Aedan took her mouth in a long, slow kiss, then lifted his head. “Now,” he said, his voice a low rumble, “I will finish making love to you.” With each stroke slow, he cherished the spirals of heat shooting through him, tempting him to let go, to drive into her until he found his release. Aedan kept up a steady pace. This time, her first time, would be for her.
Rowan’s head fell to the side. “Aedan,” she whispered, her throaty voice thick with wonder. “I know not if I can take much more.”
“You can,” he said as he slid his full length inside and proved her wrong.
Against the burst of starlight flooding the heavens, the stone circle stood like a black mark on the earth. Without warning, striations of cloud severed the sky, wisps that for but a moment held the struggling shimmers, and then faded into night.
Restless, Aedan scanned the land outside the cave.
A soft clatter echoed from the northwest.
He focused on the sound, listened for voices, the scrape of steel against a leather scabbard, anything to alert him to another’s presence.
Long moments passed.
Naught.
With the foxglove still dulling his senses, he’d taken extra precautions, set extra wards. If anyone had tried to come near during the night, he would have known.
Over the hours past most of his weakness had diminished, his fast recovery due to Rowan’s being fey. Known for its ability to heal, the powerful fey blood was restoring his health faster than he had believed possible.
“Aedan?”
At Rowan’s sleepy voice, images of the hours they’d made love tangled within his mind. The way she’d responded to his every touch, her creative passion as she’d caressed him as well.
With a tender smile, he returned and knelt beside her. He nudged a swath of wheat blond hair away from her cheek, where her skin was dusted with a star-edged glow. “You are beautiful when you awaken.”
A tinge of red stained her cheeks. “I look awful.”
“Nay.” He gave her a gentle smile, amazed at the feelings Rowan stirred. “You look like a woman sated, a woman whom I adore, and a woman whom I will cherish always.”
Hope flickered in her eyes and then faded. “You know little of me.”
“I know your presence is a gift,” he replied, needing her to understand the magnitude of her presence within his life.
She opened her mouth to speak, shook her head.
Aedan lifted her chin with his finger, caught the questions haunting her mind. “What is it?” At her hesitation, he stroked his thumb along the soft curve of her jaw. “Rowan, you can trust me.”
She drew a slow breath, exhaled. “You said I was your mate.”
“A fact you find difficult to accept.”
“Difficult?” She gave a shaky laugh. “Until yesterday, vampires were but a legend, terrifying creatures of the night. Now, not only have I met one, but I have made love to one.”
She turned away, but he caught the distress in her eyes. By the sword’s blade, she loved him! Emotions stormed him: need, desperation, happiness.
In their meager time together, she’d given him a glimpse of their future. Except, with her humanness, her life would end too soon.
At the thought of losing her, an ache ripped through him. Sweat beaded his brow, and his fangs lengthened; he fought the urge to turn her so she could be with him forever. An act forbidden. Slamming his eyes shut, he struggled against his body’s demand and the inherent need to claim Rowan with his every breath.
Within the quiet of the night, Aedan’s lungs labored.
Concerned, Rowan turned. “Are you well?
Silence.
He lifted his lids. Under the sheen of moonlight, Aedan’s scrutiny turned cold. A shudder wracked his muscled frame, and his fangs lengthened.
Tugging on her garb, she shoved to her feet, stumbled back. “No!” Regardless of what he made her feel, want, he was dangerous. She bolted for the entry.
“Rowan!”
Stones jabbed her feet as she ran faster. Without warning, strong hands caught her, turned her to face him.
“You will not leave me!”
Tears blurred her eyes as she pulled, twisted to break free.
Fingers tightened on her wrist.
Terror slammed her chest. “What do you want from me?!”
On a muttered curse, his hold gentled. “Rowan, never will I harm you.”
Never would he harm her? He was a vampire. How could she have believed a relationship between them could exist?
Because they’d made love?
Merciful Mary, she’d made love with a vampire!
A violent shiver wracked her body. Her knees trembled, because she wanted him still.
“Rowan, listen to me.”
Ashamed, she struggled to break free. “Let me go!”
“There is nothing to be ashamed of, nor to fear. Aye, I am dangerous, but never to you.” He exhaled. His face relaxed, and his fangs withdrew.
Before Rowan stood the man she’d first seen, a stunning warrior who would make any woman want.
“Let me explain,” Aedan said. Desperation trembled within his request, a raw plea that had her hesitating. Unsure, Rowan nodded.
On an exhale, he scanned their surroundings and then faced her. The strain across his forehead eased, but she caught the lines near his eyes, proof he wasn’t as calm as he appeared.
“ ’Tis normal for vampires to draw blood from our mates, but you are not a vampire. Neither will I convert you.” He exhaled. “Our pairing is unique. More than your blood melding with mine, more than your wanting and being drawn to me. ’Twas destiny that we came together. A fate neither of us could expect . . . nor understand.” He paused. “I struggle with the acceptance of such a pairing as much as you.”
“Because you are a . . . vampire?”
His gaze grew intense. “Rowan, I am more than a common vampire.”
“More?”
“Aye.” His voice rumbled with authority. “I am the laird of the Highland Vampire Coven.”
