Dare to Believe

Chapter Six

When Ruby opened her eyes, they were back in the hayloft. She was on her stomach, her pants down around her knees. Leo lay over her like a dead man, panting lightly, his nose still buried in the side of her neck as if breathing in her scent. With a huffed little laugh, she whispered, “I gather not everything just now was an illusion?”

“Nope,” he breathed against her neck.

She shivered at the intimate sensation. “All I can say is, that was one hell of a mind fuck.”

“Gives a whole new meaning to the word, doesn’t it?” The rich satisfaction in his voice made her grin. She could feel his lazy smile against the side of her neck. One of his hands reached up and tangled their fingers together as he slid off to the side. He cradled her in his arms and she settled against him, content to be held.

The lay together like that for a while, getting their breath back and enjoying the feel of each other, until thoughts and feelings began to race through her head again. “Leo?”

“Yeah?”

“How old are you?”

He sighed, pulling his softened cock out of her body and rolling onto his back. “Are you sure you want the answer to that?”

She looked over at him, his glamour down, that gold-dusted skin even more exotic in the mundane hayloft they were in now. “Yeah, I want to know.”

“I’m ninety-three years old.”

She blinked. “Wow. You look good for your age.” When he sighed wearily she pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, trying to reassure him. “I know. Elves are immortal, right? Unless someone kills them?”

“Try long-lived rather than immortal and you’d be closer.”

All of the impossibilities of a relationship with Leo began to rear their ugly heads. “That means when I’m old and wrinkly—”

“You won’t be.”

The note of complete certainty in his voice confused her. “Uh, give me about forty years and I will be.”

He shook his head. “That’s the other thing I need to explain to you.” He sat up and began pulling up his pants. “You’ve heard the stories of a man riding off with a Sidhe lass to Underhill, only to return three hundred years later and age all of those years in one day?”

“Um, yeah. I think a lot of people have heard that story.”

He zipped up his pants, and then looked at her. “It’s true.” He shrugged at her complete shock. “Okay, the part about Underhill isn’t true. The not aging part was.”

“And the aging-three-hundred-years-in-a-day part?”

He took a deep breath. “Also true.”

“Leo…”

He couldn’t help but respond to the sudden fear in her voice. He held up one hand. “Please, let me explain.” With infinite care, he pulled her jeans back over her hips, batting her hands away when she went to do up her zipper. It was his right, his privilege to care for his mate. “When a Sidhe finds his mate, he binds her to him. There are three steps to the bonding, the first being the Claiming.”

“What’s the Claiming?”

He looked up at her, then back down at the ground. “Do you remember the golden light that surrounded us just as we came?”

He heard her suck in her breath. “That was the Claiming?”

He looked into her eyes and nodded, holding his breath all the while. This was the part that scared the crap out of him. She could reject him utterly at this point, deny the mating and pull away from him. He wouldn’t be too surprised if she did. In the grand scheme of things, they’d only really known each other for three days. Although she wouldn’t really be able to go very far, now that the ritual was halfway done.

He watched her absorb the implications. “Do you choose your mate, or is it a fate kind of thing?”

He was surprised. He thought she’d have more questions about the Claiming. “The gods choose our mate for us before we’re even born. If we’re extremely lucky, we find her or him during the current life; if not, we hope, no, pray we may find them in the next.”

“So, there’s no choice?”

He didn’t like the slow, considering way she said that. “The moment I saw you, no other woman would do. Before the other night, do you know how long it had been since I’d had sex?”

“No.”

“A year.”

She blinked, stunned. “A year?”

“You went seven.” His grin was lopsided, he knew, but this was too important an issue to screw up with a lame joke.

“But…your reputation…the blondes you escorted all over the place…”

“I dated, occasionally, but I didn’t really…click…with anyone. Couldn’t figure out why, at first.”

“You joined the company five years ago.”

He nodded, watching the wheels turn in his woman’s head.

“But we didn’t meet until three days ago.”

His expression turned tender. “Vanilla and peaches.”

“Huh?”

