Malcolm rose to his feet and walked to the door. “I’ll be in my chamber after I get rid of the wyrran if you need anything.”
“Thank you, dearest friend.”
He paused with his hand on the latch. “Thank me when MacLeod takes you to his castle.”
Larena waited until the door closed behind Malcolm before she let out a breath. She picked up the soap again and scrubbed her body a second time. She couldn’t stand the wyrran’s blood on her.
Fallon slumped down on his bed. He had half expected to come into his chamber and find Larena inside once again. To his disappointment, there had been no one.
He didn’t like that frustration, or the nervousness that hadn’t left him since he had seen her in the great hall. It would have been nice to find the wyrran to take out some of his anger on the creature instead of coming back to his chamber and to his memories of Larena in his arms.
He could still feel her. That small contact of her face against his had embedded her in his body. He had held her against him, felt her supple body and womanly curves. He wanted to bury his face in her hair and inhale the scent that was hers alone.
And God help him, he wanted to lick every inch ofher.
Fallon rose and removed his boots, tartan, and shirt. It wasn’t that he didn’t like wearing the kilt, it was just so different from what he had worn for the last three hundred plus years. He could get used to it though. He especially liked wearing the colors of the MacLeod for all to see.
With a sigh he slid beneath the covers. Sleep wouldn’t come, not with a wyrran on the loose and knowing he had to find Thomas MacDonald in the morning before he left for MacLeod Castle. He closed his eyes, but all he could think about was Larena. He could still taste her on his tongue from that brief lick against her neck. She was the sweetest taste of sin.
By the saints, how he wanted to savor more of her! Too bad he would never get the chance.
Larena climbed in through Fallon’s window. She was careful not to make any noise that would wake him, not that he would see her if he did. Once she was inside, she moved to the corner near the hearth and reached for her robe that lay on top of the chest.
It was one of the things she hated about using her power of invisibility. She might become invisible, but whatever clothes she had on didn’t. The only thing that she was able to wear and not be seen was the ring on her middle right finger because it held magic. That ring never came off. For any reason.
Her goddess receded as she threaded her arms through the sleeves of her robe. She had brought it with her and left it when Fallon had found her in his chamber. She hadn’t expected to talk to him then. Nay, her plan had been just what she was doing. There was only one way to talk to a man like Fallon, and that was to get his attention.
Arriving naked would do that, but she wasn’t ready to show him everything. At least not yet. She would use her body if she had to. She didn’t like that idea, but too much was at stake. First, she would try and talk to him.
To her horror her body heated just knowing she might get to kiss Fallon.
She walked in the moonbeams that shone through his windows. The chamber wasn’t as large as hers, but it was still nice. The burgundy velvet bed hangings were the best that coin could buy. The candles were scented, and there was plenty of wood stacked near the hearth in case he wanted a fire.
Larena put a finger on an unopened bottle of wine. It sat in the middle of the small table, almost like a gift. Except she had the feeling Fallon had put it there himself. So, not a gift, but a punishment then?
She thought back to dinner. He hadn’t taken any wine or mead. He had only drunk water. Odd for a man such as he.
Her head turned to the bed. She had kept herself from looking at him, but no longer. Her feet started to move and took her to the bed. He slept with his face toward the windows, the light of the moon illuminating his chiseled features and silent strength.
He was spectacular. He had an angular face with hollows beneath his cheekbones that made him appear hardened and menacing. His chin was square, his jawline hard and unforgiving. Just like a Highlander.
His nose was long and straight and thin. When her gaze landed on his lips, she sighed, recalling how they’d grazed her cheek.
His eyes, though closed now, were the most beautiful green she had ever seen. Dark brows slashed over his eyes. There was a small scar near his left eye that must have occurred before his god was unbound.
She wanted to touch that scar and ask him how it had come about, and how he had managed not to lose his eye and sight in the process.
The paleness of the linens was a stark contrast to his skin, bronzed from the sun. In the moonlight his hair looked almost black, though she knew it was dark brown with hints of gold running through it as though he had spent much time out of doors.
Her gaze traveled to his bare chest that rose and fell slowly. His abdomen rippled with honed muscles and power. The same was true of his arms and shoulders, and even his hands that lay slack by his sides.
Larena leaned in close to get a good look at the thick gold torc around his neck. Two boars’ heads with their mouths open and teeth visible stared at her.
She straightened, unable to believe her luck in finding one of
She let her fingers comb through a lock of his dark hair. It reached past his shoulders and was thick and cool to the touch. She wanted to run her hands through it again and again. She wanted to hold him and lull him to sleep with the gentle scrape of her nails on his scalp.
Larena pulled her hand away, afraid she would touch more of him if she didn’t. She hadn’t felt anything like this for a man before, and to be frank, it frightened her.
Her gaze moved to his lips once again. Ah, such a beautiful mouth. Wide, firm lips that weren’t too thin or too full. Lips that were made for teasing and kissing.
She trembled at the thought of his mouth on hers. Her hand reached up to touch the cheek where his beard had brushed against her. Even in the dim light she could see the thick whiskers growing out on his jaw. It made him look wicked and dangerous. Forbidden.
He shifted in his sleep, his mouth parting. He looked so different as he slept. Gone were the worries that bracketed his mouth and eyes. Gone was the furrow on his forehead. He looked young and almost mischievous now.
Larena smiled, trying to picture the lad he had been. She imagined he’d caused his mother to fret. As the eldest, he’d had to be strong for his brothers. Just the type of laird a clan like the MacLeods had needed. It was a tragedy Deirdre had wiped them out.
Thinking of Deirdre made Larena remember why she was in Fallon’s chambers. She turned away and went to stand next to the window. She needed to forget the temptation Fallon’s body posed.
It was true, she did know he was attracted to her. But could she chance being intimate with a man again? Did she dare after what had happened the last time?
Larena considered her conscious. What would it hurt if she gave in to the desire Fallon brought out in her? She would be in control. And just one time, she would know what it felt like to be held by a man like Fallon MacLeod.
Chapter Six
Fallon wasn’t sure what woke him. He’d been deep in a dream of a time before the massacre of his clan. He had brought his mother flowers, as an apology for stealing the bread from the kitchen again.
His mother had always said he knew just how to find forgiveness with any woman. He had laughed, thankful
