Midnight's Warrior (28 page)

“I know. We all know. But we’ve all had our lives on hold for so long. I know Larena and Fallon desperately wish to have a family.”

“And you and Reaghan?”

Galen ran a hand down his face. “Reaghan longs for a child. I too want children, but only if we can raise them without the threat of evil that is Declan.”

“I’m sorry. Had I killed Declan at Dunnoth Tower, that is one more evil that would be gone.”

Galen grinned and slapped Ramsey on the shoulder. “You always try to do too much by yourself, my friend. For whatever reason, fate has decreed you and Declan will have another face-off. And frankly, I’m looking forward to such a battle. I want to give the son of a bitch a few swipes of my claws.”

Before Ramsey could respond, Galen walked from the kitchen. With a shake of his head, Ramsey gathered up the plate and water and made his way back to the tower.

When he shouldered open the door he found a small light on beside the bed and Tara sitting up in bed.

“I wondered where you’d gone,” she said.

He shut the door and grinned. “Your stomach was growling alongside mine, so I thought food was in order.”

“You thought right,” she said, and grabbed for the plate as he reached the bed.

Ramsey chuckled and settled beside her on the bed, both of them leaning against the headboard. With the plate and water between them, they each began to eat.

“I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I saw the food,” Tara said with a grin.

Ramsey popped a bit of cheese into her mouth. “I figured the least I could do for you was feed you.”

“The least,” she repeated with a laugh.

He watched her eat for a moment before he asked, “Are you happy here?”

“Yes,” she said without hesitation. “Why do you ask?”

“Just wondering if you’ll take off soon or no’.”

Tara ran her fingers through the condensation on the outside of the bottle. “It’s odd here, I’ll admit. I’m not used to being so included in everything. Usually I have to hide my magic and everything about myself. Here I feel…”

“Free,” Ramsey supplied for her.

Her eyes widened and she nodded. “Yes. ‘Free’ is the perfect word. Maybe it’s this castle, or the people. All I know is that I like it here.”

“Good.”

“Why?”

Ramsey broke a piece of cheese in half and stared at the plate. “I’d worry about you out in the world.”

“Because of Declan?”

“Nay.” He turned his head to her. “I’d just worry.”

“No one has ever worried about me before.”

Ramsey put the cheese in his mouth before he said more about his feelings. Already he’d told her much more than he’d wanted to. Not that he was trying to keep anything from her, but he wasn’t ready to share what he hadn’t thought through enough yet.

He needed more time to think about what was developing between them, to consider how it would affect both of them.

Thankfully, she didn’t ask any more questions either. As famished as they both were, the food was devoured quickly. Ramsey wanted Tara to stay, and he was prepared to ask her. But as he took the plate, she slid down the pillow and smiled at him.

Ramsey set the plate and empty water bottle on the floor and rose to remove his jeans. He climbed back under the covers and shut off the light, only to find Tara waiting to cuddle next to him.

He closed his eyes, a smile on his face. And the next thing he knew he opened his eyes to find the sky lightening to gray.

Tara had her back to him, though she was still pressed along his side. Ramsey leaned over to look at her. He couldn’t ever remembering watching anyone sleep before, and he found it fascinating.

Or maybe it was just that he found Tara fascinating.

Her thick, dark lashes lay against her pale cheek, and her lips were parted slightly. Her bare arm was outside the covers, and her feet tangled with his.

It was so intimate, yet so effortless.

Suddenly, Tara’s lips pulled up at the corners. “Tell me I don’t have drool sliding down my face.”

Ramsey chuckled and kissed her cheek. “No’ that I see.”

“Oh, that doesn’t help,” she said as her eyes opened and she swiped at her mouth. “I don’t. Thank God.”

“Why would it matter if you did?”

Her blue-green eyes widened as she turned onto her back. “Ramsey, I realize you’ve come forward in time, but I don’t think it matters what century a woman is in, she always wants to look her best.”

“Then you’ve nothing to worry about.”

“How do you always know what to say?” she asked as her eyes briefly lowered.

Ramsey shrugged. “I say what feels right.”

“I have a confession.”

