Highland Vampire (30 page)

Panting with a need she did not even comprehend, she shifted to grasp his silken hair.

"Bane… please."

Thankfully sensing she could bear no more, Bane lifted himself to cover her trembling body, his hips settling between her parted legs.

"Isobella, ye are certain?" he whispered softly.

She lifted her gaze, regarding the man poised above her. In the shadows he appeared dangerous and untamed with his long hair tangled about the impossibly handsome countenance and his eyes glittering with a feral hunger. Even his fangs were visible in the moonlight.

She should be terrified.

Instead she slid her hands over his smooth chest, knowing that she wanted this more than she had wanted anything in her life.

"I am certain."

"Thank the gods," he muttered, his head swooping downward to devour her lips. With a slow, deliberate motion, he began to press his manhood into the very center of her heat.

Isobella instinctively tensed. She knew little of what occurred beneath a man and a woman, but she had heard the stories of the pain a virgin must endure.

"Be at ease, sweeting," Bane whispered close to her ear, his voice oddly strained as he lowered his hands to grasp her hips. "My powers will ensure that ye feel no pain."

She opened her mouth to demand what powers he spoke of, only to give a gasp as a tingling sensation rushed through her body and his thick manhood pressed relentlessly into her.

Her nails sank into his back as she moaned in delight. As he had promised, she felt no pain as he stretched and filled her. Only… what?

There were no words to express the pleasure she felt at having him so deeply embedded in her. She felt complete in a manner she could not explain.

With care, he gently withdrew, and Isobella's nails dug even deeper into his skin.

Surely this could not be all? She was still reaching for that wondrous pinnacle that remained frustratingly elusive.

"Nay…" she moaned.

"Patience, my love," he urged, flexing his hips to plunge himself back into her. "I promise we will find paradise together."

Her breath came in short pants as he rode her with a steady rhythm, his chest brushing her tightened nipples with every thrust. Instinctively she curled her legs about his hips, meeting his thrusts as the coiling pressure threatened to consume her.

And then, just as she was certain she was going to shatter, she reached that astonishing peak.

The world halted as her entire body became rigid and then began to convulse with shocking force.

She cried out as Bane cradled her face in his hands, his hips pumping frantically into her until he gave his own rasping shout and collapsed onto her sated body.

Rolling onto his side, Bane held Isobella tightly in his arms. Over and over he pressed his lips to her tousled curls, allowing the sweet scent of her to fill him.

A part of him knew he should release her so that she could dress. Unlike him, she must feel the chill in the air.

But a greater part of him refused to allow her out of his arms.

What if she were a dream? What if he loosened his grip and she disappeared into the shadows?

It had taken an eternity to discover this woman who filled his heart with such love. He would truly die if he lost her now.

For long moments they lay in silence, both struggling to recover from the powerful force of their desire. Then, with an obvious reluctance, Isobella pulled back to regard him with a haunted expression.

"Bane, ye must go."

His arms instinctively tightened about her. "Nay. I will not leave ye."

She brushed her fingers over his cheek, her tenderness soothing wounds he had harbored for an eternity.

"It will soon be dawn. Ye must return to the glen."

Bane's features hardened. She was right, of course. He could already sense the coming dawn. But for once he did not care. He would not return to his castle alone. Not after he had tasted the happiness Isobella could offer.

"Come with me," he abruptly demanded.

Not surprisingly, she blinked in shock at his words. "What?"

"Come with me." Cupping her cheek in his hand, he regarded her with the love that burned in his heart. "I need ye, Isobella. I need yer touch, yer smile, yer warmth. I cannae bear to be alone any longer."

Much to his dismay, a stricken expression flared over her delicate features.

"Bane… 'tis impossible."

Something very close to panic clutched at him.

He knew he was being selfish. She deserved what every woman desired. A man who could offer her a family, and friends, and the promise of growing old together. Things he could not possibly give her.

