“Okay,” Charlotte agreed, and smiled. “This really is amazing.”
Niall grinned, leaning down to kiss her before they were interrupted by the pilot on the loudspeaker, informing them it was time to prepare for takeoff.
They took the chairs at the back of the plane so that Charlotte didn’t have to look out a window during takeoff. Niall held her hand as they ascended and didn’t let go until the fasten seatbelts sign was turned off.
“Who wants to watch a movie?” Grace asked, heading to the sofa.
“Depends,” Charlotte said. “What are the choices?”
“RomCom or action?” Niall said.
“Action,” Grace and Charlotte said in unison.
“Wow,” Niall said. “I would have pegged you for a romantic.”
“No you wouldn’t,” Charlotte retorted.
Niall laughed. “No, you’re right, I wouldn’t. You’re definitely a shoot ’em up kind of girl.”
“Aren’t you lucky?” Grace said.
Niall kissed Charlotte. “Very much so. But, I have another option.”
“You do?” Charlotte asked.
Niall rifled through his backpack and pulled out a DVD.
“What’s that?” Charlotte narrowed her eyes.
“Only a little movie starring the most beautiful woman on earth.”
“Shut up!” she exclaimed.
“You got an early cut?” Grace asked.
Niall nodded and Charlotte sighed. “Thank you, Captain Obvious.”
Grace stuck her tongue out at Charlotte as she plucked the DVD out of Niall’s hand. “Max, baby, will you please make popcorn?”
“Where did you get it?” Charlotte demanded.
“I have my ways, love. You should know that by now.”
Are you and your brother going to kiss and make up?
I don’t know.
Charlotte crossed her arms. Well, I’m not going to let you watch that unless you do.
Charlotte.
“Excuse us for a bit.” Charlotte pulled Niall back to the bedroom he indicated earlier and pushed him inside, closing the door behind her. “You need to sort this out, Nye. You have to forgive your brother and move on. The tension between you two is stupid thick.”
“I know.” He rubbed his forehead. “I just can’t seem to get past it.”
“Well, then break it down for me. What did he really do to you that would make you willing to walk away from not just your brother, but your friendship? From everything that Grace has told me, and everything I’ve picked up from you personally, you used to be so close.”
“We were.” He sighed. “Max knew that Abbott had raped and killed Moira, long before he told me. I guess what hurts me the most is that he told Connall before he told me.”
“Did he say why?”
Niall dragged his hands through his hair. “He was angry that I forgave and moved on so quickly.”
“Really? That was his reason?”
“That’s the reason he gave.”
Charlotte frowned. “I highly doubt that’s the reason, baby.”
“I do too,” he admitted.
“Then why are you torturing him?”
“Because I want him to tell me,” he said. “He’s always so bloody closed off.”
“So, tell him that,” Charlotte suggested. “Why don’t you two talk while I figure out how to destroy the DVD?”
“Don’t you dare,” he warned. “I want to see you in all your glory.”
She bit her lip. “What if I suck?”
“Baby, you wouldn’t have gotten the part if you sucked.”
“I hate watching myself.”
“Then close your eyes.”
Charlotte rolled her eyes. “Should I get Max now?”
He held up their linked fingers. “I don’t want you to panic.”
“I’m fine, babe. Really. Totally Zen.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. “I’ll get your brother.”
“Don’t break our plane, Charlotte. We’re pretty invincible, but I don’t know that we could survive a plane crash.”
Charlotte giggled. “If I start to get nervous, I’ll yell for you.”
* * *
Charlotte left the room and Max entered a few minutes later. “Charlotte said you wanted to talk to me?”
Niall nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me about Moira? The real reason, not the one you gave me, blaming my forgiving nature.”
Max dragged his hands down his face with a sigh. He didn’t say anything for several minutes and just when Niall thought he’d give up, Max sat on the edge of the mattress. “I didn’t want you to know.”
“Know what?”