“Your scent. Vanilla and peaches. I could smell it wherever I went in the company. Took me a while to track it down to accounting, and when I finally did I had the CEO slot, and you kept disappearing.” She bit her lip, looking guilty. “Yeah, I figured it was deliberate.” He sighed. “I could see you occasionally from the back, and, while I must say it is a mighty fine view, I prefer the one from the front.” He brushed a hand down her cheek, delighted when she blushed. “I love watching your eyes.”

Those beautiful eyes of hers darkened, as did the blush that still stained her cheeks. “When…” she cleared her throat, “…when did you realize I was yours?”

Leo resisted the urge to grin in triumph. She’d accepted him, whether it was consciously done or not.

“When I tasted you.”

“What?”

“Remember the kiss on the dance floor at the Halloween party?”

“The one where you tried to lick my toes through my mouth?”

He laughed. “Has anyone told you that you have an interesting way with words?”

“Mm-hmm. Was that when?”

“Yes. I knew you were the one for me.” He couldn’t help himself. He stroked her hair back from her cheek, enjoying the feel of it slipping through his fingers. Everything about her fascinated him.

“This whole bonding thing. What’s the next step?”

He returned his gaze to her face. “The next step is the actual ceremony. In it I pledge my being to you, and I share of my power with you. In doing so, I grant you some of my life force, which lengthens your life. You’ll live as long as I do, actually. It’s one of the true pieces of magic the Sidhe actually possess, other than our human glamour. All Fae have a human seeming. It’s a gift from the gods to protect us in the human world.”

“And the whole Arabian Nights slash Easy Rider thing wasn’t magic?”

He shook his head. “Not like other Fae can do, like my Dad.”

“Sean isn’t Sidhe?”

He sighed and took her hand, just because. He began stroking her fingers absently. “No, he’s not, and that’s the root of a lot of the problems on the Joloun side. His blood isn’t blue enough for Mom’s family to fully accept him.”

“What kind of Fae is he, then?”

He looked at her and just knew what her reaction was going to be. “He’s a leprechaun.”

For a moment she didn’t react. Then her lips twitched.

“I wouldn’t say it if I were you.”

If she heard the mild warning in his voice she chose to ignore it. “So, are they really always after his Lucky Charms?” Her eyes were beginning to water as she tried to suppress her laugh.

“Ruby, I’d stop now.” He could feel Sean beginning to move towards the barn. When a leprechaun wanted to, he could move with preternatural speed on his own land.

“Can I see the purple horseshoes?” She bit her lip, the laugh beginning to escape.

His father was inside the barn now, propped up against the door, one ankle crossed over the other to match the arms crossed over his chest. He was staring up at the hayloft with an amused expression. Leo sighed.

“So, is the blue moon this month?”

Sean’s brow rose and Leo braced himself. “No, but I understand the two of you were mooning my horses a little while ago. Care to come down here and ask me those questions now?”

Ruby jumped, her face filled with a mixture of guilt and fun.

“Dad, we’re not bonded yet, so don’t do anything…permanent, okay?”

Ruby leaned over the side and grinned down at Sean. “So, what really happens if I take my eyes off the leprechaun?”

Leo’s awed, horrified “Holy shit! ” was almost lost as Sean gave her a wickedly lethal grin. “Darling, if you’re really, really lucky, said leprechaun will show you he knows exactly where the pot of gold is.”

Leo gaped. He knew his father was devoted to his mother. He also knew his father wouldn’t really put the moves on Ruby. When his father winked at him, he closed his mouth.

Sometimes Leo needed that little reminder that, in fact, he was a leprechaun, too.

Sean pushed away from the doorframe. “Now, if you two are done playing in my hayloft, Aileen has lunch ready.” Sean sauntered, whistling, towards the house, and Leo’s heart left his throat.

“You are a brave, brave woman, and if you ever scare me like that again I will tie you up and lock you in a tower for the rest of your life.”

Ruby looked back at him. Something in his face must have given away exactly how much she’d frightened him, because now, after the fact, she looked concerned. “What?”

