Dark Warrior [5] Midnight's Kiss Page 17

  Ronnie licked her lips as she tried to put everything in some kind of time line in her head to keep it straight. “Were you still in her mountain when she was brought forward?”

  “Nay. Fallon and Lucan had mounted an attack with the other Warriors to free Quinn, whom Deirdre had captured. That’s how I came to be involved with the MacLeods. Quinn and I became friends in that cursed mountain, so when he asked me to return with him to the castle, I didna think twice about it. I’d have a place to live and get to fight Deirdre.”

  “A win-win situation,” Ronnie said with a smile.

  Arran laughed. “Something like that.”

  “I gather your family was already dead by then?”

  His smile slipped and a shadow flitted over his face. “My family was killed when Deirdre sent the wyrran after me. Shelley was literally torn to pieces before my eyes. I can still hear her screams. And I couldna do anything to help her, since the wyrran held me.”

  “This seems so inadequate to say, but … I’m sorry, Arran.”

  She looked out the window, suddenly realizing how good her life had been compared to his. He’d had his family taken from him, and he’d been thrown into evil.

  Yet he had survived, just as she had. They had that in common.

  As well as coming from a world of magic, a world very few knew about.

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY

  Arran gave the Range Rover keys to the valet when they reached the hotel. Their bags were taken by an attendant, and Arran had no choice but to follow Ronnie inside.

  With his hand on her lower back, they walked inside. He noticed the way men looked at Ronnie. She was in jeans, boots, and another plaid shirt with her hair in a bun and no makeup, and still men ogled her.

  Arran caught the eyes of several of the men watching her and stared them down until they looked away. He might not have an official claim to her, but she was under his protection.

  And in his eyes, she was his for the time being.

  They walked onto the lift, and he kept his hand on her back as she pushed the number of their floor. She glanced at him. The last hour of their drive had been quiet as their desire rose with each mile that passed beneath the tires. Knowing he was going to have her to himself made his cock hard with anticipation.

  He still couldn’t believe he’d told her about his sister. Only Quinn had known about her. But even Quinn didn’t know the entire story.

  “Ready?” Ronnie asked when the bell rung and the lift doors opened. She then handed him what looked like a credit card.

  There were still times Arran was amazed at how the world had changed in four hundred years. He took the room key and followed her into the hallway.

  “It seems the hotel is pretty booked. We’re going to have to share a room.”

  Arran bit back a groan as he thought about sharing a room with Ronnie, of climbing into the same bed with her and wrapping his body around hers.

  Of finally seeing her wheat-colored hair down and about her shoulders.

  He grimaced as his aching rod strained against his jeans.

  “Since Andy booked your room yesterday and the hotel messed up, I was able to get us a two-bedroom suite.”

  Two rooms. Damn. But it didn’t dissuade him from finally taking her in his arms again. He knew she felt the same craving, the same driving hunger that was within him.

  It had been pure hell not kissing her again. He couldn’t look at her without remembering the feel of her soft curves against him. Or how she moaned when their tongues had first touched.

  He wanted that and so much more. Her skin, bared of every stitch of clothing. He wanted to pull the pins from her hair and sink his fingers into her locks. He’d been fantasizing about spreading her hair out on the pillow after he’d divested her of her clothes.

  Oh, yes, he wanted her kisses, but he had plans for much, much more.

  Arran cleared his throat when he saw her staring at him. What had she said? It took him a moment to remember. “I could’ve paid for my own. I’ll gladly pay for the entire suite.”

  “There’s no need.”

  But Arran was going to make sure of it.

  He smiled as his gaze fastened on her hips swaying side to side. “Jeans or a ball gown,” he murmured with a grin.

  “What?” she asked over her shoulder.

  Arran’s grin widened. “Nothing.”

  He watched as she stopped at their door and slid the slim key into the lock. When the light turned green, Arran reached around her and opened the door.

  She looked up at him, their faces inches apart. The world halted as he looked down at her mouth. He remembered the taste of her all too well, the softness of her lips and the silkiness of her skin.