“Everything, I guess. She was a mess when I got to the stables. She’d been raped and beaten, her ear was missing, and I didn’t want that vision in your mind. I cleaned her up as best I could and would have done more, but Alasdair wanted to preserve the scene. He’s surprisingly bloody strong, so I didn’t have much of a choice.”
Niall grimaced. “Probably why he’s the king’s ‘muscle.’”
“Aye,” Max agreed. “I don’t know why I didn’t tell you about Abbott. I don’t really have an excuse. I think I’d been keeping so much of the horror to myself, I got used to not sharing it. All this mess with Vandi, though, brought it up for me.”
“Aye, brother. Me too. I just kept seeing Moira’s face when I looked at Vandi.”
Max stood. “I’m sorry, Nye. Truly. If I could go back and tell you, I would.”
“I appreciate that.” Niall hugged him. “But if you keep something like that from me again, I’ll bloody well kill you.”
“Fair enough.”
“Shite!” Niall felt Charlotte’s panic and was out the door before Grace screamed.
CHARLOTTE WAS BY the door of the plane, and Grace and two of the flight staff were trying to hold her down. Niall pushed everyone aside and lowered Charlotte gently to the floor in order to keep her pinned. He laid his hand over her heart and felt it racing.
“Everything was fine until she made the mistake of looking out the window,” Grace said. “She must think she’s D.B. Cooper. She was trying to open the door.”
“I have to get out,” Charlotte shouted.
“Það er allt í lagi. Róaðu þig. Þú ert örugg.” (It’s okay. Calm yourself. You are safe.)
Charlotte’s eyes were green this time, something Niall didn’t have time to wonder about.
“Baby, listen to my voice,” he said, stroking her cheek. “I’m here. You’re safe.”
She blinked and her eyes returned to blue. She glanced up at Grace and then Max. “Why am I on the floor?”
“Because you were trying to open the door.”
“Shut up.”
Niall smiled and helped her up. “Maybe it’s not a good idea for us to break contact.”
“Maybe not.” She frowned and faced the flight crew. “I’m so sorry.”
“No worries, Mrs. MacMillan,” Gretchen said. “We’re prepared for everything.”
She turned to Grace, who grimaced as Max held her arm. “Did I hurt you?”
“Flesh wound,” she retorted, and frowned up at her mate. “Max has taken care of it.”
Max looked ready to kill, and Niall figured he was having a stern conversation with her privately.
“Oh, Gary, I’m so sorry!” Charlotte said.
“Seriously, it’s okay. You drew a little blood on my arm when you tried to claw me off you.” Grace waved her hand. “So yesterday’s news.”
“Grace,” Max hissed.
“It’s fine, baby,” she reiterated.
“Let’s watch that movie, eh?” Niall suggested.
“I have to pee,” Charlotte said.
“You do? I’ll... ah... come with you, I guess,” Niall said slowly.
“Kidding!” she quipped.
“You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?”
“Just a lot a bit.”
He smiled, kissing her before dragg
ing her to the sofa. The rest of the evening went off without a hitch, and they managed to undress and climb into bed without incident as well.
“I can’t wait to bind you,” he whispered as he pulled her onto his bare chest.
“Why can’t we do it now?” She ran her finger down his chest. “It would be a whole new take on the Mile-High Club.”
He cocked his head. “I suppose there isn’t any reason, necessarily, other than your comfort if you start your conversion with the flight crew here.”
She grimaced. “I didn’t think about the crew.”
“They wouldn’t bother us, love,” he said.
“They wouldn’t?”
“No. They’ve been with us for as long as planes have been flown. Discretion is something we all practice.”
She bit her lip. “Okay, can we then? I really don’t want to wait.”
Niall smiled and climbed from the bed. “Come here, love.”
Charlotte followed him and took the hand he held out to her.
“I’m going to say the promise and then you’re going to repeat it. Once you do, we’ll say it again together, and then I’ll bind you physically.”
She nodded.
“Ready?”
She nodded again.
