Earth's Hope (13 page)

“I can get us from here to the house,” he said gruffly, drew a spell, and counted through seconds while the greenery dissolved around them, exchanged for the whitewashed walls of his suite of rooms on the third floor of the manor house. He started pulling at her clothes as soon as he could and she responded in kind, unlacing the fastenings of his top and working on the buttons holding his faded jeans on his hips. He tossed her rucksack, jacket and top in a pile, and pushed her bra out of the way to suckle her breasts. She had the most amazing nipples, rose colored and the size of silver dollars. They puckered willingly under his ministrations, and she arched into his touch.

“Do you suppose we’ll actually manage to get through this without being interrupted?” she asked, her breath coming in panting gasps as she wove her fingers into his hair.

He lifted his mouth from her breasts and grinned rakishly. “Good point.” He shoved a bolt of magic at the door. “That should do it. If anyone knocks, we willna answer.”

Aislinn pushed him backward until his legs hit the bed and he tumbled onto it. She unlaced his boots and tugged at them, jockeying them off.

“What about yours,” he asked.

“Getting there.” She pulled his jeans and shorts out of the way and captured his erection between both hands. Leaning forward, she licked around the glans, and he grunted at the sheer pleasure of her touch. Encouraged by his response, she took him most of the way into her mouth, working him with tongue, teeth, lips, and her hands. His cock jerked and shuddered under the attention and his breath came in harsh bursts as he rode a ragged edge of control. Every nerve in his body was on fire with wanting the woman bent over his body.

“Lass.” He placed a hand on either side of her head and dragged himself from her mouth.

“Mmm?” Her golden gaze settled on his face, and the skin around the corners of her eyes crinkled with mischief.

“Lie next to me.”

“But I was enjoying myself.”

“Och aye, and I was enjoying you too, but I want all of you.”

She wriggled onto the bed and arched her back, pressing her body against him. “Same problem I have. I always want to do everything with you at the same time. Lick, suck, fuck, kiss. And I never, never get enough.”

“Goddess willing, ye’ll always feel that way, leannán.” He pushed to a sit and went to work unlacing her boots. Fionn made a clucking sound. “Ye’re needing boots.”

“Tell me something I don’t know. Better yet”—she toed off the boot he’d unlaced—“don’t tell me anything at all right now.”

Fionn finished undoing her pants and jerked them down her hips, following them with her panties. The sweet musk of her arousal tantalized him and made his aching erection even harder. He traced a finger over the damp red curls surrounding her pussy, and she made a little mewling sound. He reached deeper and slid two fingers inside her, feeling her muscles clamp down on him immediately.

Aislinn shifted and gripped his upper arm, dragging him down with insistent pressure. Her nipples were tight buds of wanting him and her pussy rippled around his fingers. He pulled his hand out and knelt over her, stabilizing his cock so it pressed against the entrance to her body. She scooted forward and lifted her long legs until they draped over his shoulders, opening herself for him.

Just for him, only for him.

Fionn almost couldn’t breathe. He’d never had this reaction to a woman before, where she held the power of life and death over him—or it felt that way. His life would be worthless without Aislinn by his side. With a groan of delight, he let himself sink inside her body. Surrounded by the liquid heat of her, he battled to stay the course. Coming immediately wouldn’t be the end of the world, but he wanted to fly with this woman.

She settled her hands on his hips and tugged demandingly. Inchoate sounds burst from her, Gaelic mixed with goddess-only-knew what, but it didn’t matter. He understood completely. Once they got going, their lovemaking was always cataclysmic as their bodies crashed together. He meant to go slow, but soon he plumbed her hard, over and over as she writhed beneath him. The contractions of her first orgasm were hard to resist, and he drew a bit of magic to make himself last. Watching Aislinn was like watching a goddess with flame-colored hair spread around her in a canopy of living flame. Her face and chest were splotched rosy with desire, and she drove her hips upward, meeting him stroke for stroke.

Somewhere between her third and fourth climax, his body rebelled and let him know that no amount of magic could hold back the tide. Semen boiled hot at the base of his cock. She lowered her legs until they were wrapped around his hips and pounded herself against him. Her eyes were closed and her head thrown back on a neck corded with passion.

“Yes,” she shrieked. “Now.”