Leo took a steady, calming breath. She had to learn, and she had to learn fast. He couldn’t let her be hurt through ignorance. “Leprechauns are earth spirits. This is Dad’s land. If he really wanted to, he could hear a whisper a mile away, cause an earthquake, open a sinkhole the size of a dime that goes damn near to the core of the earth, you name it. He knows everything that happens on his land unless something is done deliberately to block him. The minute you started with the jokes he knew and headed over here.” Leo growled. “And you are very lucky he likes you.”

“Oh.”

“Needless to say, we did not eat Lucky Charms when I was a kid.”

“Poor deprived baby.” The joke was almost absent-minded, like she’d already dismissed his warning.

“Lunch, then we finish the conversation?”

His stomach growled.

She laughed shakily and tugged him to his feet. “C’mon, big guy, let’s go eat.”

Jaden slammed the drawer shut with a snarl. The damn bitch was getting loonier by the day, and if he didn’t find out how she’d figured out his weakness soon he was going to scream.

Jaden paced the room, knowing he had about an hour before the Deranged Darling got back from her big society party. She’d hopped Daddy’s jet for a little jaunt to California yesterday, and Jaden for one couldn’t be happier.

Jaden hoped she got hit by a bus. It wouldn’t kill her, but damn if it wouldn’t make him feel better.

She was so meticulous and neat, she had to have the information written down somewhere. But it wasn’t in her desk, her room, or in the hidden safe behind the Renoir, and damn if that wasn’t one of the cheesiest things he’d ever seen. Talk about a cliché.

Where would she hide it? If he could just lay his hands on the name of the person who ratted him out…

Not Duncan. Not after everything they’d been through together. Duncan had taken a frightened newbie vamp in, one who’d been tossed out by his Master, and helped him find his feet and fangs in a world where vamps were the lowest rung of the social ladder.

Oh, sure, if you were a Black Court vamp you were pretty high on the food chain. Of course, if you remained Black Court after being turned it pretty much guaranteed you were a psychotic ass-hat. White Court, on the other hand, looked down on vamps as lower than dog shit until you proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you could overcome the Dark Queen’s taint. Jaden held back a cynical laugh. Like he had a choice about being “tainted”. For the White Court, proving you were untainted usually meant being dead. A dead vamp was the best vamp, as far as Queen Glorianna was concerned. It was why most vamps who left the Black Court pledged their allegiance to Oberon and the Gray Court. There vamps were treated just like any other fae. If you fucked up, the Court fucked you up. If you didn’t, you lived a happy, productive life.

It was something Jaden could understand, even encourage. He’d sent more than one lost young vamp to Oberon’s mountain palace.

When they first met, Duncan had looked past the fact that Jaden hadn’t yet pledged himself to Oberon. Duncan had seen Jaden, and liked something in him. He’d taken him in, made him his right-hand man. Hell, he’d fucking blood-bonded with him, even if it was only the lightest bond a vampire could cast.

To be bonded to a White Court Sidhe lord was almost unheard of for one of his kind. He’d been Duncan’s ever since.

And if it wasn’t for the fact that the Deranged Darling was Duncan’s family she’d already be dead.

Jaden stomped out of the office, closing the door behind him and relocking it quickly. She’d never know he’d been there. He’d long since learned the knack of searching without leaving a trace. He headed to his own office, located right next to Duncan’s, and slumped into his chair. He put his feet up on his desk, tipped his head back, and tried to come up with a plan that would free him from Kaitlynn without losing the one person on the face of the earth Jaden would gladly die for.

Ruby spent lunch mostly absorbing what Leo had told her in the hayloft. The part that wasn’t trying to understand everything she’d been shown was enjoying the look of shock and awe on Moira’s face all through the meal. She kept darting glances between Ruby and her father, and Sean knew exactly what his daughter was doing. He kept his face serene, but when Moira wasn’t looking he winked at Ruby.

After the meal, Ruby turned to Aileen. “Is there anything I need to know about a Sidhe mating that Leo might not want me to know?”

“Hey!”

Ruby ignored Leo’s indignant shout and focused all of her attention on Aileen.

Aileen stared at her thoughtfully. “What has he told you so far?”