  He leaned closer, closing the gap between them. He dragged his gaze from her lips and looked deep into her hazel eyes. His balls tightened, and it grew difficult to breathe when he saw the desire there.

  She wasn’t trying to hide it. In fact, it was as if she wanted him to know. He gripped the door handle harder as he fought not to throw her over his shoulder and find the first bed he came to.

  Ronnie deserved to be wooed, which meant he had to get himself under control. He might want her, but he refused to be a brute about it.

  She inhaled, her chest rising as her breasts pushed against the material of the shirt. Yearning came off her in waves. It nearly broke through the control Arran had on his own passion.

  He craved her. Desperately.

  Her passion matched his, and he knew she wanted him as well. There was no one else watching them, no one to interfere.

  She was the one who molded her body against his. Her head tilted up, the invitation clear in her hazel eyes. He wasn’t about to ignore it.

  With a groan, he slanted his mouth over hers. She wrapped her arms around him and parted her lips. Their tongues touched as he deepened the kiss until she was bent over his arms, her fingers threaded through his hair.

  He maneuvered them inside the suite and turned so that he pressed her against the door. His body was engulfed with longing, with need stark and fierce.

  Ronnie moaned as their kiss turned fiery, the desire no longer contained. Whatever restraint he had vanished when she came to him.

  He was reaching for the pins in her hair, intent on seeing just how long it was, when his phone rang.

  Ronnie chuckled as she ended the kiss. Arran put his hands on the door on either side of her head and squeezed his eyes closed. He wanted to toss the phone away, to pick her up in his arms and find the nearest bed. He’d shut out the world and everyone in it for a few private hours with her.

  His phone rang again. It reminded him that he couldn’t shut out the world, that there were dangers out there Ronnie needed protection from, and creatures that had to be stopped.

  “What?” he answered brusquely.

  There was a snicker before Ramsey said, “I didna interrupt anything, did I?”

  A growl rumbled in Arran’s chest. He didn’t care that his words were clipped as he asked, “What do you want?”

  “To see how things were going? Fallon tells me you’re in Edinburgh with the pretty Dr. Reid. Are you her bodyguard or her date?”

  Arran watched Ronnie walk around the suite inspecting things, and he caught sight of her kiss-swollen lips. “Both.”

  “As I figured.” Ramsey’s voice deepened as he grew more serious. “Listen, Arran, I wanted to give you a heads-up that Camdyn and Saffron are going to be there tonight.”

  “Did Saffron have a vision?”

  “Nay. It’s more of a precaution, with those creatures on the loose.”

  “And the new darkness that was spoken about in the prophecy.”

  “Aye. That as well. Gwynn has been searching, and there’s nothing definitive that says Ronnie is the one spoken about in the prophecy.”

  “There are too many coincidences for it no’ to be her,” he whispered.

  “Unfortunately, my friend, I agree. Until we know anything
, we’ll err on the side of caution.”

  Arran ran a hand through his hair and leaned back against the door. “I’m no’ going to lie and say I’m angry Camdyn and Saffron will be here.”

  “That’s what I figured after what happened with those new monsters out on the loose. And there’s no update there, by the way. Logan had to physically remove Gwynn from the computer yesterday because she spent so much time searching. The fact nothing has been seen or heard has worried everyone.”

  “It worries me as well. Something isna right.”

  “Aye.”

  “What are they waiting on?”

  Ramsey huffed. “I wish I knew.”

  “Any other news?” Arran asked, hoping they had either proved or disproved that another drough had taken Declan’s place.

  Ramsey’s long pause was answer enough.

  “What is it?” Arran demanded.

  “Declan had an heir. It seems a distant cousin came into the wealth of the Wallaces.”

  “That doesna mean anything.”

  “Nay,” Ramsey said. “We took all the books on magic from the house. Even if this Jason Wallace does have magic in his blood, he willna know what to do about it.”

