Born to Bite Bundle

by Hannah Howell

  Foxglove.

  A dangerous herb, but not strong enough to kill a vampire. A fact a vampire understood, and the reason why Aedan had been left within the stone circle. Unconscious, and with the circle of stones slowly drawing his power so that he would be unable to move if he awoke, he would have been burned to death by the morning sun’s rays.

  Sunlight washed the earth beyond the cave’s entry, wrapping the roll of land within its warmth. Aedan’s lids grew heavier. Aye, ’twas time to sleep. Whoever plotted against him would be seeking rest as well.

  He settled more comfortably against Rowan, and her flaxen hair spilled from its hastily woven plait across the paleness of his arm as if fairy dust. A smile touched his mouth. Aye, he was a man enchanted. Intrigued, he lifted several locks of her hair, let the strands slide through his fingers to spiral back against her windswept mane.

  Rowan, a fitting name. The rowan tree was a symbol of strength. The five-pointed star at the base of each berry was a symbol of protection to the ancients. The hearty white flowers that grew upon the sturdy limbs were a symbol of innocence, appropriate as the lass was innocent of a man’s touch. He would not dwell upon the latter.

  Another wave of fatigue settled over him. This day he would rest, but this night, once he’d fed, he would keep watch over the stone circle and wait. Whoever had left him there should return to ensure his body lay charred inside.

  Then, the traitor would die.

  Confident he would soon have vengeance against whoever had dared to try and kill him, Aedan cast an invisible shield upon the cave’s entry, allowing no one to enter. With the scent of Rowan filling his every breath, he closed his eyes and gave in to much needed sleep.

  A wisp of chilled air skimmed over Rowan. With a shiver, she reached for a blanket, and her hand scraped upon the cold dirt.

  Dirt?

  Where was she?

  Memories flooded her, of running for her life after being branded a witch, of finding herself before the stone circle, then of helping save a vampire’s life, of his unexpected tenderness, and of how he’d held her in his arms and pressed a kiss upon her brow as she’d fallen asleep.

  She opened her eyes. Blackness engulfed her. Heart pounding, Rowan stumbled to her feet. “Aedan?”

  From deep within the forest a wolf howled, the lonely sound macabre.

  “Aedan, are you here?”

  A gust, rich with the scent of the night, tumbled past.

  On cautious feet she crept to the entry. She searched the midnight sky, thick with stars against the moonless night. Though he’d taken a few drops of her blood, hunger must have driven him to feed.

  She listened, thankful the forest did not ring with the angry shouts of men in search of her. No doubt they were scouring the woods. Should she use the blanket of night to put more distance between them, head south where she could begin a new life? Or, should she stay and trust Aedan to keep his word to protect her?

  Tingles of sensation edged up her skin.

  Uneasy, she scanned the distant line of trees, found her gaze drawn to the stone circle, its sturdy columns black against the star-washed night. As she stared, a pulse filled the air, slow, steady, growing stronger. The need to move toward the ancient circle filled her.

  Confused, she took a step forward.

  Mist swirled around her; then fully dressed, Aedan stood before her.

  Rowan jumped back. “How did you do that?” She held up her hand. “Nay, I do not want to know.”

  Black eyes held hers, their intensity stealing her breath. With a curse he caught her wrist, his hold gentle, then turned her away from the circle and led her toward the cave.

  “Aedan, what is wrong?”

  At the nervousness within her voice, Aedan relaxed his stance. She was perplexed; how could she not be? He was as confused. “The stone circle drew you, did it not?”

  “Aye.” A blush colored her cheeks. “Though it sounds foolish.”

  “Far from foolish,” he replied. “To humans a stone circle is a place of power, a place for ceremony, but for vampires ’tis fatal.” He took her hand, needing to feel the warmth of her skin against his own. “If a vampire is caught within, the stones draw his strength, and over time we become unable to move.”

  “And with the morn, you would be burned to death. Oh God.” A shiver wove through her, and he folded her within his arms, their bond growing stronger with each passing moment.

