Moonlight Warrior

by Janet Chapman

  He tucked her hands under her backside, lifting her up as his broad shoulders held her legs open to him. His tongue delved into her, then retreated, then circled her sensitive bud, quickly working her back into a frenzy she wasn’t quite sure she’d survive.

  She dug her heels into the sleeping bag, lifting toward him, her knees clamping his shoulders as she felt herself coil tighter and tighter. This time it hit her like a nuclear explosion, sending her to the stars and back so suddenly, she didn’t even have time to scream before she shot back into the heavens.

  She couldn’t take much more, but he didn’t seem all that concerned at the moment, his mouth working her like a finely tuned instrument. She finally started pleading with him, begging him to make it stop before her heart did. And just when she thought he’d finally heard her, he knelt up, pulled her hips onto his thighs, and poised himself to enter her.

  Eve reached up and braced her hands on his shoulders. She was aroused and slick and more than ready for him, but she tightened as he slowly entered her.

  “Relax,” he crooned against her ear.

  “I…I can’t.”

  “Aye, ye can. Just breath through it.”

  A nervous laugh bubbled free. “That doesn’t help.”

  He touched the tip of his nose to hers. “Feel me like you did that night,” he continued, his lips brushing hers. He pushed deeper. “Take me inside ye and surround me with your heat.”

  That definitely helped. She used her grip on his shoulders to pull him closer, and since his mouth was so close to hers, she laid a passionate kiss on him. She lifted her hips, her inner muscles pulling at him until he filled her completely.

  She clenched around him, tearing a raw sound from his throat, and used her hips to urge him to move. “Don’t hold back,” she rasped. “I want you deep and hard.” She wrapped her legs higher on his back, her tension spiraling into a raw, desperate need for him to slip his control. “I won’t break, Kenzie. I need you.”

  He surged into her like a wave crashing on shore, then retreated and surged even deeper. She met each thrust with moans of encouragement that quickly turned to cries of ecstasy.

  His jaw clenched on a guttural snarl, and he shook with the force of his own climax as Eve convulsed around him in waves of pulsating heat.

  She panted to catch her breath, which nearly became impossible when he lowered most of his weight onto her, either unable to move or reluctant to pull out of her. He finally lifted his head with a crooked grin, his eyes glowing like golden starlight.

  Eve smiled back, running her fingers across his sweaty forehead. Between the shadows cast by the full moon, and the sweat from his…exertions, the damage to his face was quite pronounced.

  She ran her finger over the bruise on his chin. “You could have been killed.”

  “But I wasn’t.”

  “But you could have been.”

  He sighed. “I could get kicked in the head by a horse, too. Or slip on a rock and drown in the creek.”

  “I’m going to talk to William and set him straight so those horrible demons will quit coming here.”

  “William won’t listen to you. He thinks you’re just a scrawny little lass who can’t even walk down a road in the dark without screaming her head off.”

  “If that overgrown lizard ever works up the nerve to show me his ugly face, I’ll show him how scrawny I am.”

  His chuckle vibrated through her, and he kissed the tip of her nose. “I think we’d best let Mabel work her magic on William right now.” He finally rolled off, snuggled her up to his side, and placed his hand on her belly. “You just concentrate on planning our wedding and growing my son.”

  “I don’t want Mom mixed up in any of this,” Eve protested.

  “Mabel has made more progress with William in six weeks than I have in six months. Don’t worry, she’s not in danger.”

  Eve started running a finger through his chest hair. “And I haven’t said I’d marry you yet. But while I’m trying to decide, there’s no reason we can’t have an affair.”

  “And what about when you’re seven months along and don’t have a ring on your finger or a husband in your bed? Who’s going to rub your tired feet, and fetch ye glasses of milk at two in the morning?”

  She popped her head up to look at him. “You’d do that?”

  “Husbands have duties, too.”

  She sighed. “Yeah. Not the least of which is marrying the women they get pregnant, even when they don’t remember getting her pregnant.”

  His arm tightened again. “If I remember correctly, I asked ye to marry me before I knew you were with child.”

