The laces were difficult to maneuver now that they were wet, but Eoghanan managed them nicely. Once all were untied, he spun me toward him, slowly peeling the heavy fabric off me as if it were a second skin. He paused as he pulled the dress over my breasts, bending down to pull one of my nipples deep into his mouth. The sudden exposure to air tightened them immediately, and the sharp bud flooded with sensation as his lips and tongue moved over it.
My hands moved to his hair, pulling him closer, a silent plea to continue. He rose to kiss me before resuming the work of removing my dress, stepping away once I was fully exposed to him.
“Are ye still too sore, lass?”
“Huh?” The question took a moment to process through my now lusty brain. I was so eager to join him in bed that any lingering soreness had slipped my mind.
“I’m asking ye if ye wish me no to touch ye. I doona wish to hurt ye if ye are still no feeling so well.”
One glance down at him told me that regardless of how sore I might be, his current state would have to be attended to.
“No.” I walked across the length of the room, passing him as I crawled slowly onto the bed, rolling onto my back once I reached the end. “I’m fine. Just take it more slowly this time.”
“Aye,” his voice was dry and cracked, his eyes hazy with lust as he moved across the room to join me. “We shall take our time with one another this night, so that we might do that soul reaching that I spoke of.”
He ducked his head as he crawled on top of me, taking a moment to search for my soul in between my thighs. He didn’t find it, but what he did find made me cry out as I arched beneath him, trembling in response to his touch.
The orgasm helped relax my tightened muscles and readied me for him as he sought his entry. He moved slowly, gently as he promised, never closing his eyes, never changing his rhythm as he waited patiently for me to match him.
I’d thought his words earlier, about what lovemaking could be, lovely. It seemed a nice idea—to think that you could know and love someone so completely that such an act could expose the most sacred part of yourself to that person. But until the sensation built within me, I’d not known if it was truly possible.
It frightened me, the sense of complete connection, simple understanding, and unwavering commitment. As he held onto the side of my face, brushing his thumb over my cheek as he always did to comfort me, I knew that it frightened him, too. What rose within us both paled in comparison to any climax.
In his eyes, I could see what I meant to him—the love, adoration, and respect he held for me. Unwillingly, it brought tears to my eyes and quickly he kissed them away.
I imagined us to be much like the water in the river above the waterfall, the unexplainable feeling of exhilaration and terror reaching an immeasurable level as we neared the point of falling, of rolling off the cliff’s edge.
Our breathing escalated such that it was all I could hear, the sound of the rushing water muted by the noise of our own ragged breath. From somewhere beneath the heart-pounding fog, Eoghanan’s voice called out to me, pleading with me to open the eyes I’d not realized I’d closed.
“Doona close yer eyes, Grace. Doona close, them. I need to see ye.”
As I opened my eyes, we crashed upon the metaphorical rocks of our lovemaking. We gripped each other as we gasped and trembled, never closing our eyes nor tearing our gaze from the other. Both of us entirely exposed, we found the best parts of ourselves within the soul of the other.
Chapter 42
McMillan Castle
The slip of the poison had been far too easy—into the man’s drinking water to settle into his stomach overnight. She’d at least hoped for a challenge, but the end result would be the same. The boy’s father would fall ill and lose consciousness for most of the day, allowing her plenty of time to take the lad away before Eoghanan and his new wife returned this evening.
Jinty sat back from her place amongst the trees watching the sunrise in the distance. The boy and his father would do what they did every day after their morning meal—come to sit by the pond. Only this time, they wouldn’t be alone. She would be waiting for the poison to go into effect.
*
Whatever had worried him and Bebop over the last few days was coming for them today. Cooper didn’t know why or what would happen, but he knew it just as sure as he knew he’d love dinosaurs every day of his whole life. There was no other reason why he would have dreamed of the stone.