  Worry-filled turquoise eyes met his. “Aedan, why would I be drawn into the circle?”

  He frowned. “Mayhap it sensed our bond.” But, doubts lingered.

  “Mayhap.” She exhaled a ragged breath. “Do you have any idea who tried to kill you?”

  He shook off his disturbing thoughts. “Nay, but I will find my enemy.” He scanned the night-blackened stones, the shiver of starlight glinting off each. Majestic. Powerful. “Whoever dared such a traitorous act will return to ensure I am dead.”

  “What will you do then?”

  Aedan remained silent. Soon he must explain he was laird of the Highland Coven, and that he could not allow anyone near him he could not trust. But he did not want to trouble her when she already had so much to worry about.

  And what of her being his mate? When would the time come when he must share such critical information?

  A stick cracked nearby.

  Hands strong and gentle lifted Rowan. The earth blurred, and she found herself pressed within the shadows inside the entry of the cave.

  “Stay!” Aedan whispered. With a swirl of mist, he vanished.

  Heart pounding, she stared into the shadows of the night.

  A wolf howled, closer this time.

  Prickles slid up her flesh. Someone was watching her. Pulse racing, she scanned the looming blackness, the air growing cooler with each breath.

  Mist engulfed her. “You are safe.”

  On a half scream, Rowan turned. The swirl of white cleared, and Aedan again stood before her, his body taut, his gaze searching the forest beyond. After a final scan, his eyes met hers.

  Would she ever grow used to his appearing out of nowhere? “What did you find?” Nerves tangled her voice.

  “Naught. Neither did I pick up any unusual scent. Most likely, a roebuck or another animal of the night passed nearby.”

  She should agree, assure herself all was well, but . . .

  “What is it?”

  At the edge in his voice, she searched the night-blackened land. “I am unsure, but it was almost as if I sensed someone was out there. Oddly, with the passing moments, the air grew colder.”

  “Foxglove,” he said with a hiss.

  “What?”

  “Whoever drugged me did so with foxglove, which has dulled my senses.”

  A tremor rippled through her. “Another vampire is nearby?”

  “Mayhap.”

  “But you are not sure.”

  Aedan shook his head, his frustration easy to read. “Nay.”

  “Most likely you are right; it was an animal,” she said. “Or, if another vampire, he or she could have been far away.”

  “Do nae make excuses for me. I have sworn to protect you,” he said, his voice grim. “If another vampire was nearby, I should have been able to detect him. I had not considered the drug’s effects, a mistake I will not make again.” His hands clenched into fists at his sides, then slowly released. “However much I wish to take you elsewhere to keep you safe, it is imperative that I remain here another day, mayhap two. If anyone returns to confirm my death, I must know.”

  “I understand.”

  “You do not, but you must trust that I will keep you from harm.”

  Touched by the depth of his caring, she laid her hand upon his forearm. “However irrational, I do.”

  Aedan drew her hand within his and pressed a kiss upon her palm, humbled to have found this amazing woman, one he wanted forever. “ ’Tis not irrational.”

  “Is it not? All my life I have been told tales of vampires’ viciousness,
of their killing people in cold blood without thought. Yet, with you I find trust.” She paused, her eyes searching his as understanding dawned. “But because you can read my mind you already know that, do you not?”

  He stroked his thumb across her lower lip, wanting her, needing her forever. “Aye. “

  If he could read her mind, was there more that he could sense or know about her that he hadn’t revealed?

  At her thought, he released her, turned and scoured the darkened woods. Judging from the stiffness of his body, he was upset.

  Rowan’s unease grew. “Aedan, what are you keeping from me?”

  Silence.

  “Aedan.”

  He turned, his face taut, his eyes torn between happiness and regret. “I want you.”

  Need infused her, a yearning so desperate she caught her breath.

  His nostrils flared.

  Pleasure shot through her. He was not immune to her either.

  “Nay, I am far from immune. I want you overmuch.”

  “Never before have I wanted a man.” Heat warmed her cheeks. “Never have I lain with a man. But against all that I have been taught, against my beliefs, I want you.”

