“You are beyond relentless.”
“If you need me to taper my needs back, just ask.”
“As if you’d listen.” She rolled her eyes and he chuckled.
“You are already coming to know me so well.” Slowly he brushed his mouth over hers, her lips so achingly soft as he joined them together. Playfully, he nipped her lower lip, sucked it into his mouth then licked her tongue. Desire swarmed his senses and as her breasts swelled under his chest, a raw and primal sensation speared through him. He rubbed his body against hers, until his scent surrounded her and hers enveloped him.
“I cannae believe we’re kissing.” Her breath whispered softly across his lips in a teasing caress he hungered for more of. “A little more, Finlay, please.”
She nibbled on his lips and he groaned, deep and throaty before capturing her mouth and offering her the kiss she’d asked for. An intense need he couldn’t resist flooded him.
“Arabel, I love how you feel underneath me, all soft curves and glorious heat.” With painstaking slowness, he grazed a finger along the upper swell of her breasts where her heart-shaped neckline dipped.
“I shouldnae be allowing this.” She squeezed her eyes shut and when she opened them again, she gazed into his eyes. “One more kiss since I have no’ burnt you just yet.”
“Do you feel the depth of need our bond demands?”
“Aye, and ’tis most frustrating.” She kissed him, a deep and devouring kiss that made his heartbeat pound and hers flutter into a frenzy against his. “This is bad, very bad.” She nipped his earlobe before trailing her lips down his neck to the very spot where she’d bitten him earlier. She laved the mark she’d made and he bent his head to her neck, trapping and keeping her locked in place.
“I give you my oath, Arabel. You will always have my protection, my absolute devotion and undying loyalty. Whatever you need, I intend to provide.”
“I feel—I feel too much.” She scrapped her teeth back and forth over his skin. “I should be able to deny what’s happening. Your very life is at stake if I dinnae.”
“You’re my mate and we are soul bound. What you desire is what I desire, and that is the completion of our bond.” He lifted one arm and his skin rippled with the Change. Soft fur, the same color as the hair on his head, shimmered then retracted. “My bear rides me hard. He knows you’re ours.”
“When did you first know, that your mate wouldn’t be easy to find?”
“Very young, maybe six or seven. There were no female cubs of a similar age to me within my clan.” He slid her hair back from her shoulder and eased the sleeve of her gown to the side.
“Are you going to bite me?”
“Aye, if you’ll permit it. Until you’re ready to complete the bond and join fully as one, we both need this, to hold each other’s mark.”
“You won’t push for that completion?” Her first words of true acceptance, and the sheer beauty of them sang to his soul.
“Not when I wish for you to come to me of your own free will, although I do fully intend to entice you, as much as is humanly possible.” Head lowered, his breath fanned her skin then he closed his eyes, his bear prowling under his skin. “Do you agree, Arabel? May I bite you?”
Chapter 4
Within the village along the loch, Isla Matheson awoke with Iain wrapped around her. Her shifter mate had become extremely overprotective since they’d arrived in this time and Nessa had informed her of the babies she carried. Still, she’d traveled through time just as Iain and his brothers had because she too was needed in this coming war, and as one who held the skill of compelling there was so much she could do to give aid.
“Iain?” She gave him a little shake. “It’s morning and I can’t move until you do.”
“I prefer that you don’t move at all. I like this position and having you close.”
“I’m sure you do.” She slid his rumpled black shoulder-length hair to the side then nuzzled his neck. The mark she’d placed there three days ago had faded and her mouth watered to make a new one, to ensure all who saw him were well aware he was hers. Gently, she razzed her teeth over his most sensitive spot and sucked his skin into her mouth.
He groaned, one heavenly deep rumble before he stretched and pressed his thickening shaft into her hip. “My love, this is the very best way to wake me.”
“I’m rather partial to it too. Do you mind if I bite you?”
“I’ll only mind if you don’t.”