He didn’t know if she’d mixed magic in with the command, but his cock juddered inside her as he came. His vision wavered at the edges, and the only thing in the world was her slick sheath encasing him, urging him on. When he collapsed on top of her, there wasn’t enough air in the room to serve his thundering heart. Aislinn closed her arms around him and stroked his back and hair, crooning low in her melodic voice.

Time passed before he came back into himself, still clasped in Aislinn’s arms. “Gods but I love you,” he said.

She laughed, and the sound warmed him. “Not nearly so much as I love you, and that’s where we get into problems. I was blind with jealousy once I realized where you were—and that Perrikus had sent you there.”

“Och, and I was blind with rage once I understood Gwydion and Dewi were hell-bent on dragging you into danger.”

She twisted from beneath him until she lay on her side, so he turned onto his and faced her. Tracing the line of his cheek and chin, she said, “We’re like that O. Henry Christmas story.”

It took a minute for him to make the connection, and then he smiled. “Ye mean the one where he sells his watch for combs for her hair—”

“Exactly,” she broke in. “And she sells her hair to buy him a fob for his watch.”

Fionn blew out a breath. “There are worse things to be than crazy in love, mo croi. On a more serious note, we have to come up with something to immobilize the dark gods. That they can rally the Harpies to abduct me is worrisome.”

She snorted. “You think? I didn’t like it much when Perrikus showed up here gloating, either.”

“I’m grateful that’s all he did.” Fionn shook his head. “Ye’ll have to catch me up on what happened.”

“I will. Lemurians attacked, but it turns out they were just Perrikus’s puppets. They would have inflicted more damage, but we fought back. The humans helped—a lot.”

He rolled his eyes. “Rub it in. We made an enormous mistake by not recognizing—and leveraging—their power earlier. Would ye like a bath?”

“That would be nice.”

He kissed her forehead and cheeks, before brushing his mouth over hers. “Let’s do that. Ye can fill in details while we clean up.” He hesitated, mulling things over before adding, “I have an idea to float, but ’tis risky as sin, and I need to think it through a bit more afore I open my mouth.”

She cocked her head to one side. “That was quite the teaser. Are you sure you don’t want to say more?”

“Aye, quite sure.”

* * * *

Aislinn wound a towel around her wet hair. Fionn’s manor house had a gravity feed spring which provided running water, and they could warm it with magic, so most of the creature comforts she’d associated with civilization were still available—at least here. In the underground dwelling where she’d lived in Utah, running water had come from a waterfall cascading down one rocky wall. Her cave was leftover from a deserted mining operation. It had been easy to hide with magic, but not very commodious. A wave of nostalgia swept through her. The few personal mementoes she’d kept from before the dark gods had killed her father were still in her cave. Though she might return there someday, it was looking less and less likely.

Buck up. They’re only things.

She pulled on clothes. As usual, Fionn was quicker both dressing and bathing, and he’d left to rustle up some food for them in the kitchens. She gazed around his bedchamber. Nestled into a corner of the third floor of the manor house, huge beams ran through the ceiling, and a fireplace was set into the wall next to a door leading to a patio. Another door led into Fionn’s study at the far end of the room. All in all, it was a simple, masculine environment. Nothing fussy. The headboard and footboard were carved, dark wood and they matched an armoire and several dressers scattered about. A round table and two chairs lay between the windows and the bed. Leaded glass panes lined the wall where the fireplace was and the wall nearest the bathroom. When she’d first seen this room, sunlight—a rare occurrence in Northern Ireland—had been bouncing through the windows, illuminating the room and adding both enchantment and mystery to it.

Scratching at the door jerked her from her reverie, and she sent magic spiraling across the room to unlatch it. Rune trotted in with the remains of a mangled rodent trailing from his mouth.

“Ewwww.” Aislinn crinkled her nose. “Couldn’t you have finished that outside?”

He dropped it onto the thick Oriental carpet and spread his jaws in a wolfish grin. “You’ve eaten worse.”

“Yes, but only when I was starving. And I usually tried to cook squirrels.”

“It’s a chipmunk.” Rune settled onto the floor with a thunk, and proceeded to munch on his treat.

“Where’s Bella?” Aislinn dragged a sweater over her top.

“With Fionn and the dragons.”

