Beyond The Veil: A Paranormal & Magical Romance Boxed Set

by Multiple Authors

  “Ah.” Cassie pursed her lips and nodded. “You do realize that she’s totally serious about fulfilling that promise.” She hesitated a moment before continuing. “And you know that she’s totally into you, right?”

  He knew. Brae had not hesitated to let him know just how much upon greeting. Within the mind of course. But Logan had been clear about where he stood and it wasn’t with Brae.

  “The feeling isnae mutual.” Determined that she understood how serious he was, Logan backed Cassie up against a thick tree and cupped her cheeks. “You need to ken that when I told you I wanted you, I had never said more truthful words. I didnae lay with you to slake my lust, lass. I laid with you because I’m in love with you.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  CASSIE COULD BARELY see Logan it had grown so dark but she most certainly heard his words. I’m in love with you. While it was a serious declaration, her mind was saturated with insecurity and disbelief. Irritated with her lack of confidence that a man could love her she wished she murmured something like, “You have great taste. Makes sense.” Instead, she whispered, “I find that hard to believe.”

  “Then find it hard to believe but ‘tis true.” His rough hands were achingly tender as he smoothed the pads of his thumbs over her cheekbones. “Did you hear me when you were riding Athdara through the battling? Did you know that we are far more mentally connected now than before?”

  “What?” Her heart pounded into her throat. “Why?”

  “Because we’ve lain together,” he said softly. “‘Tis a thing that happens with wizards.”

  Cassie tried to recall all of her thoughts since last night, but it was hard remembering that sort of thing. Lord, that probably meant he knew how jealous she was of Brae. Then there was the constant stream of thoughts about having had sex with him. Super lusty ones that had no business in anyone’s head but hers. So not good. “Have you been listening to all my thoughts then?”

  Logan shook his head. “Nay, I would never do that unless you asked it of me.” He cleared his throat and a smidge of desire met his words. “Though some slip through when they’re especially intense.”

  Oh, God. She had been having tons of those. Rather than speculate, she blurted, “So are we talking about my fear during battle or maybe Nicole getting hurt or maybe even my concern about Athdara?”

  “Nay,” he murmured, one hand abandoning her cheek to drift down the side of her neck, his fingers splaying over her sensitive skin. “More like the way you can’t catch your breath when I do this.” Then a finger trailed down her chest, skimming so softly over her cleavage that gooseflesh radiated over her. “Or the way this sends shivers through you before everything starts to burn.”

  “I see,” she managed, voice raspy as she tried to stay focused on…what exactly?

  “Love,” whispered through her mind.

  Love. Right. She closed her eyes and shook her head. Impossible. Yet her mind was fluttering after the word like a bird taking flight. Eager. Curious. Free. His word. Entrenched within her mind.

  Unlike Athdara’s voice, Logan’s seemed to wrap deep into her soul, giving her a glimpse of his own. It was made of honor and loyalty, of deep, rich feelings that he did not shy away from but embraced. As she surmised from the start, Logan knew his own heart and could never, not for a moment, be persuaded by anyone not to follow and believe in it. Though she had no idea how she knew, he absolutely meant what he said.

  He was in love with her.

  Warm, embracing, his love showed her flickers of all the moments they had shared. The way he could not get enough of the light that entered her eyes when she laughed. The way her oftentimes blunt words stirred his emotions and kept him enthralled. How beautiful he found her inside and out.

  Those were the sensations swirling at the surface of his feelings.

  The deeper he took her, the more she saw. How proud he was of her courage and commitment to Robert. How impressed he was by her willingness to travel on such a difficult journey and learn how to wield weapons. Her endless concern for those around her when her own life was constantly at risk.

  It was one of the final emotions he had that brought tears to her eyes.

  How incredibly courageous he found her strength in facing her number one fear. Blindness. He did not see her upcoming disability as a hindrance to himself in the least. Rather he saw it as an opportunity to help someone he respected conquer and succeed at what they had to face. He viewed it not as a potential weakness but something that would only make her stronger. It didn’t matter in the least how long he had known her, he wanted to be an intimate, loving part of her life.