“Perfect, because I’m very hungry.” Unable to wait another moment, she bit down and claimed the man who was hers in every way. He jerked, his breath catching then he bit her in return and lapped her skin until tingles rippled through her body and she desired a whole lot more than his bite alone. Aye, this was the very best way to awaken.
Slow and sensual touches followed, sexy kisses that made her lose her mind, and his carnal gaze on hers as he slid so perfectly inside her. She reveled in the moment, in the sheer perfection of two soul bound mates coming together in such harmony. This bond was what every shifter desired and lived for. It was what she wanted for her kin back home, to have the hope restored to them, that their chosen one would await them as her mate had awaited her. She also desperately desired the same bond for Finlay and Kirk, would do anything to aid them in finding their mates.
Iain lifted up a touch and murmured in her ear, “Are you ready to return to the castle?”
“Aye, Finlay has need of us. Last night before he left, he spoke to me of his certainty that his mate was close.”
“Then we’ll find Kirk and leave. I long for my brothers to find their chosen ones, just as I have found you.” Iain rose from their bed and lifted her to her feet as he did.
The ‘power of three’ were at their strongest when they stood together. A formidable presence she too stood beside, no matter what trials or tribulations lay ahead. Certainly the battle to come would be one they would all fight. Iain’s desires were hers, including all that he was, and she wanted it no other way.
Chapter 5
Arabel wanted Finlay’s mark with a deep, burning need, one that hardened her nipples into tight points. “You are beyond enticing, Finlay, and a dream I’ve never allowed myself to have, being with another.”
“Does that mean I can bite you?” He slid his hand inside her bodice and cupped her breast. He thumbed the pebbled peak then dipped his head and licked it. The hot stroke of his tongue sent heat racing to her core and she arched her back and moaned.
“I cannae think straight, and I’m hot, too hot.” Her nipple throbbed, all achy and wet from his kiss.
“There is no heat. You’re in complete control, whether you feel that way or not.”
“You’re wrong. I have next to no control when you touch me the way you do.”
“Do you wish for me to stop?”
“No biting me yet. Kiss me again.”
“I’ll take whatever you’re prepared to give. Kissing it is.” He urged her lips apart and plunged his tongue inside her mouth. His kiss was divine and held an edge of hunger that matched her own. Desire rushed through her and she pressed her breasts against his chest and welcomed every new and needy emotion that raged through her. She stroked down his sides and roamed over his rear. Encased in hip-hugging leather pants, his tight buttocks rocked in her grasp, his shaft full and poking into her belly.
A deep craving for more flooded her and her heat flared, rippled with a wave across the bed curtains and made the wooden posts creak as they expanded. “Finlay, I’m losing control.”
“I can sense it. You’re far hotter than before.” He lifted himself from her, his heavenly weight gone from one breath to the next, then he seized the half-filled pail under the side table and held it over top of her. “Do you wish for this?”
“Aye.”
He poured and steam billowed.
Slowly, ever so slowly her body cooled but not the deep and aching desire she had for him. What was she going to do about this desperate need for more that
had taken her over? If he ever did mark her, she’d likely burst into flames, and honestly, she could no longer deny how much she wanted him to mark her as she’d marked him. They were mated, and the bond had taken ahold of her with a fierce intensity she couldn’t deny. Never had she felt so alive than when she’d been in his arms, and the thought of being without him, it brought pain to her very soul.
“I want you.” Tears misted her gaze. “And I hate having to push you away.”
“I understand why you must, and all will be well, no matter the challenges that lie ahead of us. Keep the faith that we’ll meet them together. Because we will, and always at each other’s side.” He set the pail down and extended a hand to her. “Have you cooled sufficiently?”
“I have, and I need to remain that way.” She slid her fingers around his and he tugged her to her feet, her gown drying with a mere thought as she stood.
“We’re soul bound, Arabel, and we’ll work around your skill, because I intend to join with you. You will be mine, forever, just as I will be yours.”
“Your safety comes first, above all things.” She’d never concede on that.
