Highland Shifters: A Paranormal Romance Boxed Set

by Unknown

  “Welcome back, Bonnie Laird Jamie, “Gillian whispered.

  Maeve rose to her feet, apparently unharmed but showing more respect than Niall had seen from her. She held her head high and said, “I’ll agree to channel your Dead, but by the Goddess Herself I’ll not be ridden as a horse when it’s not my own choosing. Let your Fenella speak through me but I’ll stay myself, as I have always stayed myself no matter what form I wear. That’s the deal I offer and I shall not negotiate.”

  McKay laughed and said something that brought laughter from the surrounding Sith.

  Maeve looked to her left side as if she were listening. “She says she was worried the gifts of the Daoine Sith were in decline. She warned the others but they dismissed her, saying she was too young to understand the cycles of Power.” Maeve stopped and glanced up at McKay who was still floating as purple light flickered around him. “She sought to focus the Power of your people to intensify it. No one had shown her how to use stones but she opened her heart to shape the stone the American showed us.” Once again she hesitated as if she were listening. “In the dark of the moon—“Maeve frowned. “Bloody tool,” the Pooka said, “you should have done it on a full moon.”

  McKay’s said a single word and Maeve sneered at him. “Yeah, and whose fault is it young ones like Fenella don’t know how to cast a spell,” then she looked at Kenna, “any better than a village hedge witch? You may be Master of Storms and Lightning but did you bother to teach what you know to any of these?” she spread out her arms to include everyone present. She saw the pain in McKay’s eyes. “This is why I hate your kind. It’s always about politics and holding authority. Let me guess—you kept your secrets to protect your precious position and then it was too late to pass that knowledge on when death came for you at Glenshiel. Yeh bloody tool—you don’t be judging each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you be planting. She was trying to help you but the casting was ruined. I don’t need her to tell me that. Her meddling had the opposite effect. It became a sinkhole for the Power of the Sith, draining it away.”

  Maeve stopped, listening again. “She tried to block the leaching but she didn’t know how and she was alone.” Maeve shook her head and spat on the ground in front of her. “She poured her own heart into the stone to slow its absorption. In doing so she sealed her own doom.” She looked up at McKay. “She laid a geas upon your grandfather. With the little strength she had left she put this obligation upon him: If you love me, then you must leave now with the stone. I’ve not been able to stop what it is doing. You must take it so far away it cannae keep eating away at our strength. I’ve tried my best but it will be at least two generations before what I’ve done is exhausted and it can be returned. Go, Logan McKay. Promise me you’ll return the stone when the time is right. Maeve abruptly stopped and crossed her arms above her chest. “And then there’s a lot of blather about their eternal love. It’s bad enough I have to hear it without being forced to repeat it.”

  McKay pulled the stone from the bag and held up his hands, palms facing each other with the triskale carving between them. He pulled his palms apart and the object floated suspended. He frowned and said something. Lightning crackled around the stone. He did this again and the stone fell heavily and bounced on the earth.

  “Oh, high and mighty Masters of Nothing,” Maeve said scornfully. “So comfortable you’ve been for all these centuries with your showy fireworks and light shows.” She stepped forward and looked up at McKay. “You’re no more skilled than your silly Fenella. Look at me,” she said, turning in a circle to glare at everyone present. “You think I’m less than you because I don’t play with your glamour. But I’m a Pooka. Who knows change better than I?” She reached down and picked up the cold stone. “And who knows stones better than I? You’ve both touched it and felt nothing. I hold it and feel its potential.” She looked around and found Gillian. “Hurry,” she said, “before the Moon moves any further. Go to my room and open the suitcase beneath the bed. You’ll find a hard and round container. Bring that to me.” The human ran off without questioning.

  “And you,” Maeve said to McKay. “I’ve no need of you. Give me back McKay so he can be a stand-in for his grandfather. Go back to where you belong and take Fenella with you. If you want to be traipsing around the earth your lot should wait for Samhain like the rest of the Dead.”

