Page 28 of A Celtic Vow
She didn’t just doubt it but knew. Felt it inside him.
Aodh made sure everyone got their fair share, and from what she had seen, no one in his kingdom suffered, and she knew they never would. Even the outlying villages. He might have sought her help today, but she now knew it was to make her feel useful. Part of this place, however temporarily.
More so if she decided to stay after everything was said and done.
Would she, though? Could she? Because with every passing hour, she sensed it might not be that easy. Almost as if the closer she got to him, the further away something pulled her. Worse still, she had no idea if it was for the greater good or because it didn’t want them together. Even as she thought it, she knew whatever tried to come between them would have a battle on its hands, considering what blossomed between them so quickly.
Her eyes drifted at the feel of his warm breath fanning her neck. The untouchable spell she seemed to fall under every time they were close. Especiallythisclose. While she certainly felt what lived inside her coming to attention whenever he was near, her human half was just as alert.
Just as aroused.
And the sensation only seemed to intensify. Swell inside her like the beast who had burrowed so deep. To the point that she had been acutely aware of his proximity all day.
Now she physically ached.
It didn’t help that she was nestled between his muscular thighs. That his heat and scent seemed to seep into her like an aphrodisiac. Made her imagination go places it shouldn’t so soon.
What would it feel like to sleep with a man for the first time? To sleep with Aodh? Feel the hard length pressed against her backside deep inside her? She knew the minute she thought it, and he cursed under his breath and tensed that he caught not just her thoughts but that she was a virgin. Honestly, considering how their thoughts seemed to meld so much, she was surprised he hadn’t figured it out sooner.
“Ye’ve a way of keeping things from me, lass,” he whispered hoarsely, inhaling the side of her neck so deeply she feared their dragons were surfacing.
Following her thoughts readily enough, he went on. “And ‘tis not my inner beast smelling yer sweet scent,” he murmured in her ear before she swore the tip of his tongue flickered over her sensitive skin, “but the flesh and blood man.”
Unable to speak, she closed her eyes and bit back a groan that wasn’t her inner monster either buther. A woman who prayed she could maintain control around him when they needed to now more than ever.
Especially at King’s Fall.
“Ye pray to yers, and I’ll pray to mine,” he said softly, inhaling the scent of her skin again. “But I have a feeling there's no deity out there that can stop this.”
They said little after that for two reasons. Not only because she suspected he was right and they had no choice but to let fate take them where it would but because she became more and more aware of the woodland around them. Where more leaves than she would have expected were still green, most were dull and brown with the onset of a wintry autumn.
It had been one thing seeing this forest from his castle. Another to see it up close. Become part of it. Entrenched in it, for lack of a better explanation, as the earthy smell of moist leaves and pine needles left behind by snow melt mixed with the salty ocean air.
“It all feels so alive,” she whispered the more she took it in. Somehow felt the trees and land from the inside out as if they were part of her. “I’ve never seen nature quite like this,” she marveled, trying to explain it, “not in a way that feels like such a full-bodied experience.”
“Because nature is where your magic derives from,” he said. “I look forward to bringing you to King’s Heart even though I suspect you’ve already been there.”
King’s Heart was the tree at the heart of all this. A tree where people worshiped because they felt it connected them to their gods and ancestors. She had no idea what to make of that but suspected he was right. After all, it seemed Cian had seen her ghostly image there at the beginning of all this, helping everything along. She had no recollection of that and hadn’t dreamt it to the best of her knowledge, so she had no idea what to think.
She was about to reply that she would like to remember having been there but couldn’t seem to find the words as she sensed rather than saw they were getting close to King’s Fall. Close despite hearing no waterfall.
“Do you feel that?” She tried to pinpoint exactly what it was she felt. “Like a...pulling sensation.”
“’Tis how I always feel when I come here.” Aodh stopped their mount. “But I’ll admit, ‘twas never quite so strong as it is now.” He swung down and pulled her after him while speaking to those who traveled with them. “The Druidess and I will travel alone by foot from here.” He looked at Eircc. “Whilst there’s plenty of protection to be found, do not hesitate to go back if the weather becomes too bad.” He eyed the sky. “’Twill be more ice and snow this eve than rain, and the wind will be more biting than usual.”
“Then let it bite.” Eircc notched his chin. “For I will remain here as long as ye and m’lady do.”
His men agreed, all nodding to both Aodh and Constance, that they would remain steadfast in their mission to see them safely here and back. Normally, this wasn’t a dangerous location, but they knew circumstances were different right now. Things could become perilous.
“I will remain here with Zeke and the others.” Ulrik glanced from the direction they were heading back to Constance. “For I do not think this is a place for dogs.” He shook his head. “Not right now.”
Trusting his assessment, she crouched and met Zeke’s eyes. Assured him she’d be okay and told him to stay. He had always been exceptional in that he’d required no training to do as asked. If she said stay, he would. So she patted him, dropped a kiss between his eyes, joined Aodh, and bid everyone goodbye for now.
“’Tis not far from here.” He gestured at the thickening trees ahead. “Just beyond there.”
She nodded, feeling an odd mix of emotions. Not just trepidation and fear but anticipation. As though this place might not be as horrific as she’d once thought. Or was that simply a sense of desperation to finally get some much-needed answers? To bypass the impending danger if it meant she could finally understand what her nightmare was really about?
They had just entered the denser part of the woodland when the sound of children echoed behind them. Moments later, she and Aodh raced by, laughing and transparent like before.
