Stone Guardian (17 page)

Emma’s eyes widened and her lower lip twitched. “No...” Emma cleared her throat while rubbing her knuckles back and forth across the tip of her nose as though trying to hide behind her hand.

“Dinna laugh at me, Emma.” Torin stood a bit taller and lifted his chin. What the hell did the lass find so funny? All he did was ask her about the herbs.

“I am not laughing at you.” Emma ducked her head. Her shoulders trembled as she turned away and supported herself against the counter.

Torin rounded the counter in one wide stride, grabbed her shoulders and spun her into his arms. He’d teach the teasing woman to laugh at his lack of knowledge about this time’s ways. Pressing the length of his body hard into her soft curves, he held her tight in the curl of his arm while lifting her chin with a finger. “Now laugh, wicked Emma. I may know little about this world but I know enough to set ye ablaze.”

Emma’s breath hitched through barely parted lips as her eyelids half-closed. “You’re definitely an expert when it comes to heat.” Melting into the welcome fire of Torin’s embrace, Emma snuggled her body against his hardness and opened her mouth to his.

Emma shivered as Torin’s groan vibrated against her breasts and his warm tongue dove into her mouth. He pinned her back against the counter, pushing apart her legs with his knee. With slow purposeful claiming, he slid both hands down her back. As his hands traveled lower, he pulled her closer, cupping her bottom as he lifted her up and settled himself between her thighs.

“Wait.” Emma tore her mouth free of his delicious taste while blindly searching the top of the counter with an extended hand. Bumping into the boxes of condoms, she scattered their neat little pile.

“Why?” Torin rasped against her mouth while running one hand up the front of her shirt and fondling her tightening nipple. Rolling the sensitive button between his fingers, he pulled it with just enough force to shoot bursts of ecstasy through her flesh.

“This is why I got these.” Emma panted against his throat. She worked her fingers into the cardboard box and pulled one of the cellophane wrapped packages free. “Let me put this on you before we get carried away.”

Torin pulled back, frowning as he stared down at the packet she held between them. “Put what on me? Where?”

Emma fiddled with the precut edge of the packet. When her trembling fingers failed to rip through the perforated edge, she gingerly gripped the corner of the package between her teeth, only succeeding in ripping a tiny sliver of plastic off the edge of the envelope.
Well damn.
How long had it been since she tried to open a condom? Was it always this difficult?

Torin took another step back, releasing a very strained sigh as he crossed both arms over his chest. “What are ye doing, Emma?”

“Just work with me here, okay?” Emma waved him off and rotated the packet in her hand.
Screw it.
Catching the remainder of the packet between her teeth, she yanked hard and finally ripped the tiny envelope open, dropping the rubbery round disc in the palm of her hand.

“What the hell is that?” Torin bent closer and frowned down at the result of Emma’s efforts.

“It’s a condom.” Emma slid one hand up Torin’s chest then trailed her fingers back down to his waist and hooked them in his kilt. “It goes on your…” She nodded toward the area just below her hand.

“That?” Torin’s eyes widened in disbelief. “That wee thing is supposed to stay on the tip of my cock? While we…” Torin’s voice trailed off as he shook his head and stared up at the ceiling as though searching for guidance.

Emma wrapped Torin’s kilt in her grasp and yanked his body closer. For some strange reason, the idea that this was Torin’s virgin
run with a condom filled her with an extra dose of seductive fire. “Let me show you.” She couldn’t resist licking her lips as she yanked his kilt free and tossed it to the kitchen floor.

Torin hissed out a surprised breath then spread his arms as he leaned forward. “Aye, love,” Torin finally purred. “Show me what ye have in mind.”

Emma pressed her palms against the hardness of Torin’s chest and in one slow, methodical caress, trailed her hands down the ripples of his muscles.
Such hardness.
How could his muscles be rock hard and yet his skin tease against her fingertips like the softest velvet? She tickled her fingers even lower, smiling as Torin caught his breath and spread his feet farther apart. Dropping to her knees, she traced her nails back up along his inner thigh, swirling ever so lightly through the tight curls of hair growing ever thicker the higher she explored. As she moved one hand higher and gently cradled his sac, she kissed the straining tip of his member then laved the length of him with her tongue.

Torin lurched forward, slamming both hands on the edge of the counter as she drew him into her mouth. “Lore, woman. I’ll surely die from what yer doin’.”