Ruby recounted everything Leo had told her, leaving out the incredibly hot sex they’d engaged in, but from the small smile on Aileen’s face she had the feeling Sean had already filled her in on that small fact.

“So. You know how the Claiming is done, starting with tasting and ending in…hmmm… I believe you understand that part just fine.” Aileen smiled serenely at her son, who flushed bright red. “The Vow is quite simple, really.”

Turning to Sean, Aileen took his hands in her own. “I vow that from this day forward you shall not walk alone. My strength is your protection, my heart is your shelter, and my arms are your home. I shall serve you in all those ways that you require. I pledge to you my living and my dying, each equally in your care. Yours is the name I whisper at the close of each day and the eyes into which I smile each morning. I give you all that is mine to give. My heart and my soul I pledge to you. You are my Chosen One, you are my mate, and you are bound to me for eternity.”

Sean kissed the back of Aileen’s hand, the love he felt for his petite wife very evident. “I vow that from this day forward you shall not walk alone. My strength is your protection, my heart is your shelter, and my arms are your home. I shall serve you in all those ways that you require. I pledge to you my living and my dying, each equally in your care. Yours is the name I whisper at the close of each day and the eyes into which I smile each morning. I give you all that is mine to give. My heart and my soul I pledge to you.

You are my Chosen One, you are my mate, and you are bound to me for eternity.”

Ruby sighed. “That’s beautiful.”

Aileen turned to her, her face still glowing with her love for her husband. “That’s the Vow. There’s a bit more to it than that, a flow of magic that’s exchanged when two people take the Vow. That’s called the Binding.”

“But I’m human, I don’t possess magic.”

“Oh, yes you do, kitten.” Ruby turned to find Leo watching her, that quiet possessiveness once again in evidence. “All humans have magic, they just don’t know how to find it.”

“I don’t know if I understand.” Ruby stared into Leo’s otherworldly face, knowing her confusion showed by the concern in his expression. He hadn’t bothered to put his glamour back up.

“Trust me, kitten. Okay? Without speaking the Vow there’s no way to demonstrate the Binding, and since my parents are already bonded they can’t show you what it looks like.”

She sighed. “I’ve trusted you since the party, so I guess I can keep going out on that particular limb.”

Leo picked up her hand and placed a gentle kiss on the back of her fingers. “The only possibly frightening part for you would be if the Binding is strong enough to have visible results.”

“Like the Claiming?”

Leo shot his parents a quick look. “Not quite. If the Vow is taken during a time of stress it’s possible the show would be a bit more spectacular than that.”

“Oh.” Ruby thought the Claiming light show was spectacular. What would be next, fireworks?

“What’s the third part of the mating again?”

“There’s the Claiming, the Vow, and the Binding.”

Her head was beginning to spin. She got the Claiming and the Vow, but… “What’s the Binding again?”

“That’s the part where my power and yours blend, bonding us together for eternity.”

Oh. “Eternity is a really long time, Leo.”

“No. It’s not. Eternity is looking for your soul mate and never finding her.”

Leo used the hand he was holding to pull her to her feet. “We’ll be in our room.”

Leo closed the door and turned to face his reluctant mate. “Okay, kitten, now you know.”

“You’re positive I’m yours?”

Leo nodded, his eyes never leaving her face. Her face was shadowed, her brows drawn together in a thoughtful frown. She licked her lips and drew a quick breath. “How does this affect Shane’s kidnapping?”

“If the Malmaynes have their way, our mating would be set aside in favor of the alliance marriage, something I’m not willing to risk.”

“How can a mating be set aside? I kind of thought that was permanent?”

“Our mating isn’t complete. They could say that I could fulfill the terms of the contract and then return to you. Of course, Sidhe breeding being what it is, odds are you’d be around seventy years old before Kaitlynn conceived.”

“Seventy…” Her awed whisper tapered off into a low whistle. “And you’d still be…” She waved her hand in his direction. He could only assume what she meant.

“Young? Yeah, pretty much.”

Her “hmph” was thoughtful. “But, if they won’t accept Shane or Moira as a substitute…” She huffed out a breath and began pacing, growing agitated. “I mean, why does it have to be you?”

