"What are ye doin'?" she managed to get out before getting cut off by Killian's tongue pressing against the tender bulb of flesh between her legs. "Oh my."
"I said daenae move," Killian warned as he hooked his arms around her legs. The sensation rippling through Leah's body was more than she had expected. It was as if Killian had found some way to dislocate her from the rest of her being. His tongue moved with precision and pressure, nudging just the right places to make Leah's legs twitch.
"Give yerself over to me," Killian whispered as his lips caressed her inner thigh. He could have been asking her for her firstborn son for all she knew. Whatever Killian desired, Leah was more than willing to hand over to him.
As the fire crackled in the hearth, casting flickering shadows around the room, Leah knew they were stepping into unchartedterritory—a journey that would bind them together in ways neither had anticipated. And she was ready to explore every thrilling moment.
"Aye," Leah whispered as her body trembled and quivered with each kiss Killian gave her.
"Daenae say it if ye daenae mean it," Killian said as he poked his head up from between her legs. The suddenness of his absence sent Leah's body into a frenzy. "Say ye’re mine."
"Aye, Killian, I'm yers."
17
"Ye'll do this boy, or so help me."
Killian's eyes widened with fear as he stole a step back. His father towered over him, the steel of the dirk in his hand shimmering with the reflection of the flames from the fireplace. Swallowing hard, Killian shook his head.
"I will nae," Killian shouted. "Ye cannae make me, nae any more. I'll nae do this, Faither."
"Ye’re weak, just like yer maither. She was nothin' but a weak thin' I could snap like a twig. I should have done it meself. But yer brother has come into this world a killer as is tradition."
The spark of malice in his father's eyes twisted like a dagger in Killian's heart. He had only ever seen the darkness before. A shimmer here, a glimmer there in the depths of his father's eyes. But seeing just how sinister the man really was snapped something within Killian.
"Ye'll nae touch him," Killian growled and took his position. "Ye hear me? Ye willnae get yer hands on Mason, I'll nae allow it."
"And ye think ye can stop me? Let us see how far ye come from yer first lesson. Ye take me down, and I'll spare yer brother. But ye'll only be doin' him a disservice. He's already got blood on his hands, just as ye do, wee lad," Killian's father hissed as Killian glanced at the swords hanging on the wall over the fireplace mantel.
"I'll nae see me brother become the man ye want him to be. His fate will be different," Killian vowed as he noticed his father readying himself for the attack.
"Ye cannae beat me, lad."
"We'll see about that."
Killian's heart crashed relentlessly against its bony cage. His eyes popped open as his fingers instinctively curled around the worn leather hilt of the dirk he had stashed under the mattress. Shooting up from the pillow, Killian sucked down the cool pre-dawn air. The icy air was like a jolt to the body.
Killian ran his fingers through his shaggy hair as he tried to quell the violent images of his dream. Oh, how the dream had been all too real. He couldn't explain how it managed to stir up the contemptuous dark things he had chained to the darkest recesses of his mind.
Searching the shadows, Killian hunted for the threat as he tried regulating his breathing. The silvery light of the moon shimmered off the steel of his dirk. As he took a deep breath to steady his nerves, his gaze scanned the darkened room. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the faint moonlight streaming through the curtains around the window.
In the corner of his eye, Killian could have sworn the shadows appeared to writhe and twist on the walls like living things. He felt a shiver run down his spine as he realized there was no one there. No assassin, no threat. Just the quiet of the night and the steady breathing of Leah beside him.
Killian gently stroked her hair, which was flowing over the pillow. The peace and tranquility that came over him looking at her was undeniable. She had the ability to banish every monster that lurked in the back of his mind. A smile pulled at the corners of his lips as Leah stirred beside him, her soft voice breaking the silence.
"Killian, what's wrong? Ye’re shakin' like a leaf in the wind, ye all right?" She rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she slowly rose. The last thing he wanted was for her to be troubled. He'd bedded her so well before they went to sleep that he found it a pity she wasn't still in that delirious slumber. The panic that flickered across her face made his heart skip. Her eyes shot to the dirk still in his hand. "Killian?"
"It was a bad dream," he confessed as he relaxed his hand and put the dirk on the small table by his bedside. "Go back to sleep, lass."
But Leah's eyes were already open, her gaze fixed on him with concern. "Ye’re nae fine, Killian. Ye’re as jumpy as a cat in a barrel of oats What is goin' on? Ye can talk to me, ye ken that."
Killian sighed, rubbing his temples. He didn't want to burden her with his troubles, but he couldn't shake the nagging in the pit of his stomach that someone was watching him, as if waiting for the perfect moment to strike. "Ye need nae trouble yerself over such matters. Go on and get some sleep. Ye're goin' to need it come mornin'."
Leah's expression softened, and she reached out to touch his arm. "I understand if ye daenae want to talk to me, but clearly there is somethin' big troublin' ye and ye got to get it off yer chest or it'll eat ye alive."
Killian's gaze met hers, and the spark of gratitude brewing within him expanded. He couldn't shake the feeling that he could lay his soul bare to Leah, and she'd be as gentle with him as he needed. But could she handle his troubles? It wasn't like he could go to anyone and discuss such matters. It was bad enough that his men thought of him as a bit touched in the head, but to bring this new suspicion to their attention would only cause him problems.
"Perhaps," Killian answered as he rubbed the back of his neck to ease the mounting tension.