He looked down at her hand that rested on his chest. “And what would that be?”

“I’ve never spent the entire night with a man before you. This makes the second time.”

“You’re the first woman I’ve wanted to keep in my bed the entire night.”

“Really?”

“Aye,” he answered, and pressed his lips to hers. “I wouldna lie about that.”

She wound her arms around his neck and sighed as he kissed across her jaw. “I want nothing more than to stay in this bed with you.”

“But?” Ramsey asked, and lifted his head to look at her.

“I’m supposed to make breakfast with Sonya and Cara this morning.”

He groaned and rolled onto his back, his arms out to his sides. “I know how hungry we Warriors get, so I suppose I must let you go.”

Tara leaned over him, her curtain of wavy brown locks falling on either side of his face. “Breakfast doesn’t last very long.”

“Are you suggesting we return to the tower afterward?” he asked with a grin.

“Definitely.”

“I like the way you think.”

He reached for her, but she scooted from the bed and raced to get her clothes. “No. If I let you touch me again, I’ll never leave.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“That’s just it.” She glanced up after fastening her bra and reaching for her panties. “I don’t want to leave.”

Her words reverberated in his head long after she departed for her own chamber. Ramsey remained in the bed a little longer.

He ran his hands over her side of the bed, the sheets still warm from her body. When he inhaled, he could smell her sweet scent not just on himself, but on his bed as well.

To his surprise, his thoughts turned to wondering what she was doing to get ready. And he wanted to find out. The next thing he knew, he was wondering how she’d feel if he broached the subject of her moving into the tower with him.

That way, she wouldn’t have to rush away from him. She could be getting ready just steps away, and he could watch her, learn more about her.

Ramsey sat up and raked both hands through his hair, his mind in a whirlwind. It wasn’t that he’d never wanted a woman by his side, it’s that he’d never found the right one.

But all that had changed with Tara.

Was it the magic between them, that even now sizzled in his veins? It couldn’t be seen anymore, but Ramsey felt it just the same.

Was it because she needed protecting from Declan? Though she’d done a fine job of keeping ahead of him for a decade.

Ramsey didn’t know what the reason was, only that she now occupied his thoughts constantly. The more he made love to her, the deeper she went in his psyche.

The more he touched her, the deeper she touched his soul.

The more he was around her, the more she was etched into his mind.

Ramsey took a deep breath and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He didn’t know what the next step with Tara should be, or if there would even be one.

She said she was happy at MacLeod Castle, but how long would that last for a woman who was used to following the call of the wind when it took her?

He rose and walked to the bathroom. He rubbed his hand over his jaw, heavy with whiskers, and turned on the shower.

It was impulsive of him to want to ask Tara to move her things into the tower with him. And Ramsey wasn’t impulsive. He needed time to think things over, time to consider all sides of what was developing with Tara.

He stepped into the hot water of the shower. For several minutes he simply stood there, letting the water wash over him as memories of the night before replayed in his mind.

Tara’s sweet body. Her soft sounds of pleasure, and her screams of release. Her hot mouth on his cock as she sucked and licked him until he nearly came.

Ramsey smiled. Tara was much more than he’d ever thought. And he wanted to continue to peel back the layers and discover the rest of her.

After a quick wash and shave, Ramsey turned off the water and reached for the towel. He stepped out of the shower and began to dry off.

Just as he was about to walk out of the bathroom, he heard his door open and close. There was no feel of Tara’s magic, or any magic period, so he knew it wasn’t one of the Druids.

But Ramsey wrapped the towel around his hips nonetheless. He stepped into his room to find Arran. Again.

“This is becoming a habit,” he said with a grin as Arran stared at him. “Do you always know when I’m in the shower?”

Arran leaned back against the wall and shrugged. “My entrances have always been excellent.”

Despite the slight smile, Ramsey wasn’t fooled. Arran was in the tower for a reason. “What brings you here this morning?”

“Fallon wants to see you.”

“About?” Ramsey prompted.

Arran glanced at the ground, giving Ramsey an idea that he wasn’t going to like what he heard.

“Arran,” he urged.

