Freeing a Tiger's Soul (Tiger Series) (11 page)

His roar was deafening in the stillness of the morning, but neither of them cared.  They fell together and held on for long moments before either of them could find the strength so speak.

“
That was amazing Euan.”

“Aye it was lass.”  Euan grinned like a boy and kissed Krisi’s swollen lips.

“I think everyone will know what we have been doing.”  Krisi said as her cheeks pinked.

“Aye they most likely will.  Do ye care so much?”

“Nay.  I would like to do it again.”

Euan groaned even as he grinned and hopped from the bed.  “Ye’ll kill me with yer wonton ways wench!”

Euan pulled Krisi to her feet and swatted her backside as she reached for her dressing gown.  She laughed delighted with the unexpected privacy and the closeness she felt with Euan.

They joined Serina and Owen in the sitting room and both women blushed as Euan grinned widely and Owen scowled.  No one spoke as Krisi and Euan filled their plates with bread and cheese and began to eat.

It wasn’t until their plates were clean that Owen finally spoke up.

“This will never work.”  He ran his hands over his face.

All eyes turned to him.

“I cannot do this every night.  I will go mad!”

Serina’s eyes widened and tears filled them.  “I did not know holding me would torture you so.”

“Well, it does, but not in the way ye think.  I want to touch ye lass and love ye the way Euan was, obviously, loving Krisi.”

The women’s faces grew pink again and Euan’s grin split his face
.

“Owen, ye don’t have to spend the night with us.”  Euan said quietly.

Owen narrowed his eyes on Euan.  “I think we both ken I do.  I have heard of the things you use to do with women.  It was nothing for ye and yer brother to take two or three women to bed at a time.  I ken that ye are mated, but she is not like us.”  He waved his hand toward Krisi.  “Who knows what the mating will be like?  Maybe ye can still have other women.  My cat would not accept that.”

Krisi paled and Euan’s chest rumbled.

“I will not be unfaithful to my mate.  We are mated the same as any other and I am not physically able to take another.  As for the thing my brother and I did with women?  They are probably true.  That was before Krisi and I don’t care to discuss it further.”  Euan’s voice was quiet as he spoke, but the menace in his words was clear.

Owen was breathing hard, but he didn’t say any more.

Serina broke the thick silence.  “Does your cat have more control?”  She asked Owen.

“Aye.”  He answered as he eyed her questioningly.

“That could be our answer.  I must help Euan.  It is my destiny to do so and it will mean a great deal to our people.”  Her face hardened for a moment.  “Owen, it will do you good to remember that I am partly Fairborn as well and I will not accept less than a full mating from you when the time comes.”

Owen’s face took on an ashen color as he realized that he had not only insulted Krisi, but also Serina with his comment.

“I did not mean that the way it sounded.”

“I should hope not.”  Serina said sharply as she stood and made her way into the bedroom to dress.

Owen
buried his face in his hands.

“’Tis a good idea.”  Euan said. 

Owen looked up.

“Yer cat can sleep with her and keep her safe.”

Owen nodded and left the sitting room to go to his own and dress.

Krisi and Euan were left alone in the cozy sitting room.  Euan felt her desire reaching out to him and he met her glowing eyes.

“I want you Euan.”

He grinned and pulled her into his arms again.

17

It took more than a month for the darkne
ss to leave Euan enough for him
to attempt to be apart
from Serina
for any time at all.  In that time he had to be constantly within arm’s reach of Serina.
  He hungered for his mate with a hunger that threatened to consume him.  They had been alone for only a few short minutes a day, and Euan wanted a deeper connection.  He wanted to hold Krisi in his arms.  He enjoyed their stolen moments together, but he yearned for more.

The constant closeness of the four of them was making everyone fractious.  The girls bickered and grumbled.  The guys became hostile several times.  Krisi and Euan wanted nothing more than to close themselves off and make love for a week or two.  Owen was frustrated and Serina was confused by her feelings.

Today they had all planned to test Euan and see if the darkness was lessening within him.  They were all looking forward to a day away from the others.  Krisi had planned a picnic in her room and Owen planned to train while Serina spent the day with her mother.

Krisi blushed as she sat the basket on the small table in her room.  Euan took her in his arms and began kissing her the moment the door was bolted behind them.

“Krisi, I need ye love.
  Let the food wait.
”

Krisi welcomed the warmth of his arms.  They tore at each other’s clothing until they both stood naked and breathless before the fire.

Euan’s eyes burned Krisi’s skin as he raked her body with his gaze.

“Ye are the most beautiful creature I have ever laid eyes on.”  He said with reverence.

Krisi couldn’t speak as she took in his muscled body.  He was not as thickly muscled as some of the other men, but he was lithely built with well-defined muscles rather than bulk.  She felt her body heat with desire and she reached out and ran her hands along his chest.
  The springy mat of hair tickled her palm as she buried her fingers in its softness.

“I love you Euan. 
I love the way you make me feel.  I love the way you warm me from the inside out and I love the way you love me too.”  She continued to caress his wide chest as she spoke.  She was rewarded with the sight of him growing as she let her eyes study his most intimate part.

“Ye’re killing me lass.”  Euan said in a low growl.

Krisi looked up, surprised by his gravelly voice.

“I want you Euan.”