  “Rowan.”

  At the desire that roughened his voice, heat built within her. “Tell me.”

  He muttered a curse. “Never did I believe I would find you.”

  “Find me?” She frowned. “We have never met.”

  He gave a cold laugh void of amusement. “We have not, but our blood recognizes the other.”

  “You are not making any sense.”

  On a shaky exhale, his eyes held hers, a silent plea within. “Rowan, you are my mate.”

  Chapter Three

  Against the backdrop of the night, shock veiled Rowan’s face. “I am your mate? Impossible.”

  Hurt tore through Aedan at her disbelief, but had not his surprise at the discovery been as great? “Rowan, neither you nor I were given a choice. Our bond is a gift of nature neither of us can change.”

  “I . . .”

  Bedamned. “Did you not say but moments ago that you want me?”

  Her body trembling, she tried to step back.

  Aedan held her, needed her to accept the attraction between them, one as natural as his next breath. “I am going to kiss you—unless you bid me to stop.”

  Eyes wide and unsure, she watched him.

  However much she struggled to accept the fact, beneath her nervousness he saw need. He lowered his mouth to a whisper above hers.

  “Order me to stop,” he said as her scent infused his every breath, driving him insane, “before I touch you, before I taste you everywhere.”

  Her body shuddered against his. “I cannot.”

  On a groan he claimed her lips, hot, hard, demanding her response. Her actions would acknowledge what she refused to say.

  “Aedan,” she moaned as she returned his kiss, her own blistering hot.

  His tongue slid between her lips, teasing, tasting, seducing her until her body melded against his. On a soft growl, he backed her against the cave wall and pressed his full length against her, wanting her to feel every inch of his need.

  He lifted his head. “I am going to make love to you. Here. With naught between us but the stars and the night.”

  Another tremor whipped through Rowan. Until Aedan she had never known someone who made her want, who made her feel as a woman desired. Now, she did.

  And he was a vampire.

  However frightening the thought, she accepted it.

  But, he believed her a woman with whom he shared a lifelong bond. How she wished such a connection could exist between them. But she was human, while he was a vampire. She could not ponder the differences between them now. This stunning vampire, a man who sought to protect her, who found her beautiful and engaging, wanted her. However wrong, she wanted him as well.

  Her lower lip trembled. “I need you.”

  “Aye,” he said on a rough whisper, “I will fulfill each fantasy and more.”

  A cool breeze tumbled over her body. Rowan gasped. “I am naked.”

  “Aye. A vampire’s speed has many a use.” He slid his lips against the sensitive skin at her neck. “Worry not, I will nae rush the lovemaking.”

  The sultry promise in his voice left her breathless. How could he move her to such depths? How could he make her want him so much? If nothing else, she understood that he was a man of his word, one she found herself needing more than she could explain.

  Rowan laid her hand upon his heart. “Aedan, make love to me.”

  Hands, tender and gentle, slid up her flesh to cup her breasts. “Only to you—forevermore. With a heated look, he lowered his head and drew a sensitive tip into his mouth, suckled.

  Sensation poured through her as he teased, tasted until her mind blurred with desire.

  “Aye, lass,” he said, kneeling before her, “ ’tis pleasure you feel, pleasure only I shall ever bring you.”

  His hands skimmed over her, and she struggled to speak.

  “Feel me touch you,” he whispered.

  His fingers splayed her most private place, and cold air brushed against her. She gasped. “I—”

  “Watch me,” he said, hunger burning in his eyes, his mouth but a breath away from her, “while I taste you.”

  Merciful Mary! Should she allow this?

  “Should you?” he asked as his finger slid deep within her. A groan echoed within his throat, and his gaze darkened. “You are so wet,” he said, slowly withdrawing his finger. “Tell me, should you allow this?”

  Her every fiber hummed. The air around her pulsed with a scorching heat. “Yes.” Would she now be damned?

  “Nay, never will you be damned.” With a smile, he leaned forward, drew his tongue across her slickness, tasted her essence.

