Embrace the Highland Warrior (14 page)

“What is it?” he asked, dazed. Was he doing something wrong? He was out of practice but—

Her green eyes were wide, panicked. “Condom.”

“I don’t have one.” He hadn’t needed one. He couldn’t remember the last time he had sex.

“We have to stop.”

“Stop?” Stop. He gritted his teeth, surged once more, so hard he was afraid it was all over anyway. He pulled out and rolled over, chest heaving. He was so close that the touch of the sheet would probably set him off.

“I’m sorry, Cody.”

“It’s not your fault. I’m to blame.” He wondered if she would be offended if he finished the job himself.

Shay rolled toward him. “You look like you’re in pain.”

He gave one affirmative grunt, afraid to move. “Just give me a minute.”

Before he could drudge up some grisly distraction, her fingers brushed his navel. The muscles of his stomach quivered. Cody sucked in a hard breath when her hand closed around him. He groaned and rolled toward her. She adjusted her grip, his lips locked on hers, and his hips rocked against her hand.

“Don’t stop,” he begged against her mouth. “Please don’t stop.” His breathing was ragged, chest ready to explode. His groin tightened, and the release came. He buried his face in her hair as his body emptied onto her stomach.

He rolled to his side and leaned his head against hers, unsure what to say.
Thank
you. Stay with me forever. I love you.
After his breathing slowed, he grabbed a handful of tissues from the nightstand and cleaned them both off. She still hadn’t said anything, but he felt the thrumming in her body. He tossed the tissues in the trash and leaned over her. He kissed her shoulder, moving his lips to her breast. She gripped his hair, and he slid lower. It didn’t take her any longer than it had him. She moaned and her body tensed before going limp. Cody moved beside her, gathering her close against him.

He knew he was holding her too tight, but he was afraid if he relaxed, she would slip away again. “We could take a shower,” he said, but neither of them moved.

They lay locked in each other’s arms for minutes… hours, maybe it was eternity, not speaking, just feeling, until he heard her even breathing and knew she’d fallen asleep. He felt a sense of peace he hadn’t had in too many years. But peace was an illusion, until he got rid of whoever was after her. Then, he would convince her to give him another chance and hope to God she didn’t hate him when she found out what else he’d hidden.

***

Shay woke in the night. She heard a thumping sound downstairs. The noise didn’t concern her as much as the fact that she was draped over Cody and they were both naked. She lay for a minute, reliving what they had done, wondering how different things might have been if she had known he hadn’t ignored the letters. Would she have forgiven him for hiding her identity and moved on? Maybe to this? His life? His bed?

Cody nudged her shoulder. “Don’t follow me this time,” he said, untangling his limbs from hers and slipping out of bed.

She watched him pull on his boxers and pick up a gun from under a pillow on the sofa before easing out the door. Shay scrambled quietly for her clothes. She crept down the stairs, not far behind him. She couldn’t see his face, but she felt his glare. The front door was cracked. The chill of night air brushed her skin. As they slipped outside, busy little whispers met her ears, a grunt, and then another thump. Cody turned on a bright flashlight. She didn’t know where he got it. Shay saw a flash of red and heard a squeal as Matilda’s hands flew up in the air. The wheelbarrow dumped over, and Jamie rolled out like a sack of flour.

***

“We panicked,” Matilda said, between gulps from her water bottle. “So I thought if I gave him a little of my sleeping medicine—”

“A little?” Shay said, her voice shrill. “He’s out cold.”

Cody had carried Jamie back to bed and was with him, making sure Jamie was only drugged, not dying.

“Well, I may have given him too much. We didn’t want him to wake up in the car. He’s big, and he looks strong. That’s a nice, sturdy wheelbarrow. I need one of those to move rocks in my garden,” Matilda said.

“Where were you taking him?” Shay asked.

“Somewhere safe,” Nina said. “We didn’t want to hurt him. He seems like a nice boy. We just wanted him out of the way.”

“Out of the way of what?” Shay asked, exasperated.

“You and Cody,” Nina said.

“Cody and me?”

Nina clutched her robe tighter. “Here you are, after all these years, and we’re thinking you finally came to your senses, and this Adonis shows up to ruin it all.”

“He wants to marry you,” Matilda said. “We couldn’t have that.”

Oh heavens. “You think Cody and I are…?”

“But of course, dear,” Nina said. “We’ve always known. We were just waiting for you two to realize it.”