“Because my magic is almost pure Sidhe. Moira’s is almost pure leprechaun and Shane… Well, we’re still not quite certain how to classify Shane, other than wild.”

Ruby cocked her head, more confused than ever. “Wild?”

“The Sidhe and leprechaun blood in Shane is almost evenly mixed. He has the powers of both, with a little extra something genetics seems to have thrown into the mix.”

“What would that be?”

Leo shrugged. “If Shane exerts himself, using both his leprechaun and Sidhe powers in tandem, he can make fantasy reality.”

“You mean he could actually make that tent appear?”

“The harem tent? Yes, down to the outfit you were wearing.”

“Wow,” she breathed, intrigued at the possibilities.

“He uses it mostly in his work. He’s an artist.”

Her eyes went wide with admiration. “Wait. Your brother is Shane Joloun?” When he nodded, she whistled again.

Leo moved, pulling her against him. His hands cupped her ass, kneading it leisurely. “I wouldn’t even think of it, Ruby. You’ll find you have a very jealous mate.”

She looked up at him, her eyes twinkling. “You don’t want the houri outfit? I want your harem pants, oh sheik!”

Leo leaned down and kissed her, hard and swift.

“How does he do it?”

His lips had barely left hers before the question popped out. “We’re not sure, but we think it’s the earth sprite part. The tent would be made of silk, like the pillows, both born of the earth. Add in that he could read the fantasy in your head, and bingo! Instant harem tent.” Leo continued to knead her ass, loving the feeling of the firm globes under his hands. “But he can’t do it very often. It tires him out pretty quickly, so he usually uses it for self-defense, work, or sex.”

“Sex? You mean, he makes his fantasies realities and—”

Leo laughed. “No! We can’t make life, Ruby! We’re not gods, after all.”

“Then what—”

“Condoms.”

Ruby just stared at him for a moment, looking disgusted and amused. “Your brother has the power of limited creation in his hands, and he uses it to make Trojans. What, he doesn’t know where the drug store is?” Leo’s cheeks flushed and he laughed, knowing he looked guilty as hell. Her eyes narrowed. “You talked him into that one, didn’t you?”

“Gee, is that a car I hear in the driveway? I wonder who it could be?” Leo smiled falsely and dove for the window. Any sense of fun dissolved two seconds later. “Fuck. That’s unexpected.”

“What?”

Leo turned around. “The Malmaynes are here.”

Ruby stood at Leo’s side and watched the Malmaynes step out of the limousine. The first out was an attractive older gentleman, his white blond hair lightly sprinkled with silver. His dark blue eyes were cold and arrogant. He took in his surroundings with the air of someone who smelled something foul. His body was lean and tall in his expensive gray designer suit.

The vision that stepped out of the limo behind him made Ruby want to crawl back into the house. She looked very familiar. The young woman she’d once seen Leo escorting around town was peachy perfection.

Her white gold hair and gray eyes shone with an unearthly beauty Ruby could never hope to match. Her dress, a pale pink satin, showed off her milky cleavage without being vulgar. The hemline ended just above the knee showing just the right hint of leg. Her pale pumps and clutch bag finished the outfit. Her hair, done up in a neat twist, had just enough escaping tendrils to make the style sleekly sexy. She was a delicate orchid to Ruby’s stumpy, common dandelion. She could only be Kaitlynn Malmayne, the woman who wanted to marry Leo.

Leo tucked Ruby beneath his arm protectively as the Malmaynes looked at the Dunnes. Kaitlynn Malmayne’s cool expression turned to surprised hurt when she saw how closely Leo held Ruby to his side.

She quickly hid the hurt behind disdain, but Ruby saw it, and wondered.

“Leo, did you and she ever…” Ruby whispered as silently as possible.

“No.”

“Good.”

Leo’s quick huff of laughter was quickly masked by a cough.

She watched as Malmayne made his way to Aileen, completely ignoring Sean. “Aileen, it’s good to see you, even under the circumstances.”

Aileen ignored the hand the man held out. “The circumstances are completely of your making, Cullen.

