Midnight’s Lover Read online

  She was eager to feel him inside her, impatient for him to fill her. She shifted her hips forward, urging him to push inside her.

  But he held back. She opened her eyes and watched as he bent and wrapped his lips around her nipple once again, this time without her gown. His tongue swirled around the peak before he suckled it deep.

  Her back arched off the bed, a cry locked in her throat. His tongue teased and tormented, suckled and licked. Each flick of his hot tongue felt as if it were on her sex, pushing her higher, urging her to give him more.

  She lifted her hips, seeking him, any part of him that she could rub against. When she came in contact with his rod, she ground her hips against him, his name a whisper as she groaned with need.

  Danielle rubbed against him again, her nails digging into his side as she urged him to her.

  With a soft curse, Ian lifted his head and held her gaze. The desire she saw in his eyes, the yearning that she saw there, made Danielle’s breath lock in her chest. “Ian,” she whispered.

  He positioned himself at her entrance, and slowly entered her. Danielle bit her lip as he stretched her while pushing farther and farther inside her. And it felt glorious.

  He filled her, and then he pulled out until only the tip of him remained.

  Only to thrust hard and fast.

  Danielle sank her nails into his back and cried out at the magnificent feel of him inside her and his weight atop her.

  The way he held her leg up helped him go deeper, harder, as he plunged inside her again and again. Danielle was powerless to do anything but hang on as Ian took control of her body, seized her need and took them both higher.

  She closed her eyes and felt the desire building toward another climax. Her body was attuned to his every breath, every beat of his heart. As she clung to him, she offered him everything she had, everything she was.

  And everything she wanted.

  She met him thrust for thrust, their bodies sliding against each other from the sheen of sweat covering them. Once more she found her body tightening, her nerves taut. He drove into her hard, rocking her.

  The climax took her, pulled her. It was more powerful than before. And it swept her away into an abyss of pleasure so profound, so earth-shattering Danielle knew she would never be the same.

  Ian continued to rock against her, prolonging her pleasure, even as his body strained over her as he fought against his own orgasm.

  Danielle lifted her other leg and wrapped it around his waist. He looked at her, and their eyes held. Her body clenched around his thick arousal, urging him toward his own release.

  He drove into her hard and quick, and with one last thrust, his body stiffened above her. He threw back his head, his neck muscles straining against his skin.

  Danielle held him as he poured his seed inside her, his body convulsing atop her. Pleasure wrapped tightly around them, cocooning them in a haven of rapture and satisfaction.

  CHAPTER

  FIFTEEN

  Ian held Danielle in his arms in the aftermath of their lovemaking. Their breathing had calmed, but he knew he’d never be the same again.

  Being with Danielle had changed him. He’d felt it, though he couldn’t pinpoint how or why. Only that he wasn’t the same man as before.

  She lay with her head pillowed on his shoulder and her arm thrown over his chest. Their legs were tangled together, as if neither of them wanted to stop touching the other.

  “When do we leave?” she asked, her finger making designs on his stomach.

  “At first light.”

  She lifted her head and sighed. “That’s just six hours from now.”

  “Ah, the clock,” he said after a moment. “It will take me some time to get used to things in this time.”

  “You’re learning fast, which will help. Are you anxious to see your friends again?”

  “Aye. And then nay.”

  Her fingers lightly stroked his chest. “I’d feel the same, I think. You called them your family. They’ll welcome you.”

  “Will they? They didna look for me.” He hadn’t realized how much that bothered him until he’d said it.

  “Scotland isn’t a small place, Ian.”

  “Broc’s power is to find anyone anywhere. Why did they no’ look for me?”

  “Maybe they couldn’t. God forbid, but maybe something happened to Broc.”

  Ian shook his head. “We will find out soon enough.”

  “Do you think you’ll be able to convince Charon to come with us?”