Matilda clutched her water bottle. “For a smart girl, you can be slow sometimes.”

“Jiminy Christmas.” She had lived in fear that someone would find out how she felt about Cody and think she was a pervert or had committed incest, and the whole time they were listening for wedding bells.

She assured Nina and Matilda that she had no plans for marriage to anyone and then went back to bed. Her head ached too much to worry that Cody might put a pillow over Jamie’s face and smother him.

The next time she woke, it was to whispers at the door. “That’s a good sign, don’t you think?” Matilda asked.

“Yes, but they really should be married first,” Nina answered.

Shay cracked one eye and saw fuzzy images of red and gray in the doorway. A snore erupted beside her. Shay turned her head and saw Cody sprawled next to her, one muscular arm flung across her stomach.

“Sorry to wake you, but we’re getting an early start,” Nina said. “We’ll call you from the road.”

“Tell Jeremy we’re sorry. It’s nothing against him, but he can’t marry you,” Matilda said. They waved and disappeared.

***

Shay had one toe on the floor when the door opened. “Nina and Matilda—” Lachlan stopped. “Uh… sorry. Guess I should’ve knocked. The door wasn’t closed.”

Shay jumped up, accidentally pulling the covers off Cody. Why couldn’t the man sleep in underwear? She threw the sheet back over him and stood, her face on fire. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

Lachlan’s eyebrows settled back into place. “Nina and Matilda are gone.”

“What?” Cody asked, sitting up.

“Nina and Matilda are gone,” Lachlan repeated.

“They left early this morning,” Shay said.

“I came to tell you breakfast is ready. The others arrived last night. We’ve got meat, eggs, and more meat. I’ll tell Jamie.”

“Don’t think he’ll want to eat,” Cody said, looking under the blanket. “Matilda drugged him last night.” He explained what happened.

“I’d better check on him,” Lachlan said. “I swear that woman’s a freak of nature.”

“I expect he’ll have a headache and a half.” Cody lifted a pillow and then peered at the floor.

Lachlan bent and picked something up. “Looking for these?” He tossed Cody’s underwear at his chest and left.

Shay gave Cody an awkward glance. He dropped the sheet and stood. Shay turned away until she heard the brush of fabric over skin. What had she done? What on earth had she done? He hadn’t gotten the letters, and he hadn’t abandoned her; still, there were a lot of unresolved issues.

Cody grabbed his jeans from the floor and slipped them on. He paused, hand on his zipper. “Do you need to… uh take a shower or something before we go eat?” His gaze dropped to the rumpled bed.

She nodded.

“I’m…” Several emotions stirred in his eyes. Some she recognized, some she didn’t. “I’ll shower in the bathroom down the hall. I’ll wait for you.”

“You don’t have to. I can walk over when I’m ready.”

“No.” He picked up his shirt, looking like he wanted to say something else, but he left the room.

Shay took a long shower, hoping he would give up and go home without her. Things were moving too fast. She had gone from hating him to having sex with him. Or nearly sex. Same thing. She went downstairs and found him staring out the window, waiting.

“Ready?” he asked.

She nodded. “We should check on Jamie.”

“I did. He’s still sleeping.”

Cody’s house smelled as delicious as it was loud. They followed the sounds and smells to the dining room. Most of the chairs were occupied with people talking and laughing as plates were loaded with food. It reminded her of all the holiday meals shared here.

“You can’t walk into a hospital with your weapon in plain sight,” a red-haired woman was saying. “Any idiot knows that.”

“Are you calling me an idiot?” the man beside her said. He had reddish hair himself, tied back in a leather strap. “Like you’ve never made a mistake.”

“Would you two shut up? You’re giving me a headache.” The dark-haired man who spoke looked as if he could be Faelan’s brother, but considering how old Faelan was, Shay didn’t think it possible, unless there were two time vaults.

“Whatever, Coz,” the red-haired woman said, passing a plate of biscuits to another woman who had long, dark hair and a face so beautiful Shay wished she had taken time to put on makeup.

Cody made introductions. The redhead and the beauty were Sorcha and Anna, the female warriors Bree had told Shay about. Duncan was the one who resembled Faelan, and was in fact his descendent, as they all were.

“We thought you were still at the hospital,” Duncan told Shay. “Brodie forgot to leave his knife in the car, and we got chased by a security guard.”

