The Eye of the Wolf (36 page)

Mikayla pressed her lips
against his cheek and gripped his hands in her own. “Will, it isn’t your fault.
It was an accident; there was nothing you could have done. You have to move on
now and accept the world as it is.”

Will closed his eyes. “Easier
said than done, especially when your own parents refuse to speak to you still,
twelve years later. The last picture to appear of me was when I was fourteen,
just before I went to Eton. I’m not even in the most recent family portrait.”
He shuddered, a breath escaping. “I don’t want to be king, Mikayla, but I have
no choice. This is the world I was born into. This is the world I will die in.”

There was silence, only the
clanging of the bouy filling the air. Will raised his head. A question had
formed in his mind as he had sat steeped in his own world. Now, he dragged
himself back into the present, back to the hot April afternoon and the warm,
subtly sexy woman sitting beside him, compassion in her eyes. “Mikayla, why are
you asking about this?”

Mikayla shrugged an elegant
shoulder as she broke off a hunk of bread from the crusty loaf. “Your sister
reminded me.” She said it simply, not comprehending the effect it would have on
him.

“What do you mean, Victoria
reminded you?” Will turned her head until they were eye to eye over her
shoulder. His eyes were dark, hidden secrets in them, startling Mikayla into
stuttering.

“I…I spent the other day with
her, the day before the coronation. We talked about you when we spotted you out
on the water.” Will’s frown and furrowed brow had Mikayla frowning. “Is that
wrong? Should I not have talked to Victoria?” Distrust caused her stomach to
turn over and a sickening dread to fill her.

Will attempted to smile, to
dash the frown from his face. Now was not the time to delve into dark secrets
of his family, but it bothered him that Mikayla would have spoken with his
sister about him. “No, it’s not a problem. I just find it odd is all. I didn’t
realize that the two of you were friendly.”

Mikayla lustily laughed making
Will grin with enjoyment. “I wouldn’t say we are friendly. We just had an
accidental encounter that led to us spending most of an afternoon together.”

“Oh?” Will pulled her closer
until she was all he could think of. He brushed cool lips against the nape of
her neck, enjoying the goose flesh that rose across her shoulders and arms. He
set his glass aside and trailed fingers through her hair and over her shoulder.
Her touch singed him. His mind shut out the warning signals that buzzed in his
brain. His words were slurred as he trailed feathery kisses along her neck and
jaw line. “Would this be the same afternoon that led to her accusing you of
murder?”

Mikayla closed her eyes,
reveling in the glorious tingles along her neck and jaw. Nimble fingers slid
the teal strap of her top off of her shoulder. She forgot the irritation that
had crept into her mind and body as he skimmed his mouth over her mouth. “Yes,
I followed that passageway in the cellar, which you should have told me about
by the way, into the palace. I was discovered by Victoria in the King’s
chamber.”

Will mumbled something that was
incoherent as the heat spread throughout his body. His brain was numb except
for sudden desire for her. He cupped her breasts in his hands and caressed the
skin through the silky fabric, fascinated when a small moan escaped her lips.
Her head fell back, eyes closed in pure pleasure. His mouth sought hers and
delved into the moment, forgetting time and place. His brain fought the
numbness, circling around words that danced in his head, incoherent thoughts
that fought a losing war with his loins. His hands twisted into her hair,
pulling it free of its clips, losing himself into the fresh, clean scent of
ocean and the heady taste of wine.

Mikayla wondered as her hands
cruised over his face, mixing in his hair, how it was possible that she should
feel this intense craving for him in the middle of the afternoon, outside. She
wondered how he could set her afire simply by touching her. It was
inconceivable to her, beyond intellectual capacity as his hands and tongue
roved over her. She lost herself to him, forgetting their conversation,
forgetting the questions that had mixed in her mind, forgetting everything to
the sensations that jumped across her nerves and skin.