  “Nay,” Ian said with a frown. He grasped a strand of hair that fell over her face and tucked it behind her ear. “I’m glad he’s here though, which is odd to say. I never trusted Charon while we were in the Pit.”

  “People change. He’s had four centuries.”

  “I suppose.”

  She looked away, causing him to frown. “What is it? Are you worried about meeting the MacLeods?”

  “A castle full of Warriors and Druids? Why would I be nervous?”

  Ian laughed at her sarcasm and kissed her. “It will be a few days yet before you’ll have to meet them.”

  “A few days?” she said with a brow raised. “I’m not walking to the castle. I talked to the owner of the inn and rented us a car.”

  It was Ian’s turn to raise a brow. She actually wanted him to ride in one of those … cars. It would get them there faster and keep her warm. It would also make it more difficult for the wyrran to track them if the car went as fast as Danielle said it would.

  “All right. We’ll take this vehicle you told me about. But tell me, Danielle, is there anything else bothering you?”

  She sighed and shrugged. “I forgot to tell you to put on a condom.”

  “A what?” he asked softly. Obviously it was important to her, but he had no idea what she was talking about.

  “It’s protection from disease and getting me pregnant.”

  Ah. Now he understood. “I can tell you I have no diseases, or any that I could pass on to you. My god controls that. As for getting you with child, I didna think of that either.”

  “I’ve never been so into the moment that I forgot something so vital.”

  “I know the Druids at MacLeod Castle used to make a potion every month that would prevent them from getting with child. Once we’re there, ask them to show you how it’s done.”

  Neither spoke about the chance of his seed already taking root. The idea thrilled him, but Ian knew he was in no condition to be a father, much less anything else, with his god vying for control.

  “There’s a store I want to stop at before we leave to buy us mobile phones in case we get separated,” Danielle said into the silence.

  Mobile phones, cars, hotels, jeans. The world he had known and loved had changed drastically. Some things he liked, others not so much. But he was in this time whether he wanted to be or not.

  At least he had Danielle.

  “You don’t agree with Charon having returned to this village, do you?”

  Ian stared at the ceiling and considered her words. “I envy him that he was able to return. But I doona think it wise.”

  “Did you ever go back to your clan?”

  “Nay. Neither Duncan nor I thought it a prudent choice. We wanted to. Never doubt that.”

  Danielle was silent a moment before she asked, “Does anyone know that Charon is a Warrior?”

  “No’ yet.” Ian blew out a breath and held Danielle closer. He liked her against him, enjoyed the feel of her bare skin against his. “It’s just a matter of time, however. His men, I watched them. They are loyal, so they may stand by him once they discover what he is.”

  “But you don’t think they will.”

  “Some will be too frightened. They’ll forget they’ve known him for years and only see the monster we become.”

  “Monster?” Danielle said as she sat up and turned so that she faced him. “You think yourself a monster?”

  “Aye. I do. You saw me, Danielle. Do you deny it?�
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  She looked down at his chest where her hand lay. “I only saw you for a moment. I want a closer look.”

  Ian frowned as he realized she was asking him to transform for her. “You can no’ mean that.”

  “I do.”

  “Danielle, nay.”

  “You won’t hurt me. I want to see you in your Warrior form.”

  He knew it was a bad idea, but the way her emerald eyes pleaded with him made him waver.

  “Please, Ian. Let me see you.”

  Ian slowly sat up until his back was against the headboard. “I willna be angry if you run away.”

  “I won’t run.”

  And somehow he knew she wouldn’t. Her bravery was astounding.

  Ian prayed he would be able to tamp his god back down when it was time. If not, things could get bad. He took a deep breath and released Farmire.

  Danielle sucked in her breath as she watched Ian’s sun-bronzed skin disappear to be replaced with cool, pale blue. Long claws, a darker blue, extended from his fingers.

  She ran her finger over the back of his hand and down a finger to his claw.

  “Careful,” Ian said, and pulled back his hand before she could touch the talon.