“We ended up in the maternity wing and had to drag Brodie away,” Sorcha said. “He wanted to see the babies.”

“I like babies. What’s wrong with that?” Brodie grumbled.

Bree and Shay exchanged a knowing glance.

Sorcha pulled out a chair next to her. “No one’s sitting here, Cody.”

Shay wasn’t sure if the look Cody gave her was a plea for help or understanding.

“Better get food while there’s some left,” Bree said. Her plate was loaded with enough for two men. “We have bacon, sausage, eggs, biscuits, pancakes, doughnuts, and orange juice. Ronan went grocery shopping this morning.”

“A man’s gotta have meat,” Ronan said, holding a heaping plate.

“You’ll make some woman a good husband,” Shay said, taking a seat between him and Lachlan, which didn’t seem to please Cody.

“You proposing?” Ronan asked, grinning, “I hope you like long engagements. I have two more years of duty.”

“So?” Shay asked.

“Warriors can’t marry until they’ve finished their duty, according to clan law,” he said.

“There are clan laws about marriage?” Shay asked.

“Who a warrior marries is important to the clan,” Lachlan said, unusually sober. “I’m surprised Cody didn’t tell you that too. He told you everything else. Our mates are destined long before we’re born.”

Chapter 8

Shay’s stomach felt like a bag of rocks. “Your mates are destined?”

“You gonna talk all day or pass the food?” Cody asked.

Ronan grinned. “Hey, I may be getting a proposal here.”

“Won’t that put a kink in your
sleeping
habits?” Cody asked, pouring a glass of orange juice.

Ronan threw a biscuit at Cody. He snagged it and added it to his plate.

“Destined mates?” Shay repeated.

“Kind of like love at first sight,” Bree said, her green eyes softening as she gazed at Faelan. “But usually it happens after a warrior retires.”

Like Cody.

“Sometimes it happens before, but it doesn’t make the Council happy,” Lachlan said.

Brodie grabbed a piece of sausage as the plate passed him. “Does anything make the Council happy?”

“The mates have to be from one of the clans. They get a mate mark, something like Faelan’s.” Bree touched a round, jagged circle behind his ear, visible with his hair pulled back.

Shay glanced at Cody’s tattoo peeking out from under his hair. It was different from Faelan’s, larger, but were they all the same? Did it mean that somewhere out there was a woman destined to share Cody’s heart and his bed? Shay’s gaze swung to Sorcha, who was staring at Cody’s tattoo as well. She wasn’t married, and she was part of this clan. So was Anna. Did one of them bear a mate mark that Shay didn’t have?

“That’s an interesting place for a tattoo,” Sorcha said, running one red-tipped fingernail over Cody’s neck. Shay wanted to throw a biscuit at her, or maybe a fork. “I noticed it when you were in Scotland. Nice. Duncan has one there too.”

Duncan lowered his head and kept eating.

“Thanks. It’s just a tattoo,” Cody said. “We need to bring everyone up to date and figure out sleeping arrangements, now that we’re all here.”

Shay knew him well enough to recognize an evasion tactic. It was probably wishful thinking on her part to hope he just wanted Sorcha to stop touching him.

“I’ll sleep at Shay’s,” Ronan said.

“Over my dead body,” Cody declared, drawing several curious looks. He scowled. “I’m not even sure I want you sleeping next door.”

Ronan lifted an eyebrow. “What I meant was I’m sleeping wherever Faelan and Bree aren’t. You try sleeping in the room next to the honeymooners.”

Shay looked at Bree and Faelan, sharing passion-laced glances between bites of toast. Her own food was about as appealing as dirt. If Cody had a predestined mate, eventually he would find her, no matter what unresolved passion he and Shay shared. Jamie would find his mate too, and she would be alone, again.

“This is the only honeymoon I’ll get for a while,” Faelan said, digging into his breakfast.

“Well, have a little pity on the rest of us who’re sleeping alone,” Sorcha said, giving Cody a seductive glance. “Where’s Jamie?”

Duncan gave Sorcha a dark look but didn’t respond.

“Jamie’s sleeping. Matilda drugged him,” Lachlan said, forcing Cody to awkwardly explain that the women had been making a misguided matchmaking attempt and thought Jamie was in the way. He didn’t mention that it was to clear the way for him, but every eye was on the two of them.

“Maybe we need to recruit Matilda, if she can neutralize a warrior like Jamie,” Brodie said. “Have her slip the demons a sleeping pill.”

