Dark Enchantment (23 page)

Synchronicity. The two of them finding each other in this time, this place. Arianna could feel her heart beating in time with his. She wanted…no
needed
…to have him inside of her. To know the honesty…the truth of that intimate sharing. Not in some dream vision, some paranormal interlude she couldn’t comprehend, but now, fully awake. Fully conscious. She longed to climb inside him, as well. To abide there forever, the two of them interwoven into one being. Flesh of his flesh, bone of his bone. Heart to heart.

She whimpered as he broke off the kiss, his fingers went still. No, he wouldn’t! If he dared to stop now, she swore she would scream the castle down. Her hips moved insistently against his hand, her fingers curled into his ebony hair, tugging, trying to pull that tormenting mouth back down to hers.

He resisted the pressure and gazed down at her, green eyes on fire.

“Look at me.” His voice rough with need, he issued the command. His sibilant gaze forced compliance, holding her in his thrall, as his fingers lay maddeningly dormant upon that part of her that craved his touch. “Like before,
a ghrá
, in our dreams, I want to watch you, to see your eyes go blind, when I take you over the edge.” He held her gaze, his eyes dark, mesmerizing, as his thumb pressed down on a knot of nerves at her apex. His fingers curled forward as he softly ordered, “Now.”

“Oh, yes, oh, Caleb! Don’t stop! Oh!” Shaking violently, Arianna let a scream rip from her throat as she crashed through an invisible barrier. And then she was soaring through time and space, to some mystical place far beyond the moon and the stars. With Caleb her only anchor to here and now, she watched rainbows shatter into sizzling fireballs, spilling glittering shards of color all around her.

Hours,
years
later, as she floated back to earth, she felt Caleb tracing nibbling kisses along the corners of her mouth. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered gently, then in a groan of despair said, “Mother of God, whatever am I to do with you?”

As she lay replete beside him, he lowered his head, trailing kisses over her eyes, her nose, her chin. Her breath still shuddering with erotic aftershocks, she watched his eyes close. Jaw locked tight, he rolled fully on top of her. Supporting himself on his forearms, he kissed her mouth and ground their loins together, pleasuring them both.

As if he would take at least this much for himself.

When it was her heart’s fondest desire to give him so very much more.

“Take me into the castle, Caleb.” Arms curving up his back, over his shoulders, she met each aggressive stroke of his hips with her own, hoping to so inflame him as to rend the last shreds of his self-control. “I want you to make love to me. Now, tonight.”

Eyes glittering, crazed with lust, he stared down at her almost accusingly. “I don’t want this to end tonight,
a ghrá
,” he rasped, taking huge gulps of the frigid air. “Not til I’ve felt your wet heat wrapped around me, squeezing me dry. Sure, I’d almost wager the fate of the whole world just to be inside you.”

As if they were somehow prophetic, his words seemed to bolster his resolve. Caleb pressed his lips to hers, his kiss hard and demanding. Then he rolled off her and stood up. Leaning down, he grasped her hand and pulled her to her feet.

And so, their childish romp in the snow was brought to a precipitous end, eclipsed by the searing passion that flared so ardently between them.

As the star-crossed lovers made their way, hand in hand, back to the ancient keep, the moon shone crisp and bright around them. Warmed by the homespun scent of woodsmoke, the night was alive with the shimmer of magic.

* * *

After invading the kitchen to share a couple of warming cups of hot mulled wine, Caleb followed Arianna up the winding stone steps to her rooms. At her door, he leaned down to kiss her goodnight.

Oh, no you don’t.
Not tonight.
In the semi-darkness of the hallway, she caught his face between her hands and gazed beseechingly into his eyes. “Don’t do this, Caleb.” His name fell from her lips as softly as a prayer. “I want you, need you, in my bed tonight.” She reached down between them, exalted in his sudden inhale as her fingers trailed boldly over his erection. “I don’t want to leave you like this. I want to ease you. Caleb, let me love you tonight.”

She triumphed at the torment of indecision in his eyes. “Arianna,
God,
you’re making me daft. But you’ve no idea what you’re asking,
a ghrá.
No idea a’tall.”

“Oh, but I do.” She spoke quietly, resolutely, her affirmation bringing both pain and pleasure to his eyes. “I want to lie naked beneath you, to know your possession. I need to feel you, hot and hard, moving deep inside me. It’s what I want… What I’ve always wanted.”

