He turned his head to the chair beside his to find her watching him. “What do you mean?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice how edgy everyone is? Fallon hasn’t touched his wine since the noon meal.”
Lucan couldn’t hold her gaze. Not even when he had woken to find himself a monster was he as scared as he was at that moment, knowing Deirdre would stop at nothing to obtain Cara. Despite his power, he might not be able to prevent Deirdre from taking her.
“Please, Lucan.”
He squeezed his eyes closed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. “Cara, I . . .”
“It’s Deirdre, isn’t it? You think she’s going to attack tonight.”
Lucan opened his eyes and looked at her. He couldn’t lie to her, not now. “I think so.”
Cara rose and moved to kneel in front of him. She took his hands in hers. “You’ve done everything you could to prepare me. You found me a sword and made me a dagger. You allowed Galen into the castle, even when you didn’t want to, and when others came, you welcomed them as well. We will do what we can.”
“And if Deirdre captures you?”
Dark eyes with more strength and bravery than he had ever seen met his. “Then I will fight her. I will do whatever it is I must in order to escape.”
“And I will find you.”
“Nay,” she all but yelled. “Nay, Lucan. You and the others, you must run to safety. Deirdre wants to use all of you to wage war on Scotland. You cannot let her succeed.”
He leaned forward and cupped Cara’s face in his hands. “I cannot let her have you.”
“How long do we have?”
“I doona know.”
She rose and climbed into his lap. “Then let us enjoy what little time we have.”
Lucan didn’t stop her when she leaned down and kissed him. She straddled him, her sex rubbing against his hardening cock. He gripped her hips and pushed her down as he ground into her. Her moan spurred his need.
She clawed at his tunic while he jerked her gown and chemise over her head. He kissed and licked her delectable skin, stopping only long enough for her to yank his tunic off.
He cupped her breasts and moved his mouth over one nipple, suckling the tiny nub in his mouth until it hardened. He circled her other nipple with his thumb, teasing it until it was as hard and straining as the one in his mouth.
Her hips rocked against him as her moans grew louder. He wanted inside her, needed to be inside her to be as close to her as a man could be to a woman.
When he reached to unlace his breeches, she rose up on her knees and helped him. She grasped his cock when he sprang free and ran her hands up and down the length.
“I want to take you in my mouth as you’ve taken me.”
Lucan closed his eyes and groaned. He could imagine Cara leaned over him, her chestnut locks falling on either side of his legs as she took him in her mouth, her full lips sliding over him.
“You want it, too,” she whispered.
“Aye.” He barely recognized the croak as his own voice, but Cara had the ability to make him hard and wanting with just a touch.
She kissed his chest, her hands still moving over his rod. She cupped his balls and gently rolled them in her hand. “Let me,” she urged.
He was ready to climax. One touch of her lips and it would be over. “Nay,” he said. “Not this time. I need you too desperately.”
He opened his eyes and reached between her legs to caress her swollen flesh. She sighed and rocked against his hand. His thumb circled her clitoris before he dipped a finger into her heat. She was so damned wet.
Her head fell back, her hair cascading over his legs. “Lucan,” she moaned.
He thrust a second finger to join the first, pumping in and out of her in quick, short strokes. Her breath quickened and her hands gripped his shoulders. He withdrew his fingers and moved his thumb back and forth over her clitoris while he pinched her nipple. She gasped and reached for his arousal to guide it into her heat.
She lowered herself onto him. Their eyes met as they began to move. Sweat glistened over his body as he held her hips. Her hands were on his shoulders, her lips parted. His climax was nearly upon him. He wouldn’t be able to hold it back, and he refused to go without Cara.
He reached between them and took her clitoris between his thumb and forefinger and gave it a gentle tug. She cried out as her body stiffened. The feel of that first contraction of her body around his rod sent him over the edge.
They reached orgasm together, lost in each other’s eyes. When they finally came down, Cara placed her lips on his for a gentle kiss.
“I love you.”
His breath locked in his lungs.
She leaned back and caressed his cheek. “I know there are too many odds against us, too much that would keep us apart, but I know what I feel.”
Lucan knew he felt something for Cara, but was it love? “Cara—”
“Sh,” she said and put her finger to his lips. “Let me give you all that I have to give.”
Her love had been unexpected, but maybe it shouldn’t have been. It shone in her eyes every time she looked at him. He wasn’t sure he even had a heart to give her anymore, but there was one thing he could do: protect her.
A tear fell down her cheek. He caught it with his thumb and brought it to his lips. “We will get through this.”
“Aye,” she whispered, and laid her head on his shoulder.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Quinn stretched his shoulder. He’d wanted on top of the towers where he usually sat, but Lucan had wanted him closer when the attack came. So he stood on the battlements, his nerves edgy and ready for the fight. He kept his gaze on the east side of the castle and the cliffs, the same cliffs Cara had fallen from.
That day seemed so long ago, as though Cara had always been a part of their family. Their lives before her had been sedate and boring. If they could have known what her presence meant, would Lucan still have saved her?
Quinn knew the answer would be a resounding “aye.”
He paused in his musing as Fallon strode toward him. His eldest brother had changed, and for the better. Though Quinn wasn’t sure he liked the attitude that had returned with the absence of the wine.
Fallon had always been a good man. He was good at everything, including leading their clan. Their father had been proud of Fallon’s accomplishments, and everyone knew in Fallon’s hands the clan would only prosper.
It was good to see parts of him return, yet there was no mistaking the thread of fear in Fallon’s eyes. He was right to be afraid of the god inside him, for Fallon had used the wine to dull his senses—and the god.
Now, when they needed Fallon the most, he would likely fail them. But Quinn didn’t begrudge his brother. There had been many times Quinn had thought to follow Fallon into the flavorful oblivion.
Quinn had his faults—and they were many—but he wouldn’t leave Lucan alone to tend to everything. It was Lucan’s way, though. He liked to be in control, in charge. He liked to get things done and see to people’s needs. It made him the man he was today.
“Quinn,” Fallon said, his voice low in the still night. “How is everything?”
“Quiet,” Quinn replied. “You making the rounds again?”
“Aye. One last look before I return to the great hall.”