Everybody thought he couldn’t keep secrets, but it was one of the things Cooper was best at. He’d not told Mom that E-o could travel through time or that Morna was a witch when he’d promised them he wouldn’t. He’d not told Mom about the time Dad lost him at the city park after he promised Dad he wouldn’t. And he’d not told anyone about the story Morna had told him and the promise she’d made him the day he’d thrown the black stone into the pond.
He could remember everything she’d said when she’d pulled him aside during their tour of the castle.
“Cooper,” she’d said to him. “I know that ye took me traveling stones and what ye mean to do with them. Ye are a fine lad, and I trust ye to make the decision ye believe ye must, but I need ye to remember something verra important. Can ye do that for me?”
He loved when grown-ups entrusted him with important tasks. He’d nodded as he answered her. “Of course, I’ll remember. I don’t forget anything.”
“I believe that, lad. Now, this red one here, keep it tucked safely in yer jeans if ye decide to throw the black ones. Yer parents will do all they can to keep ye safe, but sometimes there are things in this world that no one can protect us from. But, ye are luckier than most, lad, for ye have a verra kind and powerful witch watching after ye.”
He’d laughed then. He knew that Morna spoke about herself.
“I’ll be watching from afar, but I canna keep eyes on ye every moment. Should ye need me, throw this rock into the pond, and I’ll come for ye. I have no returned to me own time since I left it, but for ye, child, I’ll come running.”
That was weeks ago now, but the morning after his dream, right after breakfast he went straight to where he’d last left the rock; his worry still weighing heavily on his little mind. He pulled apart the plastic shell of one of his dinosaur eggs, glancing down at the rock inside. Lifting the shiny, red stone out of its home, he tucked it away just as Dad called to him from the hallway so that they could spend some time at the pond.
Despite all his baby teeth that remained, Cooper had a strong feeling that after today no one would be able to call him a baby. Something bad was coming to the castle and, if he could remember to throw the stone at just the right time, perhaps he could be a hero.
*
Our honeymoon continued in a blur of lazy days spent with food, ale, lovemaking, and a surprising lack of sleep. But by the time our clothes had fully dried several days later, we were both ready to return home to Cooper.
I’d never been away from him for so long, and each hoof step that remained until I held him in my arms was one hoof step too many.
“What time do you think we will make it back to the castle?”
Eoghanan had sensed my desire to hurry much earlier, and he’d picked up our pace hours ago.
“This morning I would have told ye nightfall, but we have ridden well throughout the day. I am pleased to tell ye that we approach McMillan territory as we speak, lass.”
I looked out over the vast land, the village off to the left, the castle still miles ahead of us. It was a relief to know that I neared my son, and I relaxed a little until smoke billowing up from trees separated from the village caught my attention. There was nothing ominous about the sight, but an inexplicable desire to turn our horse in the direction of the smoke filled me.
“Eoghanan,” I pointed in its direction, “what is that over there?”
It took him a moment to respond, and I turned my neck to look up at him.
“I doona know for sure, lass. I know it seems odd, but
I have no noticed such a place before. It must be a cottage.”
“Could it be?” I didn’t want to finish my question, but it was where my mind went immediately. The witch Jinty lived on McMillan territory—Eoghanan had said Baodan had raided her cottage. But surely a witch who knew others were looking for her wouldn’t be stupid enough to light a fire that would signal she’d returned home. If the smoke did indeed come from Jinty’s cottage, something was very wrong.
“Jinty.” Eoghanan’s conclusion came just a few seconds after my own, and his arms grew tense around me as he urged the horse forward more quickly.
He was now as eager to reach the castle as I was.
Chapter 43
Cooper knew his dad could be easily distracted, so when Bebop caught them in the hall on their way out to the pond and started chatting away, Cooper simply smiled, skipping off in the direction of the water alone.
The rock bounced up and down in his pocket, but he kept his hand cupped over it, protecting the magic stone that he knew he would have to use today. He could feel it—the danger coming toward the castle.