  “But that was when you wanted to marry me only because you needed me. Not because you had to.”

  “You’re talking in circles, lass.”

  “I know,” she said with another sigh. She pulled the edge of the sleeping bag over her hip, then patted his chest. “Once you get your strength back, just wake me if you want to have sex again, okay?” she said with a yawn, then promptly fell to sleep.

  Kenzie wasn’t able to fall asleep so quickly.

  After battling the last storm of demons, as he’d run flat-out back to the farmhouse, so afraid of what he’d find in the cellar, he had suddenly realized that he loved Eve.

  When he’d told her that tonight, she hadn’t believed him, and it would do no good to tell her again. It wasn’t only that she thought he was lying; he’d sensed something else was bothering her. Her talking in circles now confirmed it.

  What was his fearless pixie afraid of?

  He smiled up at the moon. Certainly not sex. If she was any more fearless when it came to making love, they’d both be dead right now.

  When she’d told him she was having his son, he’d felt like he’d just taken a blow to the gut. How could he not have realized something so basic, considering how attuned he’d become to life since his return to humanity? Her throwing up, her naps, her emotional outbursts—if she’d been wearing a picture of a babe on her forehead, her condition couldn’t have been more clear.

  But he was too tired to think straight himself, tonight. Battling demons was hard enough, but making love to Eve was even more exhausting. In the most wonderful way.

  Kenzie fell asleep with a smile on his face, his hand covering his unborn son.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  “He won’t let you lift a finger to clean the house?” Maddy repeated in disbelief. “Wow, you should stay perpetually pregnant.”

  Eve shot her a glance as she locked up her store.

  Maddy just laughed. “So what was his reaction when you told him?”

  “He didn’t say much of anything for several minutes, then suddenly announced that we were getting married tomorrow. Which is today.”

  Maddy looked down at Eve’s ring finger, then arched a brow.

  “I told him I wouldn’t marry a man who felt he had to marry me.”

  “And he said?”

  “That he loved me.”

  Maddy slapped herself on the chest. “That bastard.”

  “Exactly.”

  “I was being sarcastic, you idiot. The man really is in love with you!”

  “That was a mighty huge leap in two days, don’t you think?”

  Maddy looped her arm through Eve’s and started walking down the sidewalk. “Kenzie Gregor is madly, deeply, passionately in love with you. So put the poor guy out of his misery and marry him. You know you’re going to eventually, so why torment not only him but yourself?”

  Eve looked for traffic, then pulled Maddy across the street. “And just what makes you so sure I’m going to marry him eventually?”

  “Because you are madly, deeply, and passionately in love with him.”

  Eve pulled her out of the way of foot traffic. “When did you become an expert on my love life?”

  “I’ve had a front-row seat to this entire courtship, remember?” She crossed her arms under her bosom. “Let me guess what happened after he told you he loved you.
I bet he pulled you into his arms and kissed you senseless. And you being you, I bet you started undressing him, then made wild, passionate love to him right there on the beach, in the moonlight.”

  “Wrong. He picked me up and carried me to his old campsite, stripped me naked in two seconds flat, and he made love to me.” Eve shot her a lopsided smile. “Honest to God, he just had to touch me and I exploded. Several times.”

  “Holy shit.”

  “And you remember how you thought he was an all-nighter kind of guy?”

  Maddy nodded vigorously.

  “You were so right. I think we made love more times last night than Parker and I did on our entire two-week honeymoon.”

  “Oh my God,” Maddy groaned, fanning her face with her hand. “Dammit, why doesn’t he have any brothers who are single! I want my own Kenzie Gregor.”

  “There’s a bunch of MacKeage and MacBain highlanders up in the mountains who are single,” Eve told her, stepping back onto the sidewalk and nearly running over Betty Simpson. “Oh, hi, Mrs. Simpson,” she said. “Did you find a kid to stack that firewood for you?”

  “Hi, Eve. I hear congratulations are in order.”

  “On what?”

  “On your engagement to Kenzie Gregor.”

