MacRieve (Immortals After Dark) (31 page)

TWENTY-NINE

MacRieve strode directly through Chloe’s obstacle course, ignoring Rónan’s drill. “Pack your men’s clothes, succubus,” he told her. “We’re leaving.”

Chloe waved the kid on. “You need to clear that in under a minute.”

Rónan nodded, giving MacRieve a glare, then continued his practice.

“Leaving? Let me guess, a prison transfer?” She wasn’t going anywhere with Head Case. “I’m going to have to say no to that plan, crypt keeper. What else you got?”

He scowled at her new nickname for him.

She could make fun of his age all she wanted, but that wouldn’t change how physically attractive he was. Even if she hated him, she could admire his looks. He stood so tall, still drool-worthy. Still obviously a douche.

After a figurative ass-kicking, Chloe was usually pretty good at picking herself up and dusting off her pants. But then, she’d never been quite as crushed as with him—so why did she still feel that
connection
to him?

Though he smelled like whiskey, she could detect that addictive masculine scent of his. With her stomach now empty, she was feeling a completely different kind of hunger. Her claws sprouted. She hid them behind
her back. Sweat beaded her forehead. She needed to get away from him and nosh another round of food.

“We depart in an hour for Scotland.”

One of the few European countries she’d never played in. As much as she’d wanted to leave before, now she was suspicious. “No can do, MacRieve. You see, I’m currently employed as the clan AD—”

“AD?”

“Athletic director. Some of us actually have a job to do. Besides, why would I ever go anywhere with you?”

“Because your shortsighted plan to eat like a normal person dinna work out. I know you threw up.”

She swiped her arm over her forehead. “I’ve just been running too hard. That’s nothing definitive. I’m about to go eat again.”

He flicked his gaze over her face and eye, then scowled. Rónan had told her it was bruising. And more, her bad ankle was killing her. So much for immortality.

“You will no’ regenerate like this.”

She gazed away, then back. “I’ll continue to get worse?” Until what? She died?

A curt nod. “You need to feed. Resign yourself to this fact.”

Every time he used the word
feed
, her mind was cast back to their last encounter—when her claws had sunk into his lean hips as she’d swallowed him down. The most delectable taste she’d ever imagined.

Her claws were now
aching
to pierce his skin. Her nipples hardened under her shirt, until even two sports bras couldn’t conceal the taut points.

“Gods, woman, I can scent your arousal,” he said, voice gone hoarse. “Others will soon enough.”

How embarrassing! Her gaze darted to the lodge.
Need an apple. And a shower.
And perhaps an orgasm of her own, to release some pressure. “I can handle this. Eating food tamps that down.”

He shook his head. “It’s only a matter of time before you start strewing.
And if I doona take you somewhere isolated, every unmated male around will fight to mate you.”

“If I say no to them—”

“Then they’ll fight to rape you.”

“Every male?” She shielded her eyes against the sun, watching Rónan dribbling around cones. Ben was practicing punting. Presently he could kick the ball about two miles. With her help, he could achieve three.

MacRieve followed her gaze. “Ben would be first in line.” His harsh voice drew her attention. She noted his fists were clenched. “Probably after killing his little brother for the pleasure.”

“I don’t
want
to emit chemicals. There has to be a way for me to control it. If you would just let me speak to one of my own kind! We could find those two who were outside the wall—”

“
Never.
This is my decision. You’ll abide by it.”

So arrogant! She longed to put him to the ground, to slide-tackle him till he ate turf. “I thought I couldn’t leave the compound. That the Pravus would find me through burning handprints or whatever.”

“We’re acquiring a talisman. Remember the mystical means I talked about?”

He was offering a . . . talisman? Holy shit! This would be her chance to escape! She knew he could detect any changes in her voice, could hear her heart speeding up.
Calm yo tits, Chlo.
“Oh? Is that so?” she said in a bored tone. “Wow, you’re going to spend that much money on me—and you plan to do business with my kidnappers. I
hate
your world.”

“And it hates you.”

“Your clan likes me well enough.”

With utter confidence, he said, “Because they doona
know
you.”

Bite your tongue.
“I don’t have my passport with me.”

“We’ll travel through private Lore airports.”

All she heard was
private escape-ports.
“So when do I get this alleged camouflage doo-thingy?”

He narrowed his gaze. “Ah, look at the wee succubus making plans to
flee. Your heart races. You truly think you can get away from me? Lykae
hunt.
It would no’ even be sporting.”

“I have nothing to lose by trying.” She gave him a long look. “Except for werewolf dead weight.”

“I should just let you walk out of here with your little hobo stick filled with men’s clothing.”

“Yes. You should.”

“You’ve been told that the Pravus males will gang rape you, and still you seek to leave. Mayhap you crave it from them?” He turned and strode away.

“Prick!” She lined up two balls. Taking aim, she reared back and kicked the first as hard as she could. The second followed in quick succession.

As planned, the first took him in the back of the head. When he spun around, the second nailed him in the testicles.

“What . . . the . . . fuck?” He gritted his teeth, but remained standing.

As others tried to hide their laughter, she shrugged. “Penalty.”

He bared his fangs at her, stalking off to the sound of Rónan singing the soccer anthem,
“Oléeee, olé, olé, oléeee
. . . .”

THIRTY

Scottish Highlands

With every mile of forest and dirt track closer to Conall, the isolation weighed on Will. He drummed his fingers on the wheel of his new truck.