“I agree, just as your safety too comes first.” He slid one finger under her chin, kept her gaze firmly on his. “Glad I am that you’ve finally accepted all that we will be.”
“I will never burn you.” She stood by that conviction. She’d gladly take her own life before she ever harmed a hair on his head.
“I know. Come. Let’s head downstairs before I lose all thought and drag you back to that bed and really have my wicked way with you.” He opened the door and motioned her through.
“That no longer sounds like such a bad thing.” She reached up on her toes and kissed his chin then before she could give into the look of hungry need in his eyes, she continued on down the passageway.
They traversed the stairwell then entered the great hall. The massive vaulted room held a sweeping crown of wooden beamed rafters that rose to an impressive height, as well as an impressive number of warriors. A hundred or more were seated at trestle tables stacked with platters of cooked meat, boiled eggs, and bread, all of the men eating their fill as serving maids bustled about offering bowls of hot oats and tankards of warm cider.
At the back table nearest the wide arched stone fireplace where sparks flared and firelight shimmered across the hefty clan shield hanging over it, a good forty MacDonald warriors, a score more than the day before, broke their fast. Since the MacKenzie too desired to take the Chief of MacDonald’s land on the Isle of Skye, the MacDonalds had banded together with them in order to fight their enemy as one. Certainly the more warriors they had to defend this keep and the village, the better.
Ahead at the dais, two men sat, both identical to Finlay in every way, from their shoulder-length locks of midnight-black to their wide chests and towering height. Or almost identical. A mark in the shape of a bear’s claw graced the neck of the warrior attired in black leather pants and a fur vest over a white tunic. The same mark given to Ivan, Gilleoin’s second-born son. The singular claw mark gave proof Ivan’s future line would be shifter alone. While, Kenneth, Gilleoin’s firstborn son, held the claw-and-star mark symbolizing his dual shifter-fae blood. ’Twas wondrous to see Gilleoin’s shifter lines had survived more than eight-hundred years, although now they were on the cusp of extinction and such a loyal line of shifters should never be allowed to fall.
“That’s Iain, my eldest brother, with the mark of the claw,” Finlay breathed in her ear. “His mate, Isla, sits beside him.”
Isla, clothed in a richly colored gown of gold with white silk edging the bodice and cuffs leaned toward Iain, her long brown locks swaying forward. She whispered something then nipped his lobe. He growled, sent her a wickedly hot look that spoke of intended promises then kissed her cheek.
“How long have they been mated?”
“Not long, although it took Iain five years to track her down. She was concerned about joining with him, that she’d lose her own clan, so she ran each night the full moon rose. You would have heard the prophecy your grandmother first spoke of at Kenneth and Ivan’s birth, right?”
“Aye, all our clan are aware of it, would never set it aside. ’Twill be told to all future generations, word for word.” She slid her hand into his and recited the prophecy. “Gilleoin’s sons will separate when they come of age and rule their own clans, yet there will come a time far in the future when a mated bond forms between the two clans. Only then must Gilleoin’s descendants once again merge, and the ‘power of three’ be unveiled.” She squeezed his fingers. “You and your brothers are the ‘power of three.’”
“And you and Isla and now a part of that. The ‘power of three’ aren’t complete without their chosen ones at their sides.” He kissed the tip of her nose.
Nessa had often spoken of why the ‘power of three’ was needed. That if not for them, then in the future, Gilleoin’s descendants would be like the leaves that fell from the trees. They would scatter too far and wide then turn to dust, and in doing so, Gilleoin’s shifter race would be no more. Only she’d never once imagined she would become a part of it all. As Finlay’s mate, there was none other than her to give him bairns, to ensure his line continued to grow from strength to strength. Only how was she to do that when joining with him would ultimately lead to his death? She shuddered with fear.
“What are you thinking?” He stroked the inside of her palm with his thumb, a sweetly gentle caress that sent tingles racing across her skin.
“’Tis naught.” She focused on her heat and keeping it contained. Causing a heat wave in front of so many would do nothing but bring about harm. She had to maintain her control.