  McKay frowned and nodded. The purple glow around him faded and he floated gently down. “Wow,” he said quietly. “That was a rush.”

  “Do you remember anything after you were hit by the light?” Niall touched him gently and protectively on the shoulder.

  “I felt as if I was looking over his shoulder, but yes—I was awake this time. I don’t know how to explain it—I couldn’t recognize the words he was using, but I understand their meaning. I also felt his emotions. He devoted himself to the protection of his people which is why he returned. There’s a time of Change and he wanted to make certain it benefits all of you—all of us.”

  Gillian returned with the container and presented it to Maeve. She opened it and let the glittering diamonds spill into her hands. “You owe me,” she said, looking up at Kenna. “I’ll return one day to claim my price.” Not waiting for a response she quickly placed the gems in a circle.

  “To me,” she said to McKay. “Place your wee stone in the center of what I’ve done. You’ll assist me with the falloir—the closing of the circle of Power. This is what your silly goose of a girl failed to do and why the spell was not contained.” When McKay placed the stone into the midst of the diamonds, Maeve reached out and laced her fingers through those of McKay. She started to sing and a moment later the diamonds began to glow—a harsh light that made Gillian’s and Riley’s eyes water.

  Maeve continued to sing and she began to shine like the gems. The light extended to include McKay and the white-hot shining took on the shape of a cone. She cried out and there was a flash and an ugly sound like glass breaking. Suddenly everyone felt blind as the brightness was extinguished and it took a moment to adjust to the moonlight. Fenella’s stone glowed softly but the diamonds surrounding it were blackened and smoking. “And I worked so hard for you, my pretties,” she sighed, touching one with her bare toe. “Ah, well. ‘Tis what I get for running away for a holiday with a Sith.”

  She picked up the stone and tossed it to Kenna. “So—no more Power than a village hedge witch. Do you dare to still claim that? I’ve done what your precious Fenella could not do. Because of me you’ve one more Object of Power. Bonnie Laird James can go back to haunting Glenshiel and stay out of this pretty American head.” She pulled away from McKay.

  “And just like that, our people’s vitality is restored?” Niall stepped between McKay and the Pooka.

  “For the sake of the Goddess,” Maeve said. “Where did you learn about magic? Disney? It took years to drain away your strength and it will take years to replenish it but at least now there’s nothing blocking it. There’s been a restoration to harmony but I didn’t tie it up in a bow for you. Things are just returning to where they were before Fenella destroyed the balance and paid with her life.”

  Kenna was letting purple fire play among the carving of the stone. Satisfied she let the flames sink into the design. “We are in your debt,” she said unhappily.

  “Aye,” Maeve smiled cruelly. “That yeh are.” Then she turned back to Gillian. “Gather the ruined diamonds. Maybe one day I’ll discover a use for them. Then we’ve a wild evening planned. I’ve had enough of Sith shenanigans for many a year. Meet me in our bedroom.” She stretched out her arms and a black raven was flying towards the castle.

  Gillian excused herself the moment she lost sight of the raven, telling Riley she would see him again in the 'morn. As she placed the last of the ruined diamonds into their container she noticed McKay had vanished and, from the way his eyes had been glued to the other Sith, Niall, she had excellent thoughts as to where. “Best pleasure and luck,” she wished to herself. “That is, for both of us.”


  She reached Maeve's door and did not have to knock. It swung open on its hinges before her. “Come in,” Maeve said. “Quickly. I've suffered enough from the waiting.”

  Gillian obeyed and pushed the door shut behind her. The Pooka was indeed ready for her. She reclined on her bed in the nude. Gillian considered herself worldly, at least for these parts, but the sight ahead left her speechless. Dark hair, pale skin, and full breasts with hard and pink little nipples. Maeve was as beautiful a woman as she had ever seen—and Gillian had seen aplenty.