  As with her breasts, he savored, his mouth a sweet torment. Her body trembled with each stroke of his tongue. Her mind blurred with emotion, a frenzy that devoured her until all she could do was feel.

  “Now,” he whispered as his lips pressed against her sensitive wetness, “let yourself go.”

  A slow tremor wove through Rowan before waves of heat swamped her. “Aedan!”

  “Come for me.”

  Another burst of energy tore through her; her body stiffened, then soared. Colors exploded in her mind.

  Her cries of pleasure fueled Aedan as he took, tasted, and cherished her release. Never had he met a woman so sensitive. Her eyes glazed with passion, and he watched her again spill over the edge. Satisfied, he swept her into his arms.

  “Wh-What are you doing?” Her question stumbled out in a sated whisper.

  “Making love to you.”

  A frown furrowed her brow. “I thought you already did.”

  He nuzzled her neck as he strode into the blackness of the cave, laying her upon a cloth he’d spread out earlier. “That was but the beginning.”

  “The beginning?” Rowan sighed, a satisfied glow upon her face. “Will I die?”

  “Aye.” He winked. “With pleasure.”

  “I think mayhap you are a wee bit arrogant.”

  “Aye,” he said as he rested his body atop hers, his full length flush against her sensitive wetness, “very much so when it comes to you.” He pressed his brow against hers.

  “What?” she asked.

  “The first time, ’twill hurt.”

  A smile filled with pleasure and sincerity touched her face. “As I have heard, the pain will last but a short while; then there will be naught but pleasure.”

  “Lass, I believe those are supposed to be my words to offer comfort to you.”

  She arched a playful brow. “I am a healer.”

  Need surged through him. “So you are.” He slid against her swollen wetness and groaned. “When I take you, we will be joined by yet another bond forever.”

  “A bond I will cherish,” she murmured, her mind overwhelmed with the wonders of her feelings.

  Her response left him humbled,
thankful for the gift of her being. Aedan drove deep, and Rowan cried out, the streak of pain shattering the warmth of her gaze, tearing him apart. Beneath him, Rowan’s body began to glitter. Stunned, Aedan stilled. The ancient tale was well known. When one of the fey lost her virginity, her skin glittered.

  Rowan was a fairy?

  Impossible.

  He’d scanned her thoughts. She had been raised in the Highlands by the humans.

  The twinkles of light coating her body grew brighter.

  Panicking, he scoured her mind. Naught. Aedan started to withdraw from her thoughts, but a dark shadow locked deep inside caught his attention. He wove through the matrix.

  By the sword’s blade, ’twas true!

  “Aedan?” Rowan said, her voice unsure.

  He tried to focus as his mind fought to understand. A fairy. Which explained her healing abilities, those natural to the fey, and why the Scots who chased her believed her a witch. How could she not know, not have any inkling of such life-altering information? He again scoured her mind for answers, found naught but innocence of the fact.

  As if her knowledge of her heritage changed anything? Ancient laws forbid a vampire from changing a fairy into a vampire. Though the fey’s magic was strong, it was unknown if a fairy could survive the transition.

  Neither was the threat to her life alone. Regardless of whether she was destined to be with him for life, if he dared try and convert her, the agony she would experience during the transition would be sensed by Ysenda, Queen of the Otherworld, whose retribution was foretold to be quick.

  And lethal.

  “Aedan, is something wrong?” Rowan asked, her voice anxious.

  Wrong? Indeed. She was his mate. But to change her into a vampire was forbidden, and doing so now could invite death. “You are—were a virgin,” he said, trying to absorb the enormity of the revelation.

  A tentative smile widened her lips. “My body is adjusting.”

  “Indeed,” he said on a groan. What should he do?

  Rowan shivered against him, and her tight sheath wrapped around him causing tortuous pleasure.

  What could he do? No longer was she a virgin. And, she was his mate, his, forever. Emotions swept him. Mayhap forbidden to change her into a vampire, but he would give her a woman’s pleasure. The issues of her being of the fey, he would consider later.