Slowly, relentlessly, he backed her against the wall, caught her chin in his hand. Arianna knew what he was doing. He was trying to appear out of control, threatening. To warn her off. Refusing to be intimidated, however, she locked her rebellious eyes stubbornly with his. “You’ve asked what I am,
a stór,”
he growled in a voice hoarse with need. “Well, you’ve no concept. What I am…what I’m capable of. Nor have you the slightest clue what it is you’re asking. There are things about me you couldn’t possibly fathom. Things I’m not at liberty to tell.”

“I know all I need to know. I’ve lived here with you for over two weeks, remember?” A soft smile touched her lips as she brushed an unruly lock of hair away from his beloved face. “Want to know what I’ve learned? That you’re honest and caring. A man of wisdom and honor, whose friends and associates adore him. And why? Because he looks out for his own. Now tell me, what else could I possibly need to know?”

“That I could hurt you.” His voice broke on the word.

“You would never.”

Caleb sighed heavily and dropped his hand to his side, clenched it into a fist. “Not on purpose, no.” He stopped, seemed to be considering something, making a decision. “What if I told you that my taking you to my bed tonight…that it could cost you your life?”

Arianna picked up his left hand, turned it over, casually uncurled his fingers. “You’re worried that what happened to your mother might happen to me.” She bent her head and placed a gentle kiss in the center of his palm. Her hair trailed over his hand. Her lips whispered over the sensitive flesh of his inner wrist. “I have a sixth sense about these things, Caleb. And I have a very strong feeling that my blood is completely compatible with yours.”

“’Tisn’t,” he insisted harshly. “Trust me on this, Arianna, it is
not
compatible.” There was a flash of something in his eyes, followed by one of his mercurial mood changes. “So, let me understand this. You’re willing to risk your life tonight just to get the leg over?”

Arianna hated that crude Irishism for sexual intercourse, and he knew it. Which is exactly why he had done it? To turn her off. Unperturbed by the jibe, she rose onto her tiptoes and brushed her lips lightly against his. “To
make love
with you, sweetheart,” she breathed, emboldened by the power of her feelings for him. “There’s a world of difference, you know. And we’ll use protection. I purchased something when I went into town. I don’t think it would suit either of us for me to get pregnant.”

His gaze became dismal; he gave a slight shudder. “I told you the rubber sheaths that mortals…em.” He cleared his throat. “
Condoms
are ineffective.”

“I remember you saying that and assumed you were referring to the latex ones. I did some research and bought polyurethane. They may not be a hundred percent effective, but—”

He swallowed. “They dissolve, Arianna.”

“Dissolve?”
Dissolve?
“As in melt?”

Arianna watched him close his eyes. Alarm prickled her skin, as a murky sense of sortilege rose in the air around them. When his eyes opened again, his gaze was uncloaked and aglitter with unveiled magic. A corner of his wickedly sensual lips curved into a lusty, satyr-like smile. “If you truly wish to ease me safely, you could take me in your mouth.”

His right hand shot out and tangled roughly in the hair at the nape of her neck. For a heart-stopping moment, she thought he meant to force her to her knees, to pleasure him. But his left arm snaked around her, crushing her against him, trapping her palms against his chest. Bending his head, he licked the shell of her ear, then nipped her earlobe hard enough to cause a sting. She inhaled sharply, trembling in his arms.

“You
think
you know me,
cailín,”
he warned, his voice dripping with sensual menace. “But you’ve no notion. None a’tall. I’ve never
made love,
you see. When it comes to sex, I like my rides rough and dirty. My women meek and submissive. Preferably cuffed to the headboard of a bed. Or, better yet,” he paused for emphasis, then whispered in her ear. “Bent over it.”

Arianna forced her eyes to remain level with his. He was trying to make her afraid of him, desperate to dissuade her. But she refused to be moved by his comments, or by the power radiating from that unfathomable gaze. “Handcuffs? Ooh, kinky,” she quipped, an amused twinkle in her eyes. Then her head tilted in a reflective slant. “Or trusting. To give another person that kind of power over you, knowing they would never hurt you. The way I feel about you.”

She saw him recoil in that moment, her unwavering faith in him stripping him bare. Then he lowered his mouth to hers again. His lips brushing lightly over hers caused her to reach for the gentle pleasure. For a kiss that was beyond soft, beyond tender, almost lyrical.

“God knows I ache to bury myself inside you,
a ghrá
. So deeply nothing can ever separate us again.” His heart pounded against her hands, giving truth to his words. But, at the same time, it issued a warning: that his restraint hung by a slim thread. “So I require your help in this,
a stór
. For I’ve neither the will nor the power to hold myself back from you any longer. If you truly care for me, if you trust me as you say you do, then you’ll do as I ask. Without question.”

Arianna was touched by the vulnerability of his entreaty, by the severity of a situation she couldn’t fully comprehend. “What do you need me to do?” she asked softly.