Give me back my son.”

Cullen Malmayne sneered. “Charming as ever, my dear.” Once again completely ignoring Sean, Cullen moved to Leo. “Leo. Good to see you.”

Leo nodded coldly. “Wish I could say the same, Cullen. Now give me back my brother.”

Cullen’s sneer warmed, his eyes roaming Ruby’s curves. “And who is this young lady? A friend of yours?”

Leo’s smile was smug. “She’s my mate.”

Cullen’s warm smile dropped into an icy glare. He studied Ruby coldly, with thinly veiled disgust.

Behind him, Kaitlynn gasped. “The binding is incomplete.” He sniffed and turned back to Leo. “Fulfill the Joloun end of the agreement and I’ll see to it your brother is returned to you unharmed.”

“No.”

Cullen sighed and shook his head. “I don’t see that you have any choice, Leo. Without your cooperation the deal becomes null and void, and the Joloun family suffers. Is it your wish to see your mother suffer, or your sister? How about Shane, Leo? Do you wish to see him suffer any further?”

Leo’s expression turned into a shark’s grin that sent a shiver down Ruby’s spine. “First, I don’t believe there was a time limit to the contract, was there, Malmayne?” When Cullen didn’t respond beyond a rising of his eyebrows, Leo continued. “Second, it merely said that the partners be descendants of either you or Duncan, and my mother or her descendants. Since both my brother and sister are descendants of my mother, perhaps you’d care to approach one of them to fulfill your contract? I’m afraid I’m unavailable.”

Cullen shook his head almost sadly, his cold gaze firmly on Leo. “Unacceptable. Your sister’s and brother’s blood is too polluted to be of use to me. Yours, on the other hand, is nearly pure.”

Leo’s smile became sharper, harder at the insult to his family. “Yours, on the other hand, is pure liquid shit.”

Ruby heard the vague hint of an Irish brogue in Leo’s voice.

Cullen sighed.

All of Ruby’s most shameful nightmares came out of the corners of her mind and began to attack her.

Her insecurities crowded around her in a kaleidoscope of pain and anguish that sent her straight to her knees with a whimper.

“Ruby is such a lousy fuck!” Bobby Pencil-Dick’s voice sneered in her ears as he told all of his friends about her. “Man, if that’s what doing a virgin is like I’ll stick with the bitches who know what a blowjob is.” But this time, she wasn’t able to fight back.

“She’s so fat she’s just jiggling in that dress. Watch it wiggle, see it jiggle…” The giggles of the cheerleaders surrounded her. They sang that hated jingle, pointing and laughing at Ruby. It had taken her years to get to the size she was now, but none of that mattered as it all came rushing back, the emotions as strong as they’d been at the time it had happened.

“You know, you’d be so much more attractive if you’d just lose ten pounds, sweetheart. Now, if you follow this diet I’ve laid out for you…” Her mother’s voice drifted away, her father’s taking its place.

“Baby girl, if you don’t put that cake down you’re going to weigh more than an elephant!” The laughter of all of her cousins, uncles and aunts mingled with the giggles of the cheerleaders. What made it worse was her parents didn’t even realize how badly they’d hurt her. They’d thought they were helping.

“Don’t know what makes you think you can make it in college. It’s not like you have a brain in your head.” Cousin Trina’s voice made her cringe; her brain had been her only asset all through school.

“Course, with hooters like yours, who needs brains?”

It’s not real, it’s not real, it’s not real. She chanted the mantra in her head, not that it did much good.

This Malmayne-induced nightmare continued on and on until Ruby thought she’d begin screaming for real.

And then she saw it, the light at the end of the high school corridor. A figure stood there, vaguely familiar, strong and confident. He held out one hand to her, beckoning her to him. All she had to do was have the courage to go to him. But how could she walk that gauntlet with all of those eyes staring at her?

Besides, he was a young god, so good looking it made her heart hurt just to look at him. He couldn’t possibly be there for her.