  Danielle then looked into his face. She leaned forward and tucked her legs beneath her. “I didn’t realize your eyes changed as well.”

  “What do they look like to you?”

  “They are endless. Like pools of the lightest blue. I could almost drown in them.”

  “You are no’ … revolted?”

  She blinked away tears when she heard the wariness in his voice. “No. Not at all, Ian. It’s different to no longer see an iris surrounded by white. Instead, the blue colors your entire eyeball. Can you see differently like this?”

  “Nay,” he said with a small shake of his head. “My eyesight increased when Farmire was unbound.”

  “Amazing.”

  And she was amazed. Truly. Genuinely.

  “I remember seeing fangs,” she said. “Did I dream that?”

  Ian shook his head and then peeled back his lips so she could see the ferocious teeth.

  “You would make an excellent vampire.”

  “Vampire?” Ian repeated with a small frown. “What is that?”

  “A monster that drinks a human’s blood in order to survive. He uses his fangs to puncture the skin to drink.”

  Ian’s face scrunched up in revulsion. “That is most certainly a monster. Is he real?”

  “Some say they are. Others believe they’re nothing but make-believe. Yet, they say vampires are immortal. So who knows?”

  “I’ve never encountered one,” Ian said.

  Danielle rested her hand on his cheek and smiled. “Thank you for showing me.”

  He covered her hand with his as his Warrior form faded. “You need to sleep. Dawn will come early.”

  Danielle didn’t hesitate to move against him when he lifted the covers for her. Her head rested on Ian’s strong shoulder while his arm held her close. She would sleep deeply knowing someone like Ian was with her keeping her safe.

  Cairn Toul Mountain

  Deirdre ran her fingers over the beloved stones of her mountain. They soothed her as nothing else could. They also fed her black magic in ways she had never understood. But she was a part of them just as they were a part of her. Bound. United.

  For all eternity.

  She turned her attention away from the stones and looked at her slave, Toby. He was a hulky man with obscene bulging muscles and a very tiny brain. She had hoped he had a god inside him, but to her disappointment he’d been without.

  Instead of killing him, she used her magic to invade his mind. Now he was hers to command just as her wyrran were. And just like the wyrran, Toby would never think of betraying her.

  Toby stood next to her overlooking the huge cavern that used to house dozens of Warriors.

  “What do you see?” she asked her slave.

  “I see an empty mountain,” he answered, his voice flat, dead. “Except for wyrran.”

  She cocked an eyebrow and grinned. “Only for a short time. I’m not going to concern myself with gathering Warriors this time. Nay, this time my attack will be different.”

  “As you say, mistress.”

  Deirdre rolled her eyes at Toby’s meekness. It was what she demanded of him, but she found herself missing Malcolm’s unwavering stare and hard-edged words.

  But she had sent him on a mission, a mission that would ensure he was hers. She sensed the war inside Malcolm, though he hid it well.

  If it weren’t for his cousin, Larena, who was married to one of the MacLeods, Deirdre wouldn’t think twice about Malcolm being loyal to her.

  Being betrayed by Broc had changed everything.

  No longer did she take a Warrior’s word that he was hers to command. Now, they would not only have to prove it, but seal their fates as well.

  Charlie, her newest Warrior, was at MacLeod Castle already. She hadn’t released his god as much as she had with the other Warriors, which allowed him to think he had more control than he did. But that was because she needed him sooner than she could allow him the time to achieve that control.

  He would gain the trust of those at the castle, then destroy them. While Malcolm was on his way to kill a school full of children and find the Druid hiding there.

  People needed to fear her again. Time had erased the power she’d had over everyone. The evil that had once been felt was gone. Now was her time. And she wouldn’t fail.

  At one time Deirdre had wanted to kill the MacLeods herself. She had yearned to be the one to end their miserable, interfering lives once and for all.

  But Declan Wallace had changed all that when he pulled her forward in time. Declan wanted to join forces with her so they could rule together.