“No locks are installed on the doors in the keep. So I want you to take a straight-back chair and wedge it beneath here.” He indicated the doorknob on the inside of her door.

“You want me to jam a chair in the door?” She was stunned by the request.

“I do. I’ll have your promise on that…and another thing. ” His voice was gruff.

“Another…? What?” she breathed.

“That you won’t open this door to me again tonight.” Her eyes opened wide in disbelief. “
Swear to me,
Arianna. You won’t open the door. Not if I knock, not if I coax.” He grasped her chin, stared chillingly into her eyes. “Not if I threaten. Now, swear.”

She repeated the vow in a whisper of sound. “I won’t open the door.”

He pulled her to him for one last, lingering kiss. “I’ll meet you in our dreams tonight,
a ghrá.
” Threat or promise, a shiver went through her at the raw sexuality in his tone. He firmly set her away from him. “Now, close the door.”

In a sensual haze, she complied with his directive.

* * *

His body rigid, Caleb collapsed against the wall. He didn’t trust himself to move until he heard the scrape of the chair, confirming that, for once, the headstrong woman had obeyed him. Perhaps she’d realized, at last, that she had barely escaped him unscathed. Or maybe, he mused grimly, she had seen her own death reflected in his eyes. To be sure that she was locked in for the remainder of the night, he gave the doorknob a final twist and shove, before departing for the solar.

Back in his study, Caleb stared out of the window until dawn broke over the horizon. Silver-hued lavenders, splashes of pink and mauve, and luminous streaks of gold kissed the sky in welcome of a new day. What was happening to him? Before Arianna had come into his life, his existence had been comfortable. Stable. Ordered. But then she’d arrived on the scene like a force of nature. Trying his patience, testing his resolve. Making him feel things…a fullness in his heart, a sense of euphoric contentment…things he’d never felt before. Emotions he didn’t understand.

His jaw set, he raised his hand. His palm facing the windowpane, he traced an open-handed circle, once, twice, in a counter-clockwise motion, thus reversing the thing that he’d fashioned in the early hours of this morning. The snow had been a gift to herself from him, an attempt at reparation for behaving like a horse’s arse earlier in the evening.

As the temperature outside inched slowly upward, reaching for the seasonal average of five degrees Celsius, the blanket of snow he’d caused to spill across the 1,000-acre estate began to melt. By full daybreak, ‘twould all be gone.

All, he reflected broodingly, but the poignant memory of it.

Chapter Twenty-four

“I
’m so hungry my stomach thinks my throat’s been cut,” Michaela complained as Arianna led the way to the snug at McColgan’s Pub.

As they passed the leering leprechauns at the entrance, Arianna shot them a challenging glance. But the expressions on their faces remained innocent.
Too innocent
, she thought, half-expecting to hear them begin whistling an Irish tune. “Didn’t they feed you on the plane?”

“She forgot to order a
vegetarian
meal,” Tara explained.

“Yeah, so I just ate that miserable excuse for a salad and the
white
flour roll.”

“Poor baby,” Arianna commiserated.

With the weekday lunch crowd thronging the place, the three women from America drew admiring glances. Arianna figured the male interest had as much to do with the disparity of their appearances as their decent looks.

Tara was tall and model thin. Her sea green eyes testified to the natural platinum blonde of her hair. Her complexion would have been porcelain if not for the perpetual tan she sported from spending so much time outdoors.

Michaela’s hair was washboard-straight, waist-length and black as pitch, compliments of a Native American heritage. All that tawny beauty packed into a petite, five-foot frame contrasted Tara’s long-legged, fair and willowy stature.

They chose a table beside a dusty window that looked out onto Main Street. “Doesn’t look like you did any better in the sleep department last night than we did,” Tara said to Arianna. “Everything okay?”

“Never better.” There it was again. That dopey grin she hadn’t been able to wipe off her face for more than five seconds. As he had promised when he left her, Caleb had come to her in her dreams. Knowing him as a flesh and blood man, loving him had been different this time…and yet the same. Picking up with their foreplay in the snow, he had lifted her into his arms and carried her into his bedchamber. And there he had made love to her, first fast, frantic, desperate, and then slow, sweet and loving. She had woken up this morning feeling like a bride on her honeymoon. Only the groom was gone.

She caught the direction of Michaela’s gaze, which seemed fixated on something—or more likely some
one
—at the bar. Her long dark lashes flirted over slightly almond-shaped eyes as strikingly black as her hair.

