Time of the Draig (34 page)

With a mock lift of her head, as if pondering the question, she replied, “Since you called it ‘our chamber,’ I think the argument is over.” She smiled. “Despite everything, we are here together.”

Faolan rose from the chair with Samantha snug in his arms. He stopped at the side of the bed. “I would prefer if we are together here. You have the memory of too many nights without me. I would erase those from you mind.”

Her feet hit the floor, and her dress followed. In mere seconds, her bare skin met with his on the bed. She frowned as his hand stopped at the light scar on her arm.

“‘Tis the wound that caused the fever?” Faolan asked with concern in his voice.

Her eyes rolled in annoyance at the question, and she reveled in the soft skin covering the hard muscles of his chest and abdomen. She replied, “Mmm-hmmm,” as her lips skimmed the length of his neck. “Miller said it’s healed. I can think of much better places for you to touch me.”

A gasp escaped as Samantha found herself on her back with Faolan covering her. “So I bed the major?”

She offered a wide grin for the molten chocolate eyes she remembered so vividly. Yet no memory compared with the real heat in his gaze. She knew the major was always present, as was the physicist. Her answer was simple. “You bed your wife who has dreamed of you for what seems like a lifetime.”

It must have been the right thing to say,
she thought, as his mouth descended on her with a demanding kiss. She met his passion with a kiss she never could have imagined. The need they shared flowed between lips that could not meet with enough intensity. Tongues battled and tasted as if no other such moment would happen.

Strong hands wrapped in her hair and smoothed over the sides of her body while she arched into every touch and caress. She had no idea when the kiss broke and his mouth latched on to her breast, only that the need for him burned stronger and brighter with every move of his tongue and every suck he offered her tender flesh.

Samantha groaned as she realized Faolan was taking his own sweet time. Patience had a time and place, and she was positive it had no place in their bed. Her body bucked as he teased her with his fingers with no intention of offering any relief for the desire he was so skillfully building.

The image flashed across her mind, and she whispered the thought to the man whose lips were wreaking havoc on the nerve endings of her stomach. “My dragon needs yours, Faolan. Make us one.”

Just as she had wished, Faolan lifted his body to once again cover hers and meet her eyes. Her leg wrapped over his thigh, she whispered, “Can you feel my beast?”

His growl answered as his body slowly entered hers. Her leg pulled him hard inside, and she cried out at the intrusion.
Maybe Faolan had been correct in his slow assault; it’s been a while since my body has welcomed his.

Faolan waited only long enough for her to relax and began a slow rhythm designed to make her move beneath him and force her to meet his body’s pace. “Does this please you?”

Samantha gripped his muscled sides. “You please me.”

She wasn’t the only one desperate to confirm reality. Faolan’s pace quickened as he said, “Say you are mine.”

Laughter died in her throat as he ground against her center and gripped the head of the dragon on the back of her thigh. She choked out, “Always.” Her hand shifted to his firm backside, and he filled her hard, then almost left her body to again take her with all of his strength. She warned, “You kiss another woman, and I will kill you.”

A hard kiss met her lips before he growled, “I plan on being too tired to even think about such foolery.”

There should have been a retort to such an idiotic reply, but she had none to offer. All thought ceased as his body brought hers to life with the promise of pleasure and desire fulfilled. Before she had a chance to brace herself, the wave hit and dashed her over the rocks in the distance. A feminine cry of ecstasy filled the chamber before she heard Faolan scream her name.

Her senses returned along with the blessed feel of Faolan draped over her while he rained soft breathless kisses against her neck. The only coherent thought was that she was finally home.

Resting on his elbows, Faolan stared down at the woman whose lips held the panting smile he loved best. His Samantha had many smiles: one for the beauty of the world, one for him when he smiled at her, and one that belonged only to Boomer. Yet the one she wore currently was for him alone. It represented the culmination of passion and pleasure only he had or would ever bring her. The smile belonged only to him for all time.