  “You really do love me,” she whispered.

  “Aye, verra much,” he murmured by her ear.

  The incline of the root structure gave her a height advantage and put him only three or four inches taller than her rather than just under a foot. Still, it had become so dark that she could barely make him out. Rather she was forced to rely on her other senses. Something she would soon have to do all the time.

  “‘Tis good this,” he whispered. “The darkness embraces us both.” Her breath caught when his tongue flicked just beneath her ear. “Now there is nothing but you and me, lass.”

  No truer words were ever spoken. Her eyes slid shut as he kissed his way along her jawline. He fondled and explored her breasts before grasping then massaging her backside.

  Their passion and need grew so quickly and with such intensity that their lips trembled against one another’s before they at last sank into a ravenous kiss. Where she had been deeply aroused but tentative the night before, now it felt like a dam broke open. Their tongues twisted and stroked, desperate to get closer. He tasted faintly of one-eighths whisky and seven-eighths hot masculine need.

  Sizzling pleasure speared between her thighs and she moaned when his knee wedged between her legs. Running her hands beneath his tunic, she explored the rock-hard ridges of his abdominal muscles then higher to his chiseled chest.

  Logan tore his lips from hers, muttering, “Och, lass, I need ye something fierce.” He braced his hand over her head, words so soft she barely heard them. “Tellus clamavi ad te, ut de veste carere possumus. Mother Earth I call to thee, from clothes might we be free.”

  Tingles spread through her, then it was almost as if a gentle wind blew over them before she realized they were both completely nude.

  “Why not just rip off my clothes,” she joked before her words were cut off by the feel of his hands sweeping over her body.

  “Not fast enough,” he growled before kissing her almost savagely.

  Then she could not stop feeling for the life of her. The intensity of his mouth owning hers. The hard edges of his strong body as he pressed close. The pulsing, searing heat of his thick arousal against her stomach. The feel of her nipples tightening to painful points against his broad chest.

  There was no need to see him when a picture of his body so clearly formed in her mind. She ran her fingers over the width of his biceps then the chords of his forearms. Then she trailed her hands down his side, tracing the shallow dips above his hipbones and below the last ridge of his abs. That wonderful V that pointed straight down at…

  He released a hiss of pleasure when she wrapped a hand around as much of his arousal as she could and squeezed. Caught by the feel of satin over steel, she barely heard him grunt out more words. “Tellus mitescere, parva quid temporis non cortice quid esse. Mother Earth soften thee, for little time might no bark there be.”

  For a second she thought he was asking to lose his erection but oh was she wrong. Cassie gasped, legs widening when Logan clenched her backside and lifted her further up what was now not abrasive bark at her back but smooth softness. Her eyes rolled back in her head when he thrust up and filled her with one, long deep stroke.

  Her senses burst to life as her body rippled around him and an impatient climax roared up and hovered just out of reach. He shuddered against her in pleasure but didn’t move. Not at first. Instead, he
murmured soft words against her ear. The things he felt while shrouded in the darkness around them.

  The way he would see her if he was to lose his sight.

  His brogue was thick and husky as he pressed closer, caging her in heat and lust with his arms, hips and thigh muscles. While one hand held her backside firmly in place, the other explored her face, fingertips dusting lovingly over every inch of her. “Such soft eyebrows, furrowed as ye fight to find yer release.”

  Logan’s finger trailed down her nose, slowing at the tip. “Turned up ever so slightly to suit your occasional defiance. A defiance I will push past and turn to pleasure every time I take ye.” Then he traced her cheekbones and chin. “So well formed. The perfect fit for my palm.”

  His fingertip lazily outlined her lips before he thrust his hips and her mouth fell open on a sharp inhale. “Plush lips that will always open for me when I wish it.” Logan thrust again and her head fell back. He skimmed her neck before his tongue flicked, teeth nibbled and his words whispered downward. “A slender, soft neck that I cannae get enough of.”