“Down girl,” Arianna admonished her dryly. “You’re only visiting, but I plan to li—, um, to be here for awhile.”
Live
here, she had almost said, before the hasty amendment. But that was a bomb she didn’t plan to drop until later, in private, when the explosion could be somewhat contained.

“Better watch out you don’t bite off more than you can chew one day,” Tara added.

“I don’t bite,” Michaela countered with a saucy wink. A quintessential tease, the girl wielded that dark exotic beauty of hers like a Gaelic claymore. “Well, maybe just a nibble.”

“TMI,” Arianna laughed as the server she had met before arrived at their table.

“Arianna, is it?” Deirdre said. “You’re still in town so.”

“Looks like I’ll be here for a while. Meet my friends from the States. Michaela, Tara, this is Deirdre.”

Greetings exchanged, Deirdre inquired whether Arianna had made it to Inishmore.

“Not yet. All kinds of craziness going on, I’m afraid. I really would like to talk to Conor about setting something up for while my friends are in town, though.”

The woman smiled. “He’s here, working the bar. I’ll send him over in a wee while.” She took their order and bustled off to the kitchen.

Michaela gave Arianna an assessing look. “Okay, spill.”

“Spill what?”

“Whatever’s got you looking like the cat that got the cream.” Michaela propped her chin in her hand, eyes narrowed speculatively. Then a grin. “Or was
he
the one who got the cream? Mr. Tall, Dark and Gorgeous. Or should I say,
Lord
Tall, Dark and Gorgeous?”

Arianna glanced over her shoulder. “Could you talk a little louder?” she hissed. “I don’t think the people on the other side of the bar heard you.”

Tara’s mouth thinned. “You didn’t. Not your first time with a guy you just met.”

“Don’t be a buzz kill, Tara,” Michaela chided. “Let the girl talk.”

“Good grief, what are you two? The freaking sex police?” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “For your information, Caleb and I did
not
have sex.”
Does metaphysical sex count?

Michaela grinned. “You sound like Bill Clinton.”

“We didn’t… He wouldn’t… Look, I’m not getting into this here.”

“Ah, just some heavy petting, then. Well, I hope he at least got you off.”

Arianna shot her a scandalized look. “Good grief, Mick!”

“Better think carefully before you let things go any further.” Tara tapped her fingers quietly against the tabletop as she proffered the sage advice. “Don’t forget about Damien. I’d hate for you to have a holiday fling here that you’ll come to regret later.”

Deirdre arrived with their cokes and sandwiches. “Excuse me, but I ordered chips,” Michaela told her.

“Those
are
chips,” Arianna explained. “Here in Ireland, potato chips are called
crisps.
But you really gotta check these things out.” Arianna took one of her chips, slathered in gooey, melting cheddar, and dipped it into a ramekin of garlic mayo.

Michaela stuffed it into her mouth and groaned her pleasure. Deirdre left to bring some cheese and garlic mayo for
her
chips.

Arianna’s cell rang.
Caleb.
“How’s things?” he asked, his tone casual and upbeat.

Heat seared through her at the sound of his voice. “Plane was late, so we just got back to town. We’re at McColgan’s grabbing a bite of lunch.”

“I knew you’d not made it home yet or you’d have been ringing me,” he said. “Whilst Molly was tidying your rooms, she came across your house keys.” Arianna checked the side pocket of her purse where she usually kept them.
Empty.
“I’m heading into town now on an errand. Will I bring them to you there?”

“Thanks. I’d really appreciate it.”

“A lover who calls the morning after,” Michaela chirped after she had hung up. “No waiting. No head games. Hmm… Wouldn’t happen to have a brother, would he?”

“Fraid not, kiddo.” She explained about the keys.

About fifteen minutes later, Caleb strode into the room, owning it. Black hair all tousled and windblown, he was wearing his black leather jacket unzipped over a cream-colored sweater. In a pair of faded jeans, worn slightly at the crotch and knees, he attracted appreciative glances from every woman in the room. Arianna waved him over, feeling like some groupie chick, who had caught the attention of a famous rock star.

Michaela turned to Arianna with an incredulous stare. “
Oh. My. God
. You go, girl,” she murmured under her breath as he headed for their table.

Arianna ignored her friend as she presented her cheek for the casual brush of his lips. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out her keys. “Thanks. It would have been a real bummer to get the cottage without these. I’d like you to meet my friends. Tara, Michaela, this is Caleb.” His smile was pleasant, manner amiable. “Do you have time to join us for lunch?”

“
Nil
,
cailín. Tá brón orm.
No, pet, sorry. Schedule’s chock-a-block today.”