Someone meant to harm him; he’d seen the shadow approaching him for nights while he slept. The same scary dream that left him with plenty to think about each morning. He was frightened, but he had to be brave. Bravery was all that would protect him until he sent for Morna, and he knew that even after he threw the rock he would be alone for a time—the travel wasn’t always instant.
Cooper rounded the curve that led to the backside of the pond and stopped still. He saw her watching him among the trees, the same lady E-o had forced to leave the castle on one of the nights of the gathering. She couldn’t see him looking at her, and he knew that was best. It gave him a moment to think, to gather his courage and slip the rock from his pocket.
Mama never let him watch scary movies, but Dad sometimes did because he knew that Cooper was brave enough to know they weren’t real. Although now, as he watched the woman hiding among the trees, he felt like he was in the middle of his very own scary movie. If he wanted to live, he had to be smarter than all the people who ended up dead in those movies. He couldn’t make her angry, and he needed to keep her talking.
Cooper knew she’d grab him just as soon as he got close enough to her, so he took his time walking along the pond’s edge. Once he stood in front of her, he turned his back so that he faced away from her. It took only a moment before the trees rustled behind him. He knew she would reach for him.
As her hands clasped around his mouth, he threw the rock into the water, allowing the stranger to take him away.
*
Her cottage had been a short ride away from the castle and, for the whole ride, Cooper sat with his eyes closed, praying that Morna would arrive soon. When nothing happened after she yanked him off the top of the horse and dragged him inside, Cooper knew he would have to keep her busy for a time—to keep her from harming him right away.
Cooper swallowed hard, hoping that his voice wouldn’t shake as he talked. No matter how afraid he truly was, he didn’t want his captor to know that. “Wow, this is some place you have here, lady. What’s your name?”
To his surprise, she answered him with no hint of anger in her voice. For some reason, that frightened him more than it would have had she responded angrily. He realized she didn’t want him scared because he would be more difficult to kill—like the time he’d joined Bebop on a deer hunting excursion—you couldn’t scare the animals or they’d run.
“I’m Jinty. And what is yer name, lad?”
“Cooper.”
Jinty nodded at him and pointed at a chair along the back wall.
Understanding, Cooper moved to sit as he grabbed onto the cup she extended in his direction. The smell was enough to make him pull up his nose in disgust. He knew in that instant that he couldn’t drink whatever was inside.
“Drink up, lad. I know that I frightened ye. I dinna mean to. Me quarrel is no with ye. I doona wish to make it harder on ye than it needs to be.”
He shook his head, handing it back to her. “No thank you, ma’am. I’m not real thirsty.”
She pushed it back in his direction. “I dinna ask ye if ye were thirsty.”
Cooper held the cup cautiously, looking down at the thick brown liquid that smelled like the inside of his cousin Harry’s diaper. How dumb did Jinty think he was? Had she never seen Snow White? The thought tickled him, and he accidentally laughed out loud for a brief moment. Of course she hadn’t seen it—there were no movies here.
“I doona know why ye are laughing, lad, but ye best cease this instant. Now, drink.”
Cooper knew he had to think of something fast. If he really drank it, he would die. He just needed to make her think he had, until Morna could get here.
“Do you have any sugar?” He asked hesitantly, worried she would get angry.
“Sugar? No, doona say another word to me until ye drink it, or I shall force it down yer throat.”
Cooper swallowed hard, pushing away his fear. “I only wanted something to make it taste better so it will be easier to drink.”
Jinty’s eyebrows pulled together. “No a thing will make it sweeter, lad.”
A sudden noise rapped against the window, and Cooper saw his opportunity. As Jinty jerked her head in the direction of the sound, Cooper quickly dripped some of the liquid onto the floor. Unfortunately, he didn’t take into account that she would see the spill once she turned back in his direction.
All of Jinty’s restrained anger released itself the instant she saw what he’d done, and he didn’t have the chance to stand and run before she stood before him and gripped his face, forcing his mouth open as she poured the sticky liquid inside.
