Midnight's Seduction (7 page)

With all the calls made, there was only one thing left to do.

Saffron once more left her room. She gave Dani’s iPhone back to her before she continued down the corridor and up a flight of stairs to the master chamber.

Fallon wasn’t going to be happy with what she wanted, but he wouldn’t have a choice in the matter.

She gave a quick knock on the thick wooden door. It was opened almost immediately by Fallon.

“Saffron.”

“I’d like a word, please,” she said.

He stepped aside and motioned for her to enter.

Saffron glanced around the spacious chamber, noting that even though the stone walls had been kept, everything else had been modernized.

The bed was a king-sized four-poster bed with simple yet elegant dark bronze and pale gold bedding. On the bedside table were two iPods charging. A medieval tapestry still hung on the wall, but there was also art from almost every era that Fallon and Larena had lived in.

There was a large flat-screen TV and a deep brown leather couch where Larena lounged, and a thick rug, in a soft cream color, in front of it. All in all the room was cozy and comfortable. The mix of the past and present was one that worked well.

“I’ll leave you two,” Larena said as she started to rise from the couch.

Saffron held out a hand to stop her. “There’s no need. Everyone knows what happened to me and what my mother is trying to do.”

“I still can no’ believe it,” Fallon said as he leaned against the footboard of his bed and crossed his arms over his chest.

Saffron snorted as anger flared inside her. “You don’t know my mother or what money can do to people.”

“That’s what this is about?” Larena asked as she swept her golden-blond hair back away from her face. With a few twists of her hands it was set in a loose bun at the base of her neck.

“Yes.” Saffron was embarrassed to admit it, but then again, her mother had only married her father for the money. Elise had never intended to get pregnant, but for a fluke of Fate. That fluke had been Elise taking cold medicine while also using the pill. They had canceled each other out, and the next thing Elise knew, she was pregnant.

Saffron was surprised Elise hadn’t gotten an abortion. But she’d had no idea she was pregnant, she’d thought she was only sick. Saffron knew it was only by the grace of God that her father had taken Elise to the doctor and heard the news of her pregnancy himself or Saffron wouldn’t be standing there now.

“Saffron?” Larena called.

She shook her head and pulled herself from her memories. “I wanted to let both of you know my plans.”

“Of course,” Fallon said.

Saffron licked her lips and said, “There are some … things … I have to take care of in London and Edinburgh, namely my bank and credit card companies and other odds and ends. Since we have some time before we can awaken Laria, I’d like to take this opportunity to do these things.”

“Which will in turn prove to your mother and others that you aren’t dead,” Larena said with a smile.

“Precisely,” Saffron said. “My mother will demand proof, so I’m going to give it to her. Now, I know the castle is shielded and can’t be found, but I’ve arranged for a helicopter to pick me up in a few hours.”

When Fallon didn’t respond, she continued. “Nothing I have here is mine. For three years I was at the whim of a deranged lunatic. I need to find myself again, and not just to prove to everyone I’m alive so my mother can’t get to my money. I want to—”

“Shop,” Larena said with a bright smile. “I think that would be a wonderful idea. You have your eyesight back, but like you said, you need to find yourself.”

Saffron couldn’t believe Larena actually understood. She turned her gaze to Fallon. “I won’t be long. I promise. The quicker I’m seen, and by the right people, the quicker this thing with my mother will end. I just need to know a location close by so that I can tell the helicopter pilot.”

“Nay,” Fallon said, and ran a hand through his thick brown hair. “There’s no need for you to hire a helicopter when you have me. Allow me to jump you where you need to go, and it’ll be done much quicker.”

Saffron blinked, surprised by his offer.

“My love,” Larena said as she leaned up to whisper in Fallon’s ear, “I think she’s astonished by your proposal.”

“That she is,” Fallon said with a grin.

Saffron mentally shook herself. “I apologize. I’m just used to doing everything for myself.”

“You’ll find that while you’re here we help each other,” Larena said as she pulled on a pair of black high-heeled boots.

Fallon watched her with his lips flat. “And where are you going?

“Shopping with Saffron, of course. She needs a Warrior with her, and who better than me?”

Fallon rolled his eyes, but there was a lopsided smile on his face. “Any excuse to shop, my love.”

