Highland Fires (15 page)

Her body urged her to go to the water and see
him for herself, yet her mind halted her. For a moment. The idea
that she might indeed glimpse his glorious naked body had her
nearly running to the loch.

When she arrived, she made sure to hide
behind a nearby tree as her eyes feasted on the hard planes of his
chest as he raised his arms to wash. Water glistened on his wide
shoulders and then rolled down to his chest to merge with the
loch.

He turned, and she watched as he lifted his
long length of hair and began to wash it as the muscles in his
back, shoulders and arms glistened in the fading light of day with
each movement.

She tried to swallow but found her mouth dry
as he dove under and she glimpsed his tight bottom before he
disappeared under the waters.

Her body hummed with untold and untried
desire. She wanted him like a body wanted breath. Her body pulsed,
her breasts ached and her nipples hardened. The desire was so
strong she couldn’t fight it. She slowly stood and walked to the
edge of the loch as he surfaced and faced her.

Their eyes connected and locked.

In an instant she recalled his kiss. A kiss
that had branded her, a kiss that had awoken her. A kiss that had
yet to be answered.

The water swirled and moved as Lugus walked
toward her. She let her eyes roam down his sculpted form from his
wide shoulders to his tight abdomen and then to his narrow hips
and....

She raised her gaze to his
when he stopped. His eyes never left her face, and she knew he
waited to see what she would do. Too many times she had offered
what he didn’t want, and though it was difficult she could no
longer offer it to him knowing he didn’t want
her
.

Ahryn felt tears sting her eyes as she turned
her back to Lugus and went to the horse. She ran her hands down the
black’s smooth coat while envisioning her hands running down Lugus’
body.

“Ahryn?”

She heard the worry in his voice but refused
to let him know just how much he affected her. “I didn’t mean to
interrupt your bath. Please continue.”

Her hands shook as she intertwined her
fingers in the black’s mane. She hated how her body betrayed her
with just a glimpse from Lugus, and no matter how much she told
herself he didn’t want her, her body wouldn’t listen.

“I’m finished,” Lugus said, fastening his
breeches as he stopped a hairsbreadth from her, his warm breath
fanning her neck.

She wasn’t able to control the shiver that
ran through her as she turned to face him. Water still dripped from
the ends of his flaxen hair to run down his chest into the waist of
his pants.

With a force of will she didn’t know she had,
Ahryn kept her hands to herself and raised her gaze to his face.
“Is the water nice?” She couldn’t believe her voice sounded as calm
as it did when she was aflutter inside.

His brow furrowed slightly before he took a
small step back and nodded.

“Thank you,” she said and moved past him. As
she kicked off her shoes, she looked over her shoulder to find him
watching her. “Could you please turn around?”

Lugus clenched his jaw at her icy tone and
put his back to her. He wasn’t sure what had happened, but suddenly
Ahryn wanted no part of him. He should be relieved, but in truth,
he was flummoxed. He had grown accustomed to her mystical blue eyes
holding passion and desire when she looked at him, and her full
dusky pink lips slightly parted as if she waited for his kiss.

For the life of him, he couldn’t understand
his bewilderment or her change in attitude. But he wouldn’t
question her. The sooner they reached the gateway, the sooner he
could return to his old way of life.

He glanced over his shoulder
to see Ahryn gliding gracefully across the water, and in a blink he
envisioned her at the great waterfall near
Caer Rhoemyr
where he had swam as a
child. The waterfall was a favorite of his, a place he had always
wanted to bring his mate, a place he would never see
again.

With a curse he turned away and tried to put
Ahryn out of his mind. After the rest and some food, it would be
time to get on their way again. They still had several hours of
travel time before they slept.

Lugus rubbed the black down and whispered
soothing words to it. When he was finished, he looked over to the
water and didn’t see Ahryn. Thinking she had already finished and
was dressing, he brought the black to the water to drink.

