Her Druid Desire (The Amber Druid Series) (34 page)

           
His eyes were dark in the low light of the foyer and those tingles traveled
over her body once again. “Hey angel, come on in.”

           
“You didn’t have to turn the music off. I like
Nickelback
,”
she told him as she walked in, noticing the music was off now. “But that’s okay
because on the way over here I remembered some questions I have for you.”

           
One dark eyebrow rose suspiciously. “I like a woman who wants to know more,” he
leaned down slightly and winked at her, “that means you’re in it for the long
haul.”

           
Nadia laughed, but quelled the fluttering of her heart in her chest. With his
strong abilities he probably could sense everything she felt right at this
moment. It would be best to keep her feelings close to her chest, not out in
the open for him to feel. Was she even able to hide them like that, or could he
still feel them regardless?

           
He took her purse from her and said, “I know the last two times you were here
you weren’t exactly able to see the whole house. Do you want to now?”

           
“Sure…my mind whirls when I imagine just how many rooms you have in here,” she
told him as she took in the large expanse of his living area. Intensely
masculine leather sofas and loveseats were the furniture. He even had a huge
lump of driftwood sitting on the hardwood floor that was holding up a large
glass coffee table.

           
“There are four bedrooms, each with their own full baths. I also have a gym, a
library, and a game room, not to mention my office.”

           
She heard him, but her eyes were glued to another fabulous driftwood piece that
dominated the furniture. “That has to be the most unusual piece I have ever
seen.”

           
He chuckled, “I get that a lot.”

           
Nadia let her eyes roam over the beautiful natural colors on the walls and the
exposed beams of the ceilings. It really was a man’s house, but even though it
was intensely virile and sturdy, she felt at home and more than welcome here.
An extremely large, but low fireplace was in the middle of the living area and
she noticed as she looked closer that she could see another room through the
huge opening. “It is double sided?” she asked him with another glance through
the opening.

           
“Yeah, the other side is the den, which is where I spend most of my time
besides being on my deck outside.” He walked up behind her and placed his hands
low on her waist. “C’mon, you know you want to see it.”

           
She laughed and let him push her around the corner of the living room gently.
His hands were large on her waist and so very hot. Pushing the thoughts away,
she focused on the questions she wanted to ask him and the rest of the house
she was desperate to see, trying to keep sexual arousal out of her mind.

           
“This is my den,” he told her with a sweep of his hand.

           
The room in question was cozy and smaller than Nadia would have first thought. Off
to the right, she could see part of an arch that led to the kitchen which
apparently connected to the living area via a large hallway. The den was
painted a deep beautiful red, which Nadia found surprising, and on the walls
were stunning paintings and photography of wild animals. The furniture was
overstuffed and looked very inviting and in one corner Nadia could see the
large music setup that was still glowing, telling her it was on but muted.

           
“Well, I like this room too.” She turned her gaze towards him and slyly let her
eyes take in everything from his jeans to his green tee shirt and bare feet.
The tips of his hair were still damp and her fingers itched as she remembered
his damp hair from last night and the way it had felt sliding through her
fingers.

           
“I have some sandwiches and a salad if you are hungry.” His voice was deep and
it was what she needed to snap her out of her perusal of him.

           
“Sure” She cleared her throat, “I’m starving.”

           
He smiled and then gestured for her to follow him.

           
The kitchen was through the arch and it was massive too. Large industrial sized
equipment gleamed chrome in the light. A gigantic two door refrigerator was one
of the staples along with a six range oven. “Dear God, you can’t tell me you
cook this much?”

           
“I love to cook, and I do whenever I get the chance.” He grabbed the salad from
the refrigerator and another platter with sandwiches then turned to the bar
that ran along the back of the island. “I would have cooked tonight if we would
have had more time, but it’s already going on nine ‘o clock, so I think this
will do.”

           
“Of course, I love simple suppers.”

           
“What would you like to drink? I have beer, soda, water, basically everything
under the sun.” He told her with a smile.

