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...you bereft me of all` words,
only my blood speaks to you in my veins,
and there is such confusion in my powers
- Shakespeare
THERE WAS AN ICY CHILL in the air, and she shivered curling closer to the warm naked body beside her. She felt him reach down and pull the furs up to cover them as he tucked them closely around her.
“Cian, you know I love you and I’ll do everything in my powers to help you, but you must fight the darkness inside you. I feel it growing stronger each day. I am worried for you my love.” He kissed her forehead.
“Aoife, my sweet, I’m so tired of the fight. Sometimes I feel it would be easier to just give in to the darkness.”
“I know Cian, but you must try my love. Keep fighting it. Fight for me.”
“Everyone believes I’m a traitor. Your mother’s court has banished me from the realm, and yet still you love me. Why are you still with me?”
She rose on her elbow and gazed into his darkly handsome face in the dim firelight. His eyes were a rich honey brown. His hair clung to his shoulders in a riot of unruly curls. His sinewy body was hard with muscle. She had only one answer for him.
“Because, Cian, I know the truth. I know there is good in you,” He shook his head as she spoke, “And I know you would give up your immortal soul to be with me. Let me be your anchor my love.” She pleaded with him.
He rolled over on top of her and gently held her face in his hands.
“You are the only light in my weary existence. The goodness of your soul soothes my disenchanted mind. You are my beacon on the darkest night.”
He kissed her then with the fierceness they both held inside. Need consumed them, and she hungered for his touch as she arched her body up against his.
She looked up at the cloudy sky, disoriented. They were no longer in their warm bed of furs. They were at the cliffs in Rathlin. Dread filled her. The queen’s guard had found them and chased them to this place. She watched from the sidelines as Cian battled for his life. Two fae warriors lay dead; two more still fought him with a vengeance. Her stomach knotted in pain, and she doubled over. Cian had been sliced through the arm. He was weak from blood loss; she could feel it.
Suddenly, one of the guards hit him on the head with a rock and Cian stumbled and fell. He slashed out with his sword in a valiant effort and ripped open his opponent’s leg. Cian was kneeling now, out of breath, and too close to the cliff’s edge. She saw the last standing warrior raise his sword for a killing blow against Cian. She didn’t think. She could only act as she ran forward screaming. She hurled her power at the warrior flinging him backward, as she raced towards her love. The guard lost his balance as he tried to stand, but he was too close to the edge.
He grabbed out reaching for a hold of something, anything to stop his fall. His hand found the chain around Aoife’s neck just as she reached Cian. Her eyes widened as she realized the guard was going to pull her over the cliff’s edge with him. She met Cian’s eyes and he reached for her, realizing mere seconds too late what was happening. She grasped for his hand and felt nothing but air. I love you, she thought as she felt herself falling...falling...falling. The icy waters hit her and momentarily knocked the breath out of her. She struggled, kicking and pulling, as she tried to reach the surface. Suddenly, a blinding pain seared through the back of her head and she sank slowly. Paralyzed, she could see the dim light above her start to fade, but she was powerless to move, and then there was nothing but darkness...
“No.” Teagan screamed as she sat straight up in the bed. Aidan jumped up beside her, wide awake and alert.
“Teagan, what’s wrong? What is it?” Aidan asked fearfully.
“Oh my God, Aidan. Oh God,” Teagan said as she choked on a sob.
“What?” He prompted, and she looked at him in total disbelief as the truth of the dream that had followed her throughout her entire life was finally revealed. She babbled as the words tripped out of her mouth, and she recounted the endless years of her life filled with pieces of the horror that had finally unveiled itself in its entirety tonight.
“Don’t you see Aidan? They’re lying, Aidan. They’re all lying, the Fae.” Teagan hung her head as she spoke.
How could she bear the pain of this other woman, this other being, for so long and not know the truth. Lost in her thoughts, Aidan was forced to take her shoulders firmly in his hands and shake her lightly to get her attention.
“Teagan, you’re not making any sense.”
“The Fae are covering up what really happened,” Teagan only half explained, knowing without a shadow of a doubt that she was right.
Her step-mother had spent thousands of dollars on a psychiatrist trying to figure out what the dreams meant. Trying to shock, scare, and hypnotize them out of her. It was such a relief to realize that all of this was connected. Cian wasn’t trying to hurt her; he was trying to get to Aoife. He needed her. And the hooded man from her visions, he wanted to kill her and Aoife to ensure the queen had no heirs. It was someone close to her. Someone on the inside who thought he was high enough in the rankings to be elected king once the true queen was deposed.
She realized Aidan had no idea what was going on in her mind.
“It’s Aoife. She’s okay, Aidan. She’s barely hanging on, though. She’s had to dim her power, to help me survive. It’s killing her. She wants me to find Cian. He can help; I’m sure of it. He’s the key.”