  Eve could only gape at her.

  Betty gave her a sly wink. “That was quite cunning of you, Evangeline, to take that job as his housekeeper. Best way for a woman to snag herself a rich husband is to keep him well fed, and show him you’re more than your pretty blond hair and big blue eyes.” She patted her arm. “I guess your engagement took care of all your financial problems, didn’t it?”

  “Who told you Kenzie and I are getting married?”

  “Ruthie, at the bookstore. She said Mabel told her just this morning.” Betty patted her arm again. “I was sorry to hear that odd storm destroyed your house. But don’t worry, I’m sure Kenzie will build you a new one. Maybe he’ll even add on a mother-in-law apartment for Mabel.” She winked again. “Newlyweds certainly don’t need mothers living with them.”

  “I’m sorry we’ve got to run, Mrs. Simpson,” Maddy said, dragging Eve down the sidewalk. “I only have half an hour for lunch. Nice seeing you again.”

  “Bye, Maddy. And congratulations again, Eve!”

  “That nosy old busybody,” Maddy muttered, pulling Eve around a corner.

  “She said almost that exact same thing to me when she found out I was marrying Parker.”

  “Omigod—are you afraid everyone in town is going to think you got pregnant on purpose to snag him? Don’t you dare listen to Betty Simpson. You didn’t catch Kenzie—he caught you!”

  “But everyone will still think I caught him.”

  “So who gives a rat’s ass?” Maddy grabbed Eve’s shoulders and actually shook her. “What you think and what Kenzie thinks is all that matters. But you want to know what I think?”

  “What?”

  “I think that on the fall equinox, you should have the biggest, fanciest wedding Midnight Bay’s ever seen.”

  “Oh, that’ll certainly stop the gossip.”

  Maddy hugged her. “You can’t stop them from gossiping, Eve. But neither can you let them stop you from marrying a man you truly love.” She leaned back to stare into Eve’s eyes. “If I survived their whispering when I was only eighteen and seven months pregnant when I married Billy, you sure as hell can.”

  “I’m sorry if I was one of those people whispering behind my hand,” Eve said, pulling her back into an embrace. “I barely knew you back then, but that’s no excuse. Will you forgive me?”

  “Only if you marry Kenzie. If you don’t, I may never speak to you again.”

  “Liar,” Eve said, leading her back toward her store.

  Maddy tried to go in the other direction. “Hey, the Port of Call is this way.”

  Eve took a fortifying breath. “I promise I will face the gossips, but not today, and not in the Port of Call. Let’s just go back and eat banana bread until our eyes cross.”

  “Did they already bring over a batch?” Maddy asked, falling into step beside her. “I can’t tell you how excited Mom was when Mabel asked if she could do her baking at our house. Your little cottage industry has given Mom something to fuss over besides my delinquent brother. Hey—will you look at that,” she said, pointing up the street.

  A tractor trailer rig carrying an excavator wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. But a convoy of trucks slowly rolling through town, all of them with tartans painted on their doors and up over their hoods, definitely stopped people in their tracks.

  “Will you look at that,” Susan Wakely said as she came to stand beside them. “I don’t recognize the emblem, but what a pretty design. I wonder who they are?”

  “I think that’s the MacBain plaid, and I also think I know some of those men,” Eve said as the lead pickup stopped in the middle of the road right in front of them.

  The passenger’s-side window rolled down. “Would you lovely ladies know where the turnoff is to An Tèarmann?”

  Susan walked right up to the truck. “It’s your very next right,” she said, pointing down Main Street.

  “Much obliged,” the passenger said with a nod.

  The driver leaned forward to see past him. “Eve?” he said, his smile widening. “I thought that was you.” He nodded toward the trucks behind him. “With a bit of luck and good weather, this crew will have you back in your house in a week.”

  “Duncan MacKeage, isn’t it? You’re…”

  “Callum’s son,” Duncan said with a grin. “You’d need a really big notebook to keep us all straight.” He motioned behind him again. “Most these guys are from Robbie’s logging crew, but they also know how to swing a hammer. Two of Morgan’s sons, Ian and Hamish, are also with us.” He waved her back to the curb when a car trying to pull onto the road tooted its horn. “We’ll see you tonight, Eve.”

