She blinked her hazel eyes, the smile sliding from her face. “You’ve heard me crying.”
“Aye.”
“It’s not what you think, Arran. Before you my work was my life. I knew the chances of finding a man and having a normal life weren’t for me. That meant no children.”
“You doona want bairns?”
She put her hand covered in flour on his chest over his heart. “I’d love to have your children. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, as you said, we have each other. And that’s enough for me.”
“Then why the tears?”
“Because I know others aren’t all right with that. Larena for one. She’s barely holding it together. She’s obsessed with finding the spell to bind your gods.”
Arran pushed a lock of her wheat-colored hair behind her ear. “And you?”
“I’ve told you what I think of it,” she replied with a roll of her eyes. “I fell in love with who you are now. If you want to live as a mortal, then I support that. If you want to remain a Warrior and continue to fight against evil, I’ll be standing beside you. Either way, Arran MacCarrick, you’ll not be rid of me.”
“Never,” he said and kissed her slowly, thoroughly. He heard the seams rip as he yanked off her apron, but her sigh was all the encouragement he needed to divest her of her clothes as soon as he could.
Their laughter filled the room as they helped each other out of their clothes and fell in a tangle of limbs upon the bed.
Arran ran his hand down the side of her face. “I love you beyond words, beyond meaning … beyond anything, Ronnie.”
“And I love you, husband.”
They shared a smile as he kissed her again.
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
Phelan stood on the porch and leaned his hands on the railing as he looked out over the loch. The evening had been wonderful. The most perfect evening he’d ever had.
Dinner had been a simple affair of steaks, bread, and carrots. Turns out Aisley has a particular hatred for carrots. Phelan smiled as he recalled her story of how her parents made her eat her helping of carrots when she was six.
He and Aisley had talked of nothing and everything. Phelan noted how careful she was not to bring up her past or much about herself. She didn’t ask questions of him either.
Not that he had anything to hide. There wasn’t any kind of pressure to dazzle her with witty conversation or do one of his many tricks to seduce.
Phelan couldn’t remember the last time he had such an enjoyable meal. The desire for her never dissipated. To his chagrin, it grew.
The brush of their hands as he’d passed her the wineglass singed him, causing a bolt of something primal and urgent to zing through him.
Phelan inhaled a breath of Scottish air and looked up at the moon. It was full, its light glowing like a beacon in the sky. The clouds drifted in front of the moon, causing a faint haze to appear like a ring around it. The real beauty was how the moonlight hit upon the clouds, outlining them.
It was nearing midnight. Aisley had been asleep for a couple of hours. Already Phelan had checked on her twice. Each time it was more and more difficult to leave her room.
How easy it would be to climb in bed beside her and arouse her body while she slept. By the time she woke, she’d be in such a state of need that she wouldn’t turn him away.
“What have I come to?” he asked himself in a soft whisper.
An owl hooted from a nearby tree in answer.
Phelan needed something to cool his lust. He briefly thought about a swim in the loch but didn’t want to be that far from Aisley. He opted for a cold shower instead.
He straightened and entered the house. He tugged off his shirt and unbuttoned his jeans by the time he reached the bathroom. Phelan shut the door quietly before he quickly removed his boots and jeans. Only then did he turn on the water.
He stepped into the shower and gritted his teeth as the cold water hit him. It did very little since he hardly felt the cold thanks to his god.
Phelan put his hands on the tiled wall and let his chin drop to his chest as the water fell down his neck and back. He looked at the floor of the shower, suddenly thankful it was six feet long, since he had a suspicion he’d be spending the night there.
* * *
Aisley stared at the ceiling, one hand over her forehead and the other across her stomach. She hadn’t lied to Phelan when she claimed exhaustion and went to bed. At the time she couldn’t keep her eyes open.
It wasn’t long after she fell asleep when the dream that had plagued her for months returned. Except this time Phelan was doing much more than kissing her.
His hands, his big, calloused hands were caressing her body. Touching her in just the right places, making her moan and squirm with need.
She’d woken just before the orgasm.
After that, sleep had been far from her mind. The last time Phelan had come to check on her, she had almost asked him to stay.
He wanted her. She could see the desire in his eyes. Mostly he tried to hide it, but it was there. What she couldn’t understand was why he hadn’t made a move toward her.
At the club two months ago he hadn’t taken no for an answer and kissed her before she knew what was happening. Today he’d treated her with kid gloves. Almost as if he expected her to break at any moment.
The worst part was when she told him she’d heard the voice in her head whispering her name. Instead of asking her questions about who it could be, he’d simply gotten to his feet and began to talk about dinner.
Just when she thought she understood Phelan, he changed. No matter how he kept her mind in knots, her body knew what it wanted.
Him.
She looked to the door when she heard the shower turn on. He was still awake. The question was, did she have the guts to go to him?
Aisley sat up and wrapped her arms around her legs, which she’d drawn up to her chest. It had been years since she’d slept with anyone.
She imagined him naked in the shower, the water running over his tall, muscular form, and her mouth went dry.
Without another thought Aisley threw off the covers and rose from the bed. She opened her door and walked to the bathroom. There was a moment’s hesitation when she placed her hand on the doorknob.
Her lips tingled, reminding her how much she had enjoyed his kiss. That’s all it took to give her the courage to open the door.
But being in the bathroom was altogether different than stepping into the shower with him.
Aisley watched his silhouette through the shower door as he stood still as a statue. She drew the shirt over her head and slid her panties down her legs.
* * *
Phelan knew Aisley was in the bathroom. He’d felt her magic come toward him as soon as she left her room. He held his breath, waiting to see what she would do.
And then the shower door opened.
His gaze clashed with hers as he straightened. He might have seen her in skimpy clothes at the club but nothing prepared him for the sight of Aisley nude.
Phelan let his eyes travel down her face to her dark-tipped nipples and full breasts to the narrow indent of her