“No! Absolutely not. I know what you’re thinking, and I refuse let you near him, do you hear me?” Aidan sounded furious, maybe too furious. “He may have been good once. She may have been trying to keep him good, but you said it yourself that Aoife’s death pushed him over the edge. He’s pure evil now. Remember your vision. You saw him kill a guardian.” His face was edged with determination, and she could tell he would not be easily persuaded.
“We weren’t right, Aidan. Cian has no claim to the throne. He never wanted it. He never would have been king if he’d been Aoife’s bond-mate. He was too low on the royalty rung of the ladder. The traitor and the person after me have to be someone closer to the crown. Think about it. As for Cian, I think he’s been grieving and filled with thoughts of revenge for far too long, but he still calls to her. His soul reaches out to hers. You didn’t feel what I felt between them. Their connection, it’s the strongest thing I’ve ever felt. I think that there’s a part of him that can still be reached. Maybe there’s a way...”
“Teagan,” his voice was quiet, almost desperate, “I know you think you can save him, but I can’t lose you.”
In that moment, something in him broke. The look on his face flashed indecision, but he cleared his throat and spoke.
“I’ve been thinking since last night, and this news solidifies it.” He paused briefly measuring his words carefully. “I was going to wait, but there’re things that can’t wait to be said.”
She remained silent, listening.
He brushed her hair back tenderly from her face, and she chewed on her bottom lip. He watched her intently as she took a quivering breath, wondering what he was going to say, as she gazed into the depths of his sandy eyes. His expression was determined.
“You are “the one,” Teagan, you’re just not Colin’s.” His voice was thick with emotion. “The guardians are half mortals blessed by the ancients. We have this ceremony, or had anyway, where we would journey to the Tree of Souls, when we had finished our academy training. On the day of graduation, we would touch the tree, and it would gift us with our powers. The ancients were grateful for our services, our loyalty, so they bestowed another gift on any who touched the tree twice.
They gave of the gift of one true mate, someone that would match us in every way, someone to share our soul with. If we were fortunate enough to meet that person in our lifetime, even though it wasn’t guaranteed, we would know almost instantly upon meeting them. The day of our gifting, Colin didn’t touch the tree. He already had his power, inherited from his family’s blood-line, and he had the blood contract. He told me he couldn’t jeopardize your life for some silly superstition that may not ever come true.”
She wasn’t sure what he was getting at. Was this another guilt trip about Colin? She opened her mouth to stop him, but he held up a finger to her lips.
“Please, let me finish. See, when you touch the tree, the image of your true soulmate flashes in your mind.”
“You’re trying to tell me, the tree showed you me?”
“Yes, and Colin knew it, not at first, of course. But he figured it out, and that’s why he left. He couldn’t stay and watch. He gave up his chance at something he truly wanted, something we all want, because he thought you were that person. He thought the contract would force the soulmate bond between you. But he was wrong, you said so yourself. You can’t deny a connection to him, but you don’t love him that way. You’re my soulmate, Teagan. Mine. I’ve known it from the moment I set eyes on you in that silly bar.” His words were fierce with conviction.
He reached for her hand, but she deftly dodged him and jumped off the bed in one fluid motion. The dim light of the moon filtered softly through the window and cast a calming glow on the floor as she paced. Was she ready for this? She’d literally just realized she had feelings for him. He’d just told her he didn’t think she was ready for them to be “together,” so why now?
“Teagan, do you know what happens to you if Cian finds you? You said you could feel how strong their bond was, that’s he’s calling to her. Their bond was strong enough to wake her from whatever slumber she’d put herself in to protect you. When Fae, or Guardians, perform the bond ritual, it can never be broken. What if he calls to her, and she can’t resist her love for him, and you disappear?”
The pleading look in his eyes tore at Teagan’s heart, breaking down her barriers. She shook her head again, but she knew he spoke the truth. She could feel Aoife getting stronger since the dream, since Cian had called to her. Teagan closed her eyes tightly. Oh God, she thought, why would she do this? It was cray-cray for real, bonding yourself to someone forever that you’d literally just met a week and a half ago. She had no idea what lifelong commitment meant. What to give or take in a relationship. Hell, she had no idea how to make a relationship work longer than a few months.
He continued trying to persuade her even though she wanted to shout at him to stop. Her head was reeling at the idea of forever.
“Do you need more proof?”
“I don’t know Aidan. I have no idea what I need right now.”
“When I kissed you yesterday, did you feel a shock like electricity? Can you sense me in a room before you actually see me?” His got off the bed and come to her. “Do you feel me now? Close your eyes and tell me what you’re feeling.”
