Chosen: Book 1 in the Ancients of Light series (33 page)

Her smile said as much and he gave her hand a
light squeeze while Myrrdyn wrapped up his spiel on the sanctity of
vows in the Light. He whispered for her ears only, “I will bring
you happiness beyond measure, Kaitriana. I love you, Witch – that
is all that matters, nothing more.”

Those icy blues were twinkling at him and
when Myrrdyn asked for her words to join her to Lorcan, she gave
them with no hesitation. She added her own words to the last, “And
I love you, Warrior of Light. You are more than my destiny, you are
my very heart.”

Lorcan winked at her and she was surprised
that he did not refuse when Myrrdyn took him through the vow
language and rites of the Witch. Instead, Lorcan said them easily
without pause. When he was finished, she whispered, “You did not
have to do that.”

He gave her a quizzical look, “They are
important to you, are they not?” She answered affirmatively. He
said it plainly, as though she should know as much, “Then they are
important to me, lass. You will be participating in the Vampire
ritual tonight with the bonding. My breed’s practices are no more
important than yours.” Lorcan found her to be truly beguiling when
she just stared at him with blatant adoration in her eyes.

Her attention was drawn away at the roar from
the crowd. Kaitriana had forgotten all about them. Myrrdyn had
finished his pronouncement of the union and a grand depiction of
the symbol of Light appeared in glowing color in the sky above
Breslein.

Lorcan encircled her waist in the fold of his
arm and moved to exchange low words with Myrrdyn while the Elite
began making their way up to the landing. They were smiling at her
as though she was their very most favorite person in the Realm in
spite of her earlier missteps. She could not help but respond in
kind as each paused to offer congratulations. Lorcan broke from
Myrrdyn and accepted the same from his men before they moved into
the protective shadow of Breslein’s interior.

Myrrdyn paused next to her, gazing down with
pride. Leaning in, he dropped a kiss to her cheek and spoke low for
her ears alone, “The Prophecy is beginning, lass. Heed the wisdom
of your warrior and together you will bring all that has been
foretold for the Light. Love him unconditionally and he will reveal
to you all that he is. Remember always that you are his key.”

Her dear Grandpapa stepped away before she
could question the hidden meaning within his words. There was
always
hidden meaning in Myrrdyn’s words,
but Kaitriana had no time to ponder them at the moment as Lilly was
bounding up the steps in her enthusiasm. Jortha trailed a bit more
sedately in her wake. Her vampire friend did not care that she had
inserted herself ahead of every elder that had been waiting to pay
their regards to the newly paired leaders.

Laughing, she ignored Lorcan completely as
well when she grabbed Kaitriana’s hands and tugged her into a hug.
All the while, the dazzling female was rambling on incessantly,
spilling her congratulations along with her excitement over having
Kaitriana home once again. By the time she was finished, Kaitriana
was bubbling with laughter and could only manage to pull her friend
into another hug.

When she released Lilly, Kaitriana glanced
over at Jortha. He had just moved a step from Lorcan and was
looking her over thoughtfully. She did the same to him. The smile
she gave him was warm and her lecture teasing, “You are a
tattletale, Jortha. I am a witch, you are a witch…there should be
some measure of loyalty, you understand? You did
not
have to tell Lorcan I was at Laverock…he is
threatening to lock me up for centuries over this.”

Jortha looked unconcerned, “If you did not
cause so much trouble Kaitriana there would be nothing to tell. Do
you think I have nothing better to do than try to figure out what
you are up to?”

Lorcan knew the banter between them was
playful, so he interjected, “Yes, Kaitriana. I believe the solution
is that you should simply behave. Try the obedience hat on for a
while…else I
will
lock you up for
centuries.” Lorcan winked at her in affection, but Jortha and Lilly
took themselves off before Kaitriana could kick the male witch. Her
expression gave the impression she meant to do just that.

Next followed Cade. Private words were
exchanged between him and Lorcan also. Cade was laughing when he
delivered a hearty slap to his friend’s back and swept up the
collection of Witch swords.

