WingsOfDesire-AriannaSkye (4 page)

She placed her staff on her shoulder. “Are there any more naysayers in my presence?” At the lack of response, she smirked. “Good. I believe you all will make excellent subjects.” With that, she spurred her horse and galloped off toward Dark Castle. The winds of change were now in her favor.
It’s about damn time.

Aine thanked the Gods for mugwort root and generous faerie sorcerers. Her sister’s words echoed in her ears.

In any way possible.

She knew what Korrigan implied, but she didn’t have the heart. Perhaps finding another ingenious way to keep the White Faerie princess on Earth would impress her sister. After all, an eternity in this dry, scorching heat should be punishment enough. Scratching her nose, she shook her head in disbelief.

Aine looked down at the mugwort root she gripped in her fist. According to the sorcerer, ingesting the strange herb would allow her to take over the thoughts and actions of any living being, be it human or faerie. She breathed a sigh of relief. Her subject was human and would be easier to manipulate.

Gods, she truly despised that word.

Standing in the shadows of the dimly lit tavern, she blended with the dark silhouettes dancing upon the walls. Anxiety gnawed at her heart. She needed to prove herself. Perhaps then Korrigan would see that she was no longer a child but a woman. Her sister would have no choice but give her the respect she desperately needed.

“I’ll finally be accepted as a royal subject,” she whispered.

She shook her head. At least until Korrigan found out she’d fallen in love with one of her pleasure-slaves. Mayhap her sister would understand. Perhaps after gaining her respect, Korrigan would give her Sionnach.

Craning her head, Aine spied the princess. A river of reddish-brown curls cascaded to just above her shoulders. Even though her hair was shorter than most faeries, her aura shone bright with the faerie fire. Boredom, mixed with loneliness, showed in her eyes as she drummed her fingers on the table. She appeared calm, apparently unfazed by the hot, acrid air.

She felt sorry for the princess. This Earthly torture would break even the strongest faeries.

She grimaced. Rhiannon, indeed, had to be one very powerful faerie to survive such torture.

Still, Aine couldn’t bring herself to do it. She couldn’t harm a living being, no matter how strong

they were. Mayhap Korrigan was right? Mayhap she was weak, just like her mother who’d put them in this quandary. But what would Korrigan care? If Aine could convince the princess to stay in this wasteland, then the kingdom would still be Korrigan’s.

Rhiannon took a sip of a strange, brown liquid. Plucking the yellow wedge from the side of the glass, she squeezed it and dropped it into the drink.

The door to the tavern swung open. Aine took a deep breath. Her quarry had arrived. The princess’s only friend, Lara DeWeese, bustled her way toward the table.
These humans have
strange names.

~*~*~

“Rhee!” Lara exclaimed with a wide smile. Her blonde ponytail swished with each breath she took. “I’m so sorry. I got caught in traffic and my cell is on the fritz. Stupid construction. I swear they do it to drive us insane.” She sat the large satchel she’d been carrying on the floor.

Pulling the chair from the table, she plopped down.It was now or never. Aine took the mugwort and placed it to her lips, gritting her teeth as the pungent odor wafted to her nose. The sorcerer wasn’t as nice as she thought. He could have warned her that the root smelled worse than ogre dung.

Closing her eyes, she stuffed the revolting herb in her mouth and chewed as quickly as she could. The sooner she swallowed the nasty plant, the sooner she could take over Lara’s mind and convince the princess to stay on earth. Coughing and sputtering, she allowed the herb’s magic to fill her.

She brushed a strand of hair from her face and watched in shock as Rhiannon’s friend mimicked her action. Impressive.

She further inspected the princess’s human friend and the golden aura that surrounded her.

Magical energy moved with her every step. Great, just what she needed to muck up her plans. An enchanted human. That meant she’d have to ingest more mugwort than she thought. Luckily—or not so luckily—for her, she’d brought extra.

She attuned herself to their conversation, not wanting to miss a single word. Any bit of information she could give her sister would certainly aid her cause.

~*~*~

Lara shook her head and rubbed her temples. Sweat dampened her forehead and her face paled. “I’ll be right back. I’m not feeling so hot.”

“Are you going to be okay?”

