Shatter - Sins of the Sidhe (25 page)

Her words were so confusing to him. All he could do was stare at her. She was blazing mad, her face scrunched up in a snarl, fists by her side. She was pure hellfire.

Rowan squared her shoulders, “If you don’t want me anymore, then fine, I’ll go pack my own things. I wouldn’t want you to be troubled by the likes of me.” She stormed past him and started down the hill. She wanted to get as much distance as she could between them because her bravado was crumbling and she was going to cry. No sense in looking even more pathetic to him. A girl has to have some dignity.

Devlin stood for a second, replaying her words in his head
. If you don’t want me anymore.
By Danu, how could she think he wouldn’t want her? How could she think that he was the one who had any say in the affairs of his heart? It belonged to her the minute he’d seen her in her studio. He knew that very second that his roaming this earth was always for the purpose of finding her.

Devlin ran Sidhe-style after her and beat her to his house. He was at the garden gate when he saw her break though the trees, tears trailing down her face and mumbling to herself. She stopped when she saw him and backed away and sprinted for the front of the cottage. Knowing she was going to the front, he beat her again. She tried to turn and run around the other side of the house again but he was faster.

“Damnit, Devlin! Let me go!” She stomped her feet and ran hands angrily through her hair. She was quickly wiping tears away so he wouldn’t see them.

“Nay lass, I canna.” He came up to her slowly, for fear she’d bolt again, “I have failed ye, Rowan. I couldna protect ye.”

Well, wasn’t that chivalrous. Rowan was not impressed. “I don’t need protecting, Devlin.”

“Aye, ye do.” Pausing, Devlin relived the moments again in his head, rage and terror pulsing in his veins. “To see ye screaming and crying and me with no way to get to ye, I have failed. When we joined, I thought that the Gods had bestowed their greatest gift to me.”

Rowan let out a snort of disgust and tried to turn away.

He stepped closer to her. “‘Tis not my Sidhe magic of which I speak, Rowan. ‘Tis you. ”

Rowan didn’t say a word. She wanted to scream, run, hide and kiss him. The mixture of urges was enough to drive her off a ledge. Glaring at him in front of her, she saw he was every bit as broken as her heart was. She didn’t know what to do about that, so she did nothing.

“I am sworn to protect, my lady. My life as a Druid has been long, hard, and filled with strife. I’ve fought many battles in my lifetime, but none like the one ye fought on your own yesterday. I threw ye to the wolves, and without armor or weapon. Ye were vulnerable, unprotected, and alone. All of that was my doing. I am the Devil himself.”

Oh poor, poor pitiful him. Rowan was still not impressed. “Listen Sir Lancelot, I’m not in need of protection. I don’t want someone to fight for me.”

His head hung low, defeated and surrendered. It made her more annoyed.

“Damnit Devlin! I want someone to fight
with
me.”

Eyes full of shame and despair, he let out a shuddering breath, her bravery was immense and his heart swelled from it till he thought he’d choke. Rowan took a step closer and glowered at him.

“If you don’t want to fight beside me, I understand. I don’t blame you actually. But you’re not the Devil. I’ve seen the Devil, and trust me…” but before she could finish her sentence, he was on her. His hands cupped her face while he came in for a crushing kiss. There was no room for breathing or thinking. She met his lips with the same passion and all those unspoken words blew six ways to the wind.

Overcome with emotions, Rowan cried as he broke from her lips to kiss her head, cheeks, face, chin and all the spaces in between. He scooped her up and kicked open the entrance to his house and carried her inside.

Devlin held his brave little warrior, crying and clinging to him, into his bedroom. He laid her on the bed like a porcelain doll, for truth she looked so fragile in that moment. He wiped away her tears, cooing to her in old Gaelic. “Shhh,
mo chroí
.” He kissed her head again and wiped the straggling hairs away from her face. “I’ll not be letting ye go. I canna bear the thought of living without ye. If… ye will still have me.” He waited for the crushing blow of her denial.

Rowan looked at him with red-rimmed eyes and then she turned her head away. “How can you want me now?”