He cupped her chin in his hand
and traced fingers along the curve of her neck, enjoying the trembles that ran
down her limbs as he drowned in her. He drew back and looked into eyes dark
with yearning and bruised lips that trembled with want. He smiled and leaned in
to savor, slow and sweet. His mind jumped at her taste and snapped into focus,
a question sudden clear, painfully clear.

Will snapped his head back, his
eyes wide. Mikayla slowly opened her eyes, wondering where he had gone, what
was wrong. Longing slowly dissolved as he stared at her, suspicion written
clearly on his aristocratic features as he scrutinized her face, but he seemed
as if he were elsewhere.

“Will, what is it?” Mikayla’s
voice shook slightly as emotions battled one another: desire versus mistrust.

Will leveled his eyes on hers
and held her stare. His hand still cupped her chin, but there was more steel in
the touch than tenderness. “You found Victoria in my grandfather’s bed
chamber?” Fear and confusion and anger danced along his nerves, snapping.

Mikayla’s mind whirled, unable
to make the connections between the need that streaked through her and the
sudden change to an interrogation. “Um, yeah, I found her there, next to the
bed.” She paused and chewed at her lip, her eyes held by his. “She was
extremely surprised to see me, but she was very friendly about it.”

“What was she doing there,
Mikayla? Did she tell you why she was there?” Will’s grip on her chin tightened
causing her to wince slightly. He didn’t release his grasp. He needed to know.

Mikayla stared into his eyes,
once friendly and cheerful, now deadly with their intensity. Alarm rang in her
head, yet she trusted him, she had given everything to him. “I don’t know why
she was there. She never said. I just assumed that she was missing him and
wanted to be where his things were.” She stumbled over her words as he released
her chin and ran a hand through his hair, frustration written in every move. “I
never got the chance to ask. She talks a mile a minute.”

Will stared at the crests of
the waves, frothy white against deep blue. He rubbed a hand across the stubble
on his chin, stubble from not shaving in two days because of a need to protect
the woman in his arms from a world she couldn’t understand. A world he didn’t
understand. A world he wanted nothing to do with but had no choice. “What did
the two of you talk about while you were out and about together?”

Mikayla shrugged a shoulder, a
chill coming over her. Irritation with him filled her. He had forgotten about
the passion between them, making love to her again, and was focused solely on
something that had happened days before. She yanked the strap back into place
and rubbed her arms vigorously. She huffed out a breath. “I already told you,
we talked about you.”

Will glanced at Mikayla and saw
the annoyance decorating her pretty features. He pressed a kiss to her temple,
trying to soothe the irritation away. “I know, but what else did you talk
about.” He tried for humor. “You couldn’t have possibly talked with my sister
about me all of that time. After all, she doesn’t want to hear about how
amazing I am in bed.”

Mikayla smirked slightly. The
image was ludicrous, she had to agree. “No, we also talked about how the
research was going before everything was stolen.” Her hand was gentle as it
traced the contours of his face, enjoying the aristocratic nose and fine
cheekbones.

“What specifically did she ask
about, Mikayla?” Will had to know. He had to know if his sister was seeking the
jewel. He had to know what interest there might be in the stone that ruled the
future of the island nation.

Mikayla chewed on her lip. She
remembered the dread that had rung through her system when Victoria had asked
her about her research and the Eye of the Wolf. She remembered wishing that it
had been Will who had asked about her discoveries and how willing she would
have been to tell him at that moment about the translation and the diary. Now,
suddenly, she found herself questioning him, his motives, his interest. She
found herself doubting his interest in her as being something other than simple
use. She wondered again, why had he volunteered to help her? Why had he taken
such interest in this one part of Amor’s history?

She dislodged herself from his
hands that had begun to sweep across her skin again, leaving heated trails. She
turned her body until she faced him, straddling and paralyzing him with a gaze.
With one hand, she pinched his chin between her thumb and forefinger, forcing
him to meet her eyes. His delighted grin at her forward move disappeared when
he looked into her eyes and saw the suspicions that mingled with her emotions
in her mind.

