Forbidden Highlander

Chapter Twenty-Five

When Larena left the cottage night had fallen. The women had agreed to take turns watching over Malcolm. Larena had taken the first watch, and Sonya had come to relieve her. Malcolm slept soundly, his chest rising and falling regularly, but Larena was still worried.

She wasn’t sure what Sonya had done or what kind of magic she had used, but whatever it was, it was healing Malcolm well.

Sonya had assured her she would send for Larena if Malcolm woke, but Larena expected him to sleep the night through. And so did Sonya by the way she readied for the night.

A shadow moved at the edge of the cottage and Larena caught a whiff of orangewood.

Fallon.

She walked to him, and when he opened his arms she didn’t hesitate to accept his embrace. She laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

“If Broc hadn’t found him…”

“Don’t,” Fallon whispered. “Broc did find him, and Sonya has healed him as best she could.”

Larena nodded. “He will have many scars from the claw marks.”

“Did you see his hands? He fought back, Larena. Even though they were Warriors, he fought back.”

She blinked through the sudden rush of tears. “I thought once I left Edinburgh he would be all right.”

“I don’t think he was in Edinburgh. I told him if he ever needed anything that he was welcome here. I think he was on his way to the castle to see you.” His strong hands took hold of her shoulders and pulled her away from him. “There is something else.”

She couldn’t see his eyes because the moon was behind him, but she heard the concern in his voice and saw the frown that marred his forehead. “What is it?”

“If for some reason Malcolm isn’t able to use his arm as he should, he’s welcome to stay here. You know his clan willna take him as their laird if he isn’t whole.”

“You would open your home to him?”

“I would.”

She was stunned at his gesture. Fallon constantly amazed her. “Why?”

“Because he stood by your side when the rest of your family wouldn’t. Because he put his life in danger to help you. Because he was your friend, and because he trusted me to help you.”

“Fallon,” she whispered, her throat clogging with emotion.

His mouth descended on hers, cutting off anything else she might have wanted to say. When his lips moved over hers expertly, teasing and coaxing her, she touched her tongue to his. He groaned and crushed her to his hard chest.

Larena never wanted to leave his arms. In his embrace she felt as if nothing could ever harm her, that she was protected and … loved.

Love.

It was a word she didn’t say and never considered. Unless she thought of Fallon.

The last person who had loved her was her father, and he had been taken from her. Robena had cared for her and had been proud the goddess had chosen her, but Robena hadn’t loved her. Nay, Robena had a job to do, and that’s all that had mattered to the old Druid.

Love wasn’t an emotion Larena could allow herself to feel. It opened her up to the pain she never wanted to experience again. It was better to close herself off, and keep her distance.

Are you so sure now that you’ve met Fallon? He could offer you much more.

Larena pushed such thoughts from her mind as Fallon deepened the kiss. His hands cupped her buttocks and held her as he ground his arousal against her.

All the breath left Larena’s body. She clung to Fallon’s thick shoulders and surrendered to the passion that unfurled low in her belly.

“My God, Larena,” Fallon whispered. He kissed down her neck and bent her backward over his arm. “I want you. I need you.”

She shuddered at his words then cried out when his teeth grazed her nipple through the tunic. Pleasure rippled through her like lightning. She lifted a leg and wrapped it around his waist.

The night air, filled with the smell of the sea, swirled around them. The moon and stars twinkled above while the water crashed against the cliffs. All around them death and destruction ruled, but in each other’s arms they could find serenity.

“I need you too, Fallon,” she confessed. “I need you desperately.”

Wordlessly, he lifted her until her legs wrapped around his waist, and then he carried her behind the cottages. He pressed her against the hut and ground his cock against her.

Larena moaned and moved her hips. She was grateful for the privacy since she knew other Warriors were keeping watch and she didn’t want them seeing the passion that was hers and Fallon’s alone.

“This would be easier if you were in a gown,” he growled.

Larena chuckled. “Just as it would be easier if you were in a kilt.”

“I’ll keep that in mind next time,” he murmured against her neck as he nuzzled her skin. “You have no idea what the sight of you in the breeches does to me.”