“Isn’t Jamie your boyfriend?” Sorcha asked.

“No,” Cody blurted out before Shay could shake her head.

“He used to be,” Lachlan said.

Cody frowned. “Anyone else think it’s odd how he watches Shay?”

Lachlan snorted, while Faelan and Ronan grinned.

“I find it interesting that Jamie wormed his way in here, claiming this table was shipped to him, when it’s obvious he’s obsessed with her,” Cody said.

“Are you saying Jamie could be her stalker?” Sorcha asked, slathering a blueberry muffin with butter. Shay doubted Sorcha worried about getting fat. Slaying demons probably melted off calories. “I thought the guy was blond.”

“I’m not accusing him, but we’ve got a mess of trouble and no one to blame. We shouldn’t rule out anyone.”

“He was injured,” Shay said. “You think he did that to himself?”

Cody shrugged. “Could have, if necessary.”

Lachlan broke off a piece of bacon and slipped it under the table. There was a soft
meow
. “Bro, I think you need more sleep.” He glanced at Shay. “Or something.”

“Have you got that cat under there?” Cody asked.

Shay lifted the edge if the tablecloth. The cat was sitting at Lachlan’s feet. “I thought you were going to call the Petersons.”

“I did. It’s not theirs,” Lachlan said. “Ronan’s going to take him to Montana if you don’t want him.”

“Go ahead,” Shay said to Ronan. She couldn’t take care of herself, much less a cat.

Sorcha raised an eyebrow at Ronan. “What are you going to do with a cat? You’re never home.”

“I’ll put him in the barn. I have someone watching the place.” He smiled at Shay. “Or we could share joint custody.”

“You’re not sharing anything with Shay,” Cody said. “Cat or otherwise.”

Ronan settled back in his chair, not bothering to hide his grin.

“You see what I have to put up with?” Faelan said to Cody.

“You live in Montana?” Shay asked Ronan.

Ronan nodded. “For now.”

“That’s where he goes when he gets sick of demons. And humans,” Brodie said. “He owns a mountain. It’s so isolated I doubt a demon could find it.”

“Think we could train the cat to be a guard cat?” Lachlan asked and then grew serious. “Whoever broke in, and it wasn’t Jamie, he knew how to avoid the cameras and get past the alarm.” That led to a discussion of the recent events with Shay’s stalker in Scotland and here.

“You think Jamie’s and Shay’s intruders are the same?” Duncan asked.

Lachlan swallowed his bite of egg and biscuit. “Shay’s was blond, but we thought there might have been another one in the woods. Jamie said there were three of them at his house, but he saw only two clearly, both brown-haired, average height, slim. Said they moved fast, hit him before he could even reach for his dagger.”

“Must have been some bad-ass demons,” Marcas said. “Jamie’s quick. He could take three humans blindfolded. Should’ve been able to take three demons.”

“You think my stalker is a demon?” Shay asked, eyes wide with alarm.

Cody shrugged. “I don’t know, but that intruder I fought seemed too strong and too fast for a human.”

“This probably has something to do with your father,” Anna said. “He believed someone was after him. Maybe that same someone wants you.”

“He’s definitely interested in your tables,” Sorcha added.

“They had to be after the book,” Cody said. “The only thing the intruder messed with at Nina’s was a bookshelf. He must have called his buddies and headed to Jamie’s after that.”

“So how did they know the book was inside the table?” Lachlan asked.

Faelan gave Bree a worried glance. “We know Russell stole the book and took it to Druan’s castle. Maybe we missed a demon who was working with Druan.”

“How could Renee be involved in all this?” Shay asked.

“Did she know anyone named Russell?” Brodie asked.

“Not that I’m aware of.”

“Since Renee’s laptop has vanished, could you make a list of contacts? Boyfriends, friends, clients.” Cody frowned. “I suspect someone isn’t who he’s pretending to be and doesn’t want his name seen.”

It was terrifying to think that her own clients, neighbors, banker, Realtor, or even the little old lady next door could be a demon in disguise. “Most of the Scotland and Leesburg clients are separate. I’m familiar with some of Renee’s, but not all.”

“There’s something I haven’t mentioned,” Cody said. “Someone dug up your grave.”

Brodie paused mid-chew. “Shay’s grave? Oh, the empty one.”

Lachlan raised an eyebrow. “Bloody hell.”

