Hayden finished his meal and made his way to his chamber. He would just check on Isla to make sure she didn’t need anything. Then he would take a swim in the sea to wash the sweat and grime from his body and try to get some rest.
He knocked, but there was no soft, feminine voice that answered him. In fact, there was no voice at all.
Hayden cracked open the door and looked inside to find the chamber empty. He went to his chest to find a new shirt, and somehow knew Isla had removed herself from the room.
He didn’t understand the anger that surged through him. Shouldn’t he be glad she was gone? Why then did he want her in his bed?
Determined to forget about Isla, Hayden went to his window. He had always felt if the god chose him and gave him powers, why not use them? This was one of those times.
Hayden watched the long scarlet claws extend from his fingers. They were the same deep shade of red as his skin, the same color as his Warrior eyes.
Immense, and terrible, power swept through him as it did every time he called up his god. But his god was part of him now, had been part of him for almost two hundred years. Would most likely be a part of him from now until the day his head was severed from his body.
Without another thought he jumped from his window. The fall from his chamber to the beach below was a long one, the wind howling past his ears.
Hayden landed in a crouch on top of a large boulder and pushed his god back down. He quickly stripped before he jumped to the rocky sand and waded into the cool water.
He walked until the water reached his waist before he dove under. It didn’t take him long to wash and return to shore. With the castle built on the cliffs, not many walked the steep path down to the beach, which gave Hayden the privacy he wanted.
Although with his powers, he could get to any beach along the cliffs he wanted. He’d only seen one other place accessible to humans, but it wasn’t near the castle. Most likely it was used by the MacClures, who had claimed the MacLeod lands and feared the castle.
Hayden looked up at the inky sky and the stars winking back at him. The half moon hung low, its light spilling across the sea. He had always loved looking at the moon, but tonight the midnight sky reminded him of long black hair.
With a sigh Hayden dressed and knew he wouldn’t rest until he had found Isla and made sure she wasn’t getting into anything. She hadn’t left the area because he could still feel the magic of her shield.
He could simply ask someone, but then they would know of his interest. Or they would think the worst, that he was trying to kill her. Neither was something he wanted to deal with. So he would find her himself.
Hayden once more released his god to bound back up the cliffs to the castle. The easiest way for him to find Isla was to look through the windows.
He began with the chambers he knew were vacant — Broc’s, Logan’s, and Galen’s. He didn’t find her, but more importantly he didn’t smell her scent, which meant she hadn’t been in the chambers.
Hayden leapt atop the battlements to think of where he would search next when he saw a light coming from the north tower.
He didn’t hesitate to work his way to the tower window, and when he looked inside there was the minx in question combing her long locks with slow, sure strokes.
Hayden should have left and returned to his own chamber. He should have ignored the lure of Isla’s snow and wild pansy scent. He should have fought against the desire that roared to life in his body and demanded he sample her.
But he did none of those things.
Instead, he tamped down his god and landed without a sound inside the tower. He took a step toward the bed when Isla’s hand paused and lowered the comb. She turned her head toward him. Without a word she stood and faced him.
He wanted to see fear in her ice-blue depths, anything to shake the fiery need running rampant through him. Fear, it seemed, wasn’t an emotion Isla felt.
Knowing it was wrong, knowing he needed to leave, he walked toward her, each step fueling his desire until he had to touch her or go up in flames from the heat of it.
She retreated only two steps. Maybe a part of her feared him after all. It was what he wanted. Why then did it irk him?
Her scent surrounded him, lulled him. Excited him. If he didn’t touch her, he knew he’d explode with the force of his desire. Unable to stop himself, he lifted his left hand and cupped her face.
She tilted her face into his hand, her gaze curious and seeking. He wondered what she saw when she looked at him. Did she see the monster he had become? Did it repulse her as he dreaded it might?
All thoughts vanished as he lost himself in the depths of her stunning ice-blue eyes. The world melted away leaving just the two of them and a passion he was unable to resist.
His thumb brushed her lips, aching to touch more. He bit back a groan as his cock swelled and his hunger consumed him. By the saints, he didn’t understand this need riding him or why it had to be Isla that brought it out. No woman had ever done this to him.
But he couldn’t ignore it any more than he could try and stop his heart from beating.
He wouldn’t kiss her. He couldn’t. Even though he fought against the yearning to taste her, to touch her, to claim her, he found his head dipping toward Isla’s captivating lips.
As a last resort, Hayden placed a hand on the wall to help keep his distance from Isla’s tempting, decadent mouth. It didn’t work, not when he saw her lips part as if she wanted his kiss.
It was his undoing.
With his heart pounding and blood drumming in his ears, the scorching need filling him was too much for Hayden to fight. Even with his claws sunk into the stone near Isla’s head, he couldn’t distance himself from her, couldn’t rein back his desire.
His head dipped closer. He inhaled, her scent filling his nose and his body. His rod thickened, wanting, needing to pull her soft curves against him and grind against her.
Her eyes softened, the ice-blue depths darkening with passion. Hayden was so close to her he could see the circle of darker blue that ringed her irises.
Coming ever closer, Hayden’s hand slid from her cheek to her neck and his fingers plunged into the silky softness of her black locks. His hand cupped the back of her head as his gaze fell to her mouth.
Their lips were nearly touching. He could feel her warm breath fan over him, teasing him. He inhaled her scent deep within his lungs and knew he had lost the fight as soon as he had entered the tower.
He should have been angry, but all Hayden could feel was the lust that burned his veins. He would have her kiss. He would taste her sweet nectar and get the hunger for her out of his blood once and for all.
At least that’s what he hoped would happen.
Just as he was about to place his lips atop hers and assuage his desires, his ears picked up a sound coming from the stairway.
But it broke the hold over him. It was all Hayden needed to move away from her.
He allowed himself one last glance at Isla. It nearly broke him when he saw her eyes closed and her lips parted, waiting for him. There was no doubt she wanted his kiss.
Hayden turned and leapt out the tower window before he gave caution to the wind and took his kiss. He slid into the shadows as silent as the darkness. He wanted to know who her visitor was and if Isla would tell them he had been in her chamber.
His body ached for release, release that he wanted with Isla. His head dropped back against the stones of the tower as he let out a ragged sigh of regret and anger. He had almost kissed a
What was worse is that he knew he would kiss her. Whatever drew him to Isla could not be severed. And God help him, but he didn’t know if he wanted it to.
One moment Isla’s hands were resting on Hayden’s waist, his lips about to kiss her, and the next he was gone. As if he had been nothing more than a figment of her imagination. But she knew otherwise.