And yet she had sworn she would never wed, he reminded himself fiercely.

Surely the love and devotion he would offer her would be preferable to becoming a spinster vulnerable to her father's violent temper?

If nothing else, he could offer all the luxury any woman could desire.

"Why? Ye shall want for nothing," he urged. "I promise I can offer ye more than ye ever dreamed possible."

A sad smile curved her lips. "Ye have already given me more than I dreamed possible."

"Isobella, I have waited an eternity to find ye." He lifted his hand to savor the soft skin of her cheek, knowing with absolute certainty that he would never have enough of this woman. He had been lost and alone in the darkness for so long. She was his salvation. "Dinnae ask me to let ye go. I cannae."

"I—"

"I will beg if I must," he interrupted in ragged tones, revealing the depth of his emotions. "I will stay here until the sun rises and I am reduced to ash if that is what I must do to convince ye I cannae exist without ye."

The hazel eyes widened in dismay. "Nay. Dinnae even say such a thing."

He pressed his lips to her forehead. "Then return to my home with me. Be my wife."

She gave a strangled moan as she clutched him with shaking fingers. "Please, I must return before I am missed. My sister will be concerned."

Pulling back, he slid his fingers beneath her chin, lilting her face upward. "Isobella, look at me." He patiently waited until the thick black lashes lifted to reveal her wary gaze. "Do ye love me?"

He could feel her stiffen at his blunt question, her heart pounding so loudly he feared it might burst. He silently willed her to speak the truth. To admit what she had already confessed with every eager touch.

"Aye, I love ye," she at last whispered.

"Will ye join me?"

Their gazes locked and held. Bane found himself growing frustrated at the knowledge she was hiding her innermost thoughts from him.

There was something troubling her. Something beyond the thought of offering her future to the Beast of MacDonnell.

"Before I leave my family, I must see my sister. I wish to say good-bye."

Bane briefly closed his eyes. The damnable curse.

No matter how deeply they might love one another, it would always lie between them. It made him long to howl in regret.

He gently brushed his thumb over her swollen lips. "Ye know I would change her fate if I could."

He heard her soft sigh whisper in the darkness. "Aye, I ken." She pressed her hands firmly to his chest. "Now go before it is too late."

With grudging reluctance, Bane rose from the bed and swiftly pulled his clothes on. The last thing he desired was to leave Isobella, but he could hesitate no longer. The dawn was dangerously close. He already risked not being able to return to the mist in time.

Pausing to admire the sight of her still flushed and tousled from their lovemaking, Bane bent down to gently press his lips to her own.

"I shall be waiting for ye," he pledged before turning to slip out of the cottage.

Cloaking his presence to ensure he was not sensed by the slumbering villagers, Bane rushed swiftly through the thinning darkness. The prickles upon his skin assured him that his hesitation in the cottage had nearly cost him his existence.

Still, he could not regret a single moment in Isobella's presence.

Slipping into the welcome mist, he came to a halt and allowed a smile to curve his lips.

Isobella. By the fires of hell, she had given him so much more than just her innocence.

She had offered her trust, her warmth, and above all, her love.

It was that which had managed to dispel the cold emptiness that had plagued him for so long.

And he would make certain she never regretted leaving her clan to join him, he silently swore.

Absently his hand lifted to touch the torc about his neck, his gaze narrowing in shock. Glancing downward, it took only a moment to realize that the priceless golden ornament was missing.

Impossible. The torc had been an ancient artifact of his family. It had been given as a betrothal gift for centuries and he had not broken tradition. He had offered the torc to his beloved when she had agreed to become his wife.

She had still possessed it when she had crawled into the bed of her laird, but the moment he had uttered his curse, it had magically appeared about his neck.

He paced along the edge of the mist, his thoughts racing.

The torc was connected to the curse. Of that he was certain. And its disappearance could only mean one thing.

The curse was lifted.