For a woman who had lived in decrepit conditions, she seemed hearty and hale. Her sun-kissed face held no signs of poor eating. Her tiny frame still bore signs of her strength encased in skin as smooth as any silk. As always, she was perfection to gaze upon and touch.

Reluctantly, Faolan removed his body from hers and chuckled at the whisper of discomfort she made. He chastised her as he lay at her side. “Why did you rush when we had the whole of the night, my heart?”

With fluid grace, she shifted to push him onto his back and snuggled against his side. “I couldn’t wait any longer.”

Pride filled him at the certainty she craved him and missed his touch. Her words had filled his soul with the admission of how she had wanted to come to him. Pain tugged at his heart knowing she waited despite her longings to be with him. He pushed the thoughts aside rather than risk the anger it sparked deep inside. There was no true way for him to comprehend her in his bed and her in a hut away from his side.

Soft hands cupped his cheek and forced his gaze to her. She whispered, “I love you.”

Using her hair to pull her close, Faolan gently kissed the mouth that whispered such devotion. “As I love you, my heart. Mayhap the next time I ask you to explain something to me, this can be how you begin.”

Her laughter filled the quiet, darkened chamber. “Maybe next time you can define the actual question for me, but I thought you liked it when I spoke in theoretical physics.”

“Only because you share your private thoughts with me,” Faolan answered with sincerity. He would listen to her talk for hours about all manner of things he never understood if she needed an ear.

He stilled the hand that traced the dragon on his chest, though he could have enjoyed the light caress for hours. His finger traced the imperfection left by the sword wound on her arm. “You suffered, and I had no idea.” The very idea made him cringe at how he had failed to protect her.

Samantha pulled the arm out of his grasp. “It’s all better now. Even Boomer was satisfied with Miller’s inspection.” In the dim light, he saw her eyes twinkle. “Would you like to know what else Miller said?”

Fear coursed through his veins as his mind wondered at what the healer could have found.
Is she still in danger?
In a flash, he was sitting up to stare down at her. “Tell me all,” Faolan demanded.

Her gaze searched his before she spoke. “Do you remember that night by the cliffs when we spoke of what type of life we would share? Of all the moments you wished to have?”

“I need to ken if something ails you, and you wish to speak of word games?”

Her head shook in denial against the bedding. “I want to know if you meant those things.”

Her soft expression led him to believe her health was not at risk. Faolan leaned down to rest on his elbow and watched his other hand trace the skin between her breasts. He whispered, “I want and now shall have every moment I dreamed with you.”

Samantha nodded in silent agreement. “One of those dreams is going to happen. I’m pregnant. Miller confirmed it.”

The word spoken tickled his brain, yet comprehension could not be found. “I dinna ken what you mean.”

“Apparently some words don’t work in the universal translator,” Samantha muttered. She lifted his wandering hand and placed it on her flat stomach. “We’re having a baby.”

For the second time that night, Faolan felt his thoughts cease to exist. Such dreams he had spoken of the night they had stared into the darkened sea while they feared what the future would hold. His wife had crumpled before him in their peaceful glade when he had dared to ask if she could, even then, hold life within her.

Faolan dipped his head to stare at her abdomen as if he could see through her flesh to behold the promise of a child. His lips placed a light kiss to where his child would grow as awe and amazement overpowered his senses.

Her voice called to him in the depths of his stupor. “Miller says I’m about ten to eleven weeks along. By mid-winter, we will be three.”

The counting made no sense. Faolan lifted his lips from her skin and watched her features transform with the uncertainty he knew his expression held. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“You have only been my wife for a handful of weeks.” Faolan began to growl before her laughter rang out.

“By your counting, yes. Remember that I’ve spent another moon and a half waiting to come back to you.”

Realization dawned with the subtlety of a fist to the head. Everything crashed down at once, and Faolan leapt from the bed and began pacing the chamber while trying to piece the continuing puzzle together. “You carried my child and stayed away from me. How could you live in that awful hut with no protection from the storms? You went into battle instead of seeking the safety of my walls!”