“Ég gef þér allt sem ég er, allt sem ég vil vera og allt sem ég get verið. Ég er þinn að eilífu. Eining okkar mun aldrei bresta. Ást mín er alger.” (I give you everything I am, all I want to be and all I can be. I’m yours forever. Our bond will never be broken. My love is absolute.)
“Now, you,” he instructed.
“Ég gef þér allt sem ég er, allt sem ég vil vera og allt sem ég get verið,” she repeated. “Ég er þín að eilífu Eining okkar mun aldrei bresta. Ást mín er alger.”
“Together,” he said.
“Ég gef þér allt sem ég er, allt sem ég vil vera og allt sem ég get verið. Ég er þinn að eilífu. Eining okkar mun aldrei bresta. Ást mín er alger.”
Charlotte’s knees buckled and Niall caught her, setting her gently on the bed. His breath caught when she pulled her lace cami over her head and revealed her milky skin. He covered her body with his and trailed kisses from her lips to her navel.
Kissing his way down her body, he knelt between her legs, and ran his tongue over her already slick folds. Charlotte shuddered as he ran his tongue over her clit, adding pressure with each pass of his tongue, then sliding a finger inside of her.
She tugged gently on his hair as she ground her core against his mouth. “Niall,” she breathed out.
His tongue slid out of her, and then he was kneeling between her legs and sliding his cock against her wetness, before slipping inside of her, stopping at her barrier. Charlotte whimpered, but their connection assured him it was with need, not pain.
“It’s going to sting a bit, love,” he warned.
She nodded, and before she could change her mind, he surged into her, catching her cry with his mouth as he kissed her.
I’m okay, Niall.
The ecstasy he felt couldn’t be qualified, but he paused for a few minutes, rolling her nipple between his fingers and waiting for her body to get used to his size. Making love to her was nothing like he’d imagined. He loved her with an intensity he’d never experienced before. More than he’d ever loved anyone else.
When her hips began to move, he buried himself inside of her over and over again. He was overwhelmed with all of it, and he knew he was partly taking on her emotions. As her nipples tightened and her body took him deeper, her feelings swamped him, urging his burning hunger to find assuagement. Her hands were freezing and she ran them over his back, pushing his desire further and further.
When he felt her walls contract around him, it nearly sent him over the edge, but he wasn’t ready to stop just yet. He wanted more...needed more.
Charlotte cried out as she came, then wrapped her legs around his waist and took him even deeper, dragging her nails down his back as another climax built. The feeling of hers building again as his was about to crest, was heady and he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to stop. But when her body cooled, it sent him over the edge.
She cried out as they came together and Niall rolled them onto their sides, keeping their connection, but taking the burden of his weight off of her.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked as they lay facing each other.
She shook her head and smiled. “Not at all. I can’t believe how good it was.”
“Oh? How come?”
She blushed. “Because everyone always says that a man’s first time is really quick.”
Niall laughed. “Ah, so I’ve impressed you, then.”
“So, so much.” She kissed him.
He ran his hand over her hip. “Your skin is so soft.”
She licked her lips, running her finger down his chest. “How soon can we do that again?”
“Let’s wait to see what your body does. We’ll have plenty of time for fun when we get home.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I feel really great, though.”
“So did Grace,” he said. “Her conversion hit her hard and fast.”
“Fine.” She sighed. “Should we tell them so they’re ready?”
“They know.”
“They do?”
He nodded. “They will have felt it.”
“What do you mean?” She sat up. “Can they hear us?
“No, love.” He pulled her back down. “There’s a charge in the air. Don’t you feel it? You just know when couples are mated.”
“I just thought that was us.”
He grinned. “Wow, I must have been better than I thought.”
“Okay, no getting a big head...” She giggled and glanced down his body, “...unless you plan to do something with it.”
“Minx,” he retorted, and kissed her.
“Wait. Will everyone know when we... you know...”
“No, love. They will only know that we are bonded mates.”
“Oh, in that case...” She kissed him.
