Knights of Stone - Lachlan (12 page)

She reached out and followed one of the drops, tracing over his warm skin. Despite what she’d told herself earlier about committing to the pack and a future with Seth, her resolve shattered in the face of her overwhelming attraction. Her wolf wagged her tail, spurring her on.
Go on, do something.

“Let me help you.”

“It’s no use,” he barked. “I’ve tried. Still nowhere close.”

Although the harsh tone would likely frighten others off, she was used to quick, curt commands in the pack. They cut straight to the point, often during a time of great frustration.

“That’s not true.” She kept her voice level and soothing. “You’ve made progress with your brothers.”

When he faced her, his grim expression had softened. She cupped his cheek, searching his tormented eyes. “Let me help you,” she repeated, dropping her eyes to the sensual curve of his mouth.

What was she doing? What was she talking about anymore—helping him with magic—or with sexual frustration, which appeared to be mutual. She had no idea. Being around him made her lose control of rational thought, replaced by raw instinct that was far more fitting in wolf form. Only, she’d never pulsed with a sensual urgency as a wolf, with a need so overwhelming it made her utterly aware of her feminine desires. When she glanced back to his eyes, the torment was replaced by unmistakable heat, filling her with shivery ripples of anticipation. A spark of hope flared. She traced her fingers from his face to his chiseled chest and pulled up to her tiptoes to close the space between them.

The galvanizing moment her lips touched his set his body into motion. He gripped her tight, crushing her in his powerful embrace. She reached around to cradle the back of his neck and deepen the kiss. He widened his stance to bridge the distance between them. When his hot tongue breached her mouth, an involuntary moan of pleasure escaped her. He lowered his head to kiss her neck, and she dropped her head back. Her wolf was giddy with Raina’s action, finally grasping what she so desperately wanted.

A flash of light shattered the darkness overhead, startling her. She opened her eyes to see what it was.

“It’s only lightning,” Lachlan said.

His eyes had darkened with desire. The intense gaze was enough to make her want to disrobe there despite the impending storm, pulling him on top of her.

Seconds later, thunder struck overhead, booming around them like a sonic explosion. The rain fell harder, but she didn’t care. Her body was inflamed with intense heat, and the soothing drops cooled her flushed skin.

“You look even sexier when you’re wet,” he said.

He ran a finger through her hair and raindrops fell off his fingertips. The rain left gleaming trails that reflected the light and clung to his lashes, magnifying the dark hunger in his eyes. The smoldering glint cast a spell no female—shifter or human—could resist.

“You look quite fetching right now, yourself,” she admitted.

He flashed her a devastating grin, one that made desire pool down below.

“Let’s get you out of the rain,” he said. He took her hand and led her back to the woods.

And walk away from the kiss they’d just shared?

“No!” she protested louder than she’d intended. “I don’t want to leave yet,” she added in a softer tone.

He grinned. “What would you like to do?”

“What—what—” Why was she stuttering this way? “What we were just doing.”

“Oh. You’d like to kiss some more?” he teased with a knowing glimmer in his eyes.

Aye, with all her being. “It felt nice.”

“Just nice?”

“Good.”

“How good?” he persisted.

“Stop teasing.” She stepped up to him and took the lead, leaning up to kiss him again, against a Scots pine.

He didn’t put up any resistance to her bold advance and leaned back against the bark. His hands roamed down her arms and over her sides. He cupped one of her breasts, and the firm grasp made her moan. She leaned forward, pressing into him to encourage him to continue. The last thing she wanted was for him to stop and put an end to this pleasure. Gods, the combination of his lips and his hands on her body had her pulse racing.

He tugged her dress down revealing one breast. The rain beat on the sensitive flesh. He rubbed her nipple, making it tighten into a hard peak in response. When he tore his lips from her, a frustrated moan escaped her. He moved his head down to her breast, igniting a new spell of desire. Covering the sensitive mound with his hot mouth sent a new wave of searing sensations right to her core. She dropped her head back, letting the rain fall on her face, and ran her fingers through his sensuous hair.