Isobella had once again performed a miracle.

Cursing at the morning sunlight he could sense outside the mist, Bane continued his pacing.

He desperately wished to make his way to Isobella and reveal the glorious truth. Nothing could stand between them now.

They would be together.

For all eternity.

Chapter Six

Isobella remained on the narrow bed for several long moments after Bane's departure.

Despite the pounding urgency to be done with her awaiting task, she could not deny herself the pleasure of savoring the night spent in Bane's arms.

The hungry passion had not come as a surprise. She had sensed the brooding desire from her first encounter with Bane. Nor had she been particularly amazed by his skill. He obviously possessed powers far beyond a mere man. Powers he had readily used to assure her intense pleasure.

What had caught her off guard had been his tenderness.

His every touch had made her feel cherished. As if she meant more than the very world to him.

Despite her innocence, she knew that few women experienced such devoted care. Certainly the few snatches of conversation she had overheard from the various Foster wives had not revealed the contentment she felt.

Indeed, they were more often heard to complain that their husbands considered a bedding something to be done with great speed and little concern for the woman beneath him.

Bane had not taken her simply to ease his lust. He had pleasured her in a manner that only a man in love could offer.

Remembering every touch, every soft moan, Isobella was at last wrenched from her reverie by the biting chill in the air. She had lingered long enough, she silently chastised herself. The dawn had arrived and her duty was clear.

Hastily pulling on her dress, Isobella was halted as she felt the unfamiliar weight about her neck. Glancing down, she discovered a golden torc.

She frowned as she tentatively stroked the glowing metal. Even her untrained eye could detect the exquisite workmanship of the strange engravings, but the obvious worth of the torc was not what brought a frown to her brow. It was the disturbing thought of how it came to be upon her.

She recognized it as belonging to Bane. She had seen it glittering beneath his silken cloak. But how had he managed to place it upon her without her knowledge?

And why had he done so?

They were questions she could not answer, and with a faint shake she grimly pulled her cloak about her and left the silence of the small cottage. The torc was the least of her concerns at the moment.

She did not allow herself to glance back as she scrambled down the steep hill and crept through the still-sleeping village. She had never been one to wallow in regrets.

She would not begin now.

The sun had crested the horizon when Isobella at last reached the castle, and she was forced to creep past the rising servants as she made her way toward the upper chambers. Thankfully none took note of her slender form and she gained her sister's room without interruption.

Quietly she crossed the floor and perched upon the edge of the mattress. Reaching out, she lightly touched her sister's golden red hair. She appeared young and heartbreakingly vulnerable in sleep, but Isobella knew there was a hidden strength within Katherine.

A strength she would need.

Stirring in her sleep, Katherine turned onto her back and opened her eyes. It took a moment for her gaze to focus upon her sister perched next to her, but then with a frown of concern, she abruptly raised herself to a sitting position.

"Isobella? What is it? Has something occurred?" she demanded in a voice still thick with sleep.

Isobella conjured a comforting smile. "Nothing for ye to fret over."

Katherine glanced toward the windows barely lit with a rosy glow. "There must be something to have ye abroad at such an hour. 'Tis barely past the break of day."

"I have an errand that must be done."

"An errand?" Katherine's expression was one of skepticism. "What errand?"

"'Tis nothing for ye to fret about. I merely wished to ensure ye would not worry when ye awoke and found me gone."

Although inclined to ignore that which she found unpleasant or distasteful, Katherine was no fool. She was well aware that Isobella would not be about at such an hour unless her errand was pressing indeed.

"I dinnae like this, Isobella. What business could ye possibly have so early?"

"'Tis a simple matter that will soon be over."

Katherine reached out to grasp her fingers in a near painful grip.

"Does it have to do with the Beast?"

Isobella paused a moment, debating how best to answer the direct question. She had no desire to worry Katherine. But then again, she possessed a need to ensure her sister would not seek to interfere.