Emma suckled him with one long slow draw then kissed the tip of his cock again. “But what a way to go, right?” She wrapped her fingers around his satin hardness and stroked with a firm teasing pull.

“Aye,” Torin groaned as he closed his eyes. “Aye, love,” he repeated as she stroked him some more.

Emma smoothed the condom down around his hardness and took him in her mouth again. She took her time and gifted him with slow luscious pulls while running her tongue up and down the slick hardness of his shaft.

“Lore, woman—I can stand no more!” Torin grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her up to his chest, burying his tongue inside her mouth. He lifted her body atop the counter and pushed between her thighs.

Emma wrapped her legs around Torin’s hips and hugged his body to her. “Take me,” she whispered against the stubble of his jaw. “Take me now,” she repeated as she ran her tongue just below his jaw and nibbled at the warm saltiness of his throat.

Torin roared as he drove into her body. His back arched as the hardness of his shaft hammered into her depths. Emma filled her hands with Torin’s flexing buttocks and pulled him harder against her womb with every repeated thrust. He slid in and out, pounding the ancient rhythm as Emma closed her eyes and gave her senses over to the dance until the room exploded into rapturous bursts of flesh-tingling ecstasy. Torin roared again, tensed inside her then shuddered and collapsed.

Torin’s torso swelled between her arms as he sucked in a deep breath then hefted his warm body a bit above of hers. Bending to plant a gentle kiss on the end of her nose, he pressed his damp forehead against hers. “I didna mean to crush ye, lass, but ye left me with verra little strength.”

Emma grinned while pulling him back down tight against her still tingling breasts. “I like it when I leave you weak. Your body feels good on top of mine.”

“Lore, lass,” Torin rasped as he drew in a ragged breath and slowly eased away. “I’d die a happy man inside your sweet softness but right now I’m a bit confused.”

“Confused?” Emma propped herself up on her elbows, admiring the lovely sheen of sweat shining across Torin’s chest. “Why are you confused?”

“What do we do with your wee condom now?” Torin stood with feet slightly apart and hands planted on his hips. He rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet as he nodded down toward his spent member.

Emma held her breath and bit her lip. She didn’t dare open her mouth. If she laughed at Torin now, he might not appreciate it very much. Swallowing hard, she scooted herself to a sitting position atop the counter and pointed toward the trash bin. “You…um…take it off and toss it in there.”

Torin didn’t move, just continued staring down at his sagging latex coated shaft. “Seems a waste. Are ye sure ye dinna want to rinse out the wee stocking and save it to use again?”

Emma clapped a hand across her mouth as laughter snorted out her nose. As Torin fixed her with a disgruntled glare, she pinched her nose shut between her fingers and held her breath against any further giggles. Wow. Apparently, those old tales of a Scot’s thriftiness were based on fact. Uncovering her mouth enough to draw in a deep breath, Emma swallowed hard against any further outbursts. “I don’t think that would work very well.” She waved a hand toward the untouched boxes scattered across the floor. “Besides. We’ve got plenty.”

Torin tensed and shifted his stance back a few steps. His smile disappeared. “Aye. Well. I still think ’tis a bit of a waste when all ye need do is clean it up a bit afore ye use it again.”

“I’m sorry, Torin.” Emma hopped down from the counter and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Please don’t be upset. I didn’t mean to laugh. It was just your expression and the way you stood there with your feet spread apart. I couldn’t help it.” Emma’s lips twitched with a giveaway tremble. She must not laugh—not now.

“A man doesna like to be made a fool. I’ve borne that feeling too many times since waking to this place.” Torin kissed her forehead and ran his fingers along the smooth skin of her upper arm. “But I shan’t have to bear it verra much longer.”

Emma drew away in one slow smooth motion, her fingers trailing down the sides of his arms. “What do you mean by that?”

Damn her perception
. The woman sensed his urgency, felt his despair with this strange unwelcome place. She just didn’t know what to do once she read his aura. He might as well tell her the truth. He’d never been any good with lies. “I willna be staying in this reality long, Emma. But I need ye more than ye will ever know. I need yer help to return to my clan, to pass beyond the veil. I dinna belong here in this madness. This world is filled with nothing but chaos.”