“Most certainly.” Larena’s smile was wide as she jumped up and kissed Fallon before turning to Saffron. “Are you ready?”

Excitement rose within Saffron as she nodded. “I am.”

Fallon pushed off the bed and started toward the door. “We need to tell the other women. They might want to come as well.”

“Tell them,” Saffron said as she hurried to the door. “I’m going to change. I’ll meet you in the great hall in five minutes.”

Saffron didn’t wait to hear what was said as she ran to her chamber and yanked off the sweats. She searched for a pair of jeans and boots. A quick brush of her hair and she was out the door again and on her way to the great hall.

To her surprise Gwynn, Dani, Isla, and Marcail were also coming with them.

“We’re going to have to do this again once this is all over and I can come,” Reaghan said as she glanced up from a map of the Ring of Brodgar. “I’m going to need it.”

Cara stuck her head out of the kitchen and frowned. “If I wasn’t in the middle of baking bread…”

Fallon shook his head while smiling and walked to the group. “Where do you want to go first, Saffron?”

She swallowed, her gaze searching for Camdyn in the great hall. She’d wanted to tell him where she was going, though she had no idea why. But he wasn’t to be found. “London. High Street.”

“It’s a good thing I’ve been there over the last four centuries,” Fallon said as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

The calm of the castle was replaced by thick traffic and so many voices it was hard to hear anything. Saffron looked around and smiled. London. She always loved to shop in London.

“Give us five hours,” Larena said as she kissed Fallon. “We’ll be waiting here for you.”

With a wink, Fallon was gone.

“I can’t tell you how convenient his power is,” Gwynn said.

They all laughed as they walked from between two buildings out onto the sidewalk.

“Where to first?” Dani asked.

Saffron took a second to get her bearings, then went left. “First stop, my bank. This isn’t just a pleasure trip for me. I have to be seen in person in order to halt my mother’s claim that I’m dead. There will be some forms I have to fill out from my attorney, which shouldn’t take too long. Second stop is a salon. I want a haircut.”

“Oh,” Larena said wistfully. “And I think I’ll get a manicure.”

“And a pedi,” Gwynn said with a smile.

Saffron hadn’t felt this free and sure of herself since she had first landed in Britain four years earlier. This time she had Druids with her, and a Warrior.

Even if the trip wasn’t just for fun, she wanted to be there. Being seen at the bank should put a permanent hold on her mother’s legal move to declare her deceased. It’s too bad Saffron wouldn’t be there to see her mother’s face when she got the news.

As she walked down the street with her friends, Saffron’s happiness edged away as she faced reality. She had said she needed to find herself, but no amount of shopping or new haircuts would help her with that. Only time would.

And even then Saffron wasn’t sure if she would ever find the peace and love she craved so desperately.

CHAPTER

SEVEN

Camdyn knew the moment Saffron left the castle. He was fishing on the beach with both Hayden and Quinn when the feel of her magic simply vanished.

He went on as if nothing had occurred, because if there had been an accident, someone would have come and gotten them. At least that’s what he told himself, but he still found himself glancing up at the imposing structure of the castle as it rose from the cliffs.

“What’s wrong?” Hayden asked.

Camdyn shrugged. “Nothing.”

“You lie poorly,” Quinn said with a chuckle before he tossed the net out into the water.

Hayden had already been swimming in the cold depths of the sea and returned with several fish, but Quinn liked to do it the way he and his father had done.

Camdyn adjusted the net in his hands and turned to the side before tossing it out into the water and slowly pulling it back in. “I doona like waiting around is all.”

Hayden and Quinn looked at each other and laughed.

Camdyn rolled his eyes. “What now?”

“Have you always been such an awful liar?” Hayden asked with a wide smile and knowing gaze.

Camdyn knew he would have to give them the truth, or at least part of it. “I felt some magic leave.”

“Aye,” Hayden said with a nod. “Isla’s is gone.”

“So is Marcail’s,” Quinn said.

Camdyn looked at them with confusion. “And neither of you are worried?”

Hayden opened his mouth to answer when Fallon’s voice reached them from behind. “They needn’t be worried. Marcail and Isla went with Larena, Gwynn, Dani, and Saffron to London. To shop.”

