Patting the bottom of the tub in search of the soap, Ciara found it and returned to re-sudsing the rag. As she leaned back and stretched out a long, glistening leg on the side of the tub, she relaxed deeper into the water with a sigh. “Don’t misunderstand me, Alec. Angus is as good-hearted as they come, but his loyalty to Faolan is phenomenal. I think I’m going to have to be very careful of what I do around him. When he’s nervous, his tongue grows loose at both ends and there’s no telling what he’ll run and tell.”
“It’s too late for that, my verra amazing wife.”
Faolan loomed in the doorway, face darkened with a murderous scowl and hands clenched above his head against the doorsill. His gaze darted about the room, as he appeared to search through the shadows to find Ciara’s bathing companion. “’Tis time we talked. About levitation, how ye know about people in need, healing, and many other subjects I am sure ye are an expert on. Ye can start by telling me exactly who and where this person is ye seem to be talking with while ye are in your bath.”
Faolan stomped into the room, slamming the door so hard behind him, all the candles flickering on the mantel snuffed out into smoking pillars. He stalked across the floorboards so hard they groaned as he yanked aside the curtains surrounding the bed.
Ciara sank deeper into the tub until her chin rested upon the surface of the water.Dammit.She’d over-played her hand this time. She wondered how he would react to maybe just a few selective tidbits of the truth, just enough to season the lie. “If you will stop stomping about like a bull in search of his mate, I’ll be happy to introduce you to my friend.”
Faolan halted in his tracks. His scowl darkened as he whirled to glare at Ciara still submerged to her chin.
Motioning with a soapy hand toward the towel wadded up on the stool, Ciara made the formal introductions. “Laird Faolan MacKay allow me to introduce you to my friend Alec, currently in the form of a mouse.”
A fold of the towel wiggled as Alec emerged from its depths, his whiskers twitched as though testing the air. With a regal bow of his tiny gray head, he squeaked loud enough for Faolan to hear. “’Tis a pleasure to meet ye, Laird MacKay. Congratulations on your marriage to the lovely Ciara.”
Lightning flashed through the windows, illuminating the room as though it were the middle of the day. Booming thunder rattled the walls, shaking the structure of the inn from the roof down to the foundation. Faolan clenched his hands into shaking fists, threw back his head, and roared. “Now look what ye have made me do! Ye have thrown me into such a fit of fury, I have stirred the energies into a storm. I havena called up a storm in nearly fifteen years. I finally had my rage under control. Dammit, tell me what ye are. Tell me who the hell ye are and why ye have foisted yourself into my life!”
Alec blinked beady black eyes and smoothed back his flattened pink ears with tiny trembling paws. He sat upright on his square little behind and squeaked as loud as he could. “I am a mouse, for now. I actually prefer the form of a raven, but the wind grows bitter with the cold.”
“Not you!” Faolan thundered at the shaking rodent. “As strange as the sight of a talking mouse might be. I shall deal with the likes of you later.” His face darkened as he raged. Faolan whirled on Ciara where she sat wide-eyed in the tub. “You! Who orwhatthe hell are you?”
With a deep sigh, Ciara emerged from the water and slid free of the tub. She smoothed her glistening skin in the dancing firelight, allowing enticing droplets of water to roll their way down her curves. She never took her gaze from Faolan’s enraged face as she stretched to retrieve her towel. She patted the moisture from her flesh and basked in the heat of the blaze at the hearth. “I am not a witch if that’s what’s worrying you. Although, I really don’t understand why that would be so bad. Let’s just say I’m a bit special in the Ways. That’s why my father kept me hidden in that tower all these years.”
She read him easily. His eyes revealed his war within. Denial. Mistrust. Frustration. Ciara traced the tip of her tongue across her lips. There was a fair amount of lust in those eyes as well. Good. She was ready for a delicious romp herself.
She couldn’t tell him the truth. She felt sure if she did, he would banish her from his midst. However, she had to come up with some sort of explanation since Faolan was no fool. He had paid well for information telling him of a simple-minded maid to wife and now here he stood married to Ciara.
Faolan tossed his head against her words, as he strode another step closer. “Do not lie to me, woman. I have seen your aura. I can see into the depths of your heart. I believe ye are a bit more than somethingspecial.Now tell me who and what ye are.”