  He palmed her breast, testing its weight before he ran his tongue around her nipple then sucked it into his mouth. She released a strangled cry and dug her hands into his hair as a piercing climax ripped through her.

  Lodged deep, he abandoned her breast and slammed his hand against the tree as his hoarse words rumbled through his chest. “And this feeling,” he panted. “This bloody feeling of ye drawing me into your body. ‘Tis incomparable. ‘Tis something I want ye to give me again and again.”

  Give him? Heck, he was so giving her everything right now.

  His body was tight and locked up against her, as though it was taking all he had to remain still and let her enjoy the orgasm rocketing through her. Yet it was clear he could only take so much because the minute her body floated down out of the clouds and spasms stopped raking her, he started moving. Hoisted against the tree, he grabbed her backside with both hands as he thrust deep and hard.

  Thunder rumbled across the sky as he vigorously lost himself within her. She felt not only the rebuilding pressure in her own body but the churning depths of his unadulterated and near violent physical need to possess her. Feeding into his desire, wanting to merge with him just as thoroughly, she wrapped her legs around his waist.

  Lightning flickered behind her eyelids as their bodies synchronized and became wild, as abandoned as the wind whipping the leaves above. She couldn’t stop her sounds of pleasure as her entire being centered on the feel of him moving within her. Up. Down. In. Out. Around. His astounding energy soon had her varied sounds turning into cries of immeasurable gratification.

  Digging her heels into his ass, she arched against him as he drove her toward a peak that he alone controlled. She dug her nails into his shoulder while simultaneously flattening her other palm against the tree, clawing for escape from overwhelming need.

  Desperate, writhing, they all but devoured each other before catapulting into the deepest reaches of passion. Thunder cracked as not only lightning flashed across her vision, but a vast spectrum of colors detonated around her. It felt like she shot right out of her body her release was so strong. When his thoughts, ones entirely immersed in lust and love, flickered rapidly through her mind, another explosion raked her.

  This time, she took him with her.

  The thunder was loud, but his roar was louder as he locked up against her, his body a powerhouse frozen in time. Their release was so ferocious that neither could move for several long moments. Then tremors started to rock them. He quaked against her and she knew he struggled to keep them afoot. Though her legs had started to slowly slide down his thighs, her feet were still off the ground. Good thing because she was pretty sure there weren’t any working muscles left in them.

  Their hearts pounded as he breathed harshly against her ear. She got the sense he was trying to form words but could not. Rain had started to fall but protected by the tree it only glazed their skin in a breezy mist. Though her eyes were open, the thick darkness was only broken by occasional flashes of lightning.

  Until something else caught her attention.

  A glow.

  Faint at first, she thought maybe she saw a fire flicker through the forest but no. Squinting, it took a moment for her eyes to adjust. The light wasn’t coming from the distance but up close.

  “Logan,” she whispered, not completely sure what she was looking at.

  “Aye?” he murmured, face still buried against her neck.

  “Am I seeing what I think I’m seeing?”

  He pulled back enough that she could put her hand between them. “Do you see it?”

  “I do.” He peered at her ring. “There’s a flicker of light within.”

  A response died on her lips when Athdara’s weak voice whispered through her mind. “I need ye to come to me, lass. Logan soon suffers great loss and I dinnae want him to be without ye.”

  Her eyes went to Logan’s face. He was still studying the ring with curiosity. Keeping anxiety from her voice, she said, “Athdara’s awake. She needs us.”

  “Aye, ‘tis good.” Pulling away, hand still on the tree, he murmured another one of his Mother Earth chants and they were once more clothed. Though she tried to keep it from him, she knew Logan sensed her distress as they headed back.

  The storm had been quick moving—almost as if it had swept through as a mirror to the intensity of their lovemaking—and now a light drizzle fell. A glow lit the shore at the oak ford and Cassie’s heart caught in her throat when they left the forest behind.

