I slipped my hands down his side, curled my fingers around his black cotton shirt, and then yanked it over hishead.
Pulling back, he grinned down at me. He swayed a little, too. Or was that me? “Well, then. Someone sure does know what shewants.”
“I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life.” I heard the words coming out of my mouth almost as though they were coming from someone else. It was as if a deep dark part of me had sprang to life, quashing down any and all caution. Logic had no place in my mind, not anymore. I wrapped my legs around Lugh’s hips and pulled him down to the floor on top ofme.
He growled and ran his hot mouth along my neck. Shivers raced through me, causing me to arch my back. My hands found his chest. I ran my fingers along the ridges of his washboard abs, his perfectly-sculpted pecs. His skin was smooth and hot and flickering with a magic that shot new waves of desire through mycore.
I had not been lying when I’d said I was certain I wanted him. What was this Sapphire stuff? Some sort of truth potion? I knew it enhanced libido, but it was more than that. It was as if all my fears were suddenly gone. All that was left was the truth of what I really wanted deep downinside.
I slid my hands down his chest and fumbled with the button on his jeans. For a moment, Lugh froze, his breath puffing in front of me. And then slowly, almost excruciatingly, he reached down and wrapped his hands around my wrists. Wetting my lips, I flicked my gaze to watch his next movement. He pulled my arms over my head and pinned them to theground.
Arching over me, he stared down into my eyes, his own flashing with the same need churning through me. His pupils were heavily dilated; his cheeks were flushed with a deep crimson. He looked high. Hell, I probably did,too.
“What are you doing?” I whispered. “Kissme.”
And so he did. His lips pressed against mine, softer this time. His mouth speared mine, his tongue diving against my own. Moaning, I melted against him, wanting nothing more than to feel his lips on my body for as long as Icould.
A little voice whispered in the back of my head, but I blocked it out. There was something I was forgetting. Something we were supposed to be doing. But whatever. I didn’t care about that. All I cared about wasLugh.
My core ached from desire, and I arched my back to grind against hiships.
With a gasping breath, he pulled back and shook his head. For a moment, his eyes cleared, as if he’d shaken the Sapphire right out of his mind. “We need tostop.”
“No,” I murmured, reaching out for him. I, on the other hand, couldn’t shake the Sapphire, and I didn’t care one bit. Not when Lugh’s body was pressed so tightly againstmine.
He leaned down, growled, and nipped my ear. “I don’t want it to be like this, drugged out of our minds. When I finally have you as mine, I want to be one-hundred percent in charge of what I’m doing. And I want you to know I mean it when I say I’ve never wanted anyonemore.”
He stood and grabbed his shirt from the floor. That was when we heard thescream.
14
The scream joltedme out of my Sapphire reverie. In a split second, I was on my feet and racing down the hallway behind Lugh. He tore out of the building and into the square where the twins were circling the area, swords raised high in theair.
“What happened?” he barked, his spear in his hands, even though I’d never seen him reach forit.
Warin spun on his feet, eyes flashing this way and that. “We heard a scream. Sounded like Saoirse. I don’t know how they got byus.”
Lugh swore. I knew what he was thinking. I was thinking it, too. If we hadn’t been so distracted by our...ahem, activities, then we would have been on the lookout. We would have likely seen the attacker lurkingaround.
Distracted...
Frowning, I glanced up at Lugh. He met my eyes, his expressiongrim.
Of course. That Sapphire hadn’t just appeared out of thin air, after all. It had been meant as a distraction, a way to keep us from peering out the window. We’d been tricked, and we’d fallen forit.
“You two search that way.” Lugh jerked his head in the direction of the western defences and the cliff wall that plunged down toward the city. “Moira, you’re with me. We need to find Saoirse.Now.”
Just as I started to jog across the courtyard, the hobgoblin stumbled out of the shadows, blood dripping down his side. He fell to his knees, yellow-green eyes wide as he gasped forair.
With a shout, Lugh launched toward him. He skidded to a stop by his side and scooped the little creature up into his arms. His ears flicked back, and his oversized feet flopped as if the life had gone right out of him. My mouth went dry as I watched Lugh run out of the courtyard. Blood dripped onto the cobblestones with every step hetook.
“Where are you going?” I jogged to keepup.
“I have to get him to the healers.” Lugh tossed the words over his shoulder. “He can’t heal like we can. Search forSaoirse.”
Dread crept through me as I watched Lugh disappear around the side of the building, heading in the direction of the healing ward. I spun to glance behind me. The twins had already disappeared, searching their end of the courtyard forSaoirse.
It was just me out here. All alone to face the enemy. Judging from the wound in the hobgoblin’s side, they were very mucharmed.
