Shatter - Sins of the Sidhe (8 page)

Her farmhouse was small and old.
It was startling to realize how close Adam’s house was to hers. Rowan had been right under his nose; well, when Adam was in town at least.
Although, by his preferred way of travel, Ireland was still less than an hour from here. Anyway you look at it, the gem they’d been searching for had been within reach for years, a fact Adam was slightly annoyed at the Gods for.

Adam walked into the small home and was greeted by the welcoming smell of herbs coming from handmade candles that were everywhere, waiting to be lit. He felt crammed in her small house, his body large and presence larger, he stood very still while his eyes roamed, taking in the surroundings.

The tiny kitchen barely had enough space for two people to fit at the same time, and it still managed to boast a double oven. By the Gods, the woman must really love food for all that. The floor plan was open but tiny. There was a woodstove against the wall in the middle of the house, definitely used for heat and not ambiance. There was a small couch and glass coffee table that was brightly swirled with hues of greens, blues and violets. Adam assumed it was one of Rowan’s own creations and was impressed with her skill. The bedroom was in the very back of the first floor, and Rowan went into her room and shut the door. Message received, Adam waited out in the living room area.

Running her fingers through her hair, Rowan felt rushed but really wasn’t. Adam didn’t say anything on the way here, just listened to her directions on which ways to turn. Outside, the light was fading and the sun seemed to sink faster by the minute and for some stupid reason that had Rowan in a bit of a panic tonight.

She grabbed a paisley patterned bag (birthday present last year, courtesy of her mother) that had purple and red funky flowers all over it and started stuffing it with jeans, shirts, a hoodie, socks and some bras. Adam told her to pack light so she hoped like hell that wherever they were going there’d be a place to do her laundry. Speaking of which, best change out of the clothes she was in. Rowan wasn’t much of a runner, and scared as she was with all the whiskey in her system she was a sloppy runner at that. Fell down, tripped and tumbled more than ran in those woods behind the manor, and now her jeans had another rip in them and her shirt was all muddy.

Ro grabbed a pair of black skinny jeans, a House of Blues shirt with a sugar skull on it she got from a girl’s weekend in Atlantic City, tugged on some long socks and black riding boots. Then she marched into the bathroom, washed the dirt off her face, and grabbed a brush, mascara (a necessity in any situation), her toothbrush and birth control.

Grabbing a handful of hair ties and using one immediately, she strolled out of her bedroom and back to where Adam was standing by the front door. He looked at what she had with her: one bag. His eyebrow shot up with approval. Impressive. For most women “packing light” meant two suitcases, a carryon, a purse and a tote bag. Rowan was not your average woman. Thank Danu for small favors.

“I just have to make some calls and then I’ll be ready.”

She ran up the narrow flight of steps to his left and he heard the wheels of an office chair roll across the hardwood floor. Rowan quickly called Jeremy to let him know she was okay and that she wouldn’t be in the studio for an undetermined amount of time. He didn’t seem happy, but didn’t try to argue either. He said he’d left her purse under the front porch and that he wanted her to keep him in the loop of where she was, pretend big brother was he. She hated dumping all the studio responsibility on him like this, but didn’t have much choice in the matter. Hopefully he’d forgive her for the rudeness and she’d be able to pay him back somehow. She stopped the mail and sent out some emails then put an away message on her
Ignite Studios
email account. Rowan sat back and felt stronger. She was going to do this.

Smiling to herself, she pumped up her inner confidence meter and turned around in her swivel chair to leave. Ro’s breath hitched when she saw the shadow of a tall and slender creature standing against the curtain. All black, it looked like all the others that stalked her before she realized red eyes were staring at her. Red eyes, that was new. It reached out a hand and tried to swipe at her, but Rowan jumped fast and screamed. Adam flew up the steps and into the small office and she ran smack into him in her attempt to escape.

Crashing into Adam was like hitting a stone wall. Ro went ass over elbow back into the office and onto a pile of books making her tower of paperbacks go flying everywhere. Omph! She tried to get up and Adam held a hand out to raise her to her feet.