Did he hear that right? “Lass, how can ye ask such a thing?”

But she, too, remembered yesterday and Brinley’s words during their fight at the dinner table. Rowan was ashamed. She felt dirty. Words started pouring out of her mouth a mile a minute and her body curled into defense mode.

“I’m so sorry Devlin. I can’t explain what happened. I couldn’t control myself. The whole time my mind was screaming for it to stop, but my body wouldn’t. It was horrifying. I feel awful and disgusting.” She pulled away then and stared away from the man she loved. Yes, loved. She was hiding behind her protective barrier again; the walls were going back up.

Her words were heartrending but he’d not let her hide in shame, there was nothing for her to be ashamed of. “Aye lass. ‘Twas maddening for us both. But I ken ye had no control. It was obvious. When ye screamed out, your skin was on fire and ye wouldna open your eyes. I tried everything I could think of but couldna reach ye. It was as if ye were lost to me.” Pulling her face back to look at his, “I’ll not be losing ye again.”

A vow he’d make and will keep at any cost.

He kissed her gently. Lips touching and caressing. After a few gentle kisses, a flash of her tongue on his lips sent him the signal for more. A sense of urgency started to grow between them and before long they were lost in each other.

Rowan slipped his shirt off and tossed it on the floor. Running his hand through his long hair, he looked nervous. She, too, was a mix of nerves and needs. Rowan’s eyes raked over his body hungrily and she then took her own shirt off.

He pilfered her mouth, neck, and worked his way lower. Unzipping her pants, she hoisted her hips up so that they were easier to take off. Her body shook, but whether it was rage, sadness, fear or desire, Devlin couldn’t tell. She was fraught with emotions and he could taste them all like bittersweet ale. He wanted to make her feel better, give her tenderness, give her love.

He started at her ankles and kissed his way up her calf. Licking the back of her knee next, he blew cold breath on her and watched as her flesh puckered from the chills rippling over her body. She let out a little giggle and he smiled whiskey eyes at her.

He worked at a torturous pace. Slowly lapping up her sweet taste, he went further towards the slight mound at the meeting of her thighs. Peeling away lavender lace, he nuzzled her pink folds and kissed them teasingly. With a whimper of surrender, she’d come undone.

He stopped his sensuous torture, for the moment, and climbed further up her body. Laying sweet kisses on her stomach and sides, he worked his way up to her bra. It fastened in the front, and with a swift tug, her mounds were set free. Rowan squirmed enough for the lacey thing to fall off her shoulders and she threw it over her head. Ever so slowly, he licked and pulled at her puckered nipples that were offered. Her breasts were magnificent. Truly it was as if they were made to fit perfectly in his hands. Firm and full, they heaved with every breath she took. He licked the space between them and up to her neck. He was growing into a hungry wild beast with want of her. His urge to claim her again had him feeling crazed and he was trying to control it.

The thought came into her mind like a comet burning through the sky. She wanted closeness, the binding and unbreakable kind. She wanted to be claimed, claimed again by Devlin and no other. Sensing his need, instincts had her grabbing the back of his head and forcing his mouth closer to the vein in her neck. He didn’t question or hesitate as he bit down and moaned when her blood flowed like liquid light into his mouth. Her legs wrapped around his body and she held on for dear life as she gave and he took. She surrendered to him fully. Her walls crashed back down.

Releasing his bite, he looked at her and was lost in the moors of her eyes. Magic swirled in the air and inside them. It was a pull and push, like waves in the ocean. He wanted her so badly it was hard to go so slow. But he didn’t want to spook her. He wanted to give her kindness and tenderness where yesterday she’d had none. His shaft was pounding with impatience, but he kept it in check. There’d be no releasing it unless she asked. Today, he wanted to worship her like she deserved.

“I want you, Devlin.”

“Shhh,
a
ghrá”

This slow and tender stuff was getting harder. Another moan escaped her lips as he nibbled her ear. He so badly wanted to have self-control, but it was dwindling fast with every moan she made, her blood in him pulsing like wild magic, calling to him, making him want more of her.