Kaitriana could only assume that Lorcan had
instructed that they be returned to the Castes. Cade was casually
swinging the bundle as he gave her his attention. She gazed at him
with an artificial look of haughtiness and taunted, “No slippers in
the mouth, Cade. It appears your assistance was not required after
all.”

Cade gave her a piercing look, “Was it not?”
He allowed her to squirm under his stare; both knew full well she
would never have taken those steps had he not been there when she
fled. Finally she rolled her eyes at him, conceding the unspoken
point. With a chuckle he leaned down and kissed her brow before
patting her head. Offhandedly he addressed Lorcan over his
shoulder, “I would have challenged any but you for the rights to
this one, friend.”

Lorcan nodded his understanding with a smirk,
“And she would have had you catering to her every whim, Cade.”

Cade shot him a look that suggested otherwise
and then tousled her curls playfully in farewell. Turning to face
the pressing crowd, he announced, “It is time that we take our
leave. A full celebration of the returned unity of the Light will
hold until tonight.”

There was a good natured grumbling in the
crowd but they began to disperse readily. The Vampire really had no
choice as the sun would make it rather uncomfortable for them soon.
Cade gave Lorcan a nod and took himself away as well. When
Kaitriana glanced back, Myrrdyn was already gone. She pressed
closer into the hold of her male and watched the pink beginning to
paint the sky. As the last few exited the gates, she proposed, “We
could linger here to watch the sunrise, Lorcan.”

He glanced down at her thoughtfully, surprise
tinged his voice, “You are immune to the sun? Are you certain?”
Lorcan could tell her eyes were holding secrets that she wished to
share. He would let them wait; he wanted no conflict to ruin these
next hours with her.

Kaitriana nodded, murmuring, “Myrrdyn told me
and I dared to test it myself to make certain.”

Lorcan was pleased with the news that he
would be able to spend his days as well as the nights with her. He
was not certain he could ever have too much time with the Witch. He
guessed at the cause, “I expect that the ability was fostered in
you because of the strength of your magic, as it was in me when I
was transitioned.”

She only smiled sweetly and leaned in to
nuzzle his neck. Lorcan knew quite well that she was evading the
topic with her show of affection. He would allow it for now and he
drew her more firmly against him with the wrap of his other arm,
“Tomorrow, love. If it is that important to you now, the shutters
in our rooms can remain open; no one will be entering unexpectedly
this day. You can enjoy the sunrise from the warmth of our bed…if
you can keep your attention focused on it.” He witnessed the blush
creeping over her skin before he tightened his hold and shadowed
them both inside the manse.

CHAPTER 29

Lorcan deposited her in the middle of the
room and strode in the opposite direction to the armoire on the far
wall. Shirking his tunic, he tossed it aside to one of the nearby
chairs. Noticing that Kaitriana had begun to shuffle her feet as
she watched him, he leaned back against the wall. Crossing his arms
over his bared chest, his eyes roamed her leisurely.

He let her simmer in her unease for a few
moments before he stated plainly, “I am trying to decide whether to
throttle you now or later.” Her gaze shot from his exposed skin
straight to his eyes, her own widening. Lorcan managed not to laugh
at her reaction, having assumed the best way to pull her from her
thoughts was to rattle her.

Pushing away from the wall with a lazy
motion, his stride was deliberate and slow as he closed the
distance between them. His voice was silky, deep, and rumbled
through her, “Would you care to know what I’ve decided?” Her eyes
seemed to grower larger, if possible, with each step. She did not
dare answer. When he stopped before her, he palmed her face with
both hands and lifted it upwards. Lorcan leaned down and delivered
a sharp tug to her lush lower lip with his teeth.

Murmuring, he pulled back, “If I give you the
punishment your behavior warrants, your aching backside will
interfere with your enjoyment of the next few hours…” Lorcan could
tell that the mind behind those sparkling blues was dissecting each
word, and searching for an appropriate response. He winked, “I
suppose you may have a reprieve…for now.” He could not decide what
was more fetching, the obvious relief in her eyes or the brilliant
red stain on her cheeks when she took full meaning of his
words.