Astonished, she stared. “Their laird?”
“Aye. You found me naked, my garb and pendant with the clan seal stolen.”
Nay, could not be true. ’Twas a poor joke. She’d watched his teeth lengthen, witnessed Aedan change into a ruthless killer.
He gave her a gentle shake. “Enough of those foolish thoughts! I am nae a killer, nor is this a joke. You are overwhelmed; how can you not be? But, hear my words, I speak the truth.”
“I . . .” Fighting for calm, she studied the strong lines of his face, remembered the confident way he held himself as he spoke, his regal bearing. A day ago she’d believed him a braggart, or a thief on the run.
Not . . . a laird betrayed.
But, he’d promised to protect her from harm. He’d said she was his destiny. Yet she was but a commoner and he a laird, a man of tremendous responsibility and power. How was this conceivable? And if ’twas possible, did she want to live her life with him forever?
“You are my mate.”
The calmness of his delivery changed naught. “People do not mate.”
“I agree, but vampires are not human. Like wolves, when we find our life partner, we join forever.”
“I am neither a vampire, nor a wolf.”
“I am as confused as you,” he agreed. “Such a bond should be impossible, yet you exist, and the moment I tasted your blood, I recognized you as my mate.”
Torn, Rowan hesitated. Could she find happiness with this vampire, a fulfillment she’d believed unattainable because she’d been an outcast to the Highland clans? She could not forget the way they’d made love, the intensity, the passion, as if they were truly meant to be together.
But mates?
“If I accept there can be such a bond between a human and a vampire, what does this mean for us?” Us. She loved the sound of belonging, of being with Aedan forever.
Black eyes glowed. “A life together forever.”
�
��Aedan . . .” Emotion swelled in her chest at the love she felt for him, at the dreams he made her dare to believe.
“Trust me.”
“I do. Incredibly I do.” She swallowed hard. “And I want you . . . for always.” Tears spilled onto her cheeks, and he wiped them away.
“What is wrong?”
The tenderness of his voice left her aching. “Do you not think we wish for the impossible?”
“Nay.” With infinite gentleness Aedan claimed her mouth. As Rowan’s taste poured through him, pressure built, and his fangs lengthened. For a moment he allowed himself the pleasure of sliding them along the velvet curve of her throat. She stiffened, and then slowly relaxed. At her sigh, the way her body pressed against his in an intimate plea, he hardened to a painful ache.
Humbled by her acceptance of him, however much he wanted to sink his teeth deep and convert her, he would not do so. But, with each hour the urge to change her was growing. Would there come a time when he couldn’t resist? Nay, whatever it took, he would leave her untouched. To remain human.
And half fairy.
“What of your people?” she asked, breaking into his troubled musings. “As I am human, how can they accept me?”
“They will.”
Amusement danced in her eyes. “Because you will demand it?”
“Because when they meet you they will be charmed.”
Her throaty laugh slid through him like warm mead, and he longed to take her again, but having lost her virginity hours ago, she needed to heal. The oncoming night would be soon enough, and then, he still must be gentle.
“Aedan,” she said, her voice serious, “your people may demand you claim a life partner of your own kind.”
“You are my destiny.”
She arched a doubtful brow. “And that is all they will need to hear to convince them?”
“There are challenges to face.” An understatement. Never had a vampire discovered his mate was a human, much less one half fey. The uproar at exposing her grim and murky heritage to his clan would be formidable indeed, but his people would learn to accept Rowan. He would demand it of them for, above all, he refused to lose her.
“Challenges indeed.” She hesitated. “And what of the person you await this night? If he does not return to make sure you are dead, how will you find him?”
A question he’d pondered. “If no one returns to check the stone circle this night, I must return to my coven under disguise so as not to alert them that I live.”
“Why not put the ashes from a fire within the circle?” Rowan asked. “Then, if anyone comes once we are gone, he will believe the remains are you.”
“Nay, my scent would not be among the ashes . . .” Why had he not thought of it before? “But you are right. If I tossed a small length of my hair within the flames, whoever returns would detect my scent and be convinced I am dead.” He touched her shoulder. “Wait here. I am going to retrieve wood.”
A sudden mist swirled around him, and Rowan found herself staring into the night.
She scanned the sweep of trees beneath the moonlight.
Like a soft whisper, music flowed upon the breeze as if a person played upon a lute.
Impossible. And the song appeared to come from within the stone ring. Could this night become any stranger? Intrigued, she stepped forward.
With each step the music grew. Several paces before the massive pillars, a gust swirled around her.
A chill swept her, and Rowan stopped. Nay, she must return—
A deep tremor shook the ground. The earth inside the ring darkened. Like bony fingers, cracks split the turf, spiraling out from the center. Without warning, the wind rose, pulling her toward the gap between the stones.
Terrified, she fought to break free, but the force strengthened, dragging her body toward the towering pillars. No! Rowan opened her mouth to scream.
Then blackness.
Chapter Four
“Rowan?” Another shiver of fear ran through Aedan as he stared at Rowan’s limp form in his arms. Her face was pale, her breath but a flutter against his skin. She lived. Barely. Had he taken a moment longer to return, she would have been drawn into the stone circle.