But somehow she knew he was. Glowing peridot eyes pulled at her. His black hair hung to his shoulders, longer than she thought it was supposed to be, but she still couldn’t remember why he looked so familiar to her. He wore black leather pants that hugged his legs in a way that should be outlawed. His black T-shirt clung lovingly to every muscle, looking almost painted on. He wore a gold ring on the hand he held out to her, with some sort of dark stone in the center.

That stone sent a flash of memory through her. She knew the initials RH were carved in the face of the stone. Her initials.

He was hers.

Without thinking about it, she reached up to feel the collar that should encircle her own neck. With a satisfied smile she felt it, the relief that it was there, branding her, almost overwhelming. The mocking, sometimes painfully loving, voices of everyone else faded away until she could only hear his voice.

“Come to me, kitten.” When she hesitated, he growled, “You know you’re meant to ride off with me.

You belong to me.”

Ruby looked down, not surprised to see the leather halter top and leather pants. She smiled, feeling warm and sexy, no longer aware of anything but him. Leo. She worked her way down the corridor, showing off her own leathers to the best of her ability, but it wasn’t for those who had once caused her so much pain.

It was all for him.

Then she slipped her hand into his and stepped into the sunshine. She blinked dazedly as she realized she was back on the Dunne farm.

She gasped as her hand was yanked viciously out of Leo’s, her body tugged away from him. “I don’t think so, human.” Cullen Malmayne pulled her behind him, away from Leo, totally ignoring her struggles.

Apparently Sidhe lords are really friggin’ strong, she thought, tugging harder on her hand. No matter how hard she pulled she didn’t even slow Cullen down. He barely even moved, just barreled forward, her struggles barely registering to him.

She heard a strange roaring sound behind her. The ground beneath her feet began to tremble. Turning in Cullen’s suddenly lax grasp, she saw Leo in his full, furious glory.

Multicolored strands of light whipped around his body in a strangely erotic, lethal dance. Ruby suspected that if anyone attempted to touch Leo in that moment they would die a grisly death. He glared at Cullen Malmayne, his human seeming gone. His eyes glowed even brighter in his fury, his hair blowing about in a nonexistent breeze. Leo looked furious at the sight of her in Malmayne’s hands.

“Ruby is my mate and no one will take her from me!”

Ruby gasped at the power in Leo’s voice. The earth bucked up between her and Cullen, forcing Cullen to release her arm as they fought for balance.

Leo began stalking towards her, his light reaching out to encircle her, pushing Cullen and the others away from her in a possessive, protective display that dazzled her. She backed up, her eyes wide as he kept pace with her, his glowing gaze never leaving her face.

“I vow that from this day forward you shall not walk alone.”

“NO, Leo!” Cullen’s voice cut across the wind, surprisingly clear. “Kaitlynn—”

“My strength is your protection, my heart is your shelter, and my arms are your home.” Leo ignored the Malmayne patriarch, his eyes only for his mate, the hint of Irish brogue telling her exactly how upset he was. “I shall serve you in all of those ways that you require. I pledge to you my living and my dying, each equally in your care.” Ruby could feel his power wrapping around her, leaving her breathless. The warm caress of it was like sunlight on a summer’s day. He reached out with one hand to cup her cheek, his power wrapping around her like a familiar, comforting blanket. That was when she realized it wouldn’t hurt her.

“Yours is the name I whisper at the close of each day and the eyes into which I stare each morning.”

“Stop it, Leo!” Ruby looked to see who had yelled and saw Kaitlynn, her big gray eyes swimming with tears. “You are promised to me!”

Leo ignored the other woman, his gaze never leaving Ruby’s face. “I give you all that is mine to give.

My heart and my soul I pledge to you.” He lifted his other hand to cradle her face between them. “You are my Chosen One.” Kaitlynn cried out, the sound full of despair. “You are my Mate, and you are bound to me for eternity.”

The bands of light surrounding Leo reared back, then speared into Ruby’s body in a rush so dizzying she felt faint. She could feel the joining of their souls as Leo’s magic filled every cell in her body. The rush of power tingled along every part of her, pushing her into one of the most intense orgasms of her life. She shuddered in his arms, too breathless to scream. When he kissed her it merely added another dimension to the already painful pleasure coursing through her. Darkness washed over her in a rippling tide, pulling her under. The magic gradually left her body, and with it, consciousness.