“They removed the casket and opened it,” Cody said. “I was going to tell you yesterday, Shay, but Nina and Matilda showed up.”

He could’ve mentioned it last night. “Why would someone do that?”

He pushed back his plate. “To see if it had a body inside.”

“So someone knows she’s not dead,” Duncan said. “When did this happen?”

“Sometime in the last day or two,” Cody said.

“It could be teenage vandals gearing up for Halloween,” Shay said, hopefully.

Cody shook his head. “I wish, but I suspect Anna’s right, and it’s something to do with your father.”

“I thought the demon the Watchers thought was responsible died,” Sorcha said.

“He did,” Cody said. “But someone knows about the secret.”

“Let’s hope the clan wasn’t wrong,” Brodie said. “That wouldn’t make the demon happy, finding out he’s been fooled all this time.”

Shay’s stomach started crawling toward her throat. This wasn’t normal stalker stuff, like on the news and TV, and Renee was in the middle of it.

“I think this is connected to the stuff with Druan,” Duncan said. “We got all the demons on Angus’s list, but even the Watchers suspected there was more happening than just Druan’s attempt to destroy the world.”

Sorcha studied her red nails, her gaze troubled. “What about Tristol and Malek and Voltar? Those dreams I had before. I couldn’t make out all the details, but I saw five men. One was Faelan and one was Druan in human form, but we never figured out who the other three were.”

“Don’t even think it,” Brodie said, crossing himself.

“Who are they?” Shay asked.

“Demons of old,” Bree said. “Faelan saw those three riding with Druan back in 1860 when he was sent to stop the Civil War. They disappeared.”

“Our Civil War?” Shay swung around to look at Faelan. Pain shadowed his face.

“I was sent to suspend Druan. He was stirring up strife and hatred that was turning this country toward war, trying to destroy it from the inside out. At least that’s what we thought, but I found out the war was just Druan’s distraction. He created a virus to destroy the world.”

“Good grief. Is anything what it seems?”

“Not much,” Faelan said. “Demons are involved in most everything bad. Human wars rarely start with humans.”

“What happened to the virus?” Shay asked.

“Faelan destroyed it when he destroyed Druan,” Bree said, her voice ringing with pride. “He saved the world.”

Faelan smiled. “Not without help. If it hadn’t been for Bree and Conall and the other warriors, there wouldn’t be any world.”

Shay looked at Cody, his handsome face set in a worried frown, and for the first time she understood why he tried so hard to protect her. “Could these three demons who were with Druan be dead?”

“Not likely. The ancient ones are hard to kill,” Cody said. “They’re quick and devious. If they’d been assigned to a warrior, we would have heard.”

Sorcha pushed back her plate. “They’ve probably been roaming the earth, creating death and destruction, trying to become eternal. Supposedly they’re behind some of our major diseases. Tristol supposedly created the HIV virus, although no one’s seen him since Faelan did back in 1860. And Druan’s father created the Plague. All this bad stuff humans think is just normal usually starts with a demon.”

“I wish we had Angus’s notes,” Anna said. “He was onto something.”

“Who’s Angus?” Shay asked.

“The last warrior who was sent to find Faelan’s time vault key,” Anna said. “He figured out what Druan was up to, and Druan had him killed.”

This stuff was life and death, not the thrilling games they played as kids, but in spite of its horror, it stirred something inside that Shay couldn’t explain, like a supercharged rush of energy.

“I’ll check Angus’s things again when I get to New York,” Anna said rubbing her eyes. “I should’ve gone straight there after the wedding.”

The wedding. Faelan and Bree hadn’t even finished their reception, let alone started a honeymoon, all because of Shay. Or had it started with Shay’s father, a man she didn’t even remember, who’d lost his wife and child. Well, she was alive, and if this was the same demon who killed her mother and father and stole her life, she wanted him dead, even if she had to do it herself.

“I can fly you to New York,” Lachlan said to Anna.

Anna shook her head. “Thanks, but I’ll drive. I have some things to sort out.” She excused herself from the table.

“I hope she starts with that gloomy mood,” Brodie said.

“Leave her alone,” Sorcha said. “She’s got a lot on her mind.”

“Angus and Anna were researching the missing
Book
of
Battles
before he was killed,” Bree told Shay. “Anna got busy with something else. When she went back, Angus seemed troubled, but wouldn’t say what was going on. He mentioned something about secret societies and a league.”