Her exasperated sigh met his ears, and he stopped the erratic motion to glare at her. Samantha rose from the bed and stood before him. For once his gaze ignored her bare form and settled on the amused smile she dared to offer him.

“If I had come here to claim I carried your child when we had never slept together, you would have reacted how?”

Faolan had no reply for the question and instead stalked to the table to pour himself a drink. He cursed after a long swallow. The water did not satisfy his thirst or calm his rage the way wine would have.

“I can’t drink wine now. It’s not good for the baby,” Samantha said from behind him. While her hand skimmed his back, she said, “I know this is incredibly complicated, but I had to wait until today to be here.” The sound of her feet padding away on the floor ended, and he heard her body settle on the bed.

Without facing her, Faolan said, “You could have died from fever. Our child could have been lost, and I would have never known any of it.”

“Like Boomer would have let anything happen to me and his niece or nephew,” Samantha chided him. “All you need to know is that Boomer had my back, and Efraim saved the day. By the way, you owe Efraim an apology for threatening to kill him when you came in tonight. He’s the one who brought the medicine that saved my life.”

Her humor had no place in the moment, though if any were to stand as her protector, none was better than Boomer. Faolan said softly, “I thought Efraim lied about your return. It was the only thought that made sense.”

A lack of reply did not surprise him.
What can she say to my simple truth?
Faolan looked into the cup and then placed it on the table next to the bag containing the orbs of power. “In so many ways, I have failed to protect you.”

Her soft voice called to him, and he turned to see her lying on her stomach on the bed facing him. Calm eyes met his. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not the weak woman you need to save. The lass your mother wants you to have is, and she would need your constant protection. I can fight and seemingly rearrange time and space. None of that diminishes my need for you or our child’s. You have taught me to be playful and enjoy life. Together we will teach this child to laugh and love and kick some serious ass when needed.”

Faolan felt his anger vanish as visions of possibility danced through his thoughts. “Our son will be strong in mind and body.”

“I was talking about a daughter,” she said with a wink and a raised eyebrow. “The past is gone, and we are left with now. Against all odds, we have so many nows to share. So, do you want to argue the theoretical physics of time travel and the responsibilities it creates, or will you have this now with me?” Her smile faded as she asked, “Can you accept who I am?”

That she would even question his want of her tore at his heart. “I want only you,” Faolan replied as he sat by her side. He stared at the dragon twisting down her back, over her lush backside to end on the back of her thigh. Without command, his hand covered the trail his eyes had taken, and he sighed as she moved into his touch.

Faolan whispered, “Your beast kens my touch.”

Samantha’s head came to rest on her hands, and she stared at the wall. “Are you happy about the baby?”

“Forgive me if I gave you a moment’s doubt. My wife is to bear my child. How could there be anything but joy in my heart?”

A new smile covered her face as she shifted enough to gaze up at him, one that could only be love for the child-to-be.

The smile faded as she asked, “Are you done with the anger for tonight?”

The chuckle that issued from his lips surprised him. “From now on, you sleep by my side and sit on my right at every meal. You will rest and touch no weapon.” Using the phrase he had heard too many times to count, Faolan said, “I have your back.”

Her eyes rolled in mock disgust even as her body languidly responded to his gentle touch on her dragon. “To prevent another argument, I’ll have you know that Miller, Boomer, and your grandmother have already decided on what I can and cannot do.”

Not satisfied by her statement, Faolan rolled her gently onto her back and forced his gaze to only meet her eyes. “Do you plan to listen to their wisdom?”

“Most of it,” she acknowledged with a touch of humor.

“All of it,” he growled in response.

Samantha sat up and placed her hand on the head of the dragon on his thigh. “Tell me again what the future holds for us.” Her gaze pleaded for what he might say.

Faolan blinked the wetness from his eyes, as he knew it was no longer a game. The future was theirs to build. He let his gaze wander her bare form and scooped her up into his lap. His hands tilted her face up to meet his kiss, one that spoke of love and promise. He whispered against her mouth, “Everything.”