Unable to resist her, he made love to her again. She grew frustrated with him when he attempted to be gentle, which only excited him more. She was remarkably strong, and he noticed her eyes flashed red and her hands grew colder the more intense their lovemaking became.
An hour later, Charlotte gasped and took several deep breaths. “Is this it?” she asked, as she curled into a ball.
“What do you feel?”
“Cramping. But I don’t feel excruciating pain.”
He frowned as he pulled on his jeans and T-shirt. “I’ll be right back.”
He stepped into the hallway and knocked on Max’s door. Grace opened it. “Has she started?”
Niall shrugged. “Sort of? She says she’s not in a great deal of pain. She just feels a little cramping.”
“Seriously?” Grace complained. “Not fair.”
“I don’t know what to look out for, to be honest.”
“Let’s go see.”
Niall led Grace back into the bedroom and found Charlotte in the middle of the bed, her skin red and her hair matted to her face. Grace lowered herself on to the bed. “Charlie? You okay?”
Charlotte shook her head. “Þetta er sárt.”
“What did she say?” Grace asked.
“She said it hurts,” Niall said.
Grace leaned down and stroked Charlotte’s hair. “I know, buddy. I’m going to get a few things. Niall can help, but he’ll have to touch you.”
“Hvað?”
Grace frowned up at Niall.
“Ég get losað þig við sársauka, en ég verð að snerta þig,” Niall translated what Grace had said to Charlotte as best he could.
Grace climbed from the bed and gave Niall a sympathetic smile. “Skin to skin is best. It’ll ease the pain.”
Niall nodded as he pulled off his shirt and settled himself behind Charlotte, his chest to her back. She whimpered as he touched her, stiffening, but then her body relaxed against him and he was able to link his
fingers with hers. “How bad is the pain?”
“Hvað?”
“Hversu mikill er sársaukinn?”
“Betri núna þegar þú ert að snerta mig.” She kissed his hand. “Hversu lengi mun það vara?”
“What?”
“Hvað?” she said.
“Bíddu í eina sekúndu.” Niall was at a loss so he asked her to give him a second. “Grace!” he called.
She poked her head inside. “What’s wrong?”
“I need a translator. Please get Gretchen. I only know so much Icelandic.”
“Which one’s Gretchen again?” Grace said.
Niall smiled. “The blonde one.”
“Why is Chuck only speaking Icelandic?” Grace asked.
“I don’t know, lass, but this happened with Pepper if I recall, and it lasted a little while.”
“Okay, be right back.”
Grace pulled the door closed again and Niall kissed Charlotte’s shoulder. “Gretchen mun hjálpa okkur að miðla, elskan.”
“Hvers vegna þarf hún að hjálpa okkur að tala saman?” (Why does she need to help us communicate?)
“Þar sem þú ert ekki að tala ensku.” (Because you’re not speaking English.)
“Hvað? Ég er!” (What? I am!)
“Nei, elskan, þú ert það ekki.” (No, baby, you’re not.)
Charlotte groaned and burrowed herself into Niall.
A knock at the door brought Gretchen, who stepped inside and smiled gently. “You needed me, sir?”
“Aye, thank you. Charlotte’s going through her conversion, and she seems to only be speaking Icelandic. I don’t know enough to grasp everything she’s saying.”
“No problem.” She knelt beside the bed. “Frú MacMillan, finnst þér þægilegt að hafa mig hér, eða viltu frekar að ég hjálpa utanfrá?” (Mrs. MacMillan, do you feel comfortable having me here, or would you rather I help from outside?)
* * *
Charlotte bit her lip, partly from the pain, partly from the confusion. She didn’t understand any of this. She’d never spoken Icelandic, never even recalled hearing it spoken, and she didn’t know how she could have possibly forgotten how to speak English.
“Why are you here?” she asked.
The flight attendant smiled. “Because your mate is concerned that he won’t be able to understand everything. He’s not fluent in Icelandic.”
Bound by Dreams (Cauld Ane Series, #5) Page 20