“Ye set me ablaze, my honey-eyed lass,” he whispered against her throat.
She shivered again as the warm softness of his mouth kissed and nipped his way ever lower.So divine.A hot, impossible to ignore aching pooled in her core. Belatedly and with a great deal of surprise, her common sense kicked in, reminding her of what might possiblyhappen and the consequences therein. Her eyes flew open, and she reluctantly pushed on his chest.
He lifted his head and stared down at her, his face filled with worry.
“Before this goes any further,” she said, “how do women keep from getting pregnant in this century?”
While relief seemed to flit across his expression, she didn’t miss his low, pained groan. “There are ways to keep ye from getting a bairn, lass. But ye have to trust me to have some control.”
Control? Seriously? At a time like that? She took a step back and placed more space between them. “If you’re saying what I think you’re saying, that is one of the most unreliable methods there is to keep me from getting pregnant.”
He resettled his stance and glanced all around as if struggling to remain calm. “Harley, we’ve yet to even make it to the bed, and ye already fear ye are with child.”
She folded her arms across her chest and stood taller. “The last thing you and I need right now is a baby. You have to be careful about these things. I may be a virgin, but I know it only takes once, and then it’s too late to think about what you should’ve done.”
“A virgin?” he said, as though shocked. “Truly?”
“Yes. A virgin. May I ask why you seem so surprised?”
“Well—” He waved at her with an up and down motion. “Yer age, of course.” He clamped his mouth shut, looking as though he wished he hadn’t said that. “What I meant was, ye are from the future, and at yer age…Well, I figured ye had already?—”
“Keep talking, MacKay…you’re digging that hole a little deeper with every word.” She pushed past him, grabbed the iron circlet on the door, and pulled it open with a yank.“Your charm and wit are going to ensure you never have to worry about your control. The only way I’ll ever get pregnant with your child is if you suddenly become mute!”
Ronan threw backhis head and roared, his ragged cry echoing across the land. How could one woman be so infuriating? Just when he thought he had won her trust and brought her close, she shoved him back to where he was when he started—possibly even farther back than that. He’d never had this much trouble bedding a lass, nor wanted it so badly. He went still, staring out at the frothy white caps of the waves. Nay, he did not wish merely to bed her. Deep in his heart, he knew one time with Harley would never be enough. He needed her. For his. For always. He roared again. Damn, if he didn’t need her at his side, for ill or for good, until their souls left this life and found each other in the next and fell in love all over again.
The same door she’d slammed in his face opened again, making him turn.
Dagun peeped around the edge of the barrier.
Ronan bared his teeth and growled, then stomped back to the battlement overlooking the sea.
“Heard the battle cry, cap’n. Thought I best come to yer aid.” Dagun edged his way closer to Ronan’s side. “Be there mischief afoot. Somethin’ the crew and I can handle?”
“That woman is driving me mad! That is the mischief, Dagun.” Ronan clenched his fists atop the stones, not taking his gaze from the sea.
“I see.” Dagun nodded while scratching his chin. “Woman troubles. By my way of thinking, ye would be better served and safer too, tupping one of the kitchen maids. Yer Mistress Harley doesna seem the sort of lass who would take too kindly to an idle roll in the hay.” He nodded again. “She’d be one to expect more from ye. Mark my words.”
Ronan slowly turned and glared at his first mate, his frustration and rage blinding him. “Who says an idle roll in the hay is what I want? What if I wish to take a wife?”
Dagun threw up both hands and backed away. “I meant no insult to yerself or the lady, cap’n. I just meant…I thought…Hell! Ye ken as well I that I’m no expert when it comes to the fair sex.”
Scrubbing his face, Ronan snorted. “Obviously, I am no expert either, or else I’d not be standing here talking to ye.”
Dagun thoughtfully tipped his head to one side. “I’m thinking ye would be better served if ye wooed the lass. How do they do it her time?”
Ronan nodded slowly. “Aye, ye may have something there.” He turned and headed to the door, pausing long enough to toss a glance back at Dagun. “I think it high time I looked forward with the Mirrors and found out more about Mistress Harley’s past.”
CHAPTER 14
“Imiss the warmth of the mortal’s beating heart.”The deep voice echoed through the cave at the edge of the sea, drowning out the sound of the lapping waves.
“We agreed to release the mortal to this time. Ye ken as well as I that we canna keep them imprisoned forever. Brid forbids it, and I’ve no wish to return to her prison.” Goddess Clíodhna's melodic voice trickled through the crevices of the cavern, like water gurgling across river stones. “Besides, what of the one ye have watched and nurtured for so long? Is she not ready to join ye? She is of age now.”
A rumbling rose from deep within the stones around the cave as though something powerful struggled to bubble to the surface. “I have as yet been unable to win her heart. It would be so much more pleasing if she wished to join with me of her own accord. I wish it to be her choice to be at my side. Not my own.”
“Bah! Mortals never know their own minds. Trick her to make her choose. Ye ken her weaknesses as well as I do. Surely ’twould be no feat for the God of the Sea to woo her in a way she couldna refuse.” Goddess Clíodhna's haunting laugh vibrated through the cave, her voice taunting.
The sides of the cavern shook with a slow trembling. The groundbeneath the waves shuddered and rolled. “Dinna think I dinna ken what ye are about, Clíodhna. I am nay the fool. All ye wish for is the return of yer adoring wee mortal. Ye are jealous of how he yearns for the one we brought to this time.”