  Maeve stood and walked over. She wound her hand around Gillian's head and grasped a bundle of hair. The Pooka's touch was like fire. It travelled all through Gillian's body and settled into her sex. Their lips touched. They kissed like they were starving. Maeve's lips were soft and sweet. Gillian let out a moan. Her hands travelled up to the Pooka’s bare breasts. She squeezed the pink little nipples.

  “I want you.” Maeve's mouth moved down her neck, little bites on her shoulder. “Let me see your body.”

  Gillian removed the Squire’s outfit she had been wearing, but did it slowly. The Pooka’s kisses and bites distracted her, going to steadily more wicked places. Maeve enjoyed the torment and teased her. “Having trouble, lass? Do you need me to undress you?”

  Gillian nodded and Maeve ripped off the cloth. It fluttered down to the floor. There was no barrier between them and their bodies met, soft on soft, the whole of their skin pressed together. “Oh,” Gillian moaned. “Oh, I need to taste you.”

  She ran her mouth down, touching the hollow of Maeve's collarbone, touching her nipples, licking the tender flesh of her belly and down—down--down. She reached the tight curls that covered Maeve's sex and was about to dip in to her sweet cleft, when the other woman pulled her back up to standing.

  “You would drink and leave me with nothing?” Maeve shook her head. “I'm starved for a taste of my own.” She pushed Gillian onto the bed and crawled over, so each woman's mouth faced the other one's sex. The Pooka dripped wet with desire. Gillian grabbed Maeve's hips and pulled down until Maeve's sex filled her mouth. Gillian licked. Maeve shuddered. “Yes, you feel good.” She sighed. “Oh, you know what you're doing.”

  Gillian groaned her response. The Pooka tasted so good. She felt Maeve's folds and wants with her tongue, felt the other woman respond.

  Maeve bent and Gillian felt the gentle push of her breath, the not-so-gentle caress of her tongue. Soon both were gasping and writhing on the bed as waves of pleasure broke over their bodies. She closed her eyes in sheer pleasure.

  Chapter Nine

  “May I make you a similar offer?” Niall whispered into McKay’s ear as he watched Maeve vanish in her raven form. “Circles turn to make things right. The geas placed on your family has been lifted and you’re now free to make your own decisions. Fenella took your grandfather into her bed and her heart. Perhaps the generations will repeat themselves.”

  “The Sith have quite a courtship practice. I’ve never been possessed by someone from the 18th century before.”

  “I promise we’ll do things far more mundane in the future.”

  “I’ve discovered a little magic goes a long way.”

  “We’ll see,” Niall said, leading the American back into the castle. “You can’t do what you’ve just done and not be changed by it. I watched you call lightning from the sky itself and blacken a Pooka. Jamie may have guided your hand but you were the one who did it. I told you the magic I hold is not within the sword—it is within me and the sword was only to help focus what I can do. Do you realize when you called the lightning the only thing you were holding was your intention? You’ve quite a resume going.”

  “I'll be gentler with you,” McKay said. “You won’t be struck by lightning--I promise.”

  They reached Niall's room hand in hand, hardly waiting for the door to be shut before exchanging gentle exploratory kisses. McKay ran his hands over Niall's wide shoulders. “I expected an adventure—but I didn't think to find my pot of gold at the end.”

  “Wrong country,” Niall laughed. “But don't worry: I'll show you a true Scotsman's treasures and you'll forget all about Irish gold.”

  McKay kissed him again. He enjoyed the feel of Niall's stubble, of the other man's lips. McKay let his hands run down and down and to Niall's kilt. His lover wore it the traditional way, that is, commando. He grasped Niall's thighs and watched him shudder. He had fabulous legs. McKay flipped the kilt up to see the fullness of them—and Niall's happy erection.

  McKay massaged up until he cupped the outside of Niall's scrotum. He took the sack in his hands and gently rolled his balls. “Oh, McKay,” Niall whispered. “Oh yes, McKay.”

  He took those exclamations as a good sign and kept going, keeping one hand on Niall's balls and grasping his shaft with the other. He stroked Niall, with firm even pressure. When McKay reached the top he ran his palm over the tip. Niall shuddered. “Let me feel you,” he begged. “I want to be in you.”