And would have died.
Before, he’d believed the circle sensed their connection, but after learning she was part fey, he’d dismissed any threat to her. The stone circle was the entry to the Otherworld, her home. But now, danger pulsed through the air, a malignancy that foretold ill.
For her.
Why? Rowan had no vampire blood within her. If she had—
A hum of energy like a breath vibrated through the air.
He stilled. Nay, ’twas impossible. Such was—
Whispers of light brushed against Rowan’s skin, shimmered around her in a whimsical dance. His breath left him in a rush.
She carried their child.
Overwhelmed, humbled by such a gift, Aedan pressed a kiss upon her brow. Never had he believed he would find a woman who loved him. Now, Rowan had given him that and more.
“Rowan?” he whispered.
A soft moan fell from her lips.
He brushed her damp locks from her brow, the sheen of moisture revealing the subtle trauma upon her system, that indeed her body had begun to change. Would her fey blood protect her human side from the intense changes to come? How long would it take for their child to grow within her? Seven months as was the norm for a vampire child? Due to the strength of her fairy blood, would the time she carried their child be less?
And what of her human side? Would her body accept the presence of a vampire child, or would it rebel? By making love with her, had he endangered her life? Bedamned! Why had he not considered the chance of her becoming pregnant, or the ramifications? He’d been so caught up in wanting her, he’d thought of naught else.
Aedan blew out a rough breath. Now he understood. The power within the stone circle had detected the child and sensed that within its body pulsed vampire blood. A natural enemy of the vampire, the protective energy within the stones had sought to rid Rowan’s body of the invader.
Had the power of the stones alerted the fairy queen? Nay, if so, Ysenda, Queen of the Otherworld, would have appeared. Though he’d planned to remain near the circle to try to catch his betrayer, for Rowan’s safety he must take them far away.
“Aedan?”
At Rowan’s feeble whisper he gave her a tender smile. “I am here.” He gently laid her upon the soft grass, knelt by her side. “How do you feel?”
“I—I . . . am dizzy.”
A mild symptom of her pregnancy. How long before she would feel the first kick of their babe? “I asked that you remain hidden. Why did you leave the cave before my return?”
A frown crowded her brow. “I heard the song of a lute coming from the stone circle. Curious, I went to find the source.”
Anger sparked. The fey’s passion for music was well known, though not to Rowan. It had been a trap set to lure her.
She started to sit, and Aedan helped her. “As I walked closer the ground began to tremble; cracks opened within the circle. I tried to leave”—a shiver wracked her body as she glanced toward the circle—“but it pulled me. I-I must have passed out.”
Bedamned. And he’d caught her a second before she’d fallen inside. “Rowan,” he said, keeping his voice calm, “I am taking you away from here.”
Lines furrowed her brow. “I thought you needed to wait here another night to see if anyone returned to the circle?”
“Things have changed.”
Shrewd eyes studied his. “What things?”
The waver in her voice had him damning the entire situation. “Rowan . . .” How did he explain the magnitude of what he’d discovered? Blast it, how could he not? “You are carrying my child.”
“Your child?” A smile tugged at her mouth. He but teased her. Rowan waited for his answering glint of laughter, anything to assure her Aedan was merely jesting to lighten the moment. But, his expression remained intense.<
br />
She tried to pull back; he held her firm.
“It cannot be,” she whispered, as if to speak the words would ensure their truth.
“Never would I lie about something of such import.”
The seriousness of his voice shook her further. “How is such a thing possible?”
The faintest smile touched the corner of his mouth, faded. “You are a healer, you know how a child is created.”
Frustration swelled. “That is not what I meant.”
His face softened, and he took her hand, cradled it within his own. “My belief is that when we made love, our bodies recognized that we are mates and—”
“Created a child?” Her fragmented whisper echoed her shock. “I find it difficult to believe.”
“Aye, there is much to accept.”
“Except you have,” she said, her mind overwhelmed, “completely, without any question.”
“ ’Tis nature’s decision, and not my place to question her wisdom.” Aedan glanced toward the circle, then turned back to her, his expression grim. “You are not safe here.”
Reasons why she was unsafe poured through her mind, the foremost one being that she was in love with a vampire.
Black eyes narrowed. “Never would I hurt you.
“Nay,” she whispered. With Aedan she found strength, a calmness she’d never before experienced, and a belief that, come what may, he would protect her.
A far-off yell echoed from the south.
Against the merest hint of morning, torchlight wavered in the distance.
A low growl erupted from Aedan. He released her, shoved to his feet. “The men who search for you.”
She stood, caught his hand. “What are you going to do?”
Furious eyes met hers. “Kill them.”
Heart pounding, she shook her head. “Their deaths will but incite more people to join in the search for me.”
“Then I will wipe the men’s minds, and they will remember naught.”
If only ’twas so simple. “Should the men return to their village with no remembrance, ’twill convince any who hold doubts that I have cast a spell to erase their memories. Alas, they too will raise their swords and join in to try to catch and burn me at the stake.”
Born to Bite Bundle Page 94