Euan needed no further encouragement.  He scooped her up and laid her out on the bed.  He didn’t take the time to admire the curtains or the soft bedding.  All he wanted to concentrate on was the pale skinned woman before him.  He allowed his eyes to travel hungrily over her body as his hands
caressed her.  He bent to her and allowed his lips to taste and nip every inch of her flesh.  He couldn’t get enough of her.  The taste of her sweet flesh called to a part of him deep down inside and he was suddenly starving for more of her.

Krisi pushed into his mind and found no darkness, just an all-encompassing desire that took her breath away.  How could he want her so much?”

“You are my mate.”  He said simply as if it explained everything.  He placed his hands on Krisi’s knees and pushed them apart.  Then he sank to his belly and satisfied his hunger.

It seemed like hours before Krisi saw his face above her and felt his thick shaft sink into her body.  She quivered from his assault on her body and wanted more.  He wasn’t gentle with her either.  He pounded into her and she screamed in her passion.  Pleasure crashed on her as she felt
him tunneling into her
body
.  Just as her body began to clamp down on his invading member she felt the first spurts of his seed as he filled her with his life giving essence.

They spent the entire day in bed. 
They couldn’t get enough of each other
.  They tasted and touched until they knew every inch of the other’s body. 

It was hours later when their hunger for anything other than each other began to become apparent. 
They gathered the food and ate it while propped up in bed.

“I have never stayed in bed all day.”  Krisi said as she licked her fingers.

“’Twill not be the last time ye do so.  If I have my way I will keep you in bed for days at a time.”  Euan said as he ran his tongue against her glistening lips.  “I think I will start today and maybe I will be done with ye in a few days.”

Krisi giggled as she was enclosed in his strong arms again.
  He loved her until she was too exhausted to lift her lids.  She fell into a deep sleep with her head pillowed on his warm chest.

Nothing had seemed so bright in good in all of Euan’s life. 
He lay in bed with Krisi draped across his chest.  The sun was sinking in the sky and the last rays lay across the bed and made Krisi’s hair glisten
like silver. 

He sighed with contentment even as he felt the darkness creeping into his mind.
  He knew he had stolen this day and it was ending with the return of the evil in his mind.

“Krisi we need to get up.”

She met his eyes and saw his fear there.

“How bad is it Euan?”

He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.  “Not so bad yet.  It is getting better.”

Krisi nodded and
quickly climbed fro
m the bed to dress.

18

They found Serina with her mother in the sewing
room.  They were working on an
int
r
icate tapestry and Euan just settled down in the corner to watch them.  He didn’t need to touch Serina.  He just needed to be close to her.

Krisi sat down at the spinning wheel and got to work.  No one spoke.  Everyone knew the situation and words were not necessary.

It was almost an hour before Amelia stood. 

“I think things are getting better.  You are able to be apart for much longer now than you were.”

Euan nodded, but couldn’t find the words to speak.  He felt like a failure each time the darkness forced him back to Serina.
  He should be able to fight it by now.

Serina stood in front of him when he looked up.  She wore a serine smile.

“This is not your fault Euan.  It is a pleasure to help you through this.  Do not feel like you are failing.  This is more than most men would be able to withstand for a few moments and you have done so for many years.  You are a great man Euan.”

Euan gazed into her blue eyes so much like Krisi’s and remembered that Serina was more than she seemed.

“How can ye say such a thing.  This is taking far longer than I thought it would.  We are all suffering because I am too weak to fight this evil.”

“Nay Euan.  There is a reason for all things.  We do not have the right to question the will of God.  Your strength grows with each day.  You are being prepared.”

Euan frowned.  He did not want to be prepared for greater hardships.

“Nay.”  Serina’s laughter tinkled through the air like bells on the breeze.  “Why do ye always assume the worst?  I think you are being prepared to receive a great reward for your troubles.”  She sat on the cold stone floor beside Euan and took his large hand in hers.

“Euan, I don’t believe you understand what has happened to you.  When the darkness was forced into Krisi’s body, by the blood of the dark one, it threatened to take her very soul into eternal darkness.  Eva and Cara joined together with their unborn children to bring her back to the light, but a small portion of the darkness remained for her to fight.  It would remain with her as a reminder of what she had escaped from.  For one of the Fairborn it would have been a death sentence.  Her kind is pure and the taint of the darkness would have shriveled her soul and killed her.”

She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.  “I believe that part of you knew this to be true even if your conscience self did not.  I believe that your spirit took that darkness from her soul and you fought it for her because yo
u knew in your spirit that if you did not your mate would die and suffer greatly.”

Euan looked up when he heard a gasp escape Krisi’s lips.  Tears streamed down her pale face as she stared at him in disbelief.

Euan opened his arms to his mate and she tumbled into their comforting warmth.

“None of this would have listened if I had listened to Karic and come to the keep.  I was so young and I thought I could fight as well as the others.”  Krisi sobbed.

“Krisi.  It is my understanding that you killed the evil that infected the land.  It was an act that no other could accomplish.  Do not regret your actions.”  Serina spoke in a soothing tone that spoke of power she was not supposed to have.

Euan looked to Serina.  “There is still much evil in this land.  What she killed was only a portion.”

Serina nodded.

Ramsey McKenzie carries evil within him.  He must be stopped as well.”

“Yes Euan and he will be stopped, but that is not your battle.  There is another that must rid the land of that taint.  There are many who carry the dark blood inside of them though.  You will know them now.  Your spirit will speak to you of the character of the people surrounding you.  It will be a useful gift.  You will retain the ability to sense illness and the ability to know how to heal it.  This will serve as a gift once the darkness is conquered.  It will serve you instead of try to rule you.”