Dragon Knight's Axe (20 page)

He was slowly torturing her, as he would stop to lick or nip her most sensitive spot. She tried to find a rhythm, but he held her firm. “Alastair, please…”

His eyes were wild when he caught hers. “Dinnae move.
Just feel
.”

Descending once more, he teased until stars burst before her eyes as the first wave sent her soaring high above the ground. The second slammed into her with such force that she believed her body exploded with pure ecstasy.

She had no time to recover before he plunged deep inside of her. His beard grazed the side of her cheek as he sought out her lips. Grasping her leg, he swung it around his back and thrust even deeper.

“Do ye ken how good ye feel around my cock?” Alastair whispered against her ear.

Fiona couldn’t respond. With each thrust, he propelled her further over the edge of the abyss, and her body began to vibrate with liquid fire. When she scored his back with her nails, his groan of pleasure sent her over the edge.

Screaming his name, she held on, not wishing to ever return.

****

Darkness enveloped them, but they took their time dressing. A sliver of the crescent moon the only light they needed. He helped with her laces and when the last one was tied, he placed a gentle kiss on her neck.

“Are ye hungry?” he asked, grabbing his boots and pulling them on.

She laughed. “Famished, but we missed our chance to find any berries or to fish.”

Giving her a quick kiss, she could feel his smile. “Ye have not seen what the druids packed.”

“You’ve been holding back, Alastair MacKay.”

“Have I? I believe I did my best to please ye.”

She swallowed. “You know exactly what I mean,” she chided as her body became heated all over again.

He chuckled as he moved away.

Quickly following him, she was curious as to what he had not shown her in previous days. Their meals consisted of only bread, cheese, and berries they’d found along the way. In the evenings, he brought back fish and any mushrooms he could forage.

Merlin popped his head up when he saw them approach, his tail wagging as she went over to scratch his ears. “Have you been keeping a watch out?” The dog licked her hand, giving a low bark in understanding.

“Let’s see what Alastair has been hiding from us. Shall we?”

Merlin rose and stretched, and then proceeded to sit next to her as she waited to see what the dark dragon had in his satchel.

“I have not been hiding anything. There was no need to eat what the druids provided until necessary.”

She didn’t say a word. Instead, she watched as Alastair started a small fire noticing all the physical details about him. When he looked up, all she saw was his smile. A full, beaming smile. It stole the breath from her lungs. His entire face transformed making him appear younger. If she thought him handsome before, she was mesmerized by this new look. And all he did was smile at her.

Her stomach growled.

“Och, and here I thought ye were hungry for me,” he teased.

She blinked and shook her head. “I am hungry.”

“For?” He arched a brow in question.

Why did he always make her flustered and cause her tongue to tie in knots? “Fo…Food,” she stammered, then quickly added, “You, later.”

It was his turn to be shocked as she saw the flash of surprise light his eyes, briefly.

He held out his hand and motioned for her. “Come let us see what the druids have made for us.”

His fingers wrapped around hers, warm and strong. Sitting down next to him, Merlin plopped down on her other side giving a pleading look to Alastair.

“Aye, ye will be sharing a wee bit of the food, too. Here is some dried salmon,” he said as he finished unwrapping the first parcel.

Merlin responded by thumping his tail on the ground.

“Dried salmon?” Fiona’s mouth salivated instantly.

“The druids have a way of drying and smoking the salmon. Open your mouth, Fiona.”

She willingly opened her mouth and closed her eyes. When the salmon entered her mouth, she took her tongue and lapped at Alastair’s fingers. “Mmmm…so good. More please.”

With each portion, Fiona moaned in delight. When he popped a bit of sweetbread with dried apricots tasting of rum into her mouth, she let out a moan of pure pleasure.

Slowly opening her eyes, she noticed Alastair staring at her. “If ye continue to moan as I feed ye, I fear we will not finish our meal.”

Smiling, she fumbled for a piece of sweetbread. “Then I will just have to feed myself.”

He grasped her hand and devoured the bread, licking the sticky remnants from her fingers. His tongue grazed across her palm sending a shiver up her arm.