His interaction with her friends was polite and charming. But the smoldering gaze he turned on her was hot enough to melt concrete. With eyes gone dark as liquid smoke, he sent a private message. An erotic reminder of their romp in the snow. And afterwards. The sensual quirk of his mouth whispered of the intimate secrets they shared.

He turned back to Tara and Michaela and apologized for having to rush off. Then, to Arianna he said, “Walk with me to the door, love?”

With the carved leprechauns snooping annoyingly over their shoulders, he spoke with her at the entrance to the snug. “Are you well?”

She felt her cheeks color. “Did you…? I mean, did we really…?”

“We did.” A faint, very satisfied male smile touched his mouth. “And
you
did…several times.”

“I don’t understand…. Even now, it seems so real.” She bit her lip. “It was amazing.”

“Indeed.” He gave her nose a playful tap. “Now, I’ll not be keeping you from your friends any longer. I just want you to know that I’m still concerned for your safety.”

Arianna touched his cheek. “I know you are. And I appreciate the way you’ve tried to look out for me, Caleb. Really I do. But the case is closed. The official police position is that it was a botched burglary attempt. That the thief flew into a drug-crazed rage when he couldn’t find anything of value to fence to support his habit.”

His jaw went rigid. “A theory I don’t agree with.”
Well, there’s a surprise.
“Just promise me that if you run into trouble of any kind, you’ll give me a bell. I’ve to be out of the country tomorrow, but I’ll be available by phone.” His voice pitched lower. “When your friends have gone, I want to speak with you. We’ve things that need sorting out between us.”

Now, what was she to make of that ambiguous remark? Was he referring to breaking things off? she wondered. Or taking their relationship to the next level?

Putting it aside for the moment, she stretched up to give him a peck on the lips. Having none of that, however, he cupped the back of her head and sealed his mouth to hers in a kiss of raw possession. A male animal marking its territory. A wild beast claiming its mate
. “Is folamh fuar e teach gan tu,
” he murmured in Irish. Then said softly in English, “The warmth is gone from my home without you.”

Arianna floated back to the table.

“Mmm-mmm. Dude is absolutely smokin’.” Michaela’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “It’s him, isn’t it?”

“Him?”

“You know, your dream guy.”

“Oh, for God’s sake,” Tara groaned. “Would you give that crap a rest?”

“Okay, children, we’re overtired and getting cranky.” Arianna whisked the check off the table. “Come on, let me get the two of you home and tucked into bed for a nap.”

At the register, Conor tucked the colorful euro notes into the cash drawer. His attention seemed to have been captured by Michaela, who was busy lighting up the room with her million-watt smile.

“How’s your Mom getting on?” Arianna asked.

“Much better, thanks. Doctor kept her in hospital a while to run some tests, but she’s to go to home today.” He counted out her change. “And who are these lovely ladies?”

“My friends from Maine. Tara, Michaela, this is Mrs. O’Clery’s son, Conor.”

“Nice to make your acquaintance.” He looked back at Arianna. “Sorry I didn’t get over to speak with you today. Deirdre says you fancy taking your friends to visit Inishmore.”

“They’re only here for the week. Can your buddy hook us up on such short notice?”

Conor’s eyes narrowed consideringly. Arianna thought he was about to decline, when he gave a brief nod. “You might be in luck if Wednesday would suit. When I brought it up to him a couple of weeks ago, about taking you over there, he mentioned that day specifically.”

“Anytime this week would be perfect. Thanks, Conor. I really appreciate it.”

“No worries. I’ll set it up. Just be at Doolin Pier Wednesday, about nine a.m.”

“Conor?” Michaela spoke up coyly. “Will you be going with us?”

Conor stilled, turned his head slowly. Unsmiling gray eyes boldly considered Michaela’s mouth. He licked his bottom lip, an overtly suggestive gesture followed with a practiced gaze roving the length of her slender body. “Aye,” he answered softly.

Remarkable for the inveterate tease, flags of color sprang to Michaela’s tawny cheeks. Tara and Arianna exchanged a knowing glance. Who was to say, but that their wild little friend might finally have met her match.

When they got to the cottage, Tara and Michaela sprawled across the twin beds in the newly remodeled guestroom and took a catnap. When they woke up, Arianna ordered an extra-large pizza and popped the cork on a bottle of Chablis. Like old times, the girls ate in the living room while watching a movie on a new flat screen TV that Arianna had purchased during the renovation. After dinner, Tara stretched out on the sofa and Michaela kicked back in the new leather recliner in front of the hearth. They kept dozing off, so decided to make an early night of it. As Arianna crawled into bed, she recalled the old, savagely shredded mattress and thanked the good Lord that she wasn’t spending her first night back here at the cottage by herself.