She closed her eyes. She couldn’t fight it anymore. She didn’t want to. She wanted him. But she was scared. It was a scary thing he was asking her to do, put her trust in a man for forever. His soft breathing teased warmly upon her shoulder and distracted her from her thoughts. His mouth, so close to her neck, made her suck in a breath. Teagan’s chest heaved up and down with her unsteady breathing.
“You’ve begun to block me from your mind. Did you know that only a bonded couple can block thoughts from each other?” She was afraid to speak. Afraid that if she did, she would betray herself.
When he got no response, he shook her lightly. “Look at me Teagan, please.”
She gave in and looked up at him, and he saw her eyes, tears welling, fear in their silver depths. As she looked at his earnest face, his expression softened, but there was a sadness in his eyes.
“Aidan, forever? What if you decide you don’t even like me? It’s not like we really even know each other.”
“You don’t trust me, I get it. What have I done to earn your trust?”
It was heartbreaking, watching him. The last thing she ever wanted to do was hurt him. But he hadn’t promised her that he wouldn’t walk out that door and never come back again.
“Teagan, you said last night that you’ve already fallen. Will it hurt any worse to fall a little more?” He asked her, his mouth a breath away from hers now.
She hesitated again and, in that moment, Aidan let her go.
He raised his left hand and held it out in front of her, waiting for her to make the next move.
“Aidan, I...” Teagan didn’t know what to say to him, and she didn’t know what to do.
“Teagan, baby, have faith in me. Have faith in us,” he whispered hoarsely.
Her gaze darted from his hand to his face. He was serene now, so sure that she would choose him. His beautiful sandy eyes glittered as he stared back at her with a conviction unlike any she’d ever seen. The hunger in his eyes willed her to take the plunge. He was all in. The, “You jump, I jump. You die, I die,” kind of in. The barrier around her heart split wide open.
Teagan raised her hand to his. Aidan didn’t move. He barely breathed, probably worried he’d scare her if he did. Her hand shook unsteadily. One more inch and she would be touching him. Without taking her eyes from his, Teagan thrust her hand forward and into his, and as their fingers entwined her eyes widened in disbelief.
A smile lit Aidan’s face as the first of the sensations from the bonding ritual hit them simultaneously, and Teagan shuddered with pleasure. He watched as an explosion of little electric shocks tingled through her body. They started at the base of her neck and continued by searing their way down her spine. Teagan felt her heart expand, warming in her chest, feeling as if something was entwining itself around it. It didn’t hurt; it was exhilarating.
Her hand trembled slightly in Aidan’s, and he grasped her tighter. She felt a lightning bolt burst through his palm and into hers. For a split second, their hands felt like one with no beginning and no ending. A thousand pin pricks tingled on her ring finger, and she gasped in surprise as she looked at her hand. She tried to pull back, but Aidan grasped her firmly and wouldn’t let it go.
She looked at his face, and he smiled, as if she were in for a treat. When she heard Aidan’s voice in her mind, Teagan shuddered deliciously. The bond had linked them somehow, and now she could hear him telepathically. His internal voice had such an impact on her that Teagan’s body shook with pleasure as he spoke to her through the new link. Even when Aoife left her, she’d never be alone. Her eyes misted.
“I love you Teagan McKenna. You’re silly and defiant, strong-willed and caring, and beautiful, and I promise to cherish you above all others as my soul joins with yours. I will protect you from harm, as we are bound for eternity, in this life and the next. Our hearts beat as one; I am yours, in this life and in death. This is my oath, my warrior’s bond. As now we are one.”
“Well, I didn’t have time to prepare a pretty speech.” She tried to joke her nerves away.
“You don’t have to say anything. I can feel what’s in your soul.”
“You sure that’s mine?” She laughed but he didn’t.
“I’m sure.” The way he looked at her, like he was ready to devour her, took her breath away, and a sudden sense of belonging rushed over her. Gradually, he let go of her hand, and she examined it speechlessly. On Teagan’s ring finger, a silver and gold tattoo appeared to shimmer just under the surface of her skin.
“You marked me?”
“You are mine.” He said possessively, with a laugh, and pulled her into his arms.
Teagan laughed, wondering if this was what pure joy felt like.
She pulled away and moved to the window, suddenly hot, needing it open. The fresh patter of rain was a welcoming sound as she stared into the moonlit night. Her hair blew back from her face in welcome relief as the breeze cooled her hot skin. When he came up behind her and placed his hands softly on her shoulders, she trembled at the sensations even his lightest touch could invoke.
She heard his sharp intake of breath, knowing he’d just seen her thoughts.
“I can wait, if you need me too,” he said.
“This is the one thing I am sure of Aidan. I want this. I want you.”