No sooner had the horse dipped his nose into
the water to drink than Ahryn rose from the depths like a goddess
with the water bubbling and churning around her. His eyes instantly
noticed her bare breasts before she dipped back into the water so
that only her head shown.

“I had thought you were done,” he said when
she noticed him.

She wiped the water from her face. “I was
underwater.”

“I noticed that.”

Tense silence stretched as the horse
continued to drink. Finally, the black raised his head and Lugus
led him away from the loch to give Ahryn some privacy.

He shifted and tried to relieve some of the
pressure from his now throbbing rod. The need had nearly overtaken
him again, just as it had when he had risen from the water to find
Ahryn standing before him.

For just a moment he had been sure he had
seen passion flare in her blue eyes as her gaze raked over him. He
had stood motionless, unable to move for fear that she would leave.
When he finally did move to her he had been surprised when she
turned away.

If he was honest with himself, he would admit
that he hadn’t known what he would have done had Ahryn not turned
away. He knew his body needed release and he was more than
attracted to her, but would he have taken her?

His eyes nearly rolled back into his head as
he imagined himself driving deeply into her tight, wet sheath with
her nails raking his skin as he brought her closer and closer to
her climax.

The image was so vivid and real that for a
moment Lugus couldn’t tell which was the fantasy and which was
genuine. He blinked and found the black staring at him as if he
knew what Lugus was going through.

“I know, lad,” he whispered as he scratched
the horse’s head. “Something needs to be done. And quickly.”

Lugus grabbed some food from the basket and
left the horse to graze while he went in search of Ahryn to break
their fast. He found her sitting near a tree as she worked her
fingers through the long, wet strands of her hair. Her eyes were
closed and a small smile pulled at her lips, and he found himself
wanting to know what could bring such a smile to her face.

“Tell me,” he whispered.

Her eyes jerked open in surprise, and her
hands stilled. “Tell you what?”

“Tell me,” he said as he set the food down
and knelt in front of her, “what you were thinking to bring such a
smile.”

She grinned and lowered her eyes. Her fingers
began to comb through her hair again. “I was recalling how my
mother used to gripe as she combed out my hair. It was forever
tangled, and I complained endlessly. She used to tell me that there
would come a day when I would wish she were combing it for me.”

“And today is that day?” he asked, liking how
she allowed him to glimpse into her past.

She laughed. “Oh, yes. It’s very difficult
with a comb much less without.”

“Let me,” he offered.

Chapter Fifteen

“But there’s no comb.”

Lugus held up his hands and wiggled his
fingers. “I’ve got these and you could use a break.”

“All right,” she said and scooted around
until her back was to him.

Lugus moved the food to the side and sat
cross legged behind her.

“Start at the bottom and work your way up.
It’s easier that way.”

He licked his lips and ran his fingers
through the bottom of her hair, immediately encountering a
knot.

She laughed and reached around for an oat
cake. “See?” she said.

He tried to gently work the tangle free and
was soon regretting that he offered.

“You need to be more aggressive with the
tangle, or it will never unloosen. Besides, you won’t hurt me.”

He was unsure of the last part considering
how big some of the tangles were, but he pulled a little hard and
was rewarded when the knot gave way.

After that he tackled tangle after tangle
until he was nearly to her neck. He ran his fingers from the hair
at her neck all the way to the bottom and heard her moan
softly.

He never imagined that a woman liked to have
hands ran through her hair and just to be sure he had actually
heard the moan, he did it again. He was rewarded with another soft
moan.

Lugus smiled and continued working out the
tangles. It didn’t take him long to work his way to her temples. By
the time he was moving his fingers from the crown of her head to
the ends, her head was thrown back and the ends brushed his
legs.

Time after time he would use both hands to
gently pull through the strands, and each time he could visibly see
Ahryn relax. He watched as she inhaled sharply when he massaged her
scalp, her lips parting and her breasts rising with each
breath.

