by Helen Scott
“What does that look mean?” Ellie asked, her voice low. He wondered how long it would take for the enjoyment of hearing her Scottish accent to wear off. Hearing Circe speaking through her had turned his stomach.
“I’m not sure.”
She was smart and sexy, and she was going to be his downfall if he wasn’t careful. He hadn’t meant to draw her into this life, and he definitely didn’t want her in danger. But how was he supposed to protect her if he wasn’t the one looking out for her? She may not be his, but he certainly felt some responsibility for her, and he could tell Hal did too. If it weren’t for the two of them, she would probably have written everything MacLeod left her off as the declining mind of an old man. So what was he to do now?
“So is this your place?” Ellie was getting uncomfortable, watching Alec fight some kind of internal battle she didn’t know anything about. The bedroom was all blues and grays and wood. It was beautiful. The bed was draped in the most luxurious sheets and blankets she had ever had the fortune of using.
“Ah.” Alec cleared his throat. “Yeah, this is my bedroom.”
“Oh!” Ellie was surprised she was in his actual bedroom and not a guest room.
“I don’t really have guests, so I don’t have any guest bedrooms. Sorry if that makes you uncomfortable. I can set you up on one of the couches downstairs if you would prefer. I know—”
“Alec, this is fine. Just unexpected, that’s all.”
“Okay, sure.”
“You have wonderful tastes.”
“Well, when you’ve been alive a long time, you learn a thing or two.” His smile was back.
“So you live with your brothers?”
“No, we all live on the same island but not in the same house. If we did, I think we would cause some kind of catastrophe or something.”
Ellie laughed, and Alec’s grin widened, making his eyes glint in the dim light. She felt like her heart took flight.
“I should probably get home.” Ellie sighed, not really wanting to leave but not wanting to put Alec out of a bed either.
“Uh, you can’t just yet.”
“Oh?” Ellie raised her eyebrows at him in surprise as she pushed herself into a more upright position on the bed.
“Well, since Circe can basically possess you whenever she wants, it’s best you stay here. The island is warded against pretty much everything, so you’ll be safe.” He looked sheepish, like he thought it would make her angry.
“I can’t stay here forever, Alec.” Her heart sank a little at the thought of leaving, but she had a life to get back to even if it was only a crappy job she had long since outgrown and a studio apartment. She couldn’t change her life around just because of this weird bond she felt to Alec. Besides, what would Granddad say?
“I know, I know, you probably have a ton of people waiting for you to go back home, but I don’t want to leave you vulnerable. Circe will use you if she can, and it won’t be pleasant for you at all. The more she knows about what makes you uncomfortable or what you wouldn’t want her to do, the more that becomes exactly what she will do. The brothers and I have a way around it though.” He grinned at her, and her insides turned to jelly.
“Do tell.” Her insides may have been jelly, but they were uneasy jelly as she thought about what he had just said. The idea of Circe using her body again—being forced to watch and listen, trapped inside her own body—was more than she could bear. Chills ran down her spine; it was definitely something she wanted to avoid ever happening again.
“You’re going to get a tattoo.” He seemed almost proud.
“What?”
Alec stood and turned his back to her. She could tell his hands were moving over the front of his shirt. When she saw the sides open, Ellie knew she was in for a treat. The fabric hung to the side as Alec shrugged out of the shirt. Ellie’s mouth watered at the muscles of his shoulders rippling as the shirt slid lower. He had to know what he was doing to her, right?
The shirt revealed something she didn’t expect. His shoulders were covered in tattoos, some of which ran down his spine disappearing at his narrow waist. His hip cocked to one side; his butt was phenomenally accented by the close cut of his jeans, which hid the rest of the tattoo. At the top, between his shoulder blades, were four tridents all crossing each other. The tattoo continued down his spine. The intricate scrollwork had symbols worked throughout.
Alec turned toward Ellie. The tattoo started again on the top of his shoulders and worked its way down to his elbows. A lot of the tattoo was made up of images that didn’t seem to make any sense when viewed together. Judging by the style variation, the tattoo had been done in pieces, and they were all done at very different times.
Ellie’s gaze traveled hungrily over Alec’s body as he turned to face her, drinking in the details and memorizing them in case she never saw them again: from the dusting of dark hair that covered his chest and circled his nipples to the trail of hair that lead to the part of his body she was most curious about.
His tawny skin looked almost edible. Alec looked at the work on his shoulders and arms as though he couldn’t remember where something was. Ellie could see a myriad of scars crisscrossing his flesh as he turned in the light. She wanted to know what had caused each one but didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable by asking.
“Here, this is what we need to get you. I think it would go with your Celtic roots quite well.”
The area he was pointing to was part of the scrollwork. Its center was a Celtic knot. The circle was made up of four quarters that almost looked like hearts with the indentation at the rounded most part of the quarter. All four pieces looped together so you could draw it in one stroke if you wanted.
“It’s beautiful. What does it mean?”
“It’s for protection. If you’re up for it, I would like to add some other pieces for protection to it. There’s a Norse rune, which works quite well, as well as the Eye of Horus.”
“Do I have to get all three?”