“That’s not the answer I seek.” He tugged her into the darkened alcove near the chief’s solar where they were assured of a little privacy. “You’ve nothing to fear by sharing what’s in your heart with me. I want to know everything, all that you think, all that worries you.”
“I’ve always wanted bairns, but known I’d never be a mother. I still cannae see how such a thing could be.”
“Arabel, you’re the one I’ve been searching for, the one I would never have ceased searching for. There is no other woman for me other than you. I give you my word we’ll tackle each coming day together. Good times and bad, we’ll always stand by each other’s sides.”
“I cannae deny these feelings I have for you, the deep need to protect you, although the only way for that to happen is if I let you go afore I no longer can.”
A bubbling laugh floated toward her. Isla gazed into Iain’s eyes with such a wealth of love. Their bond was strong, but then Isla couldn’t kill her mate as she could kill hers.
“Look at me.” Finlay planted his hands on the paneled wall either side of her head and leaned in. “From the moment they met, they were inseparable, and Iain desires only Isla’s happiness, her safety and wellbeing, just as I desire yours.” He surrounded her, his delicious scent wrapping around and comforting her. “We’ll find a way around your skill, but you need to keep the faith that we will. They’ll be no letting go, for either you or me.”
“This is difficult. I never expected to embark on a relationship, particularly one as strong and as all-consuming as the mated bond. You are relentless, and you’re also driving me to complete distraction.” She grasped his tan shirtfront and tugged him with her into the chief’s solar, thankfully devoid of their chief since Gilleoin still remained at the village. The side antechamber held a chunky wooden desk, a tall chest with ornately carved feet and an array of chairs and benches around the perimeter of the room. She halted in the center and said, “Those of us who are fae must uphold ourselves to the sacred laws of our people. There have been six fire-wielders afore me, and the law states that should a fire-wielder cause the death of another through intimacy, then they forfeit their own life. ’Tis a law I will uphold.”
“You’re my mate, and as I’ve told you, there isn’t a chance you can bring harm to me, just as I can’t
bring any harm to you. There will be no loss of life, either yours or mine.”
“You cannae change who I am, but I assure you, I will protect you, with my dying breath if I must.” She leaned in and nipped his lower lip. “This is an impossible bond, one I want, yet I’m completely frightened to embrace.”
“We’ll embrace all the challenges ahead together, and no matter how impossible our bond appears right now, being with you is all I desire and I’ll fight for that right.” Grimacing, he scrubbed a hand across his forehead then frowned.
Something brushed against her mind then pushed as if trying to find a way in. Ouch. She rubbed her forehead.
“I’m sorry. That’s me. My mind is trying to forge the merged link but is coming up against a solid barrier. A barrier I don’t care for.”
“Gilleoin and Sorcha have such a merged link. They can speak to each other at will along a pathway known only to them, mind to mind.”
“It’s a skill inherent in my shifter blood. The fact I’m trying to forge a telepathic link with you is absolute proof you’re my chosen one, not that I needed it.”
“Can you pull your mind back?”
“Of course.” The pain abruptly ceased as he did. “Everything within me desires to be a part of you, Arabel, to speak with you at ease, no matter where you are.” He slid one hand around the back of her head and gently drew their foreheads together. His warm breath whispered across her lips. “Has the pain receded?”
“Aye, ’tis gone.” She rubbed her forehead against his and her fire once again flared. She twisted out of his hold and paced the room. “My control isnae what it should be and ’tis only getting worse.”
“I hate it when you force a separation between us.” He growled under his breath but thankfully remained right where he was and didn’t bring her back to his side.
“Is everything all right in here?” Kirk strode into the solar in a blue tunic with his clan plaid belted at his waist, sheathed wrist daggers glinting from under his cuffs. He stopped before them, one hand resting on the hilt of his mighty sword as he eyed Finlay. “You and Julia seem to be having a rather intense conversation.”
Highlander's Passion (The Matheson Brothers Book 2) Page 5