She’d laughed at his offer, but she was truly moved by it. He knew she was still working through things, mostly abandonment issues, but he was willing to give her the time she needed to adjust. His offer was all the time she needed, and she smiled into the night as she shared her thoughts with him. Naughty thoughts.
His hands glided over her skin, sending tremors down her body. Then, he gently slid the straps of her tank top off her shoulders, and he leaned down to place feather-light kisses on her back and neck. Teagan shuddered with need and turned towards him. Without a second thought, she leaned into him, kissing him, sharing with him all the emotion she felt.
When he deepened the kiss, she clung to him with arms locked tightly around his neck. Teagan tasted the salty remnants of a tear and realized his face was wet too. Her fingers laced trough his soft hair as he explored her mouth, and she pulled the elastic out of his hair freeing it. He pulled back slightly, and Teagan caught his bottom lip gently with her teeth and nibbled. He groaned and pulled her closer to his warmth, holding her tightly.
She felt crazed with hunger, and she burned with desire. She tugged roughly at his shirt, wondering briefly when he’d put it back on, but needing him to take it off. She wanted to feel his hot skin against hers. He pulled his shirt roughly over his head, and her hands found the solid heat of his muscled chest. Teagan ran her hands over his pecks and down his abs to the button at his waste and felt him tremble. She was hot and dizzy and couldn’t stop touching him. The desire had taken over. She could think of nothing else. Suddenly, he broke the kiss.
She put her finger to his lips.
“Let me decide what’s best for me Aidan.” Teagan said, fiercely grabbing his hair by twining her fingers through it and pulling his head back to hers, so she could kiss him again. Instead, she bit him gently and growled playfully. Teagan laughed at his pleasant surprise, and she placed feather-light kisses all along his neck and nipped at his ear.
He laughed and picked her up in his massive arms and carried her to the bed.
“I won’t be able to stop, are you sure?” He asked with only half the conviction he had used last time he’d asked.
In answer to his question, Teagan pulled his head down to hers and their lips met again in a heated kiss. He slid his tongue inside her mouth, toying with hers, and he laid her back onto the bed. She felt the warmth of his body slid over the length of her and reveled in the sensations the contact of their bodies together caused. She could feel the weight of him against her thigh and she wiggled restlessly. She moved her hands over his broad back and dug her nails in lightly, as he trailed kisses down her neck. He stopped just above the collar-line of her shirt. Teagan squirmed against him again and growled at him in frustration.
“Perfection takes time, Lass.” He said softly, and he kissed the tip of her nose.
“Quit teasing me Aidan.” Teagan said.
“Oh, I’ve only just begun.” He chuckled unsympathetically as she moaned softly in denial, “Relax.” He whispered.
Moving off her, he helped her up until she was kneeling on the bed. The shadow of him pulling his pants off, made her womanhood clench in anticipation, and she moved to take her shirt off.
He was back on the bed in a flash. “No ma’am, that’s my job,” he told her, his voice giving her chills.
In the darkness, his hands found her waist, and he moved them slowly upwards until he found the edge of her shirt.
“Raise your arms for me love.” His voice poured over her like honey. She’d do anything he asked.
With deliberate slowness, he drew her shirt up over her head, but left it bound to her wrists. He slowly dragged his hands down the length of her of her arms, down the sides of her neck, and to her breasts where he stopped to linger.
“You’ve no idea how long I’ve been wanting to do this to you,” he said, and she shivered in anticipation.
He cupped one of her breasts and brought his head down to it. She sucked in a breath as he suckled it into his mouth and lavished it with just as much care as he had her lips earlier.
“Aidan,” she breathed.
“Yes, love.” There was a touch of laughter in his voice. Of course, she didn’t need to tell him what she was feeling. Through their link, it was like their minds were one, melded to one another. And he knew exactly what she wanted.
A small noise escaped her. Pleasure. Excitement. A plea for him to hurry. The need inside her grew to a persistent ache. She grabbed his face and pulled it up to her mouth, taking him with as much passion as he’d taken her. Their tongues met in a dance of fire and need. She detached from his lips long enough to stand on the bed and remove her shorts and panties, tossing them somewhere over her head. She didn’t care.
When she returned to him, she straddled his lap. He grasped her ass and pulled her closer, the heat of his manhood so close to her neither parts, she could feel him throbbing for her. She gasped as his hands roamed her back, pressing into her firmly, kneading her skin, causing a ripple of sensations to rush over her. She never knew anyone could be this gentle, this loving. Her heart swelled with love for this man. Her man.
He growled, obviously liking the thought of belonging to her, and picked her up. He pushed her down on the bed and moved over her again.
“Now, love, I’m going to show you how a real man makes love to his woman.”
Any sound she made was lost in his mouth as he claimed her lips and finally moved inside her, making her irrevocably his.