Midnight's Temptation

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Phelan reached for Aisley in the bed, only to find the sheets cool to the touch. It was only the feel of her magic that kept him from panicking.

He opened his eyes to see her standing next to the window already dressed for the day. The sky was filled with low-lying gray clouds. The sadness surrounding her made his gut clench.

They’d passed the night making love again and again. She asked him to make her forget, and he made sure she had. Through it all, she clung to him as if it had been their last time together. Every kiss, every touch had felt like she was saying good-bye.

He wasn’t sure what to do. He might know how to make love to a woman a thousand different ways, but he couldn’t find the words to help Aisley.

Telling her to forget the past hadn’t seemed to work. Not even when he told her he didn’t want to know about her past. She was determined to tell him whatever her secret was.

He sat up wishing she was naked in the bed with him. Spending the day making love to her sounded like a great plan. Then he thought of Charon and the others, Wallace, and the selmyr.

The time for sorting through what was bothering Aisley would have to wait until he let the others know what he’d learned.

“It looks like rain again,” Aisley said.

Phelan rose from the bed and scratched his jaw. He was in desperate need of a shave. “We might beat it.”

“I’m ready to leave whenever you are.”

The fact she wouldn’t look at him worried Phelan. “Give me ten minutes.”

The entire time he was in the shower he kept a feel out for her magic in case she tried to run. When he emerged from the bathroom, she stood in the same spot she’d been earlier.

“Have you eaten?” he asked while he dressed in his favorite pair of jeans and a dark-blue-and-white-striped button-down.

“I’m not hungry.”

Phelan walked to her and took her by the shoulders so he could turn her to face him. “You know if I could take you back to the cabin I would. I’d be content to spend the rest of my days there with you.”

A smile spread over her face. “I know. Your friends need you though. We need to let them know everything.”

“Why do I feel like last night was your way of saying farewell?”

She took his hand and rubbed it against her cheek. “You slept again.”

“Aye. You’re the only woman I’ve ever done that with.”

“You’re the only man who has wanted me for me.”

“Who else would I want you to be?”

She shrugged and looked away. “I miss the music.”

Phelan realized it had been some time since she’d gotten lost in her music. He knew of a place in Inverness where he would take her. With the music blaring, she could dance and leave her troubles behind.

“I know a club,” he said. “I’ll take you there tonight.”

Her fawn-colored eyes looked at him. “Thank you.”

“The sooner we get to Inverness, the sooner we can get to the club.”

“Let’s get moving then.”

Her smile was a little forced, and she couldn’t quite hide the sorrow in her beautiful eyes. But Phelan was determined to show her she had nothing to be worried about.

She wouldn’t believe him. He’d have to prove it to her. And he was looking forward to it.

They encountered a small section of rain on their way back down to the port. Their timing was perfect, however. When they reached the port, they pulled right onto the ferry.

Five minutes into the ride and Aisley’s laugh filled the air when she spotted dolphins swimming alongside the ferry. Phelan stood beside her, but his gaze was on her, not the dolphins.

He grinned as she tried—and failed—to contain her midnight locks from getting in her face. The wind whipped around them, gulls squawked for food, and the dolphins jumped and played in the water.

But the most beautiful sight he ever beheld in his very long years was the woman beside him. She opened herself to him and showed him a part of life he had missed out on.

She was pulling away from him now, but he’d be damned if he didn’t hold onto her. It had been just a few days, and he knew there was much more to learn than what she had shown him. He wanted to learn from her. Only her.

Aisley turned to him then, her eyes dancing with delight. “Aren’t they wonderful?” she said of the dolphins.

“Magnificent.” He was speaking of her, but she didn’t know it.

She didn’t search out compliments, didn’t try to push him to give more than he was willing. Aisley was unique in that she offered him … everything.

He felt it each time they made love. She readily, eagerly gave her body to him. But she’d given much more than that. He hadn’t wanted to admit it before. Even now it caused the carefully constructed wall around him to crack.

It was the realization she had freely opened her heart and soul to him that made his breath catch in his throat.

For the first time he wanted her to demand to spend more time with him instead of being content with whatever he gave her.

The thought of not having her in his life caused him to become restless and unsettled. He wasn’t ready for her to leave.

His mind raced with thoughts about how he could help his friends and still have time with Aisley. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to bring her to the castle. There was something he enjoyed about protecting her himself.

Though he was the first to admit he couldn’t do it all. There was only one man who he trusted enough to share his responsibility of Aisley with.

