled onto his back and pulled her on top of him.
“Do what you will, lass,” he told her, and saw the fire light in her eyes.
Glenna stared down at the man who was giving her the first taste of heaven. She ran her hands down his sculpted chest, marveling at the many scars that crisscrossed his abdomen.
She leaned forward to kiss him and got her first taste of him inside her while in control. She sat straight and rotated her hips, glorying in the feel of him inside her, so hot and hard. His hands cupped her breasts. She sucked in a breath at the exquisite p
leasure he gave her.
With her hands upon his chest for support, she began to move back and forth and soon their bodies glistened with sweat. Just as she was about to find her release, he sat up.
“Not yet,” he murmured in her ear, his hot breath causing chills to run up and down her body.
He moved behind her and spread her legs. With one thrust he entered her, and she nearly came undone. He placed on hand on her hip and with the other found her sex. His thumb swirled around her pearl while he continued to pump in and out of her.
Before she knew it the climax claimed her. She shattered into a million pieces, but he didn’t stop. He thrusts became harder and deeper, and when she thought she couldn’t take any more, she climaxed again just as she heard him shout his release.
They collapsed together, their bodies entwined, and she knew she would never experience anything like this with another man.
“You’re mine,” he whispered.
She smiled and snuggled closer. “Aye.”
“Forever.”
When she didn’t answer, he pulled her away from him. “You are mine.”
She licked her lips, her stomach fluttering at the possessiveness in his gaze. If it wasn’t for their doomed future she would be celebrating what was between them. Such sweet sorrow, she thought. “Aye.”
“Then why are there tears in your eyes?”
“Because it can never be.”
“I won’t let you go. We Highlanders take what we want, and I want you. You will be mine, Glenna.”
She let him squeeze the breath out of her. It was no use arguing. He would soon realize theirs was a hopeless situation. Until then she would take these moments and keep them locked in her heart forever.
* * * * *
Aimery celebrated a toast with his fellow Fae. Conall had finally taken Glenna. Their souls had taken the other in. There was no way for either of them to turn from the other.
The merriment soon died as word spread of Ailsa’s kidnapping.
“MacNeil,” Aimery hissed. They needed to know what was going on at MacNeil’s castle. “Send the scouts.”