The skies flashed with the tell-tale zigzag of electricity. He pulled back with a low groan and stood, returning to his dominating height.

“As much as it kills me to stop, I need to get you to safety. The lightning is dangerous.”

“What do gargoyles do during a storm?”

“Either seek shelter in a cave or turn to stone form.” He cocked his brow and gave her a lopsided grin. “It’s much more resilient to the elements than human flesh.”

“Ah,” she replied. “I didn’t see any houses and wondered.”

“We have cabins in the forests that my clan had built. But my brothers and I typically stay outdoors. What about your pack?”

“We have small homes for when we’re in human form. They’re reinforced with brick or stone to protect us from the elements.”

“Stone comes in quite handy.” His lips reshaped into a knowing smile. “Let’s get you back there and under shelter.”

“No.” She couldn’t leave him yet. Not when she’d been waiting to meet him all day. Thinking about him, daydreaming. Thoughts that had morphed into sensual fantasies. “I said I would help you. Let’s find a place to go.”

He stopped and stared at her with a curious expression. “There’s a cave not far from here.”

Protecting Raina was of utmost important. Although, it took all his self-control to pull his lips from hers, he had to keep her safe. The trees provided a canopy of sorts, preventing some of the rain from reaching them, but no barrier against lightning. Despite the sparse cover, both were drenched by the time they’d crawled into the cave.

With no light in the cave, Lachlan lit a candle. Since he’d spent many hours in there, he’d stashed food and supplies for various occasions, from having some private time away from his brothers to taking shelter during a storm.

Raina’s hair shined like marble in the candlelight. Rain drops framed her lashes before falling down her cheeks, slipping down her skin in a sultry dance.

When she pulled back deeper into the cave and caught him staring, she asked “What is it?”

He grinned. “Are you ever not sexy?”

She raised a sly brow. “On all fours, covered in fur.” She teased, “Unless, that does something for you.”

He chortled. “The first part, aye. Don’t make me even think of you in that position if we’re to make any progress.”

“Fine.” She clapped her hands. “Let’s get back to work, rock star.”

Her scent wrapped around him in the confined space. The intimate privacy of the cave left his head spinning with sordid thoughts. The urge to take her clouded all else.

He shoved aside his inner desires. “I’m nothing but putty in your dexterous hands.” His face broke into a teasing smile, but he was only half-joking.

She bit her lip while she watched him. In the candlelight, her eyes flickered like the storm outside. “Are you more relaxed?”

“Excuse me?”

“You were—um—tense—earlier. I’m wondering if that tension’s gone.”

The only tension he sensed was the heavy sensual pull that blanketed the damp cave. He assessed his overall disposition; he wasn’t as frustrated.

“Is that why you kissed me?” he murmured, moving closer. “To reduce the strain?”

Her grin conveyed both embarrassment and naughtiness. “That wasn’t my plan. But if it helped…”

“I get tense often.” He leaned forward so her lips were only inches from his. “Maybe you can help me with some relief.”

She bit her lip in contemplation but pulled back, raising her chin with determination. “Focus, Lachlan. We need to be productive.”

“Okay, okay,” he relented. “But if we make progress,” he said with a suggestive raise of one brow, “Maybe you can reward me.”

“Lachlan!” she cried with mock indignation.

“What? The motivation would make me an excellent student.”

She treated him to a small laugh that spread warmth through his chest.

“
Och
, if it helps you study.” Then she snapped her fingers. “Let’s get to work, loverboy.”

She was right. Lachlan shifted his focus off her tempting lips to concentrate on the task at hand. After an hour, his stomach rumbled.

“Have you eaten, yet?”

She shook her head. “I didn’t have an appetite.”

“I have some food stashed here.” He glanced at her breasts, which still rose and fell with rhythmic temptation. “And I’m starving.”

Snapping himself out of his decadent thoughts, he reached deeper into the cave and retrieved a sac with other provisions. He pulled out a cloth and spread it in between them, covering it with crackers, cheese, fruits, nuts, and other human provisions, and spread it on the cloth he’d stashed with the food. Spreading brie over the crackers gave him something else to focus on besides how close her body was to his. He handed her a cracker and popped another one into his mouth.