“No. I would definitely do the knot and the rune though, as they are probably most compatible with your ancestry, so they’ll give you the most bang for your buck.”
“Okay…” Ellie thought for a moment. “Can I get it on my hip?”
“Uh, sure.” Alec studied her for a moment. “You seem pretty on board with this, like you’ve had tattoos forced upon you before.”
Ellie laughed. “No, but I have always wanted one. This kills two birds with one stone.” She smiled at him.
“You are unflappable, you know that.” Alec pushed his hand through his hair, and Ellie smiled up at him as it fell right back to where it had been before.
“There’s plenty of flap in me; I’m just trying to roll with the punches. If I start getting worked up about all this, then I’ll probably lose it. I’ve wanted a tattoo, and now I’m goin’ ta get one. And as a bonus, it will help protect me from that witch.”
“I’m going to go and call our tattoo guy, Tony, and see how soon he can get here. Feel free to make yourself at home. The bathroom is just through there if you want to take a shower or something.”
“That sounds wonderful.”
“I’ll put some sweats out on the bed for you so you have clean clothes.”
“Thanks.” Ellie smiled at him, surprised by how much he was willing to go through to keep her safe. He could have just turned her out on the streets or dropped her back at the shop, but he didn’t. He kept her close, making sure she was safe and feeling better, and she had never felt better or more protected than she did now.
After Alec left, Ellie explored his bedroom a little. There were no photos of family, nothing excessively personal sitting out. It was almost a little too sterile. The only thing that gave Ellie any insight was the bookcase, but it was almost as if it had been curated since it was only the most famous works of fiction and what Ellie guessed were journals. It also only had about twenty books on the shelves, not counting the journals, which was almost blasphemous in Ellie’s mind.
How could you use things like bookends and decorative items on a bookcase? Bookcases were meant to be filled to the point of overflowing with books in her opinion.
She sighed and turned toward the bathroom. A shower did sound fantastic. She turned the water on and watched as the glass doors steamed over. The bathroom was luxurious; the cream and tan tiles lending a warm feeling, which was accentuated by the heated floor.
The shower itself was massive. It covered one wall of the bathroom and had multiple showerheads at different heights jetting water out. She stripped and stepped in, relishing the warmth flowing over her and the water massaging her skin from all different directions. Ellie couldn’t help but think about Alec taking a shower and the fact that she was now in one of his most personal spaces.
She could almost see the water rippling down his skin, little rivulets forming as the water made its way around his muscles, flowing over his tattoos and scars, down to his perfect butt, and what she was fairly sure at this point was not a small piece of male equipment.
The shower had made her body limp with relaxation, not to mention the smells of Alec’s clearly high-end shampoo and bodywash were intoxicating, although they didn’t capture everything about his scent. She left the bathroom wrapped in an oversized and overly fluffy towel, which made her towels at home seem dry and scratchy.
If she did end up stuck here forever, at least she knew she would love the shower. She’d probably dream about that shower if she did go home. Ellie quickly slid on the sweatpants and T-shirt that had been put on the edge of the bed for her. They fit her very well, which was strange since Alec claimed he never had guests, and he was quite a bit larger than her. She ran her hands through her hair and headed down stairs.
Chapter 8
Alec looked up from his laptop when he heard Ellie approaching. The sweats were just the right fit, at least from his perspective. They clung to her thighs and tapered down her legs showing off her hips and—he would bet—her ass too. The T-shirt was almost a little too small, but her breasts looked fantastic. He could tell the bra she was wearing had some kind of lacy embellishments as the material clung to it.
His body was reacting to her in a way he had never experienced before. She turned him on like no one else ever had, and he hoped sometime soon, very soon, he would get to see what she looked like without any clothes on. His mouth watered at the prospect.
“Good shower?” His voice was husky as he thought about her naked, her skin slick from the steam of the shower.
“That shower is pure dead brilliant. I dinnae ken they could be like that. It was almost a religious experience.”
Alec laughed at her enthusiasm; she wasn’t usually so expressive, and he loved it.
“I’m glad you liked it.” He smiled at her.
“Very much.” Ellie smiled back, and it was like she was lit from the inside; she was practically radiating warmth at him.
“So Tony said we should do the tattoo tomorrow night with the waxing moon for it to be as effective as possible.”
“Brilliant.”
“Are you hungry? I made some food while you were showering.”
“I thought something smelled delicious.”
“Well, since I thought you might be hungry and possibly a little homesick, I made a full English breakfast. I’m not sure if Scotland has a different breakfast, but we’ve got some sausage, back bacon, fried mushrooms, baked beans, and grilled tomatoes ready to go. I just need to make the eggs.”
“All ye’d be missin’ is the black puddin’ and the tattie scone.” He had noticed the strength of her accent was a little thicker when she thought about home or when she was flustered or emotional.
“Well, I was almost there.” He winked at her.
Alec closed his laptop and rose from the couch, leading Ellie through to the kitchen. Her jaw dropped when she saw how big the kitchen was. It was probably a full chef’s kitchen.
“If ye don’t have guests, why d’ye have such a large kitchen?”