“What’s in the others?” she whispered, her eyes never leaving his.

Alastair shifted and pulled forth a package. Untying it, he brought out what looked like pasties. Breaking it open, he scooped a small amount with his fingers, placing some in her mouth.

“This is delicious. Carrots, mushrooms, and onions?”

“Aye.”

Taking the other half, she did the same for him.

For the next hour, they tasted more dried salmon, sweetbread, nuts, and another pasty filled with cabbage and onions.

His eyes danced with mischief. “Would ye care for the last bite of sweetbread, my lady?”

Playing along, she replied, “Why yes, kind sir.”

As he placed the last piece into her mouth, his lips lightly brushed over hers. “I might as well catch the last bit of crumbs, aye?”

“Of course,” she whispered, grabbing for the skin of wine and taking a sip.

Flushed from food, wine, and kisses, Fiona leaned against the fallen log and gazed up at the stars. “Did you know that those clusters of stars form Leo the Lion? And further south is Cassiopeia? I believe my favorite will always be the Big and Little Dipper.” Pointing to another, she added, “That red star south of the moon is called Antares.”

“Is it now? And did ye ken that the dragon is located to the east?”

She snapped her gaze to his. “You follow the stars, too?”

“How could I not?” He kissed the tip of her nose and sighed. Leaning back, he looked up at the night sky. “We were taught at a young age that the many different patterns of the stars watched over us. With each passing season, we would listen and learn.”

“We?” asked Fiona.

“My brothers and sister,” he replied softly.

Driven by curiosity, she then asked, “What were they like?”

Hearing his intake of breath, Fiona feared she had stomped on emotions that had been buried deep for some time.

“They, myself included, were headstrong, stubborn, brave, and fiercely loyal. We challenged each other constantly, especially with our
gifts
. Angus would give us all fair warning should we go too far, but in the end, his anger would brush us with a taste of what he could do.”

“Which was?”

“Fire.”

“Fire…he can control
fire
?”

“Not only can he command it, he can conjure it from the air.”

“Amazing.”

Alastair snorted. “Ye would not want to be around him when he unleashes the element. Stephen interceded one day when he set the fields ablaze
and
my hair.”

“How? What is his power?”

He cocked a brow at her. “Water, thank the Gods.”

She pressed a hand over her mouth to stop the giggles.

“’Tis no laughing matter.”

Though Fiona could tell by the quiver of his lips, he was holding back the smile. “What about Duncan and Margaret?”

“Duncan controls the skies. He can bring forth a mighty storm when his anger is unleashed.”

“It would seem you all have issues with your tempers,” she chided.

Alastair barked out laughter. “Och, aye. We are not a sight to be around when the lion emerges. Even our bonny sister has…
had
a temper.”

His words trailed off, and Fiona reached for his hand, weaving her fingers through his rough ones. She let the silence wash over them and gazed back up at the twinkling stars.

His voice was somber when he added, “Margaret had the gift of healing. Odd that in the end there was no one to heal her.”

When Fiona looked into his eyes, she saw the pain of that night reflected within. He quickly averted his gaze, and her heart ached for him. “Whenever I stare at the night sky, I find comfort realizing that my grandmother is watching me from one of those stars. Now, I can add both my parents. Perhaps that is why I’m fascinated by the night sky, not only the vastness, but the sense that there are others out there.”

Alastair turned his sight up toward the sky again, and when he spoke, his tone was one of sadness. “I believe Meggie is watching over others, for she would not be fond of what I have become.”

Fiona had no words of comfort for him. She understood he had to find his own peace. Yet, glancing at the scarred man, both emotionally and physically, there was only one thought that kept running through her mind.

If I were a star, I would always watch over you.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“When the Knight attempted to carve out his heart, he found the Maiden had already claimed it for her own.”

Alastair did not have the heart to wake Fiona. He’d awakened after the sun began its dance with her still wrapped in his arms. He could not remember the last time he had slept so well.

