Midnight's Temptation

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Ullapool

Malcolm stood in the overgrown hedges and looked at Wallace Mansion. It hadn’t been repaired since their last battle there. Still, there was something evil about the house.

But just like Declan, Malcolm knew Jason would return to the mansion. It was in his nature. The question was, would Malcolm wait for him?

Malcolm’s feet crunched on the rock as he walked toward the front door that lay upon the ground. He took the few steps and paused at the doorway.

Dirt and dust littered everything. The smell of rotting food reached him from the back of the house where the kitchen was. But the only occupants in the house were animals, not human.

Malcolm sent Phelan a quick text and turned on his heel. He would go looking for Wallace’s associates.

MacLeod Castle

“Nothing more from Phelan or Charon?” Hayden asked from across the table.

Ramsey blew out a breath and shrugged. They hadn’t moved from the table in the great hall. A mug of ale sat in front of him, but Ramsey’s mind was too occupied with thoughts to want to drink it. “Nothing.”

“What now?” Arran asked from beside Hayden. “I’m no’ going to be able to sit and wait much longer.”

Ramsey motioned to the adjoining room with his chin. Aiden sat on the couch with Britt snuggled against him. They had both fallen asleep during the previews of the movie they put in. “We let Britt rest, and then hopefully she’ll have good news for us.”

“Isla wants Broc to find Phelan.”

Ramsey shifted his gaze to Hayden. The lines bracketing Hayden’s mouth showed the worry his friend was under. “Has she asked Broc yet?”

“Nay. She wants me to do it.”

Arran set down his mug after a long drink of ale. “I gather you’re no’ too keen on the idea.”

Hayden’s black eyes met Ramsey’s. “No’ at all. Phelan has made it clear he wants nothing to do with my wife. I doona want her near him.”

“Who says she has to get near him?” Arran asked.

Ramsey shoved his ale toward Hayden when Hayden emptied his. “If Broc does as Isla asks, then she’ll want Fallon to teleport her to him. She willna rest until Phelan forgives her for what she did to him.”

“Which isna likely to happen,” Hayden ground out and wiped his arm over his mouth. “I willna put Isla in harm’s way, and with Phelan near, she’s always in danger.”

Arran narrowed his golden eyes. “Phelan fights with us. He wouldna harm Isla.”

“He would,” Hayden argued. “He hunts droughs as I once did. I remember all too well the hatred that burned inside me. It pushed aside all reason until only vengeance and retribution remained. As long as Isla is no’ alone, Phelan will leave her be.”

“The moment she isna,” Ramsey said, “there’s no telling what he’ll do.”

Arran raked a hand through his dark brown hair and slowly shook his head. “I almost miss the days when we only had Deirdre to worry over. Now it’s Wallace, the selmyr, finding the spell to bind our gods, and a multitude of other things.”

“I gather Ronnie isna sleeping well either,” Ramsey said.

Arran grunted. “She’s a worrier. She worries endlessly about things she can no’ control.”

“I think most of the Druids are concerned,” Ramsey replied.

Arran looked from Ramsey to Hayden. “We were no’ here during those four centuries while we were tossed into the future. How were things?”

“Do you mean were there arguments?” Hayden asked. At Arran’s nod, Hayden said, “Oh, aye. We’re like any family. There were bickering, tears, laughter, anger, joy, hope, and every other emotion you can think of. Why?”

“I think Ronnie is having second thoughts of being here.”

Ramsey squeezed the bridge of his nose. “This is what Wallace wants. He wants to fracture us. He wants to make the Druids doubt their lives with us.”

“Isla hasna said anything about children, but I see how she looks at little Emma, I remember how she held Aiden when he was an infant.” Hayden sighed deeply. “The fact she hasna said anything cuts me deeper than if she had. I just want her to be happy.”

“She is,” Arran answered. “She’s with you. You may see how she looks at Camdyn and Saffron’s baby, but we see how Isla looks at you. You, you stubborn fool, are her entire life.”

Hayden’s frown turned into a goofy grin. Ramsey gave a nod of approval to Arran. “He’s right, Hayden. Isla has no’ said anything because it does no good.”

“You’re probably right,” Hayden said and lifted his mug for a long drink. “Arran was correct. It’s different for those of us who lived the four centuries without any evil. All of us considered growing our families, but we knew what awaited us in the future. We saw how Quinn and Marcail constantly fretted over Aiden.”

Ramsey nudged Arran’s foot beneath the table to get his attention. “Why do you think Ronnie has changed her mind?”

“She seems restless. I rarely see her smile anymore. And at night when she thinks I’m asleep, I hear her cry.”