  Arran pushed away from the door and walked into the living area to see Ronnie head into the room on the left. “A drough is a drough, Ramsey,” he whispered. “We need to be sure.”

  “Already being done. Like most men of wealth, he’ll have security cameras on the property. He’s rebuilt the Wallace mansion, and from the specs, it’s exactly the same. Gwynn is going to hack into the cameras on the property so we can see what’s going on.”

  “She can no’ do it all alone.”

  “Oh, she’s no’. She’s got Tara, Logan, and even Cara and Marcail helping her.”

  Arran smiled as he thought of Lucan’s wife, Cara, and Quinn’s wife, Marcail, helping hack into computers. Cara had been the first Druid at MacLeod Castle, over seven centuries earlier.

  “I know,” Ramsey said, though Arran hadn’t spoken. “All Lucan and Quinn can do is watch as their wives become expert hackers.”

  Arran snorted. Ramsey was half Druid, and though that gave his powers as a god added strength, Arran always thought Ramsey could do more than he said, some of which had been proved when Ramsey killed Declan. “Admit it, old friend, your magic allows you to see me, does it no’?”

  “Nay. I just know you too well. Besides, it’s the look everyone at the castle wears while they watch Cara and Marcail. Now Reaghan and Sonya want to learn, no’ that Galen or Broc will have any say. My Tara is picking things up a little too easily.”

  “I could be needed,” came Tara’s voice through the phone.

  Ramsey laughed. “You’re always needed, love. As much as what Gwynn does is illegal at times, it definitely comes in handy.”

  “I think I may want to learn more than I have,” Arran admitted.

  “I think all of us need to. We rely on Gwynn too much, and put too much on her. I’ve seen how anxious Logan is at the amount of time she spends on the computer.”

  After more small talk, Arran ended the call and walked to the door that led to his bedroom. He spotted the large bed and couldn’t help but think of Ronnie in it with him. Her wheat hair spread around her, and her body bared to him.

  He could just imagine pulling her shirt off and unhooking her bra. He’d unbutton her jeans next, then slide them over her hips before hooking his fingers in her knickers. It would be difficult, but he wouldn’t cut her panties off with his claws.

  No, he’d take his time and remove her pants and knickers while he kissed down those long legs of hers. Then he’d kiss back up them, over her hips and to her breasts.

  “I have to go out.”

  He was pulled harshly out of his daydream by her voice, but it was the anxiety he heard in it that concerned him. He turned as she came back into the living area. “Out?”

  “Yes. I need to find a dress, and hopefully if there’s time, get some girl stuff done.”

  He frowned. So much for his hours of making love to her. “What is ‘girl stuff’?”

  “Hair. Nails. That kind of thing. I may not want to be here, but it isn’t because I don’t like dressing up. I don’t get to do this often, so when I do, I take absolute full advantage of it,” she said with a big grin.

  “So you do like dressing up in the formal gowns and such?”

  “Well. I hate the panty hose, and if I can help it, I don’t wear them. The rest, yes, I love. I guess it’s the little girl in me that still remembers dressing up and pretending I’m a princess.” She giggled and then twirled around the room.

  Arran grinned as he watched her. This was a different Ronnie, but one he liked just as much as the other. Here she was more carefree, more open.

  She stopped spinning and pinned him with a look that didn’t quite work because of her smile. “And if you tell anyone, I’ll kill you. Or stab you, since you’ll heal,” she said with a laugh.

  She reached for her purse and started for the door when Arran comprehended that she was going alone.

  “Ronnie—”

  “I’ll be fine,” she said as grabbed the door handle and turned to look at him. “The boutique I use for my dresses is three blocks away. The salon is another half block. But I warn you, I’ll be gone most of the day.”

  “Then I’ll see you at dinner?”

  She opened the door and lowered her gaze. “Ah … not alone, I’m sorry. I’m supposed to meet Pete and another man from the Edinburgh museum. You can come, though.”