“What the hell was that about?” Adam scanned the room but saw nothing.

“It was nothing. Sorry.” She lied. If he didn’t see it then it was already gone and soon so would she.

“Don’t lie to me woman. I’ve told you before I will not tolerate a liar.”

Annoyed she’d been caught, and eager to get out of there, she confessed. “It was a shadow in the curtain. It was all black with red eyes. It tried to grab me but missed. I wasn’t expecting it and panicked. Sorry.” There. That was the truth and he can stuff it up is broody ass. Adam wasn’t the only one that could be in a shitty mood.

He grabbed her hand and all but pulled her down the stairs and out of the house. She quickly grabbed her purse from under the porch and then hopped in the car that was already running. The drive back to the manor was done in silent anger and annoyance. Ro sat with arms crossed over her body and stared out the window. It was now dark.

“Has a shadow ever tried to hurt you before?”

“Not that I know of, no. I mean, they’ve come close to me or at least sit on my bed. Sometimes I think they are screaming in my face but I don’t hear any noise. But most of the time they just sit and stare at me. None of them have ever lashed out like that before.” Still staring out the window, she pulled out her pendant and started to twist it around its cord. Rowan couldn’t help but feel like a damn target. It was pissing her off big time.

Adam’s thoughts raced through his head while they maneuvered the streets like they were in a high speed chase. The faster they got back to the house, behind the protected walls and property, the better off Adam would feel. The incident at Rowan’s house had him worried and her observation was interesting, and not in their favor. The shadows were growing more vicious, which meant that Lorcan was gaining power.

They pulled up the driveway and into the garage. Rowan let herself out of the car and Adam grabbed her bag from the backseat. Walking into the house, they were greeted with an amazing smell coming from the kitchen. Nora the Brownie must be at it again. Rowan expected to see Devlin in the living room or kitchen, but she couldn’t find him anywhere. Guess he was off doing whatever he needed to do. Why she expected him to be there waiting for her to show up she hadn’t a clue.

Rowan threw her bag into the bedroom Adam said would be hers for now and sat on the bed alone. It was the same bedroom she’d been in earlier. The room was beautiful, spacious, and colorful. It reminded her of her studio. Great, she was already feeling homesick and it hadn’t even been an hour. Ro leaned back on the plush pillows all perfectly positioned on the bed. The bedspread was a beautiful mossy green color. The headboard and footboard had trinity knots and vines twining together carved up and around every inch of the dark wood. The ceiling was high and painted like the sky and the walls were a soft white with gorgeous prints of brightly colored flowers and landscapes. There was a dresser on the far side of the room that had three big white pillar candles and a jar of dried herbs that smelled like home to Rowan. There was a mirror with carvings that matched the bed, a white chair sat in the corner, and three large windows were lined with flower pots holding different shades of flowers and new buds ready to bloom. There was a small stand next to the bed which had a lamp shaped like a tree branch and a bowl of fresh lavender buds. This was her kind of room, happy and peaceful.

Ro looked down at her hands and thought about what all had happened today. It had been a long day, and thinking back to how it started with her nightmare, Rowan was convinced this very well might be as good as it gets for a while. She lingered in the memory of her dream and her friend Charlie.
“Help me”
his voice still echoed in her head and made her shiver. It wasn’t just a dream, Ro knew that much. But what it meant she hadn’t a clue. The worst of it was she was quite certain that the dream was very much a bad omen of days to come. Her drama mama had been right and Ro’s heart broke.

Charlie was a nice guy. He had been a friend of hers and Brinley’s since they were little kids. Growing up in a small neighborhood, they did a lot together. His parents weren’t the best of examples, so Charlie spent a lot of time at Rowan’s house, because there was more stability and happiness there. They had parted ways after college but only because life had just taken them each in different directions. Hell, she hadn’t seen Charlie in almost ten years, but that didn’t make the pain of the dream any less. For she knew, without a doubt, he was dead. How, when, or where it didn’t matter, the end result was he was gone and she was sad for him. Her confidence meter fizzled to zero and left Ro a deflated, tired woman with a big fat headache. And here comes the tears again. Damnit.