“Fallon wants to take you to Torrachilty Forest.”

Ramsey’s mind went blank. His chest felt tight and it was difficult to breathe. Not once in all his immortal centuries had he gone back there.

“I knew you wouldna like the idea,” Arran said as his arms fell to his sides. “I tried to tell Fallon that last night when they returned, but he thinks if you go there you might learn more about what happened to your people.”

Ramsey ran a hand through his wet hair that dripped down his back and onto the floor. Many responses came to mind, but as he was known to do, Ramsey let the idea sink in before he made any decisions.

Yet inside his mind he was screaming, “Nay!”

“Give me a moment to change,” Ramsey said.

Arran frowned before he gave a nod and left the tower.

Ramsey didn’t move as fast as he normally did while he dressed. He kept going back and forth in his mind about returning to the forest. He might find answers, but then again, it could only bring him more pain as well.

Was it better to not know? To speculate? Or to have the answers and wonder how he could have changed everything if he’d only been there.

Galen might have discovered that his people had gone out to kill Deirdre, but it never said what had become of those who had left the forest.

Ramsey could well imagine though. He’d not only been put through many of Deirdre’s tortures, he’d seen—and heard—most of them. She had been ruthless and merciless.

He grabbed his chest as he realized she could very well have taken their magic as she had done with countless other Druids. The thought left him ill, with an ache in his chest that threatened to devour him whole.

After pulling on a silver short-sleeved tee that had a dragon on the front mixed with a Celtic design, he raked a hand through his still-damp hair and left the tower.

As he walked into the great hall his gaze sought out Tara, but she hadn’t made it down yet. Before he could reach the table Fallon and Galen stepped in front of him.

“A word, please,” Fallon said as he held his hand out toward the hearth and the chairs there.

Ramsey walked to the hearth and stood before the roaring fire. The heat licked at his skin while he watched the flames devour the wood.

Behind him he heard a chair squeak as Fallon sat. Ramsey knew Galen well enough to know his old friend remained standing, probably behind one of the other chairs.

“Arran told me,” Ramsey said before Fallon could speak.

“And?” Galen asked.

Ramsey didn’t immediately answer since he hadn’t decided how he felt.

“You want answers to your people’s disappearance,” Fallon said. “This could give it to you. Frankly, I’m surprised you have no’ returned before now.”

“Did you want to come back here after the massacre?” Ramsey asked as he turned his head to look at Fallon.

Fallon’s dark green eyes clouded for a moment. Then he gave a single shake of his head. “But I knew what happened.”

“Ramsey, all we know is what is written in some book. You know as well as I it could all be wrong,” Galen said.

It could be, but Ramsey doubted it.

“Galen thinks you might find something there, and I’m inclined to agree,” Fallon said.

He understood Fallon’s and Galen’s arguments. They were the same ones he’d used on himself. But the thought of returning to his beloved forest, to walk upon the ground he had trod as a lad seemed inconceivable.

A warm wave of magic washed over him then, compelling him, luring him. Ramsey lifted his gaze to the stairs to find Tara descending, her eyes locked on his.

He wanted to go to her, to wrap her in his arms so she could make him forget what Fallon asked. He never had the chance, because as soon as she stepped off the stairs, she headed straight to him.

“What is it?” she asked when she reached him.

Ramsey turned to her, unable to do anything else. “Fallon wishes me to return to Torrachilty Forest.”

“Ah,” she muttered, her face reflecting the understanding that filled her voice. Tara looked at Fallon. “You really think it will help him? Despite how much it’ll hurt him?”

Fallon looked from Tara to Ramsey and back to Tara. “I do, or I wouldna have asked it. Ramsey, as is every Warrior here, is my brethren. I want to help him.”

“Ramsey has suppressed his magic for too long,” Galen said. “Magic is a part of who he is. He needs to find it again.”

Ramsey looked at his friend with new eyes. “You doona think I know who I am?”

“I think you’ve become someone you think you should be,” Galen responded. “But I doona think you’re the man you were supposed to be.”

Fallon snorted derisively. “None of us are, Galen. That’s the curse of being a Warrior. I was supposed to lead my clan.”