The love she had hoped to deny poured from her voice. “How could I not choose you?”
“You give me great honor. Your beauty blinds me, and your fragrance is intoxicating. You have seduced me, body, and soul.” He smiled, slowly at first, and then the smile spread across his features until it reached his eyes. His expression reflected the boy in the man. It warmed her with its radiant glow. He picked her up in his arms again and carried her to bed. “You are as light as a Highland mist.”
She laughed at the playfulness in his voice, feeling the darkness around him lift, but the joy melted away like the Highland mist he referenced. Her intent had been to make sure he was in that spell-induced sleep while the young Wizards were safely spirited away. But to accomplish such a goal she mustremain strong and remember that this man was her enemy. He stood between success and failure.
She forced laughter into her voice. “It is not that I am so small”—she smiled as he laid her down on the silken sheets—“but that you are so large and strong.”
His eyes glinted with humor and desire. “Aye, very large indeed.” For the first time his voice was laced with a heavy Scottish brogue. She rejoiced. It was part of his heritage and a sign he was letting down his guard.
She allowed her sheer garment to slip from her shoulders, exposing the mounds of her breasts. “Humor from a Fire Wizard. Most rare.”
His voice lowered, rich and lyrical. His eyes reflected the banked heat of his passion. “Ye are the cause, lass. I’m enchanted and under your spell.”
“And I yours,” she whispered against his lips as he leaned toward her.
Rowan’s hand rested on her stomach, the warmth igniting her. She arched toward his touch. Desire erupted within her. She had chosen him because she knew she had the best chance of keeping him under a spell.
That was not entirely true. She chose him because she wanted him.
Her plan was flawed from the beginning. It was she who was in danger of becoming enchanted, of losing her way and her heart. The longer they spent together the higher the risk. It was fortunate they would only have this one night. She faced the reality that she still loved him, still wanted him, and that changed everything.
Morgan did not fool herself. He did not love her. Male Wizards were incapable of the emotion. The ability to care for another living being for more than a few days was bred out of them. Their only long-term loyalty was to the Talons and theGrey Council. It was the enchantment and spells that caused the tender kisses, the caresses, and the heated look in their eyes.
But what if she were wrong and this inability to care was only a myth perpetuated by the Talons and the Grey Council? She pushed away the doubts. To hope was foolish…and deadly.
He did not love her. She repeated that message in her thoughts. More reason to leave him while her heart was still in one piece.
More was at risk tonight than her growing awareness of her true feelings for Rowan. To save the lives of her sisters and the Wizardlings she must be strong. She refocused, banishing the dark feelings threatening to overwhelm her.
Morgan pressed her lips against his, moving her tongue over the contours of his mouth. He groaned and deepened the kiss, cupping her breast with his hand, sending hot currents of desire rushing through her. She was swept away on waves of pulsating heat so intense she feared she would burst into flame. She held on, wanting more.
She felt him pull away, but it was only to gaze at her with a smile on his lips. His hot breath, a Fire Wizard’s breath, caressed her skin, seduced her senses, igniting her passions. “You’re the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Morgan smiled and traced her fingers over his mouth, aching for the moment when she could touch all of him. “It is the glamour. The spells.”
“’Tis not so. I see you clearly.”
Her hand trembled as fear seeped, threatening the euphoria. “Not possible.” A part of her hoped what he said was true. Hoped that the passionate way he looked at her was real. “Do you know my name?”
“Goddess.”
She almost cried in relief…or was it regret?
He kissed her tenderly. “I wish I knew your name.”
“Does it really matter?”
“I want it too.”
Morgan knew her heart would break from wanting him. He was different than before, she knew, as the fire between them became more intense, more explosive. If he burned through the spells and recognized her, the plan would fail. She had one chance to rescue those in her charge.
She wove a silent spell in the air, sighing when she felt a shift in Rowan’s gaze.
His voice filled with passion again as he winked playfully. “I have achieved the degree of Master of Pleasuring a Woman.”
She welcomed the lighthearted mood. She had been dangerously close to telling him her name.
She moistened her lips. “There are many ways a woman can feel pleasure.” She traced light kisses over his strong jaw. Her hands traveled under his shirt to the muscled planes of his chest. She wanted him naked. “Are you fond of your shirt, milord?”