She reached between them and tugged his tunic up his chest, and then over his head. “Tell me.”

“It makes me want to mark you as mine.”

She trembled at his words. She wanted to be marked, and to be marked as his.

Their hands were frantic to rid themselves of the clothing that separated their bodies. Before the last piece of cloth hit the ground, they were in each other’s arms once more.

Larena plunged her fingers in Fallon’s dark locks as he lifted her once more. She wrapped her legs around his waist and moaned when his rod brushed against her sensitive sex.

“Please, Fallon,” she begged. She had to have him inside her. Only he could make her forget the world around them and make her feel as if they were the only two people on earth.

His hands gripped her hips, holding her above his cock. She didn’t look away when his gaze caught hers. Larena let herself drown in the exquisite green of his eyes.

He lowered her onto his shaft with one thrust. She tried to move her hips, but he held her steady. He filled her completely until the tip of him touched her womb. Only then did he allow her to move.

Larena locked her ankles together and buried her face in Fallon’s neck as his hips began to shift. Each thrust brought him closer, took him deeper … and touched her heart.

She didn’t know if it was seeing Malcolm dying before her eyes, but she felt raw, exposed, and she needed Fallon in ways that she couldn’t put into words.

He hadn’t asked questions. He had merely offered himself, as if he knew she would need him.

Larena kissed Fallon’s neck as her need rose with the quickening of his hips.

“Ah, God, Larena,” he ground out.

She kissed him again, letting her tongue trace along his skin. He moaned deep in his throat as his fingers dug into her hips.

Her hands shifted to his shoulders as she fought to hold onto him as her climax built. She gasped and sucked against his neck as her orgasm engulfed her.

Larena was blinded by the intensity, her body convulsing with the delicious waves of pleasure. Fallon continued to plunge inside her, drawing out her climax.

“You’re mine, Larena. Mine.”

She jerked, her mouth opening on a silent scream of bliss as his fangs sank into her neck and brought on another orgasm.

By the time she could open her eyes, Fallon was kissing the spot he had bitten. She knew without looking that he had marked her. She should be upset, but she wasn’t. She was elated.

“Mine,” he whispered just before he jumped them into his chamber at the castle.

Fallon couldn’t believe he had given in to his desire to mark Larena. Feeling her body clench around him, knowing the anguish she felt at finding Malcolm, and the excitement he had experienced when she had come to him had been too much.

In the dark of night, she was his. Whether she would be in his bed when the sun rose was another matter. He had told her she was his, but in his heart he knew he didn’t have her. He never would either unless she gave her heart to him.

Fallon jumped them to his chamber and laid her on the bed before he crawled in next to her. She turned to him and rested her head on his shoulder. His mind was full of her. Even the beating of his heart was for her.

Lucan had asked him if he cared for Larena. Fallon wasn’t sure just what emotion was within him, but his feelings for Larena grew daily. She had no idea that she held him in the palm of her hand, and it was probably better if she didn’t.

Not even knowing she kept the truth of her ring and her knowledge of the Scroll from him could dampen his feelings. She had her reasons for keeping her secret, and though it hurt that she didn’t trust him, he tried to understand.

He let his fingers caress down her back. He wanted to clasp her to him and never let her go, but let her go he would. Chaining her to him would only make her want to leave.

Fallon knew in the end he was going to have to do the impossible. He was going to have to let Larena go.

He closed his eyes as a wave of pain swallowed him. The thought of not seeing her smoky-blue eyes every day, of not watching her lips form her breathtaking smile, or feel her hands on him, left him in a cold sweat.

“God, give me strength,” he whispered.

Broc flew southwest once he left the MacLeods. He had taken too much time. Deirdre would be in a rage when he returned, but he had one more stop to make.

The wind pushed him along toward his destination. He saw the great stand of trees well before he reached them. The massive forest was home to many creatures — and Druids.

He dropped down next to the loch and transformed back into the man he was. It was the only time he pushed his god aside, the only time he allowed himself to remember the man he used to be. It brought too many memories, but he had to make this stop.