Rowan was a quivering ball of nerves. Every lick, every caress just brought her closer and closer to her breaking point. She wanted him inside her. Wanted to feel his long hard heat enter her and take her far away from everything. Her mind was whirling, body aching, eyes blazing, she did the first thing that came to mind: Rowan turned to his neck and bit him. She had no fangs, but her urge for something hot and fleshy in her mouth was all too strong in that moment. She was turning into a wild animal in that bed. Mindless, primal, and feral.

Devlin let out a loud hiss and then ground his hips into her when she bit down hard and sharp. Her bite was unexpected and more than welcomed, causing his desire for her to burst out of him and fill the room with a rich heady fragrance.

Rowan breathed in deep, letting his scent fill her lungs. It grounded her. Devlin was the rich and steady earth and she wanted to sink into him. She needed more. More of him… all of him. Rowan wanted him to fill her up, break her down, and remake her. She was his and no one else’s.

“Devlin, fill me up. Fill me up, please. I want to feel nothing but you in me.”

Self-control was a thing of the past on those pleading words. Lifting himself onto his knees, he got out of his pants in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. Propping up on top of her, he rested the head of his shaft against her hot sex and slowly pushed his way in. He went slow, deep, and deliberate.
He filled her up
.

Crying out, Rowan clawed into his shoulders and the two of them rocked their hips in slow unison. With every thrust he gave, she yearned for more. Devlin’s pace was slow and deep. He rocked harder and harder and she met each thrust with a writhe and a whimper. Hips rising to meet every move he made inside her, Rowan’s climax peaked and then released on a cry.
He broke her down
.

Hearing Rowan lose her control, Devlin lost his own. His pace began to quicken, thrusts going deeper, the buildup of pleasure growing stronger, until he thought they’d both explode. Their orgasms were earth shattering. Wave after wave of pleasure, there seemed to be no end in sight. Hours passed and still they did not stop. Their bodies melded as one, neither letting go, and all they could do was hold on while they gave and took and yearned for more. Every touch branded, every kiss sealed, every sigh confirmed, they let go of everything except each other.
He remade her.

Collapsing, it took Devlin a few seconds for the stars in front of his eyes to dissipate. He felt dizzy and his heart thumped loudly in his ears. He’d never felt something like that before in all his days. ‘Twas remarkable, really. They’d bound so tightly together this day, there’d be no prying them apart.

“Talk about kissing and making up,” Ro said and she gently scratched his back and arms. He slid out of her reluctantly and kissed her while he stared at her emerald eyes. She was herself once more and he was relieved to see it.

“Aye, that was almost worth getting into another fight for.”

They stayed in bed for a while, each lost in kisses and thoughts. Devlin flicked his hands and lit a fire in the small hearth on the far side of his bedroom. It was lunchtime by the sounds of Rowan’s stomach, but she wasn’t hungry for food. She was so content in his strong arms, she wasn’t going anywhere. Not even for Nora’s cooking.

Stretched out next to him, one leg draped over his, Rowan lazily dragged her fingertips up and down his forearm. She thought about how fast all of this was moving, even though it didn’t feel that way. It was strange really, she felt like she’s known him forever, all his memories now in her head. Yet, she didn’t know the simple basics. What was his favorite color? What was his favorite song? Favorite dessert? Hell, talk about simple basics, she wasn’t even sure he knew her full name. Playfully gliding her fingers down his arm, she noticed all the fine little dark hairs and smoothness of his muscle and heaved a sigh while she contemplated.

“Blue, Wild Rover, and ye are my favorite dessert, Rowan Elizabeth Hayes.”

Well that was unexpected.

He kissed her head and laughed. “I’m sorry lass, ‘tis just that ye were rambling so loud in your head I couldna help but listen.”

Rowan looked up startled, “You can hear my thoughts?”

“Aye lass. And ye can do the same with me. ‘Tis one more boon from our joining. Dinna worry, I’ll teach ye.” He kissed her hand.

Well that sounded fun and interesting, but a little worrisome. Once again, they were on uneven ground and Rowan was edgy about it. “Tell me someth
ing,” she demanded.