Ro buried her face in the pillows while she worked out her frustrations. She didn’t want anyone to hear her so she stifled her emotions into the feather downs. Crying wasn’t going to solve a damn thing, but women don’t cry to fix something, they cry to get it out of their system so they can move forward and do what needs doing.

“My lady, what is amiss?” Devlin’s head was poking into her room. The nervous look on his face made her feel worse and she couldn’t even pull herself together enough to say anything. Now she’s been caught in hysteria which only cranked her emotions higher. He was in the room and to her side in three strides of his long muscular legs.

He smelled of horses and leather. Rowan tried to calm down, take some deep breaths and then looked at him square in the eyes. Whiskey eyes. “I’m fine,” she lied in her best tough girl voice, but her stupid traitorous lip quivered and her hands shook when swiping a loose hair from her face. Stupid hair. Weak lips. Crap, at this rate she’s cried like a baby twice in one day here in this house, the men were bound to think she’s too fragile for what must be done. What
was
to be done exactly she didn’t know yet, but she sure as shit believed a sniffling cry baby was not going to help matters. Rowan was annoyed with herself for her lack of composure. Buck up woman, put your big girl panties on and deal.

Ballocks!
The woman was crying again and he couldn’t help but feel sorry for the lass. Devlin’s urge to make her stop crying overwhelmed any other thoughts he had. He’d been out in the stables trying to wrap his head around Rowan’s situation and what was to be done. Distracting thoughts of her gorgeous eyes, small frame and feisty spirit had his mind clouded. Carrying her back into the house after he’d spelled her only made him want her more. Her wee body fit perfectly in his arms, as if the appendages were made for holding her. He was at risk of forgetting himself and his duty. Och, the lass has him trapped in her web. And he didn’t want to fight his way out either.

Coming inside after he’d seen Adam’s car pull up to the house, Devlin expected to see Rowan in the living room. When no one was there, he heard small choking noises and followed them to her room. Opening the door and finding the woman so broken down, he wanted to do nothing but make her feel better.

Coming to her side, Devlin held her small, shaking hands and pulled them to his lips. He laid a gentle kiss upon her knuckles and studied the tiny veins trailing down the backs of her hands. Her slender wrists weren’t much bigger than a child’s. Devlin noticed her nails weren’t too long or too short and thought they were perfect – like the rest of her. She was so sad sitting there and he could tell she hated being seen in such a state.

She’d not asked for any of this and now she’s been ripped from her home, her life, and her comfort zone to fight a battle she should never have been a part of. Seeing such a vulnerable side of Rowan made her all the more beautiful to him. Her frame was small and thin, eyes big and shining with tears she was willing back out of stubbornness or bravery he did not know. A piece of her hair had come loose from her throng and had fallen in front of her eyes and as she swiped it away he wanted nothing more than to pull her to his chest and hold her. Comfort her. Kiss her.

Clearing his throat he wanted to tell her that everything would work out and that she’d be fine. But that was a lie. No honorable man would spin such a tale. He had no idea what the future held, divination was not one of his talents. She’d taken a deep breath and was trying to be stronger in front of him. He looked down at her, so steady and full of resolve, she was a vision. He did not speak. He could only act. His mouth was suddenly getting closer to hers.

Closer.

Closer.

He could smell the sweet scent of rosemary and mint in her hair, the lavender on her skin, and feel the lightness of her breath on his lips. He never broke eye contact with her and felt like he was drowning in the greens of her eyes. He took her mouth with his – softly, lightly. She froze but he didn’t stop. The Druid reached around with one hand and massaged the back of her head, pulling her closer to him while his other hand slid around her back. She gave in almost instantly. A small moan escaped her throat and she trailed her hands through his hair and down his arms. What started as a small, sweet kiss had now sparked into a frenzy of passion. Tongues swiped to duel one another while hands reached for more to touch.