“I’m fine. Don’t start.” Emma pulled her sister into another hug, closed her eyes, and inhaled the familiar sweetness of the floral perfume that always surrounded Laynie in a refreshing cloud. She had missed Laynie so much. The gnawing homesickness of life without her sister had nearly eaten her alive.
“I can’t breathe.” Laynie squirmed against Emma’s crushing embrace. “You know I missed you too, but I had really hoped to see more of the Isle of Lewis than just the lobby of the airport over your shoulder.”
With a heart-wrenching sigh, Emma relinquished her grip and took a step back, keeping one hand latched on Laynie’s arm. She couldn’t help it. Giddy relief addled her senses at the sight of her baby sister. Laynie was finally here.
“Fine.” Adopting the most aloof demeanor she could manage; Emma stuck her chin in the air. “You seem to have survived life on your own pretty well. Apparently, you don’t need your big sister anymore.” Emma’s heart skipped a beat as she uttered the playful jibe, silently praying it wasn’t the truth. She’d always been the one to take care of Laynie and keep her out of trouble. What if this self-assured young woman didn’t need her anymore?
Rolling her eyes, Laynie bent to scoop up her bags. “You know better than that, you old hen.” With a hopping shrug, she hitched the straps of the luggage higher over her shoulder, then polarized Emma with a stern glare. “And by the way, I wasn’t kidding when I asked if you had been sick. You really do look like crap. You could nearly pass for a raccoon with those dark circles under your eyes and how much weight have you lost? Are your nightmares keeping you from sleeping again? Are you so engrossed in this project that you’re forgetting to eat?”
“Geez, Laynie! Lighten up. At least give me a chance to enjoy your company before you start the cross examination.” Emma pulled Laynie’s bags from her shoulder and slung them across her own. How could she explain the past seven months to her sister? How could she tell her she had discovered a disturbing destiny that haunted her every waking hour and chased her down in her dreams? “I’ve just been pulling some long shifts at the clinic. Stop your incessant fussing. I’m just a little tired.”
“A little tired, my ass. You look like you’ve been rode hard and put up wet.”
Emma almost choked, steering Laynie toward the double glass doors leading to the parking lot. If only her sister really knew how close that statement was to the truth. “Stop fretting. You know how I get when I’m obsessed with a project.”
Laynie rolled her eyes again. “You might as well tell me the truth. You know you always sucked at lying. You never keep yourfibs straight.” Grabbing Emma’s arm, she yanked the strap of the largest hot pink bag draped across her body, forcing Emma to come to an abrupt halt. “Who isthat?”
From the salivating interest shining on her sister’s face, Emma didn’t have to look across the parking lot to see who waited.Damn him. She had told Torin she wanted some time alone with Laynie. Time to ease her sister into all the revelations she’d been smacked with over the past few months. Why couldn’t he ever listen to what she said?
“No wonder you look so exhausted.” An evil grin inched across Laynie’s face. “You didn’t tell me abouthim.”
“I had hoped to have you to myself for at least thirty minutes before springinghimon you.” Emma gritted her teeth until her jaws ached. It would be a cold wet day in the center of hell before she let Torin back in the bedroom tonight. If he couldn’t respect her one small request of alone time with Laynie, he better get comfortable sleeping on the floor in front of the hearth…or maybe even outside.
“Got any more like him you could spring on me? He’s hot.” Laynie dug an elbow into Emma’s ribs while bumping them closer to the truck.
“No.” Emma blew out a disgruntled breath between tightly pursed lips. “He’s pretty much one of a kind.”
Torin stood leaning back against the side of the truck, his powerful arms resting across his chest and his shining boots leisurely crossed at the ankles. The clothing he had manifested fit him like a second skin and accentuated every battle-hardened muscle from the squared width of his bulging shoulders to the well-sculpted swell of his thighs.
Emma swallowed hard, her traitorous body flushed hot and ready. Keeping Torin out of her bedroom might prove more difficult than she thought. Shoving memories of exquisite hours spent in his expert hands to the back of her mind, she gulpedat the chilling breeze. Maybe if she inhaled enough cold air, the aching burn smoldering from her waist down wouldn’t burst into a raging inferno. Torin hadn’t listened to her. Tonight, she would sleep alone—after an ice cold shower—or two.
“’Tis an honor to meet the lovely sister Emma has spoken of so many times. Welcome to Lewis. I am Torin.” Torin straightened from his relaxed position, lowering his chin in a respectful nod.
Laynie flashed a blinding smile as she proffered an outstretched hand. “The pleasure is all mine, Torin. I just wished she had spoken more about you.”
Torin shifted a knowing glance at Emma, then pressed his lips to the back of Laynie’s extended hand. Raising his head, a feigned expression of disappointment flickered across his face. “Ah, I’m afraid little Emma has trouble explaining me at times. Perhaps, she felt it would be much better if the two most important people in her life met and formed their own alliance.”
“Importantpeople, huh?” Laynie turned to Emma with an uplifted brow, the demand for an explanation transmitted clearly in ALL CAPS and BOLD lettering with just the tilt of her head.
“Yes, Laynie.” Emma shot Torin a warning look. If he made anymore comments like that, she would throttle him on the spot.
Torin grinned and stood taller, releasing a satisfied sigh in the process.
“I’ll tell you more about Torin later. When we’realone.”Nudging Laynie toward the vehicle, Emma yanked open the door. “How about we get you settled first?”
Chapter
Forty-Seven
“Itold you I wanted some time alone with her.” Emma leaned closer, struggling to keep her voice to a low enraged hiss as she glanced at Laynie’s motionless body stretched across the couch. A soft snore filtered up from the pile of blankets.Thank goodness.Jet lag had knocked her sister out. Maybe Emma could sort through things with Torin before Laynie recharged and started demanding answers to her endless stream of questions. Turning back to him, she jabbed his chest with her finger. “Why can’t you EVER listen to me?”
“We have no time to ease your sister into the truth. The land cries out for its redemption and healing against Arach’s punishment. Once we best him and close the portal to his reality, your difficult choice must be made and your sister needs to be prepared.” Torin grabbed her hand and stroked her wrist with a mesmerizing circular motion of his thumb.
Emma yanked her hand away. She couldn’t think when he touched her. “There is no difficult choice for me, Torin. My life is here.” Stiffening farther away from him, she hugged herself. “You’re the one with the decision to make. The choice is yours.You don’t have to leave this time. You could stay here with me and...and adapt.”
“Ye know I canna remain in this world. Can ye not see that I struggle more each day against the confusion…against the chaos of this time? The magic has grown too thin in the beliefs of this world.” The muscles along Torin’s jaw twitched. The scar running down the side of his throat darkened against his tanned flesh, reddened by the heat of his frustration.
“And you think I’ll adapt without any problem to your world? You think I’ll be just fine in some other realm, some reality so far removed from what I know that I might as well be on another planet? Maybe it is another planet. Is it?” Emma bit her lip and glanced at her sister. The ancient springs supporting the cushions of the couch creaked as Laynie shifted positions. Emma drew in a deep breath, struggling against the weight of annoyance crushing in all around her. If not for the storm raging against the thick, mudded walls of the cottage, she would take this argument outside, out of her sister’s slumbering earshot.