  Athdara lay on her side with Grant kneeling beside her. Logan’s cousins stood nearby, expressions somber. Cassie rushed over and fell to her knees on the other side of the horse. Grant’s sad eyes met hers. “Ye’ll want to make room for yer lad. ‘Tis best that he’s close to her now.”

  “Of course,” she murmured and moved over so that Logan could crouch next to Athdara’s head.

  He looked at Grant, confused. “I can barely hear her.” Like Cassie, he was stroking the horse, trying to offer comfort. “I dinnae ken.”

  “‘Tis hard, this,” Athdara whispered into her mind. “‘Tis so verra hard.”

  “What’s hard?” Cassie said. “Why can’t Logan seem to hear you?”

  The horse’s nostrils flared and though her eyes fluttered, they did not open. “Because his heart isnae ready.”

  Grant hung his head and started murmuring prayers.

  “What ails Athdara?” Increasingly alarmed, Logan shook his head. “What’s happening here?”

  Cassie jolted when fire flared nearby and Ferchar appeared on the shore. Grant immediately stood and stepped away as Logan’s father, face ravaged with grief, fell to his knees where Grant had been.

  “Nay, my lass, dinnae leave me.” Tears rolled down the Scotsman’s face as he pulled the horse’s head into his lap. Body tense, brows lowered sharply, Logan shook his head. “What is it, Da?”

  Not sure what else to do, Cassie wrapped her hand in Logan’s and held tight. Good thing because what happened next made her mouth fall open in disbelief. Air started to shimmer and fluctuate around Athdara, warping everything until the horse vanished…

  And a woman remained.

  She looked familiar.

  Older but remarkably beautiful, her golden eyes fluttered open and locked with Ferchar’s. Though her voice was Athdara’s, her brogue faded away as she spoke. “Husband, my love, it’s almost time for me to go.”

  A strangled sound broke from Logan’s chest and his eyes widened in anguished disbelief as he clasped the woman’s hand with both of his. “Ma?”

  Oh dear God no.

  Athdara had been his mother all along?

  This was Caitlin Seavey from the twenty-first century?

  But of course she was. Though aged, this was the woman Cassie had seen in the picture on the mantle.

  Caitlin’s eyes lingered on Ferchar’s face for a long moment and Cassie couldn’t stop the tears if she wa
nted to. There was no way to describe all the unsaid words, all the shared moments, all the complete and thorough love that passed between them in that one look. A lifetime of memories that would remain theirs through eternity.

  Ferchar pressed his cheek against Caitlin’s palm as she turned tired eyes to Logan. Though it was clearly hard to do, she managed a small smile. “You’ve made me so proud, son. Now isn’t the time to be sad but strong. Your dad’s going to need you.”

  “Och, nay.” A tear streamed down Logan’s cheek and he shook his head. “Nay, Ma. Dinnae leave us. It cannae be your time yet.”

  Though they kept a respectable distance, his cousins including Machara drifted closer, pain in their eyes. As if she sensed them, Caitlin murmured, “Never abandon the bond you’ve forged with your cousins. You are always stronger together.”

  Logan nodded then shook his head, bringing the back of her hand to his lips, words pained. “I willnae fail ye, Ma. I’ll live my life as ye raised me to live it.”

  “Not once from the moment I knew you were in my belly have you failed me, Logan MacLomain.” Her skin grew more ashen. “But I think maybe it’s time for me to go back to New Hampshire for a bit. In one form or another.” Caitlin’s wise eyes drifted between them and her words entered Cassie’s mind, brogue thick once more. “Might ye take his hand and mine, lass?”

  While uncomfortable interrupting a family moment, she did as asked. Shaky, Caitlin’s hand wrapped around theirs, voice weaker and weaker as her eyes went to Logan’s. “Know the kind of love I did, son, and cherish it always.”

  Logan nodded and squeezed their hands, more tears trickling down his cheeks as Caitlin’s eyes struggled to swing back to Ferchar. Logan’s father cupped her cheeks and pressed his forehead to hers, whispering words only meant for her ears, words shared between best friends and lovers who were saying goodbye for the final time.