With each mile closer, his future became clearer. There would be no other for Chloe. It was down to him. And he was alternately disgusted and aroused by the idea of claiming her. Never had he felt such conflict within him.

She was oblivious to his turmoil, currently fast asleep in the passenger seat. Unless seriously weakened, most immortals needed only a few hours a day. The food she’d been trying to keep down might temporarily douse her arousal, but it did nothing to sustain her energy or heal her injuries.

He tried to concentrate on the road, on the scenery. Despite visiting Kinevane, he hadn’t been this close to Conall in centuries. He’d had no reason to return, making his home in Nova Scotia. He’d nearly forgotten the beauty of this region. Cloud shadows roamed over bronze mountains and mirror-smooth lochs like giant phantoms. Breathtaking.

He frowned at Chloe. She was missing everything. But then, did he care?

Mayhap?
Should he wake her up? He decided against it. Their daylong journey had only fatigued her more. . . .

After giving Chloe a simple silver talisman bracelet, Munro had driven them to the Loreport, where a jet awaited. They’d hired a demon pilot who already had a mate, just in case Chloe began strewing at forty thousand feet.

Munro had taken each of them aside in turn for a few private words. “Have a care with my
deirfiúr
,” he’d told Will. “And I suggest you inform her what else her talisman does.”

Chloe had been standing at a little distance, clearly weighing her chances of escaping. She’d fiddled with her new bracelet, having no idea it had a second critical function.

Munro’s parting words to Will: “Even now, your mate suffers because you deny her. You were ill-used in the past, but if you take it out on her, then you become the
slaoightear.
” The villain.

Whatever Munro had told Chloe had left her equally shaken.

On the plane, she’d scuffed to the back cabin and fallen atop the bed, sleeping for most of the trip. He’d crept into the cabin, stretching his body out beside hers. Again he’d thought,
I’m looking down at my mate.
So lovely. Deceptively delicate. —
Yours.
—

Part of him still hated her for becoming a succubus, for pulling him from the brink only to shove him right back. But now it was too late. He knew it as well as he knew his reflection.

My soul’s been branded.
Which was yet another way of saying,
I have no choice.

—
Claim her. Protect. Provide.
—

He’d been tempted to provide right there on the plane. When he’d scented her renewed arousal and spied her stiffened nipples, he’d trailed his hand down her body to cup her between her legs, fondling her over her jeans. She’d woken with a gasp.

Her thighs had spread so obediently, and she’d rocked her sex into his palm as a good mate would.
Acquiescing already?

Then she’d seemed to rouse fully. Her knees had slammed shut. “Get away from me, asshole.”

With a blistering curse, he’d obliged, pacing the plane for hours. Restless, miserable.

Even if he wanted to claim her—even if he
could
—she wouldn’t receive him. As she’d put it, she was repulsed to see his beast.

Sequestered at Conall, she wouldn’t have a lot of choices. She’d start strewing, and his beast would be helpless not to take her, whether she wanted it or not. If he had to hate-fuck his mate to keep her fed, then so be it.

They’d landed on a private strip in the Highlands, with a three-hour drive to Conall still ahead of them. When Will had picked up his new SUV, she’d frowned. “I don’t know about you driving. What if your beast comes out? I don’t think he’s got a driver’s permit.” In a weird voice, she said, “ ‘He don’t even have his license, Lisa.’ ”

“Who’s Lisa?”

She’d blinked at him. “
Weird Science
? Never mind, crypt keeper. I’ll shoot you a YouTube sometime, through this thing we youngsters like to call ‘electronic mail.’ ”

Now they crossed a bridge over the river that marked the eastern edge of Conall property.
I’m on my family’s land.
At the thought, his uneasiness increased.

He was returning to the place of his origins with his mate in tow. A mate who was sound asleep from exhaustion, favoring one leg, sporting a bruised face, and suffering the effects of malnutrition. She’d brought one of Rónan’s old gym bags, and all the belongings she had in the world hadn’t filled it.

His brother had given her the one piece of jewelry she owned.

The back of Will’s neck heated. He shouldn’t give a damn. He reminded himself that she was
lucky
to be with him, fortunate that he’d been prepared to make sacrifices for her.

He was about to bring one of her kind within those hallowed walls of Conall, defiling his home. He was about to feed her, healing her.

But those were his limits. His gaze fell on her bracelet. As per his
orders, that talisman would keep her hidden—and keep her from conceiving. Just the idea of Ubus spawn was ballock-shriveling for him. If he and Chloe had incubi sons and succubae daughters, he would have to withdraw his offspring from the clan, could never let his line prey on others.

Again he drummed impatiently at the wheel, every mile cranking up the tension within him. And the more anxious he became, the more his Instinct told him to take comfort in his mate.

Just when his hand was reaching for her of its own volition, she woke, blinking at her surroundings. Now that he’d slowed their speed on a dirt road, she rolled down her window, laying her head on the door.

The scents of the Highlands swept him up, easing some of his tension. He gazed over at her. The late-afternoon sun flickered through trees, reflecting off the silver cuff on her wrist and bathing the smooth skin of her unmarred cheek. Over the course of their journey, her hair had grown out to nearly shoulder-length, shiny waves streaming in the wind.

She’s so bluidy bonny.

As he took in her heavy-lidded eyes and drowsy smile, the urge to stroke her face was nigh undeniable.

He needed to tell her that he found her beautiful, that he would give her anything she desired. Gods, he felt as if he’d die if he didn’t kiss her—

Comprehension.

As the keep came into view, it was not a moment too soon.

Because Chloe was beginning her first strew.