They had talked into the wee hours of the morning with her falling asleep against his arm. He had been rambling about another story of one of his brothers when he heard her snoring softly. Gently maneuvering her body around, he tucked her against his chest. Soon, he, too, was fast asleep.

Glancing down at her face, he was captivated by her features. Skin as white as snow and lips so red they reminded him of strawberries on a warm summer’s day. His body stirred ready to seek her flesh, yet, for now, he was content to watch Fiona slumber.

What happened yesterday? What happened to him?

He should not need her. He should not crave her touch, her smile, or her sweet words of comfort. Her voice was akin to music to his ears that he should ignore.

There were too many
shouldnas
and not enough
shoulds
.

Alastair shook his head in an attempt to free his mind from his current thoughts. Nevertheless, his feelings betrayed him.

He needed Fiona.

The problem battling a war within was he wanted her as his own. Feeling her shift in his arms, he peered deep into blue eyes that beguiled his senses.

She smiled fully at him. “Good morning.”

“It is indeed.” He spoke before his lips devoured hers. His hand slipped under the tunic she had borrowed from him during the night, and found her soft breast, kneading gently. Moaning low, she wrapped her arms around his neck opening her legs for him.

His hand roamed downward until he found her folds, and she moved against his palm. A burning desire to bury himself deep and claim her swept over Alastair, but he wanted to take his time. Letting his fingers find her pleasure spot, he swept his thumb in lazy circles around the small nub.

She grazed her teeth along his earlobe. “In me, now.”

“Do ye not like this?” he asked as he applied more pressure.

She tossed her head back and forth, letting out gasps. “Yes, but want to feel you inside me.”

“In a moment,” he breathed into her ear.

Grasping his face, she slowly pulled on his lower lip with her mouth. “Pleasure me with your cock.” She wriggled back and pulled the tunic over her head presenting him with a glorious vision.

“Ye have become a brazen woman,
my
leannan
.”

She froze in his arms. “Does that worry you?”

Taking his cock, he edged it toward her entrance. “Nae, sweet vixen. It stirs my blood.”

He didn’t give her time to respond as he plunged deep within her channel, and then ever so slowly, pulled back out. Over and over, he did the same until he thought he would lose his mind.

“Alastair,
oh Alastair
!” Her cries mingled with his as she took him over the edge soaring high above the ground—the hot tide of passion surging through both of them.

“Is it always like this?” she asked moments later, as they attempted to calm their breathing.

Alastair rolled over bringing her atop his chest. What could he say? He had never experienced such passion with another woman. Fiona had managed to slip past all his barriers, sitting squarely in his heart.

Stroking her back, he glanced up into the sky. “For some, aye.”

“Hmmm…”

He could see the frown marring her face, and he waited for the next question. “Are we the rare ones?” she asked.

Again, what could he say?

A part of him wanted to tell her everything. However, he was not ready, nor was she. So in the end, all he could do was shrug. “Perchance.”

“You’re right. Perhaps…” She snuggled back into his embrace and for some unknown reason, Alastair felt like a coward.

****

The day had turned warm with the sun’s rays beating down as they traveled. Each time he glanced back at Fiona, she was wiping curls away from her face, now flushed from the heat. With only three days separating them from Urquhart, he decided to slow their pace. As they made their way through a dense cluster of pines, the steep path narrowed and dipped. When he came through, Alastair thanked the Gods. He could hear the trickle of the water and smiled. Below flowed a small stream, partially hidden from view. While waiting for Fiona to catch up to him, he checked to make sure Merlin was not far behind.

“Would ye care to bathe, my lady?” he asked when Fiona arrived at his side.

She squinted up at him. “Are you jesting?”

“Och, Fiona, I never jest.” He rubbed a hand over several days growth of beard. “Well, at least not lately.”

She looked at him with what seemed to be amused wonder. “I believe you were quite the prankster in your youth.”

“I will never tell.”

“Humph! Then lead the way, Sir Knight.”

Giving her a curt nod, he dismounted from his horse and strode over to her. Reaching out for her, she greeted his gesture by falling into his arms. “We will have to lead the horses down. Do ye think ye can handle yours?”