  But Deirdre didn’t rule with anyone.

  Declan had not only pulled her from her time, he had held her prisoner in his mansion for months before Malcolm and her wyrran had freed her.

  It was no longer just the MacLeods whom she turned her anger against. Declan now had that honor, and with it would come the attack that would end his life no matter how much black magic he had. Or who favored him.

  Deirdre hated that she no longer had the sword she had taken from the ancient Celtic burial mound. The MacLeods had found it during the centuries she was gone. They had the artifacts that could awaken Laria, her twin, to kill her.

  But Deirdre wouldn’t sit back and do nothing. Even if Charlie failed to kill the MacLeods, Deirdre wouldn’t allow them to awaken Laria.

  She would discover where Laria was hidden, and she would be there to stop the MacLeods. Deirdre had an advantage too, because none of the Warriors would want to battle with Malcolm. They considered him their friend, and to Larena, he was family.

  Unlike the others who had served her before Malcolm, he didn’t show the fear or desire to bed her as she was used to. Nay, Malcolm showed nothing.

  But she could call forth the rage she knew was inside him if she wanted to. The occasion had arisen before. She could turn him into the monster she would need.

  Until then she allowed him to function as he was. His lack of emotion meant he wasn’t plotting to kill her, or trying to get back to someone he cared about.

  Part of that was due to the fact Deirdre had promised Larena, Malcolm’s cousin and the only female Warrior, would live as long as Malcolm served her. So far, Malcolm had kept his end of the bargain.

  In all her thousand years of ruling, she had never had a Warrior as dedicated and intelligent as Malcolm. He was the perfect Warrior.

  Her perfect Warrior.

  She’d had her reservations about unbinding his god because of his hatred for her. Deirdre thought it would take months or years even to break him.

  But Malcolm had done it all on his own.

  She drew in a deep breath and once more looked at the cavern that served as her great hall. Her mountain was quiet now, except for a lone cry from a Dr
uid Charlie had found before he left for the MacLeods.

  Soon, however, Cairn Toul would teem with Warriors and wyrran again. Screams would rise up from the dungeons. Blood would flow from the Druids she killed for their magic.

  And the MacLeods would be no more.

  Deirdre smiled. Everyone who helped the MacLeods would die horrible, painful deaths. At her hands.

  Already her plan was in motion. She’d been impatient and greedy before. She’d learned her lesson though. Now, she would wait until her plan came to fruition.

  Because when it did, she would have all she wanted.

  “And then I will rule this land.”

  She fell to her knees and closed her eyes as her magic swelled within her. She needed to know if Ian had gained control over his god, because if he hadn’t, he was going to be hers.

  Flames leaped from the stones before her, burning orange and pale yellow. She began to chant the spell that would find Ian so she could bring him back to her mountain where he belonged.

  It didn’t take long for the answer to her spell to show itself in the flames. Deirdre smiled as she gained her feet and looked down at the wyrran waiting to do her bidding.

  “I want you to bring me Ian Kerr!”

  CHAPTER

  SIXTEEN

  Ian didn’t allow himself to sleep. He didn’t trust Charon completely to protect Danielle’s life. Ian dozed in the hour after Danielle had finally fallen asleep.

  As much as he longed to stay next to her, he rose from the bed without disturbing her. She sighed and rolled onto her other side before snuggling beneath the heavy blankets.

  Ian pulled the covers up around her shoulders and stared down at her. He still couldn’t believe she had wanted to see his Warrior form.

  She hadn’t run from him, nor had there been any fear in her eyes. Surprise, yes, but no fear. She’d touched him, the wonder in her gaze had made him take another look at himself.

  He’d always considered himself a monster. Yet Danielle saw something else entirely.

  Even if she wasn’t afraid of Farmire, Ian knew the damage his god could cause. Farmire’s thirst for battle, his need for death and blood, was immense. And he would only be denied for so long. Losing control to his god just once could kill her.