“I love to cook, and my brothers know it, so they occasionally drop by. You’ve seen how big they are; would you want to squish them into a normal-sized kitchen?”
“You’ve got a point there.” She felt like she had been smiling at him since she came downstairs, but her heart was so happy she couldn’t stop herself.
Ellie walked to the back door and looked out at the coast. The ocean stretched as far as the eye could see. “You’ve a beautiful view here.”
“Thanks. It kind of comes with the whole ‘we feel weird away from the water’ thing.” She could hear Alec working the eggs in the pan as she stared at the ocean. The smell coming from the food made Ellie’s stomach rumble audibly.
“So can ye really sing to sailors?”
Ellie turned to admire him in front of the stove. She noticed he had changed too. His sweats hung low on his hips, revealing a tantalizing slip of skin whenever he raised his arms or moved quickly. His T-shirt was thin and clung to his arms and shoulders, highlighting their movements, which made Ellie wish she could hold on to them as he kissed her silly again. Her mouth watered as she noticed the well-defined bulge in the front of his sweats. She had never had a man who enticed her so much. Her whole body ached with longing.
“Yeah, we can sing to sailors or anyone for that matter. We would only ever sing as a last resort; we would never intentionally hurt someone, unless they left us no choice.” He was frowning at the eggs.
“What’s wrong?” Ellie asked, wrapping her arms around herself.
“I was just remembering what happened the last time I sang to someone.” Alec sighed.
Ellie didn’t want to push him, but she was desperate to know what happened. Mercifully, after a long moment Alec continued.
“The man had been attacking anyone who came within reach. He’d been bitten by one of Ares’s cursed hounds, and the rage of battle flowed through him. He couldn’t tell who was friend or foe and had the speed and strength of a Spartan warrior. Whenever I tried to get close to him, we just ended up exchanging blows. Finally, after hours of fighting, I made the decision to sing. The man quieted, and the rage was briefly under control—at least enough for me to put him out of his misery. He would never have stopped fighting otherwise.” Alec shook his head, clearly saddened by the loss of life. “Killing those afflicted by artifacts of the gods or their children was, and still is, a last resort. Each of us has a death that haunts us, one we wish we could have prevented. He is mine. If I would have captured Ares’s hound sooner, then he wouldn’t have been infected. But that’s life, right?”
“It sounds like ye can’t blame yourself. I’m sure the man would have preferred what happened to killing his family or something similar. I’m sorry if I upset you. I was just curious,” Ellie said, guilt flowing through her at dragging up such a bad memory. The frown vanished from Alec’s face as he turned toward her, moving the eggs onto her plate as he did so.
“I don’t want you to think you’re not safe with me. I’ll always protect you.” Alec paused as he handed her the plate of food, waiting until she looked him in the eyes. “I would never hurt you.” The sincerity in his eyes cut Ellie to the core. Her ex-fiancé had said the same thing. But it was a lie.
“Sure, yeah.” She nodded, staring down at her plate.
“What happened there? You just shut down.”
Ellie couldn’t make eye contact. She was ashamed of her relationship with Robbie and didn’t want to change how Alec saw at her. He came around the breakfast bar and sat on the barstool next to her, his long legs spread to either side of her as he spun the stool so she was facing him.
“Tell me, Ellie. I don’t like guessing games.” Alec dipped his head so he was below her. She couldn’t help but look at him.
“It’s personal.” She rubbed her upper arms, almost as though she was hugging herself.
“And so was the question about the sailors. I don’t have many people I can talk to about being part siren, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want t
o share with you. I want to trust you, and I want you to trust me. Tell you what, if you tell me what’s bothering you now, I’ll answer anything you ask truthfully and as completely as I can. Deal?”
Alec held out his hand. He was willing her to take it mentally, almost praying for it, in fact. He had never wanted to know anything as badly as why promising not to hurt her had made her shut down like that. After what seemed like an eternity, she took his hand. They shook on it, and while he relished the touch of her skin, she couldn’t seem to let go of his hand fast enough.
“I hope this doesna change your opinion of me.” Her voice had gone from the husky rolling Scots he loved to hear, to a high, clipped Scots. Whatever she was about to say clearly made her extremely anxious.
“I was engaged once. We made it all the way to the week before the wedding. He ended things via text message and all his stuff being gone. Leaving me having to explain to everyone that the wedding was canceled and footing the bill for a few of the items I couldn’t get out of, not to mention the apartment.”
“Oh. Ellie—”
She shook her head, and he knew she hadn’t told him the worst part yet. “It was good though, really. He was a bit of a wino and thought drinking wine made him classy. It just made him drunk, which frequently resulted in him screaming at me, telling me what a waste of space I was, and how I was lucky to have him, blah, blah, blah. It was when he hit me that everything changed.”
Rage flooded his system at the thought of someone hurting Ellie, but he held his tongue as she continued. “He had yelled and screamed at me. I could handle that; I thought in his heart he was still a good man. We’d been engaged for a while when he hit me the first time. He ran out after, didnae come back for two days. When he did come home, he was weeping like a bairn. I couldnae calm him for a long time, but he promised it would never happen again, that he would never hurt me.