Lara nodded. “Probably just a migraine. I’ll be right back.” Swirling the ice in her glass, Rhiannon watched her friend scoot toward the bathroom. Glad to have one friend in this crazy world, Rhiannon smiled. Had it not been for Lara, she would have gone insane.

“Can I get your order?” The waitress stood there, tapping the pad with her pen.

Soon, mo cridhe.
Rhiannon’s heart thudded, hearing his sultry voice calling through the air.

Her sex throbbed at the memory of his heady, woodsy scent and the feel of his breath against her while he licked and sucked her clit. Her panties began to dampen and she squirmed in her seat.

“Ma’am?”

She blinked out of her reverie. The waitress continued to tap the pen and flashed an impatient glare.

“Oh, sorry,” Rhiannon muttered. “I’m waiting for my friend to come back from the restroom.”

The waitress flashed an apologetic gaze. “Oh, okay. Holler when you’re ready to order.” Rhiannon nodded. She turned her head just in time to spot Lara saunter in from the ladies’

room. She’d taken out her ponytail and let her honey-gold mane pool around her shoulders and down her back. The top buttons of her dress jacket were undone, letting the black lace of her bra peek above the lapels. Her friend ran her fingers through her hair and threw her head back.

What the heck?
“Is everything okay?”

Lara smiled. “I am fine, Rhiannon. How have you been? Have you met anyone recently?” Startled by Lara’s strange formality, Rhiannon raised a brow. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

“Certainly.” Lara lounged back, allowing more of the lacy black bra to pop out. She lifted a glass of iced water to her newly-painted, siren-red lips and took a sip. “So what did you want to talk about, Rhiannon?”

“I’m having weird dreams,” Rhiannon blurted.

“Is that so? That sounds
very
interesting. Please tell me more.”

Is she trying to be funny or have those psychology classes finally taken their toll?

“Cute performance, Lara, but you can quit the anal therapist routine.” Rhiannon sighed. “I need your help analyzing my dream. You can’t let those kick-ass abilities go to waste.” Lara ran her fingers through her hair. It was as if she’d just discovered her golden locks for the first time. She stroked and caressed each tendril, sighing contentedly. A weird vibe rolled from her like fog on a swamp.

“Oh, I am not sure I can today.” Lara flung her hair around her head. “I have not done that in quite some time.”

Rhiannon narrowed her eyes. “You moderate an Internet forum. Are you sure you’re all right?”

Her friend harrumphed. “I am sorry. I...ah...just spend so much time deciphering all those dreams. I need some respite every now and again.”

“Just one small dream, and I swear I won’t bug you for a month.” Lara huffed with exasperation. “Very well, then. Just this one
small
dream and you’ll let me enjoy my respite?”

“What’s with all the big words? Practicing your big-bad-psycho-babble routine already?” At Lara’s lack of response, she shook her head. “Okay, whatever. Anyway, a freak lightning bolt sort of fried my computer. It was so weird. And then I heard a voice in my head. He spoke some strange language that I seemed to already know.”

“What did he say?”

“
Trobhad, mo cridhe
.”

Lara’s head snapped up. “Is that so? Did he say anything else?”
Doesn’t she want to know what it means?

Rhiannon took a tentative sip of tea. “A bunch of things about Beltane and some other mumbo jumbo.”

“So that was your dream?” Lara took another sip of water, not losing a smidge of lipstick.

“No, that was before I went to bed. There was something about the voice that kind of...uh...turned me on. It was deep and sexy.”

“I do not analyze
that
kind of dream.”

She rolled her eyes. “Just let me finish. So I went to bed and then he was there in bed with me. It was the most explosive orgasm I’ve ever had.”

“You had sex in your dream?” Lara asked, sounding more curious than she had been before.

Rhiannon shook her head. “No. I wanted to, but he said we couldn’t, that we had to wait until Beltane. What the hell is Beltane, anyway?”

“A holiday of sorts, I believe. What did he do?”

“He spoke in his weird language and...well...went down on me. It’s not about the pleasure.

It’s the strange language, the electricity of his touch, the way he vanished into the mists. It seemed so damn real.”

Lara shrugged. “Did you partake in any alcoholic beverages? Any herbs?”
Herbs?
“Oh come on, you know how little I drink. The only thing I’ve
partook in
recently is caffeine.” She lifted the glass of iced tea and swished it around. “I’m herb free.”