Ciara dropped the towel to the floor. With a delicious shiver, her skin tingled, not just from the heat of the fire but from desire for the man in front of her. His calling up of the storm had stirred her blood more than she cared to admit. It had been centuries since she’d seen such power rage within a mortal man. The time for words and explanations was over. She wanted Faolan deep inside her and she wanted him now.
Reaching up, she untied the ribbon holding back her curls. She let the abundant tresses tumble to her waist and drape across her curves. She held Faolan locked within her gaze and eased across the room. Tracing her hand up his chest, her body molded against his, she nuzzled against the sweet, salty warmth of his neck. “I am your wife. I am here to make your life complete. Now cease this incessant talking and take me.”
With a roar, Faolan laced his fingers into her hair and forced her face up to his. As he possessed her mouth, he clutched her body tighter, his heart pounding in sync with hers. Then with another groan, he threw her on the bed. His breath became ragged as he held her captive with his stare. Stripping off his clothes in one easy motion, he covered her body with his. She lay motionless beneath him, watching him with half-closed eyes. With a seductive smile and a slow run of her tongue across her top lip, Ciara silently dared him to continue.
He pinned her to the bed, claimed her with his mouth and plunged deep inside her. Ciara wrapped her body around him as he pounded into her core. She reveled in the fury and the frustration Faolan unleashed within her arms. She growled and clutched him tighter against her as he drove his body into her. Ciara purred with mounting ecstasy while Faolan battled against her possession of his soul.
As she raked her nails down his back, her hips matched him thrust for delicious thrust. She sank her teeth into the side of his neck, growling with abandon as she relished his wondrous attack.
Ciara groaned aloud. Now this was worth being bound to a mortal. This was a claiming, a wondrous power struggle. Tonight, she would treat him to all of her pleasures. He’d forget about the feigned virgin he’d taken on the night of their betrothal. Ciara laughed right before she moaned. “Oh, dear husband, wait until you see what I have in store for you.”
Ciara shifted and rolled Faolan to the mattress. She stretched her body above his. She straddled his form, arched her back, and settled down on the length of his shaft. She wanted to ride him, grind him beneath her until he came inside her again and again. This mortal knew how to make her feel things she thought she’d forgotten, perhaps even things she had never found with other men. Faolan wasn’t destined to be a solitary. Faolan was destined to be a lover. Ciara knew without a doubt he could satisfy whatever she required.
She leaned forward and pulled his head to her breast. She groaned as he caught her nipple between his teeth. She ground her hips against his body, moaning as he tantalized her even more. She shuddered in release, gasping his name as she found her pleasure.
As her body clenched him with delicious spasms, Faolan rolled Ciara back to the bed. “Now, wife, ’tis my turn.” He growled as he nipped at her jaw. Turning her away from him, he rose up behind her, and bent her to suit his needs. Once more, he slid deep inside and slammed her back against his thighs. Again and again, deeper with each thrust until she cried out his name. His name echoed sweet when it rode upon her moans. It inflamed him even more.
Withdrawing his body from her warm wet depths, he turned her around to face him. He wanted to stare into the depths of those golden eyes when he filled her with his seed.
Wrapping his body with her long legs, she arched her back to bury him to her very center. She dug her fingernails into his buttocks and clenched him as deep as he could go. As she began to shudder and reached the pinnacle of the dance, he held her face between his hands. He threw his head back and roared to the winds as he filled her to overflowing.
Collapsing atop her, he buried his face against her neck and rasped into her hair. “I never asked for a woman such as you. I never wanted a wife.”
Ciara laughed into the darkness, running her hands up his back and lacing them in his hair. With a nip to his earlobe, she nestled her face against his. “Sometimes a gift is given without being requested. When that happens, you should just be thankful.”
* * *
They rode along in silence,their horses abreast while Angus and the rest of the guard followed along behind. Faolan risked a narrow-eyed glance at Ciara as she rode beside him. The mere sight of her stirred his blood. Dark hair, golden eyes, face framed by the rich colors of a MacKay plaid. The chill wind of the morning colored her cheeks an eye-catching rosy red. A dark, feathery curl escaped from under the scarf gathered around her head and shoulders.