Leo caught her before she fell very far, scooping her limp form up into his arms with a worried frown.

“Mom!”

“Give her to me, son.” Sean held his arms out and Leo handed his truebond over, knowing his father would die himself before allowing his daughter-in-law to come to harm. He watched his father carry Ruby into the house, ignoring the Malmaynes until the door shut behind them.

With the remnants of the Bonding power still whipping around him he turned to face the Malmaynes.

His slow smile of satisfaction was cold as he and Cullen faced one another. “The ritual is complete, and it’s True. Not even Oberon himself could set it aside.”

He watched Cullen take a deep, shaken breath. Such a powerful bonding was impossible for the other Sidhe lord to deny. “So it would seem.” Cullen turned to Kaitlynn, who hadn’t moved since her aborted attempt to halt Leo’s bonding. “My dear, perhaps you should reconsider Shane.”

Her damp blue eyes turned to her father. “I want Leo.”

Cullen sighed. “Kaitlynn, I’m afraid that’s no longer possible.”

“But I want Leo.”

Leo frowned at the quiet desperation in her voice. Though he didn’t know Kaitlynn well, he did know her. Did she harbor feelings for him he was unaware of? If so, he pitied her. His body, heart, and soul were currently in his parents’ house being tended to by his father.

“Leo is unavailable, obviously.” Cullen ran his hand down her arm, trying to soothe his daughter.

“Shane is not unattractive.”

She yanked her arm away from him. “Shane is a freak. I don’t want Shane. I want Leo.”

Leo bristled at hearing his brother labeled a freak. “Then perhaps you’d be so kind as to return him to us?” He could still hear the brogue in his voice and deliberately coarsened it, thickened it until it rivaled his father’s.

Kaitlynn looked at him, her expression turning to sly calculation. “There are situations in which a truebond and an alliance marriage have been co-arranged. Perhaps we should consider that.”

“No.”

Kaitlynn flinched at the hard finality of his tone. “Why not? It would solve the problem of the marriage contract and give us both what we want.”

“I am bonded already, Kaitlynn. Even if I wished to, my body is bound to Ruby’s. I couldn’t even if I wanted to.”

“Unless she wanted you to.”

Leo stared at her, wondering what in hell was going through her mind now. Ruby would never be willing to share him, even if he was willing to allow it.

“Think about it, Leo. You could have both of us, legally, and satisfy the terms of the agreement. Ruby and I could fulfill every fantasy you’ve ever had. And she wouldn’t need much persuasion, human that she is. All it would take is a little magic.” Kaitlynn tried to lay a hand on his arm, no doubt to entice him.

Enough of the binding energy still surrounded him, however, that her hand got no closer than an inch before she pulled it back with a cry of pain. “Damn it to hell!” Angry red spots appeared on her fingertips as she hunched over her hand.

Leo shrugged. “I told you. My bondmate doesn’t like to share.” Leo stepped back, putting some distance between him and the seething woman before him. “And neither do I.”

“We’ll see about that.” Cullen totally forgotten, Leo stared at the woman he was rapidly coming to realize was his true adversary. She straightened up, a slow, sleepy smile crossed her face. “Perhaps I can change your mind.”

“I don’t think so.” Leo’s gaze was steady. He watched her smooth the skirt of her dress, her poise once more in place.

“We’ll see.” She turned to Cullen, her eyes once again serene. “Father?”

Cullen moved towards his daughter and assisted her into the limousine. “Leo. A pity we won’t be adding you to our family roster.”

“Pardon me if I find myself grateful for the reprieve.”

Cullen’s sour smile was his only answer. The Malmaynes drove away from the farm, leaving him with a new problem. How was he going to explain what had happened to Ruby? Bonding her had been instinct, the sight of Cullen dragging Ruby away, hurting her, more than he could bear. He turned back to the house, the sight of his mother in the doorway bringing him up short.

“Damn it.” Leo sighed as he realized they hadn’t promised to return Shane.

It wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.