Quinn shook his head. “I figured it was something like that.”

“Shouldn’t she have told you?” Camdyn asked. He was baffled by how nonchalant both Quinn and Hayden were, knowing that Deirdre and Declan were still a threat.

He’d expected them to at least go after their women.

Quinn glanced at him with a half smile. “I know Marcail would never put herself in danger. She normally tells me when she leaves, and though I’d like to know before my wife departs the castle, I know through the feel of her magic.”

“Saffron didna give them time to tell you or Hayden,” Fallon said. “She was bound and determined to leave.”

Camdyn’s gut clenched at Fallon’s words. The thought of never seeing Saffron again was like a sword slicing him in half.

“Why?” Hayden asked, his brow furrowed. “Surely she knows we need her magic.”

“She’s returning. Besides, there is the issue with her mother that has to be addressed, and Saffron knows this,” Fallon said.

Camdyn didn’t want to evaluate how much of his worry eased knowing Saffron wasn’t alone and that she was returning. Saffron was a distraction he didn’t need or want. Regardless of how the sight of her caused his body to flare with desire so great it left him gasping for breath.

“She’d already called a helicopter to pick her up,” Fallon said with a chuckle. “I took them instead. Despite all she’s been through, she’s kept her backbone.”

“Stubbornness is more like it,” Camdyn grumbled.

Hayden raised a brow. “I think ‘stubborn’ can be applied to every Druid in the castle.”

Camdyn glanced at Fallon. “She should have taken a Warrior with her.”

“She did. Larena. Or were you no’ listening?” Quinn asked.

Camdyn shook the net from the water and kept his gaze averted from the others. He shouldn’t be so upset that Saffron was gone. Except that he knew how much Declan wanted her ability as a Seer. He could very well capture her again.

“With Larena and the other Druids accompanying Saffron she’ll be kept safe, Camdyn,” Fallon said.

“I know.” He did know, and more than that he understood why she had to leave and prove she was alive and well.

“She’s been through hell. Literally,” Quinn said after a long moment of silence filled only by the crash of the waves. “Nothing here is hers.”

“That’s what Larena said,” Fallon replied.

Hayden nodded. “Saffron pretends everything is fine, but it isna. Declan’s magic may be out of her head, but what he did to her will live in her for a long time to come.”

“Add on top of that her mother trying to claim she’s dead, and us fighting Deirdre, and she’s keeping it together better than I would,” Quinn said.

“I agree. She’s strong, but I’d like for us to keep an eye on her just in case. Camdyn, you seem to have developed a link with her. Keep close to her,” Fallon said, and squatted down to pick up a rock. “You should’ve seen the excitement in her eyes when I left them in London. It lit up her entire face.”

Camdyn growled, hating the way his emotions were rioting inside him. He had seen many of Saffron’s false smiles. They were kind, but they didn’t fully reach her eyes. It was a rare thing when anyone saw true happiness on her face.

But then again, who could blame her after all she had been through?

“She’ll be back in a few hours,” Fallon said.

Camdyn looked at him. “Why are you telling me?”

Fallon shrugged nonchalantly before he jumped back to the castle. Quinn turned his head, but not before Camdyn saw his smile. The only one who would meet his gaze was Hayden.

“She’s pretty,” Hayden said. “And wounded. A woman like that could find herself leaning on a man who was willing.”

“Saffron doesna lean on anyone. She’s a strong woman.”

“Aye. So is Isla, but she does lean. And it’s a fabulous thing, Camdyn.”

Quinn nodded. “Oh, aye. A fabulous thing.”

“I seem to remember you warning me about love,” Hayden told Quinn with a lopsided grin.

Quinn threw back his head and laughed. “And look where that warning took you.”

“To the love of my life,” Hayden shouted to the sky with his arms wide.

Camdyn fiddled with the net, pretending there was a knot in it, when in fact there was a knot in his chest. The love of his life died hundreds of years ago. Not once in all that time had a woman ever snagged his attention.

Until Saffron.

He’d hoped it was simply because he’d been the one to free her from Declan. Camdyn had been the only one who had been able to reach her through the magic of the prison.

He’d been the one to carry her from that evil place and to MacLeod Castle.