Emma’s eyes widened, filled with sudden understanding and another emotion Torin couldn’t quite read. What was she thinking? Her lower lip trembled before tightening into a determined line. The color rose high on her cheeks. “So, you just need my help to leave this place? Is that it? I’m just your ticket out of here?”

Realization hit him like a wall of freezing water. The woman made it sound like he’d used her; enjoyed her passions to win her trust. “Emma, I—”

“You what? It’s the truth. I see it in your face. You just need my help to get out of here and get to wherever it is you think you belong. All you had to do was ask, Torin. The sex wasn’t necessary to trick me into doing your bidding.”

“
Damnaigh,
Emma.” Torin scrubbed both hands over his face. How could she think he’d do such a thing? “I wanted ye, woman, because yer a damn beautiful creature filled with fire and passion. Your very presence inflames me. I didna take ye to sway your mind. I needed ye because I ached to know the magic of your warmth. How can I make ye understand? This place is no’ where I belong but yer the one I desire.” With a defeated groan, Torin yanked both hands through his hair and turned away.

Until Emma’s anger ebbed, there’d be no reasoning with her. Fury burned in those emerald eyes. Torin glanced back at her and his heart fell. Emma stood with both hands opening and closing into shaking fists clenched against her sides. Thank the fates she didna know how to focus her energies. She’d have scorched him to a pile of ash by now.

Emma shoved past him and headed toward the bedroom door. She paused in the doorway, one hand trembling atop the tarnished brass latch. “I’ll make you a deal, Torin. Tomorrow, after I finish at the clinic, you can start giving me lessons on this wonderful magic you claim I possess. Don’t worry. I’m a quick study. We should have your ass out of here in no time.” And then she slammed the door.

Torin heard a metallic click. Shaking his head, he stared at the locked door. This was going to be more difficult than he’d hoped.

Chapter Twenty-Three

The fiery blast shattered the peace of the sleepy valley, igniting an unsuspecting flock of sheep into a bleating mass of putrid smoke and dancing orange flames. Arach chuckled as an updraft expanded the tattered leather of his wings and vaulted him higher into the clouds. He adored the noise those senseless sheep made whenever they exploded. The sound distinctly reminded him of a bleating human screaming out in pain.

The heat of the inferno searing through the valley wafted hot against the softer tiles of his underbelly. Arach brought his great black wings together in one graceful motion, fanning the super-heated air deeper into the unsuspecting valley below.

He spied a small village nestled at the far end of the verdant tunnel.
Just lovely
. Arach chuckled into the wind. The humans would soon swarm into their ridiculous vehicles, those strange colored contraptions with the spouting tubes of water. Then they’d frantically soak down the walls of their homes with hopes of saving their meager possessions from his cleansing blasts. Naïve mortals. They placed so much importance on the trivial items of their fragile little existence. They were foolish enough to value things easily destroyed, things easily replaced. If the idiots had a flicker of sense, they’d hie themselves out of the valley and launch themselves into the ocean. Of course, if they did decide to take to the water, he’d just end their misery by calling up the kelpies.

Kelpies. Arach spread his wings and soared higher through the wisps of clouds, narrowing his eye slits against the rushing wind streaming against his face. He’d promised the kelpies a bit of pleasure after robbing them of their latest ship full of yowling mortals. Perhaps he should conjure a great storm to stir up a bit of chaos across the waters. Maybe that would please his watery friends. A good, stout boat-foundering maelstrom would sooth the anger churning in their watery little hearts.

Of course, he really cared less if the annoying water demons were pleased or not and wouldn’t lay odds that the wicked things had anything close to resembling a heart. But it never hurt to have an ally or two in any reality, especially since this particular realm now held the likes of Torin. Arach folded his wings against his body and speared through a particularly damp bank of clouds stretching across the horizon. An ally could be useful in maintaining a tamed world, especially with a stone guardian chieftain and his unlikely apprentice lurking about the land.

A stone guardian chieftain. Arach snorted out a cloud of roiling black smoke as though trying to clear his nasal passages of debris. Damn that old woman. Foolish enough to believe he’d consider a chieftain, even Torin, a viable threat. How dare she think she could mention the guardian, ask Arach to leave and he’d just tuck his tail and go. What the blazes did she think he was? Some cowardly lower level minion? Arach stretched out his wings and dove toward the ground, filling his gullet with an ember-fanning rush of air until his belly scales separated into a swollen mass of pressurized air.