“Before I tell you what I told
Victoria, you tell me why you volunteered to help with the research.” She jerked
his head back to meet her eyes when he tried to look away. “The truth,
William.”

He stared into those eyes that
had once trusted him and warmed him to his very toes; now they still warmed him
with desire but they also made him wary. She had him. He knew she did. She knew
he hadn’t been entirely honest with her from the very beginning. He wondered
what he had to lose in telling her the entire truth now. Nothing.

Except her.

He knew, if she knew
everything, she would walk away. She would never look back. He didn’t know if
he could afford that loss, more expensive than all the jewels in the world. He
swallowed. He might as well just jump in, both feet, and wait for the cold
shock to hit. He took a deep breath and forced the words out of his lungs. “I
want to find the Eye of the Wolf, and I knew that if I helped you research the
history, I would find the appropriate clues needed to find it.” He rushed on to
finish what he needed to say before she moved away as he knew she was bound to
do. “I never had any intention of falling for you, for even kissing you. I
couldn’t stop it. You got under my skin.” There was a long, pregnant pause.
Each eyeing the other, two adversaries.

“The Eye of the Wolf has been
missing for over 800 years, Mikayla. No one seemed to really miss it, until my
brother discovered those same runes on the cliff-top that you discovered.”

He stared at the endless sea.
“Jonathan developed an almost obsessive interest in the Eye of the Wolf. He
even took to calling himself the Wolf after King Henry.” He smiled to himself,
images of an older brother flashed through his mind. “I remember he used to
drag us around the island, digging places up, fancying himself some sort of an
archeologist. Once, we dug up the cellar floor in an area that used to be the dungeon.”

Mikayla was silent, listening
intently to his memories, partly wondering the point behind these ramblings,
and partly enjoying the gentleness of his voice, breezes tossing his hair in a
mad dance.

“Jonathan never deciphered the
runes. He died before he could. He wanted to find the stone. A boy’s dream.” He
frowned as the wind died away making those thoughts of pulling up anchor die
too. Mikayla waited patiently.

“I thought the interest in the
stone died with Jonathan, but now there are others who seek it, Mikayla.
Believe me when I say, my interest is solely based on a wish to prevent it from
falling into the wrong hands.” His eyes bored into her own. “I need that stone,
Mikayla, and you are the only one I trust to lead me to it. I’m not smart enough
to do it alone.” His eyes plead with her for understanding.

When she didn’t jump overboard,
Will dared to look at her face. The Cheshire cat couldn’t have looked more smug
than she did right at that moment. Surprise danced across his features before a
smile spread slowly, warmly across his face. “What are you smiling at?” He
demanded.

Mikayla leaned into him,
pulling him closer, wrapping her limbs around him tighter. “I love you, Will.”
Her lips rubbed across his, heating him from head to toe. “I’ve never felt like
this about anyone.” She pulled him into a slow, sensuous kiss that killed them
both, leaving them weak. When she pulled back, his eyes were closed and a smile
graced his mouth. “She asked about the Eye of the Wolf, Will. She wanted to
know if I had found it or knew where it was. I told her I didn’t. I honestly
don’t think it exists now, if it ever existed. I think it was just a nice story
to explain some of the strange things that happened here.”

His eyes opened slowly, his
mind numb again to the conversation. Focus was difficult. Her words danced in
his head, joining with others in some sort of reel or jig. He understood her,
but at that moment, he didn’t care. He didn’t care about anything except the
words that meant the most, the words he had never heard in his life, not from
his own parents, not from any other woman. The only words that mattered were
those of love that had come from her full lips. He traced a hand along the
curve of her cheek, reveling in the feel of her, the intensity of the love that
seemed to surround them. “We’ll talk about that later.” He whispered and pulled
her closer. “Right now, I have something more important to discuss.”

Her laugh of delight danced in
the air as he slipped straps off of her shoulders and gently ran hands over
coconut oil scented skin.