With each run of his fingers, he slowly began
to pull Ahryn back against him until she rested her head on one of
his shoulders. He knew he shouldn’t tempt himself, but when it came
to Ahryn he could never think straight.

Suddenly, her eyes opened and she looked at
him. His mouth was near hers. All he had to do to taste her sweet
lips again was move his head a fraction of an inch.

His aching rod begged him to take her, but he
didn’t want to break the spell that held her soft body against him.
It felt so good to hold her that he was content to do just
that.

Lugus was prepared to stay there the entire
night, but the black had made his way over and nudged him.

“We’ve tarried here long enough,” Ahryn said
as she rose to her feet.

He raised his gaze as he stood and looked at
the darkening sky. “I suppose. I know you are anxious to reach the
gateway.”

“Just as you are anxious to return to your
life.”

Lugus nodded absently. “Have you considered
what may happen if we don’t reach the gateway?”

Her hand reached up and cupped his cheek. He
looked down to see her searching his face.

“Don’t say that. We will reach it. I know you
will never give up until we do.”

Her faith humbled him.

“Stop doubting yourself,” she said as she
pulled his head down towards her.

Lugus’ body came alive. His blood pounded in
his ears as he glanced at her inviting mouth. For several moments
they stared at each other until she suddenly moved away. He sighed
and watched as she gathered the remaining food.

“You haven’t eaten,” she said and held the
food she had gathered out to him.

He waved away the offered food, his mind on
other things. “I’ll eat later.”

She nodded and stuffed it into the small
basket. When she was finished he lifted her atop the black, handed
her the basket and vaulted onto the horse behind her.

Her soft body pressed back against him was
nearly his undoing. Just moments before they had nearly kissed, and
with his body already inflamed it was all he could do not to nuzzle
her neck or run his hands across her velvety skin.

Using his iron will that had gotten him
through the endless millennia of the Realm of Shadows, he was
determined to forget about his need and growing attraction to
Ahryn. In a day or so they should reach the gateway and she would
be gone out of his life forever.

And somehow that made him sad.

She had managed to fill his days with more
adventure and excitement than he had seen in more than five years.
He hadn’t realized until he had been around her just how much he
had hated being alone, though he had chosen his own state.

Whenever he tried to think of how his life
would be once she was back in the Fae realm, he saw only
bleakness.

He jerked his mind back to the present. The
black was making steady headway following the coast. Ahryn shifted
and unknowingly rubbed her firm bottom against his rod. Lugus
couldn’t stop the hiss of pleasure that escaped his lips. Before
she could turn around and ask him what was wrong, he nudged the
horse into a canter which had her holding onto the black’s mane for
dear life.

The rest of the night was spent in silence as
Lugus contemplated his attraction to Ahryn and her sudden
withdrawal from him. He had told himself at first that his
attraction was because he hadn’t bedded a woman in years and needed
release, but now he wasn’t so sure. And the more he thought about
it, the more confused he became.

He alternated walking and galloping the
black, which let them cover a lot of ground. By the time they
stopped just a few hours before dawn, Lugus knew that they had
traveled twice as far as he had hoped.

With a gentle pull on the reins, Lugus
stopped the black and held onto Ahryn’s arm as he lowered her to
the ground. He slid off the horse and walked the animal to a small
shelter of trees and gave him a thorough rubdown.

When he was finished he turned and found
Ahryn staring at the sea, her fair locks blowing in the breeze. She
looked lonely and isolated, and he had the sudden urge to take her
in his arms and comfort her.

The jingle of her slave bracelet caught his
attention, and he followed her arm as she raised it to brush hair
from her face. Lugus knew she would have to see Theron and tell him
of the bracelet so other Fae could be warned in case there were
other Celtic slave bracelets out there. Which meant she would tell
Theron he helped her.

Lugus wished she would omit his part in the
tale, but he knew she wouldn’t. For some reason she had gotten it
in her mind that all she would have to do is talk to Theron and
everything would be set right. Only Lugus knew better.