“If I were you, I would not worry about this dream. It is merely telling you to find a man to copulate with—a real man, not some made up fantasy from your dreams. How long has it been since you’ve lain with a man?”

Rhiannon’s eyes widened in shock. “What about saving ourselves for the right man? The pact we made?”

Lara shrugged. “I became lonely.”

“That’s a bunch of bullshit. What’s gotten into you?”

“Nothing is wrong with me!” Lara snapped. She leaned across the table with an intense glare. Her fingers gripped the edge tightly. Her dark—almost black—eyes sparked. “Do not let the dream world fool you. Trust reality. Do not believe
him.
” She stood, wrenched herself around, and raced out of the restaurant.

What the heck is going on?

The only thing Rhiannon could think of was Lara’s eyes. Her once violet eyes were dark as a midnight sky.

Rhiannon had no doubt now—she’d officially gone insane.

~*~*~

Cerne hid in the shadows, watching Rhiannon splash in the crystal blue water. The moonlight danced across her skin, illuminating every drop of water that cascaded down her body.

She wasn’t completely nude. However, she wasn’t far from it. Tiny little slips of shiny green

fabric did little to conceal the roundness of her breasts. He lowered his eyes to her flat, toned stomach. Remembering the kisses he’d traced along her belly button, he felt himself begin to swell. He wanted her in the worst way. He wouldn’t be able to last until Beltane. He wasn’t even sure he could last another night.

Rhiannon threw back her wet hair, sending thousands of water drops dancing through the air. She ran her elegant fingers through her auburn curls and sighed. He needed to talk with her, to tell her everything, but he wanted to make sure the time was right. Like in her bedchamber while he sank into her inviting warmth. His cock swelled and grew harder. Never had any woman, faerie or human, affected him so.

She climbed out of the pool, giving him a perfect view of her ass. The tiny string wiggled between two delicious globes as she approached the diving platform. With the true grace of a faerie, she bounded down the platform and arced into a flawless dive. Perhaps he could forego the bedchamber.

He pulled his tunic up over his head and threw it on the stone ground. With quickness he did not know he possessed, he ripped off his boots, worked the laces of his breeches and eagerly pulled them down his legs and off his body. Rhiannon splashed playfully in the deeper end. He groaned, watching her breasts bob with the ripples she created. His cock throbbed. He needed to touch her, smell her, taste her. He needed her—
now.

With slow, stealthy movements, he edged himself into the cool water. A quick splash and he dove underneath to swim toward her. Her long, shapely legs kicked a steady motion, her derriere swaying with every move.

Cerne smiled. “I’ve returned,
mo cridhe
.”

With a gasp, Rhiannon turned to face him. Bemusement spread across her face when he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her soft body against the hard muscles of his chest.

He leaned into her, breathing in the magical scent of lavender and vanilla wafting above the harshness of the human-tampered water. Her thighs squirmed against his thick rigidness. Gods, he needed her.

“I’m going mad,” Rhiannon breathed out, while the water lapped around them.

Cerne rested his hand against her flat stomach and traced a finger around her belly button.

He ground his rock-hard erection against her and cupped a breast through the shiny fabric. “Do I

make you mad?” he whispered, allowing his tongue to trace along an earlobe.

Rhiannon’s breath caught, and Cerne continued to kiss and nibble down her neck. He fumbled with the ties of the garment covering her breasts, his hunger increasing tenfold.

Cerne looked down at her. Her emerald eyes glistened with the moonlight from above and the light illuminating the water from beneath. Cerne smiled, managing to untie the top. He dropped the silky material into the water and let it float away.

“I’ve missed you,
leannan
. Your body, your scent—your taste.” He traced a hand down her stomach and underneath the slit of identical fabric that barely covered her mound. Tracing his fingertip against the hard nub of her clit, he could already feel her slick juices dripping from her nether lips.

“Ah...” he whispered, tweaking a nipple with his other hand. “I see you’ve missed me too.” A wicked grin curved his lips. He lowered his mouth to the other nipple and took the rosy bud between his lips, nipping and sucking the sensitive peak. He wanted to lick and nibble every inch of her delectable body. “Let me hear you say it. How much did you miss me?” He rubbed his finger against her clit.