Midnight's Temptation

husband.

“It looks like we need to have that chat again about the differences between mies and droughs,” Charon said.

“There’s no need. I know the difference.”

“Then you should know Isla isna just a drough.” Gone was Charon’s teasing tone. It had turned hard as steel.

This was something new. Always before Charon had felt the same as Phelan regarding MacLeod Castle and those within its walls. What had changed?

“She underwent the drough ceremony. That makes her a drough,” Phelan argued.

“There’s more to her story than that. You know I’m right.”

“What I know is that I kill droughs.”

Charon gave a wry laugh through the phone. “You know, Hayden used to hunt them as well. He ended up in love with one.”

“No’ me. And Hayden should never have stopped hunting them. It’s droughs who keep us in constant battle. You want peace for your life with Laura, my brother, then you need to be hunting and killing the droughs as well.”

Phelan ended the call before Charon could respond. It wasn’t like Charon to defend Isla or those at the castle. Was that what falling in love meant? That he would suddenly change his views on everything?

“No’ likely,” Phelan muttered as he put on his helmet and started the Ducati.

He waited for two cars to pass before he pulled out of the stand of trees and onto the road.

No matter how many miles passed beneath his tires, he couldn’t get the conversation with Charon out of his head. It angered him that Charon was defending Isla.

Isla had had a choice. She decided to take a small lad away from his family to be locked away in a cold, dank prison for years. Chained, lonely, and scared, the darkness never easing away.

There was no forgiveness for Isla.

Not now.

Not ever.

Isla tried to redeem herself when she unlocked him from the magical chains that bound him to Cairn Toul Mountain. He should’ve killed her then, but her wounds had been severe enough he’d thought she would die on her own. But she hadn’t. Somehow she survived and wound up at MacLeod Castle.

Mercy would never come for him.

Retribution, however, would.

That sickening feeling of being betrayed stayed with a person. He had been but a small lad, but even then he realized what happened to him. There was no forgiveness in him for anyone who deceived him.

It wasn’t as if he wanted to kill people, but if he didn’t they would be fighting droughs until the end of time. Druids seemed to be fading away, yet there was always a drough ready to take over the world.

Phelan refused to give Isla any more thought. He pushed her from his mind and followed Aisley for several more hours. Phelan made sure to keep far enough back that she didn’t realize he was tailing her.

He wasn’t surprised when she stopped at a small town around six for another bite to eat. Once more Phelan found a place to keep watch out of sight.

While she ordered, he did a quick search of the town to check for other Druids, especially droughs. He wasn’t surprised to know that Aisley’s magic was the only one he felt.

She had her food by the time he made it back to his motorbike. He began to worry when he saw her take a pill, and then shield her eyes from the lamplight above her.

No matter what she said, Phelan wasn’t going to let her go another night without sleep. He crossed the street to the small hotel and paid for a room.

*   *   *

Aisley wasn’t sure her food was going to stay down. The migraine hadn’t let up. She took another pill and prayed this time it would help.

She kept eyeing the lighted hotel sign flashing Vacancy from the restaurant window. As tempting as it was, she would sleep for a few hours in her car, and then get back on the road.

Enough time had been wasted driving around Scotland gathering the money she needed to make her escape until she could take on Jason herself. She couldn’t explain it, but she felt as if her time was running out. Whether that meant her life, or time to get out of Scotland, she wasn’t sure.

And really didn’t want to find out.

Aisley ate as much of the soup and sandwich as she could before she paid and walked out of the restaurant. The cool night air felt good on her heated flesh.

She took only two steps when the world began to tilt. Aisley grabbed hold of the side of the building to keep her feet. After several deep breaths, the spinning continued until she knew she was about to fall on her face.

Just before she did, strong arms wrapped around her, and a voice, smooth, sexy, and altogether too dangerous, whispered her name.

“I’ve got you,” Phelan said.

Aisley wanted to demand he put her down, but the world finally stopped spinning. She latched onto his thickly muscled shoulders and leaned her head against him.

It should be a sin for someone to be as handsome and roguishly charming as Phelan. She had no defense for him, but in the back of her mind, she conceded that she didn’t want one.

He was sin and seduction, sex and persuasion. He had been perfectly formed to make a woman mindless with desire. He was wild and untamed, just like their land, and that gave him a thread of danger that sent her senses reeling.

It never entered her mind to push away from him. Regardless of whether she liked it or not, she needed him that night.

“You’re going to get some sleep, beauty. You’ll thank me in the morn.”

Her eyelids closed even as she formulated a response. “No,” was all she got out. 

CHAPTER SIX

Phelan knew something was wrong the moment he saw Aisley’s face. She was too pale, her shoulders held high in a sign of pain.

He reached her in three strides when he saw her grab ahold of the building. It was a good thing, too, or he might not have made it to her in time before she fell.

With a nod to the staring, wide-eyed hotel clerk, Phelan strode past him to the stairs. There was an urgency pushing him to get Aisley inside the room, but he was careful not to jar her, which meant going slower.

He looked down to see Aisley’s closed eyes. Her forehead was still creased in a slight frown. Phelan got them inside the room and quickly lay her on the bed.

After removing her shoes and covering her with a blanket, he reached for her purse and the medicine bottle he knew was inside. He didn’t recognize the name of the medication, but with a quick search on the Internet with his phone, he learned it was prescribed for migraines.

“Damn,” he whispered and returned the pills to her purse.

Phelan knew nothing of migraines. He pulled up a chair beside the bed and simply stared at Aisley. The steady rise and fall of her chest let him know she was sleeping deeply.

He should leave her, but he found he couldn’t. Phelan gently moved aside strands of her hair from her face. Her golden skin was as soft as mink, and no matter how he tried, he couldn’t stop touching her.

Phelan ran a finger over her forehead to smooth out the lines. She sighed in her sleep and turned her head