She headed toward the door leading into the hallway. “Are they outside?”

Rune made a chuffing noise and switched to mind speech. “Of course. Dragons won’t fit in the house.”

Aislinn wasn’t so sure about that. They’d certainly fit inside the great room, but now that there were six of them, it would be a tight fit. “The babies?”

Rune shook his head and fur clumps flew every which way. “Why do you think I’m up here? That little black one won’t leave me be.”

“He’s not all that little anymore.” She bit back the rest of her words. The baby dragons were actually much bigger than Rune now, but she didn’t see any reason to remind the wolf of that. She quirked a brow. “I’m going downstairs to eat something. Are you coming?”

He dropped the small corpse onto the carpet again. “If it’s all the same to you, I’ll stay here.”

“Fine. I’ll call you if I need you.”

Aislinn let herself into the hall and made her way down two sets of stairs, across the great room, down more stairs, and to the kitchen. No matter what the Celts and dragons were hatching up, she needed food.

Bran stood over a pot on the stove, stirring. He turned and faced her, a smile on his face. “Can I dish you up a snack, lass?”

“That would be nice. Where’s everyone else?”

“Somewhere between here and the moat. Fionn asked me to stay here and make certain ye had enough to eat.”

She smothered a self-conscious grin. It was nice to be taken care of. No one had done much of anything for her since her father had been killed and her mother had gone mad. It was a harsh indoctrination into adulthood—and a quick one. She extended a hand for the bowl Bran held out to her. “Thanks.”

“Doona mention it.” He dropped a lid on the pot and turned to leave.

An idea formed. “Bran! Don’t go just yet.”

He focused his copper gaze on her; today his longish, blond hair was braided Celtic warrior style, and he wore his characteristic battle leathers. “Aye, lass. Can I get you aught else?”

Information, you can get me information. Unfortunately, the Celts were notoriously close-mouthed. Bran might be the god of prophecy, but if she wanted him to share anything with her, she’d have to proceed with stealth. His gaze sharpened, and red flared in the depths of his eyes. She built a quiet ward around her mind, hoping he wouldn’t notice.

Fat chance.

Aislinn cleared her throat. “How much longer before the baby dragons can fight for us?”

“Mayhap only another few days.” He made a grunting sound. “That is if Dewi allows them to fight at all.”

“Could she make that choice?” Aislinn spooned a split pea and dried vegetable mix into her mouth. It wasn’t bad. Sort of a stick-to-your ribs affair.

“She could. Nidhogg would fight her, though. So would Gwydion.” Bran ran water into a glass at the sink and dropped it softly in front of her. “Ask what ye really want to know, lass. ’Twill save both of us a lot of time.”

“Am I that transparent?” She winced.

“Och, I doona know about that.” He shrugged. “But I’ve been reading minds for millennia.”

“Great!” She smiled brightly. “Then you can tell me what I want to know without me saying a word.”

His handsome face darkened. “’Tisn’t a game. Sometimes I forget how young ye truly are.”

That smarted. She dropped her spoon into her empty bowl. “All right. Your gift is prophecy. What have you seen about our war with the Lemurians and dark gods?”

He shook his head, his eyes flaring with compassion. “Some things are beyond my ken. Because so many varieties of magic wielders are involved, I canna see that particular future.”

Her Seeker gift—the one that sorted truth from falsehood—twanged sourly. “That’s not true,” she blurted.

The air around Bran thickened, thrumming with magic, and she wondered if he’d teleport out of reach of her questions. Not much she could do if he did. She held her breath, waiting. If he left, she may as well go in search of Fionn and the dragons. Moments dribbled by. Finally, he strode to the table, used a foot to drag the chair opposite her out, and sat on it.

“Why’d you decide not to cut and run?” she asked dryly.

He narrowed his eyes. “And are ye determined to make me regret my choice? By the way, lassie, I never cut and run. I make decisions based on exigencies.”

“You thought about teleporting out of here.”

“Aye.”

“So,” she persisted, “what changed your mind?”

“Can ye remain silent long enough to listen?”

Aislinn chuckled. “Touché. Not one of my strong points, but I’ll do the best I can.”

“Prophecy isna like watching television.” He folded his hands in front of him, lacing the fingers together. “I see bits and pieces of many different futures without knowing how they’ll weave together.”