Cooper screamed and choked, but a flash of movement in the window behind Jinty caught his eyes. Within the next moment, the door to the cabin flew open to reveal Morna.
With the flick of Morna’s wrists, the cup Jinty held against his mouth flew out of her hands and up against her face, crushing her nose as she fell to the ground unconscious.
Cooper sank from the chair as he ran toward Morna, throwing his arms around her legs. “I knew you would come, but I’m afraid you’re too late. She made me drink it.” Cooper sank down on the floor, suddenly feeling sleepy. He’d never expected to die this way—he’d always hoped he’d get to meet his end in a real-life Jurassic Park. “I’m guessing I’ll die soon.”
The laughter that erupted from Morna hurt his feelings. He always thought she liked him.
“Ach, lad. Do ye really think I’d let her kill ye? I saw her lifting the cup to yer lips, and I spelled it into prune juice. Other than a loose stool or two, I think ye shall survive.”
Cooper exhaled a breath he hadn’t known he held. “What? Are you telling me the truth?”
“Of course I am. Now, stand yerself up for we need to secure the beastly witch before she wakes up.”
Cooper looked down at Jinty as he stood, wrinkling up his nose in disgust at the blood that was running down her face.
“What are you going to do with her?”
“Do ye want me to tell ye the truth, Cooper? Or do ye wish me to tell ye what I should tell a child?”
Cooper turned his head at her—of course she already knew his answer. “The truth…always.”
“Aye, fine. I’ll kill her lad. Once she wakes and we’ve had a bit of a discussion, I will put her in the ground. No one harms me family, lad. Does that bother you?”
Cooper didn’t know what to think about that. It was wrong to kill people, but this woman had also meant to kill him. “Has she hurt other people?”
Morna nodded. “Many. She was nearly responsible for Eoghanan’s death, and she would have killed ye too if ye hadna thrown the wee rock.”
“E-o!” Cooper shook his head in disbelief. He liked E-o too much to imagine him dead. “Okay, do it, Morna. I don’t want her to hurt anyone else. But…” he hesitated. He didn’t wish for Morna to think him weak. “Don’t hurt her. I don’t think ther
e’s really any need for that.”
Morna’s face dropped in disappointment, but she nodded as she pointed outside the door of the cottage. “Aye, fine. Once she is awake, I willna cause her much pain, but now that she is asleep, I willna bring her around back carefully.”
Cooper watched with wide eyes as Morna mumbled a spell underneath her breath and turned to leave the cottage. With each step, Jinty’s body dragged along behind Morna on it’s own, the blood from her nose leaving a nasty trail.
Chapter 44
The sight of Jeffrey collapsed next to a pool of his own blood and vomit brought me to my knees. Finding one of Cooper’s shoes next to him sent me into hysterics. I could do nothing but scream and cry over Jeffrey’s limp body as Eoghanan checked to see if he lived. His pulse was strong and steady which served as some small relief, though it did nothing to numb my panic over Cooper’s absence.
It took only moments before my screams sent Baodan, Mitsy, and Charles running toward us from the castle. Within seconds of their taking in the scene, I was gathered up in Mitsy’s arms as she tried to calm me.
“This poison is the same that was used on me the night of Osla’s death, the same that our mother consumed for so long.”
Eoghanan’s voice was strong, but I could hear the panic and worry in it. The guilt he already felt at not disposing of the witch before now.
“’Tis Jinty, the witch that provided Niall the poison. I believe we passed her cottage on the way here.”
“Aye.” Baodan spoke next to him, reaching out to steady Charles who’d paled significantly. “Ye and Grace ride in the direction ye believe her to be at once, and I will send men after ye immediately. I will stay to aid in Jeffrey’s recovery.” He looked quickly to Charles and then to me. “He will recover. The poison in this dose is no meant to kill him.”
Morna's Legacy 04 - Love Beyond Measure Page 19