“Mmm, so good.”

The sensual note in her tone sent a twinge of excitement between his legs. He shifted his focus by talking about the island. As they ate, their conversation turned to other topics. Talking to her was easy—natural and not at all forced.

“Do you remember what it was like before the island was divided?” she asked.

“Somewhat. I was a kid, but I remember we played together. You probably weren’t even born.”

She shook her head and teased, “No, old man. We’re almost different generations.”

“What are you, early twenties?”

She gave him a coy smile. “Does our age difference bother you?”

“No. A decade or so is nothing to a gargoyle. We age slower than humans. Wolves?”

“Same. Our life spans are longer—if wolves don’t kill each other in some stupid battle of wills.” She tightened her jaw and clapped her hands on her thighs. “So what was it like?”

“Like I said, the kids played together. We didn’t care about different species. I don’t know if the adults interacted. Then things became tense and we were told to stay away.”

Her eyes gazed out of the cave. “That’s how it should be, no? All of us living together. Kids playing together, not raised with prejudices.”

“You sound like my brother Mason. That’s what he tells me.”

“Do you agree?”

He stretched his neck from one side to the other. “I’m coming around.”

When she asked him about the Knights of Stone, she leaned forward, listening intently, as he told her of their travels to various cities.

“I would love to see more of the world,” she said in a wistful tone. “Never ventured beyond the Highlands.” She brought her knees up to her chest. “I don’t understand why you played here, on the island.”

Nobody did, except for him and his brothers.

“The humans on nearby islands had already discovered the natural beauty of the Isle of Stone, and more were visiting each day. My brothers and I have had many experiences with humans as we’ve toured. Sure, there’s a whole range of them—from good to bad, selfless to selfish. We shouldn’t have to hide from them. Our ancestors didn’t. It’s only in the past century or so that shifters have gone into the shadows.”

She blinked in slow motion, as if trying to take it in. “But still…”

“We knew it wouldn’t last forever. And we never came right out and told them we were a different species. We let them speculate—it was good to build up the mysterious aura and exclusivity of our shows. Most chalked it up to state-of-the-art technology. It’s too bad the way it had to end.” Lachlan avoided blaming the wolves. “Once the government gets involved, they botch everything up.” He opened his hand and leaned closer, hoping to reach her, hoping she could understand him. “If you were given the chance to live out your passion as your true self for once, rather than having to masquerade as something you’re not, wouldn’t you do it, no matter how short that experience might be?”

Raina’s gaze drifted off. “I don’t know. I don’t have a passion for something like you do.”

“There must be something.”

She closed her eyes for several beats. When she reopened them, she said, “It’s not the same thing, but I love shifting to wolf form. Running. Hunting. The thrill of the chase is unlike anything I experience as a human.”

“Imagine being able to run wild as a wolf anywhere in the world. Where humans wouldn’t fear you, where they’d admire your abilities.”

A wild mix of emotions danced across her face before she fixed her gaze on him. “Without the fear of being hunted by humans… I’d do anything to feel that free.”

Compassion swept through him as he remembered her horror at the guns. How her mother had been killed by a hunter.

For several more heartbeats, their eyes remained locked. The connection between them so powerful, it bordered on frightening.

Something pounded in Lachlan’s chest, sending a jolt of buoyancy through him. She’d confided in him. Trusted him with her innermost desires. He’d confided his deepest thoughts to her as well; something he’d never done with a woman before. The intensity of the exchange left him without words.

Finally, he responded. “I’d like to give you that experience.”

She raised her brows with clear skepticism. “How? That’s impossible.”

Where was he going with this? He searched the rapid thoughts firing through his mind and shrugged. “I could fly and watch from above. Protect you from harm.”

Protect her. The drive to keep her safe pulsed through him, again.

With a dismissive wave, she said, “Oh stop. We’re talking madness.”

She was right. Why had he suggested such a foolish fantasy? He pulled his eyes away, looking around the cave and spotted the sac that had contained their food. Time to lighten the mood.