Ramsey looked around the hall. One of their greatest strengths was the love each of them shared. Had Wallace managed to do the unthinkable and crack what was unbreakable?

“Next time, idiot, reach for her instead of listening to her,” Hayden told Arran.

Ramsey found Tara standing in the kitchen doorway. Her pale brown locks fell in waves over her shoulders. She nodded to something someone said, and then her blue-green eyes turned to him. She smiled, and as usual, his heart missed a beat.

“How are things between the two of you?” Arran asked.

Ramsey drew in a long breath. “Tara is afraid to have children and pass on her unstable magic. Mixed with my magic from my Torrachilty roots, there’s no telling what could happen if the child is female.”

“Ah. But if it’s male,” Hayden said. “Tara’s magic is diluted several times over, and no’ a direct line to that potent magic as yours is. We could have another powerful Druid.”

Ramsey looked down at the table, the wood worn smooth from centuries of use. “You didna see what became of the females who tried to control the magic. It’s fifty times more powerful than what our Druids are used to. It’s addictive and wonderful. We were known as the warrior Druids because it took a warrior’s control, strong mind, and even stronger body to harness the power. I’m no’ saying women can no’ do it, only it’s more difficult for them.”

He paused when he felt Tara’s magic near him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. “That, lads, is the reason we won’t be having children. The Torrachilty people did what they had to do, but I’m not willing to kill my daughter just because she’s born a girl.”

“You could help her harness the magic,” Hayden said. “Look at Larena. She’s strong. You’re strong.”

Ramsey smiled at Tara. This is a conversation they’d had many times. He respected her thoughts on it, and he agreed with them.

He pulled her into his lap and held her tightly. Together they were whole.

“No,” Tara said. “None of you realize what I grew up with, the damage I did because I didn’t know what I was or what to do with my magic. Even if we were able to teach our daughter, the chances of her going insane from the sheer power of the magic is too great a risk. I was given Ramsey. That’s enough,” she finished and looked at him.

Ramsey’s blood surged with need. At Tara’s smile he stood with her in his arms. “You’ll have to excuse us. I need some alone time with my wife.”

Arran watched Hayden silently get to his feet and walk to Isla. After a few whispered words, the two started up the stairs.

It didn’t take Arran but a second to locate Ronnie in the kitchen. He stood and walked into the kitchen to find her with her hands and front covered in flour.

She lifted her head when he walked in and gave him a smile. “I’m learning to bake a cake.”

He strode to her and pulled her into his arms for a deep kiss. She melted against him, her arms sliding around his neck. His body burned for her. It had from the moment he’d first seen her, and it would until his heart beat its last.

Arran ended the kiss to see her lips swollen and her eyes dazed. “Let someone else bake the cake.”

Ronnie nodded. “Yes. Someone else can bake the cake.”

Arran took her hand and quickly led her up the stairs to their room. When the door closed behind him, he turned and pushed her against it while covering her body with his.

“I want you.”

“I know,” she said with a laugh as she reached between them and wrapped her hand around his arousal.

“Nay, Ronnie, listen to me. I want you. Always you. It’s enough for me, but I’m no’ sure if it’s enough for you.”

She blinked her hazel eyes, the smile sliding from her face. “You’ve heard me crying.”

“Aye.”

“It’s not what you think, Arran. Before you my work was my life. I knew the chances of finding a man and having a normal life weren’t for me. That meant no children.”

“You doona want bairns?”

She put her hand covered in flour on his chest over his heart. “I’d love to have your children. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, as you said, we have each other. And that’s enough for me.”

“Then why the tears?”

“Because I know others aren’t all right with that. Larena for one. She’s barely holding it together. She’s obsessed with finding the spell to bind your gods.”

Arran pushed a lock of her wheat-colored hair behind her ear. “And you?”

“I’ve told you what I think of it,” she replied with a roll of her eyes. “I fell in love with who you are now. If you want to live as a mortal, then I support that. If you want to remain a Warrior and continue to fight against evil, I’ll be standing beside you. Either way, Arran MacCarrick, you’ll not be rid of me.”

“Never,” he said and kissed her slowly, thoroughly. He heard the seams rip as he yanked off her apron, but her sigh was all the encouragement he needed to divest her of her clothes as soon as he could.

Their laughter filled the room as they helped each other out of their clothes and fell in a tangle of limbs upon the bed.

Arran ran his hand down the side of her face. “I love you beyond words, beyond meaning … beyond anything, Ronnie.”

“And I love you, husband.”

They shared a smile as he kissed her again.