Part 8 (1/2)
Left to die? Rowan stared at the stunning vampire in disbelief. With his immense power and intelligence, he was dangerous. Whoever dared cross him was a fool.
”By whom?” she asked.
”Come,” he said, his voice rough with exhaustion. ”We both need sleep.”
She paused. ”You will nae answer my question?”
”It is unimportant.”
”Unimportant?” Did he not understand? ”As long as I am with you, if you are in danger, it affects me.”
His jaw tightened. ”As I said, as long as you are in my presence, I can protect you.”
”As you protected yourself within the stone circle?” His face darkened, and she hesitated. Was she a fool to challenge him? If he wished, he could kill her in a trice.
”La.s.s, 'tis best if you do not know.”
”For whom?”
”You ask too many questions,” he said with quiet warning. ”Do not invite danger.
”Why-” A heaviness weighed upon her, and she grew sleepy. Her legs walked toward him. ”Stop making me tired. I wish answers.”
”The time to talk will come later. Now, you will rest-with me.” Her mind blurred, and Rowan struggled for coherent thought. She needed to warn him. ”Nor am I safe.”
”Aye.” He reached up, wrapped his strong hand around hers. ”Now, lie with me.”
As if 'twas that simple? She scowled at him, but found her gaze lingering on his naked magnificence. Heat stole up her face. ”Lie with you? 'Tis indecent!”
” 'Tis only for sleep,” he a.s.sured.
Hesitant, she settled onto the ground near him.
A smile touched his impossibly handsome face, a face crafted for charm and, as well, a face crafted for sin. ”I sense you are a healer.” He stroked the curve of her cheek. ”Have you never seen a male unclothed?”
She angled her chin. ”Indeed, I have tended many a man, but only when they are ill, which you are not.”
”I was dying,” he said, his face growing solemn. ”Because of you, I live.”
The sincerity of his words moved her, left her torn. Well she knew her place within the clan. Or, lack of. ”Do not paint me heroic. It was you who summoned me to you.”
”Mayhap, but it was your blood that saved my life.”
He stared at her a long moment, the intensity of his gaze sizzling through her body, igniting a longing within her that left her aching.
”Aedan,” he whispered, his soft burr wrapping around her like spun velvet. ”I wish to hear you say my name.”
”Why?”
He arched an expectant brow. ”Must you challenge my every request?”
She remained silent, unsure why this moment seemed momentous.
”My name.”
Stubborn he was. ”Aedan.”
He smiled as if given a precious gift, a smile of satisfaction, one that sent ripples of awareness sliding through her body. ”Rowan,” he said, his burr dark with need. ”Lie with me.”
”I ...” She wanted to, but for reasons other than to pursue sleep. Foolish thoughts.
”I agree your thoughts are foolish.”
His breath slid over her face like a soft caress. She hesitated. ”Why?”
”Never mind.” He drew her against his muscled body, her soft, flowing gown offering but scant separation.
Rowan expected to feel fear being so close to a vampire. Instead, she found his presence a balm of comfort. More unsettling, she wished for no barrier, to feel his naked flesh against her.
On a groan, he pressed a kiss against her brow. ”La.s.s, do not think overmuch.”
Simple for him, but her body ached in ways she'd never imagined. Another surge of tiredness swept through her. Rowan yawned, her indecent thoughts fading into a blur of exhaustion. Her lids grew heavy, and, against her will, she tumbled into the black void of sleep.
Aedan stared at Rowan asleep within his arms, the sweet taste of her humming through his mind, her erotic visions feeding his own. She was a virgin. When he took her, he would be her first. Never would another touch her.
Ever.
And they would make love, of that he held no doubt. Though she was an innocent, he'd sensed her growing excitement; her visions of them entwined were simple yet devastating.
He inhaled her scent, shaken by how much he wanted her. Sweat beaded his brow, and his fangs lengthened. With sheer determination, he willed away his desire to feed as well as the gut-wrenching need that demanded he claim her for his mate.
He must not forget the reason they'd met. Someone within his clan's trusted circle wanted him, their laird, dead. What had his enemy used to leave him in such a disabled state? Senses alert, he scanned his body. All but dissolved, a trace of foreign substance lay near his heart.
Foxglove.
A dangerous herb, but not strong enough to kill a vampire. A fact a vampire understood, and the reason why Aedan had been left within the stone circle. Unconscious, and with the circle of stones slowly drawing his power so that he would be unable to move if he awoke, he would have been burned to death by the morning sun's rays.
Sunlight washed the earth beyond the cave's entry, wrapping the roll of land within its warmth. Aedan's lids grew heavier. Aye, 'twas time to sleep. Whoever plotted against him would be seeking rest as well.
He settled more comfortably against Rowan, and her flaxen hair spilled from its hastily woven plait across the paleness of his arm as if fairy dust. A smile touched his mouth. Aye, he was a man enchanted. Intrigued, he lifted several locks of her hair, let the strands slide through his fingers to spiral back against her windswept mane.
Rowan, a fitting name. The rowan tree was a symbol of strength. The five-pointed star at the base of each berry was a symbol of protection to the ancients. The hearty white flowers that grew upon the st.u.r.dy limbs were a symbol of innocence, appropriate as the la.s.s was innocent of a man's touch. He would not dwell upon the latter.
Another wave of fatigue settled over him. This day he would rest, but this night, once he'd fed, he would keep watch over the stone circle and wait. Whoever had left him there should return to ensure his body lay charred inside.
Then, the traitor would die.
Confident he would soon have vengeance against whoever had dared to try and kill him, Aedan cast an invisible s.h.i.+eld upon the cave's entry, allowing no one to enter. With the scent of Rowan filling his every breath, he closed his eyes and gave in to much needed sleep.
A wisp of chilled air skimmed over Rowan. With a s.h.i.+ver, she reached for a blanket, and her hand sc.r.a.ped upon the cold dirt.