  McKay nodded. He took off his shirt and his fly plaid, everything but the kilt. Niall followed suit. Both men stood there, shirtless, sockless, and kilted, grinning wide as they could at each other. Niall lay on the bed. McKay climbed onto him, giving little kisses all over. He positioned himself over Niall's cock, which bucked up, impatient.

  McKay felt Niall's finger in his hole, warming him up. It didn't take long. He pushed Niall's hand away and lowered himself onto Niall's ready member. He gasped as the very tip slid in and kept going. Soon Niall's cock filled his bum and the sensation was exquisite. McKay rocked gently at first, then faster and faster. He jerked himself off until they were both at the edge, wanting, happy, tormented. McKay came first. His cum splashed up Niall's chest and belly. That was what sent Niall past the edge. McKay felt Niall finish inside him.

  They collapsed next to each other on the bed. McKay wrapped his arms around Niall. He buried his face in his back. He was relaxed and, after his wild day, exhausted. He closed his eyes. Niall squeezed his arm.

  He started to drift off into sleep. The dreams started right away. He saw a beautiful woman, what Niall would look like as a lady. A voice said, “Fenella.” It seemed to come from his mouth.

  “Jaimie,” she answered—or didn't. Niall said the word. McKay realized that he wasn't dreaming. “Jaimie,” Niall repeated. “I have missed you greatly.”

  McKay saw the shadow of the beautiful woman in Niall—but he saw Niall too. Niall's eyes were wide. In his own deeper voice Niall said, “I can feel her.”

  “Then you know?” asked McKay. “Jamie and Fenella were husband and wife?”

  “My poor heart broke when I lost my bonnie Jamie at Glenshiel when he sacrificed himself to save us all,” she said through Niall. “I thought I would be alone forever until I met Logan. He was like a gentle rain that fell upon parched land. He woke me up to life again. I tried to be like Jaime but-- I failed.”

  McKay was silent for a moment, trying to see through so many, many years. “Ah, Fenella—you did what you did to save us. And I could not read my grandfather’s journal without knowing from every page how much Logan loved you.” McKay watched a tear fall down Niall’s cheek. McKay held him to comfort Fenella—and himself.

  “Logan’s in heaven now, so he could not return like Jaime,” Niall said softly. “I felt him when he passed the geas and stone on to you and he was finally free.” Niall turned his head to look at McKay, but it was Fenella who looked out of his eyes.

  “Jaime’s father was mortal but his mother was Daoine Sith. Logan and I are descended from his mortal side which is why Kenna could find nothing of the Sith in me.” He laughed gently. “She’d get a different reading now.”

  “How many others have been blessed by the love of Bonnie Laird Jamie and Logan McKay?” Niall stepped away and let Fenella come closer into the world. “I never thought I’d be with you again, my Jaime. I have never stopped loving you.”

  McKay could feel his ancestor too. Laird Jaimie's power coursed throu
gh his body. Master of Lightning and Storms indeed. The electricity crackled through him. “And I you,” Jaimie said. McKay felt himself climb over Niall. He was hard again, so achingly hard it was painful. A voice inside McKay's head—Jaimie's voice—pleaded for him to allow a final goodbye with his lady. McKay nodded. He would grant his ancestor that. Niall, it seemed, had the same conversation. He saw the lady take over behind his lover's eyes. He felt Niall's fresh erection.

  Jaimie/McKay kissed Niall's mouth. Tenderly, together, they entered Niall and Fenella's ready body. The sheer amount of sensation McKay felt was overwhelming. He had all the feeling for two people. He had never felt anything like it.

  Jaimie released—he came, but he also loosened his hold. McKay was wholly himself—and yet, there was something extra. His great-grandfather's power remained. McKay had the sense that, if he wanted, he could easily master the storms. But first he was content to spend a lifetime mastering the Sith beside him.

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