Broc ran his fingers through his too long hair and used the loch to wash the blood from his body. Malcolm’s blood, and his own. His injuries had healed, but Larena’s cousin probably wouldn’t be so lucky. He straightened and wished he had thought to bring a tunic.

“Broc?”

Her sweet voice drifted to him from the trees. She emerged with a basket in one hand and her skirt in the other. The pale brown strands of her hair lay unbound around her.

“It is you,” she whispered. “I thought you might never return.”

He hadn’t intended to return. He had promised himself on his previous visit nearly six months ago that it would be his last. It was getting too dangerous for the Druids. But he’d been unable to stay away.

“I cannot stay long, Anice. There are evil people looking for you and the other Druids. You must stay hidden as I told you.”

Her smile never faltered as she walked to him. She dropped her basket and raised her hands to his face. “How I’ve missed you. I worry about you endlessly.”

“I’ll be fine,” he said, and tried not to slap her hands away. She was a sweet girl, but she didn’t always listen when it was important. “Did you hear me? You and the other Druids need to stay concealed.”

“We’ve used our magic. Even my sister added her magic to ours before she left.”

Broc stilled at the mention of her. She was the real reason he was here, the reason he couldn’t stay away. His heart pounded like a drum in his ears. “Sonya left?”

Anice cocked her head to the side, her eyes narrowed as she regarded him. “She said it was important, that she was needed elsewhere. She said it was to aid those who fought against Deirdre.”

Broc turned on his heel and ran his hand down his face. His heart pounded in his ears as his mind raced with possibilities.

He remembered when he had brought the two small girls to the Druids. He had continued to look in on them through the years. Neither of them knew his role in their escape from Deirdre, and he intended to make sure they never knew. He would have to answer too many questions about what had happened to their parents.

Sonya didn’t know of him at all. He hadn’t wanted Anice to know either, but she had caught him spying on Sonya. Broc had been desperate for another’s touch. He should have pushed Anice away. Instead, he had taken her as his lover, but his gaze was always on Sonya.

He faced Anice again and tried to ignore the hurt in her eyes. “When did Sonya leave?”

Anice shrugged. “What does it matter? She will be all right, as she always is.”

“When, Anice?” he demanded.

She shrank away from him, her brown gaze wary for the first time. She had no idea what a monster he really was or how many people he had killed. If she did, she would never have offered her body to him.

“Almost three months ago.”

Broc struggled to breathe. Three months? Sonya could be anywhere. She might need him. Didn’t she know it wasn’t safe for Druids to wander Scotland? “Where?”

“She said she was going to the MacLeods.”

Broc clenched his hands, unsure if he had heard Anice correctly. Sonya had been at the MacLeods’ the entire time and he hadn’t known? He needed to see for himself that she had made it to the castle, and the Warriors had allowed her inside. If there was one place he could believe Sonya was safe, it was with the MacLeods. For the time being.

“Anice, listen to me. Deirdre’s magic has grown. She is finding Druids that have been hidden for years. The magic you and the others have used might not be enough.” He wanted to tell her everything, of the Warriors and what Deirdre was after, but he didn’t have time.

She swallowed and jerked her head in a nod. “You won’t be returning, will you?”

“I cannot chance it. It’s too dangerous. For both ofus.”

“I thought we had a future together.”

Broc glanced down at the ground. He regretted using Anice, but he could not let her think they shared something. “There is no future with me.”

Tears fell unheeded down her face to drop onto her chest. “Godspeed, Broc.”

He waited until the forest had swallowed her once more before he dropped his head into his hands. It had never been his intention to hurt Anice. A moment of weakness had caused him to welcome her into his arms, and he would pay for it the rest of his life.

As for Sonya, she was his responsibility as well. He had made sure Anice never spoke of him, so he didn’t have to worry about Sonya telling the MacLeods anything.

Broc turned and raced away from the forest before releasing his god and taking flight. He would do whatever it took to keep the two Druid sisters away from Deirdre. Whatever it took.