  The convoy started off.

  Susan immediately grabbed her arm. “You know them?” she asked, hungrily searching every truck that drove by.

  “They’re from Pine Creek,” Eve said, extricating herself. “They’re cousins of Robbie MacBain, the man who came to babysit the farm while we went away.”

  Susan sighed. “I suppose they’re all married. All the handsome ones are.”

  “Actually, I think all three MacKeage men are single.”

  Maddy and Susan both perked up.

  “Um…maybe I could come over this evening and help you clean out your house so they can repair it,” Susan offered. “And I could bring over a double batch of my strawberry shortcake. It looks like you suddenly have a lot of mouths to feed.”

  Maddy vigorously nodded agreement. “I’ll bring some of Mom’s beef stew and a few pies. And several jugs of that milk you’ve got cramming our fridge. I never realized how much milk a cow puts out.”

  “Poor Gretchen didn’t give any milk last night. I think the storm scared her so badly, it’ll take a week for her teats to unshrivel.”

  Susan snorted. “Listen to you, talking just like a farmer’s wife.” She looked at her watch. “I have to get back to work, but I’m going to see if I can get off early to go home and bake.” She stopped and glanced at the convoy turning down the road to An Tèarmann. “Maybe I’ll take some of my vacation this week.” She smiled at Eve. “After all, neighbors need to help each other when disasters strike. I’ll see you this evening,” she said with a wave, rushing toward the bank.

  “Six to one she arrives tonight wearing painted-on jeans, a bra that pushes her tits up to her chin, and a blouse cut so low we’ll see her belly button,” Maddy said with a laugh.

  “Oh yeah? And just what are you going to show up wearing?”

  Maddy gave her a sidelong smirk. “I intend to wear shorts so short, I’ll have two more cheeks to powder.”

  “I see you’re feeling well enough to cause trouble again,” Kenzie said, taking a taste of the soup he was cooking over the open fire.

  William snap
ped his tail in agitation. “I haven’t moved from this spot all day. And that’s your fifth spoonful! Mabel cooked that especially for me, not you. Get your pixie to make you your own pot of chicken soup.”

  “Ye told Mabel that I asked Eve to marry me.”

  “Was it a secret? Then maybe you should have made that clear when you told me. Besides, Mabel and I don’t keep secrets from each other.” William sidled closer to the fire, cursing when he put weight on his injured leg. “In fact, she told me a secret about Eve you might be interested to know.”

  “And that would be?”

  “I can’t say, because Mabel asked me not to. But I can say that you have me to thank for it.”

  Kenzie lifted the pot off the fire and held it over the ground, tipping it just shy of dumping it out. “What, exactly, do I have to thank ye for?”

  “You wouldn’t dare!”

  He let some of the soup spill onto the ground.

  “The pixie’s pregnant!” William growled, moving to stop him.

  Kenzie calmly set the soup back on the fire.

  William snarled and grabbed his injured leg. “You knew.”

  “Eve told me last night. But I thought Mabel didn’t know. That’s what Eve led me to believe.”

  “Oh, your pixie hasn’t told her. But Mabel is her mama, and mothers always know what their daughters are up to.” He shuddered. “I can’t tell you the mamas I’ve had come after me with a pitchfork.” He grinned. “Mabel’s likely to come after you with a chopping axe if you don’t make an honest woman of her daughter.”

  “I’m trying.” Kenzie glared at William. “You just keep your ugly nose out of my business.”

  “So does that mean you’re not going to thank me?”

  “For what?”

  “For your bedding the pixie and knocking her up.”

  “How did you have anything to do with it?”

  William puffed out his scaly chest. “You never would have met her if it wasn’t for me causing you to move to Midnight Bay. I’m also the one who made sure she found you the night of the storm.” He arched his bulbous eyebrows. “Assuming that’s when you finally nailed her.”