In an anxious tone, she tried to begin
negotiations, “I really think we should discuss…”

His laughter interrupted, “Of course you do,
Kaitriana.” Certain that the minx could think of any number of
topics that needed to be settled between them in order to delay
this, he would not permit it. She would not be dictating the course
of events for this night. Her expectant look told him that she was
waiting for the conversation to continue. Instead, Lorcan turned
her to begin pulling at the closures of her gown.

He shushed her when she began to protest.
Tugging her back until she was flush against him, Lorcan bent her
forward slightly for better access and brushed her curls to one
side. He eyed her nape and the slim column of her neck while he
continued to unfasten the dress. Kaitriana flinched in surprise
when the warmth of his breath spread over her skin.

His hands continued to work but Lorcan had
leaned forward to whisper against the sensitive spot where neck met
shoulder, “Do you recall what tonight entails, little witch?” At
her shaky nod, he hushed, “Good…” With a possessive growl, he
wrenched the last closure open and followed immediately with a hard
bite into the flesh of that tender area.

One arm encircled her waist to lend support
when her knees buckled, simultaneous with the faint gasp that
reflected only her pleasure. His other hand smoothed the material
off the curve of her hips. Lorcan pulled his fangs free of the
wound and lifted her from the volume of skirts to settle her into
the cradle of his arms. Her gaze was already hazy with need. When
his eyes skimmed downward he was unable to hide his surprise,
realizing that save for the tiny piece of lace the stretched tautly
over her hips, she had been bare beneath the gown.

His gawking was enough to shake her free of
her pleasure-induced stupor. A blush washed over her skin as she
shifted position to fold an arm over her bare chest. He chuckled
and then outright laughed when she shot him a glare and hissed, “I
told you I was not dressed for this.”

Catching her gaze his laughter ended
abruptly, eyes heating with his message, “You do not need to be
dressed for this, Kaitriana. Quite the opposite. I would say that
you were more than prepared.” He tapped on the arm she used to hide
herself, “That is a wasted effort. I am going to know every bare
inch of you before I am done.” His last comment had her averting
her eyes shyly, “In a very short time you are going to be begging
for my touch, oblivious to all else.”

Her serious doubt of that showed in her
expression. It would take her no less than two centuries to get
accustomed to the intimacies that he was suggesting. Viewing the
hardpacked muscle of his torso when he had turned to her had nearly
caused her to salivate; she might never gain control of the
reactions his nearness caused. Turning her face into him, her
tongue darted out to dampen her lips.

Though she had been this close and he this
bare before now, knowing there would be more than teasing play to
follow had her flustered. When she finally gained the courage to
glance upwards again, he was studying her face. His eyes narrowed
when her tongue swept her lips again. She distracted herself from
the sinful heat in his expression by playing with the medallion
that hung around his neck.

Lorcan moved towards the bed, still clasping
her tightly to his chest. Stopping at the edge, he waited for
Kaitriana to take notice and give him her gaze. His voice was
roughened with his desire for the little witch and his eyes
flickered darkly when he explained, “After I show you just how
delicious this is going to be between us, I think I will spend
hours making you beg for more.” His voice had a dire edge of
certainty to it, “A few hours of toying with you may be sufficient
punishment for your recent misbehavior.”

Kaitriana could tell by the set of his face
that he had every intention of doing that which he had just spelled
out. Dread and excitement were warring within her, so she could
barely form the words for her counter offer, “Your simple
forgiveness would be an appropriate gift to your new mate.” A
single look was all that was needed to convey his disagreement. It
mattered not. Her body was already heating for him, enticed by his
taunting rather than dissuaded. His want for her was clear and she
was reacting to it.

She offered Lorcan a coy smile. Her own eyes
flickered when she released the arm that covered her to curl it up
around the side of his neck, murmuring, “I do not think you will
make it as bad as that, love. After all, torture for me will be
torture for you.” Tilting her head, she rubbed her cheek against
the warmth of his bare chest, her move making a deliberate offering
by opening the line of her throat.