  Arran thought about joining them, but he realized he could do a lot of research in Edinburgh while he was there. After dinner, however, he planned to have his way with her. No more interruptions. “I’ll be fine. Go have fun.”

  “I’ll see you later, then,” she said with another smile, and departed.

  Arran looked around the suite once was she gone. It was going to be a long day. He left the suite and got directions from the Sheraton to the nearest computer store.

  There he bought a laptop, but before he went back to the hotel, he had some things to see and do about the city.

  * * *

  Ronnie stared at her reflection clad in a body-hugging, strapless black dress. It was gorgeous, but Andy’s words still haunted her. Maybe she should try something else besides black.

  “Tabitha, how about another color?” she called from the dressing room.

  The young owner of the boutique stuck her head of spiky blond hair with pink tips around the door, her dark eyes wide. “Really? You mean, you want color? Actual color?”

  “Yes,” Ronnie said with a laugh. “Why is that so odd?”

  “You’ve never wanted to before. May I ask what’s changed?”

  A lot, but it wasn’t as if Ronnie could tell her.

  “Ah,” Tabitha said. “A man.”

  Ronnie shrugged. “It’s part of it, plus it’s been brought to my attention that I always wear black.”

  “Everyone looks good in black, but I think color would be nice. I’ll be right back.”

  Ronnie got out of the black dress and hung it up. Tabitha’s shop was pricey, but she had an eye for simple, elegant designs that Ronnie preferred.

  She’d never gone to another designer since finding Tabitha five years ago. Even when Ronnie was in another country, she’d call Tabitha up and have a dress shipped. Tabitha never failed to give Ronnie something that was perfect.

  “How about this?” Tabitha asked as she walked in with a deep red dress that had an A-line skirt.

  “I like it. Let’s see.”

  For the next hour, Ronnie tried on gown after gown. There were many she liked, but she hadn’t found the one she was looking for. Which was difficult since she didn’t know what that dress might look like. Only that she’d know when she saw it.

  After a light lunch, Tabitha brought Ronnie back into the dressing room and said, “I have two more dresses I’ve put in the back. One isn’t quite finished. I ac
tually had you in mind when making it, but never thought you’d like it.”

  “Let me see them.”

  Excitement ran through her mostly because of the way Tabitha had spoken of the dresses. Somehow, Ronnie knew one of the dresses was going to be the one.

  “Here’s the first,” Tabitha said, and brought in a hunter green gown with a plunging vee down the front.

  Ronnie was quick to get into it. She loved the feel of it, but mostly she liked how it showed off her body. Her breasts weren’t big, but the dress made them look bigger.

  “I love it,” Tabitha whispered happily. “But not as much as I think I’ll love this on you.”

  Ronnie turned around and took one look at the gown. “That’s it. That’s the gown I want.”

  Tabitha beamed. “I knew it. Let’s get you into it so I can finish hemming it for tomorrow night.”

  Once the gown was on, Ronnie reached behind her and let her hair down.

  “My God, girl. You have no idea how beautiful you are, do you?” Tabitha asked, her voice full of awe. “Wear that glorious hair of yours down. No jewelry either.”

  Ronnie touched her trinity knot. “None?”

  “None,” Tabitha said, and pointedly looked at the necklace. “Especially not that. I do have some earrings that are just the thing to complement the gown. And the shoes. I’ve got those as well. I’m tempted to go to this thing and give you all my money just to see you.”

  “You already get all my money. It’s fair I get yours,” Ronnie said with a laugh.

  But she looked in the mirror and saw someone different. With her hair down, and in the gown, Ronnie was the person she wanted Arran to see.

  The one he wouldn’t be able to take his eyes off of.

  “He won’t be able to,” Tabitha said in agreement.

  Ronnie hadn’t even realized she’d said that out loud.

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-ONE

  Arran rubbed his eyes as he let himself back into the suite. He’d managed to discover some information about the magical items that had been taken from Edinburgh. Determining how much of the information was truth was going to be the problem.