Charon.

Phelan pulled out his mobile and sent a quick text to Charon while Aisley was occupied with the dolphins. The band that had constricted his chest loosened once Charon responded to the text. Phelan knew Laura and Aisley would get along well. If Aisley wasn’t comfortable with going to MacLeod Castle then she could stay with Laura in Ferness.

Why hadn’t he thought of all of this sooner? Phelan was feeling rather proud of himself as they docked in Mallaig and started the drive to Inverness.

* * *

Aisley grew worried at how close she was to Wallace Mansion when Phelan drove into Inverness before lunch. Of course, she could be on the other side of the world and still be too close to the house.

Instead of finding a hotel, they grabbed a quick bite to eat before Phelan drove them to an Internet café to do a search on the Hunter bloodline. At least that’s what Phelan was looking up.

Aisley was searching for anything to do with a young prince that had gone missing in the sixteenth century. Records were sketchy from that time, but she knew if Ravyn was right and Phelan was truly a prince, there would be something about it.

She searched every major nation during that time but found nothing. Her eyes burned from staring at the screen for several hours. It wasn’t until she did another search to find what countries existed at that time that she broadened her search to include little-known countries.

And that’s when she got a hit.

Her fingers were shaking as she moved the cursor to click the first link. There, among the timeline of events for Saxony, was a small notation of the king’s brother taking his family out of the region.

There was nothing more, but Aisley couldn’t leave it at that. She did another search and found some obscure text mentioning that the people of Saxony were trying to kill certain members of the royal family because of something to do with their blood. Bathing in the royals’ blood could heal whatever a person suffered from.

Aisley sat back and looked across the table at Phelan who was gazing intently at his screen. It wasn’t enough to tell him. She had to have definite proof.

She took a deep breath and expanded her search. That’s when a dozen or so links popped up mentioning the legend of some Saxony royal family living in Scotland.

No matter how many of the links she checked, nothing mentioned anything more. She was about to give up when she saw a paragraph from a student who wrote a paper on the lost Saxony royals.

In it, the woman wrote that the family had been searching for their son who they suspected was kidnapped. No ransom was ever asked for, and no body was ever found.

Aisley knew she was reading about Phelan’s family. They had searched endlessly for him. He hadn’t been forgotten. She didn’t know where they had been headed, but they remained to look for him.

She knew firsthand what his blood could do. The healing properties of his blood had nothing to do with his god and everything to do with who he was.

How many other members of his family had the same blood? It obviously hadn’t extended to the king and his children. Only to the king’s brother. Or perhaps only Phelan.

Phelan looked up at her then. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” she lied. She wasn’t certain if he wanted to know what she found. Nor was she sure she could tell him how she learned he was a prince. It was something saved for another time.

“I found where the surname Hunter was changed to Johnson and MacDonald. After that, things get lost. It took too long for the common surname to take root within a family. If it had, things would be easier.”

“It’s a start.”

“No’ much of one.” He logged off and pushed back his chair. “I promised you a nice meal and the club I told you about.”

Aisley didn’t have to be prompted twice. She hurried to log off and stood. “Let’s go then.”

At the hotel she showered and changed into a silver sequined tank top and short black skirt. Phelan whistled when she walked out of the bathroom.

Her stomach was in knots. Not because of what she had discovered about Phelan and his family, but because she knew she was going to take on Jason and possibly die by Phelan’s hand that night.

“Ready?” he asked.

Aisley took his arm, noting the crisp button-down of the deepest burgundy and the black trousers. His long dark brown locks were combed away from his face and secured in a low queue at his neck.

He looked dark and dangerous. Aisley almost stopped them from leaving so she could have another night in his arms. But already she had held off the inevitable. The weight of her secret wouldn’t last another night.

The restaurant Phelan chose was but two blocks from the hotel. There was a small smile about his lips that looked boyish, as if they held a surprise he couldn’t wait to tell.

“What is it?” she asked with a laugh.

He halted them outside of the restaurant and looked around. “I’ve a surprise for you.”

“Really? What is it?”

“I invited Charon and Laura to meet us for dinner.”

Aisley’s stomach fell to her feet like lead. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t stop her entire body from shaking as realization set in. “No. I didn’t get a chance to tell you myself. Phelan, I’m a dr—”

“There they are,” he said over her as he waved.

Aisley turned to find Laura and Charon at the corner of the street staring at her as if she were the Devil himself.