           
“Soda is fine.” She said and then grabbed her some salad and sandwiches from
the platter. Minutes later they were both sitting at the bar and going through
the food quietly. Nadia found herself looking at him while he ate his beautiful
jaw clenching as he chewed. Why couldn’t he smack? Why couldn’t he shove food
in his mouth like a slob? Did everything about him have to be gorgeous?

           
“Is something on my face?”

           
Her eyes flew to his. “Uh…no, I’m sorry.” She tucked her head back down and
berated herself for being crazy about him.

           
“It’s okay.” Things got quiet again until, “You want to ask those questions now
or later, because it wouldn’t bother me either way.”

           
Wiping her mouth with a napkin she looked at him. It was still amazing too with
everything he had told her and shown her the other
night,
that
he was actually some paranormal being. “Okay, I was wondering…you
said there were others, right?” At his nod she continued, “Well, I’m assuming
that not every single one of you are all the same age and from the same place,
so how did you all find out about each other? Like if there is an Amber Druid
from France how would you ever find out about him or her? Is there some sort of
website you all go to?”

           
He took a sip of his drink and smiled at her, “I’m pleased to notice that you
gave us this much thought.”

           
Nadia couldn’t control the smile that came out at his words.

           
“All right, let me start at the beginning, or what I assume to be the
beginning.” He smiled then continued, “There was a small group of Druids
practicing in Scotland so many centuries ago. Somehow they found a way to
attach their abilities and gifts into one single spell. They cast that spell
onto themselves so that their ancestors would be graced with extraordinary
speed, agility, sensory abilities, and a warning to any enemy that may come
around.”

           
“Amazing,” she breathed, thoroughly engrossed in the story.

           
He gave her a wink and kept on. “The Amber Druids I know have all come to the
same conclusion about our eyes being the reason for the Amber part of our name.
We all have amazing eyesight, fiercely strong abilities, fangs, and the talent
for calming, soothing, or wiping a mind of our image. Now with that said, we
each have different gifts’, mine is the capacity to converse with animals.”

           
“This is the reason why your clinic is so successful.”

           
He nodded at her.
“Very plausible deduction Nadia.
I
am continually amazed at your mind’s capacity.”

           
She wrinkled her nose at him.
“Smartass.”

           
He ignored her jibe and continued, “Now after having said that, as far as I or
any of us know, every Druid we come into contact with has Scottish ancestors,
and we all have the same marks on our bodies which have been there since we
were born. Our Druid mark denotes us as special, and lets us know on our
twenty-fifth birthday that we will go through the change that makes us fully
capable with our powers.”

           
Nadia knew her eyes had to be huge again with wonder. “So this mark is like a
birthmark?”

           
He stood in that swift Druid way of his and seconds later was pulling away the
left half of his button fly, showing her his tattoo, set permanently into his
skin right under his left hipbone. “See the circle in the center? That is the
mark. It is a small circle with many different sized red dots inside.”

           
“So the tattoo isn’t part of it, it is just the circle that is the actual
mark?”

           
“Yes,” he told her and in seconds he was once again buttoned up and sitting.
“Now as for the reason we all know each other, and like you said, we aren’t all
from the same place, whenever another Druid goes through the change, a
shockwave of sorts travels to each and every mature Druid out there.” He looked
deeply at her, “You still with me?”

           
She nodded, still deeply intrigued.

           
“Okay, just wanted to make sure. So all the mature ones feel the shockwave and
at the same time we all catch this distinctive and very clear picture of who
and where this person is. The change to become a mature Druid is very, very
draining and at times has been known to kill a lesser human being, one that
hasn’t the strength of mind or body to stay in control through the
transformation.”

           
“Oh my,” she said in wonder.

           
“Did you have another question?”

           
Nadia tried to think past the astonishment that was crowding through her brain
at the moment to remember what she had wanted to ask him. “Oh…is every Druid
born a Druid, or is there another way to make someone like you?”

           
“I can ‘gift’ you into my world, but as far as I know there have been very few
successful attempts. It is accomplished with a simple spell that I mentally
chant into action over your body and then I ask you if you are willing to have
this special gift; if you agree, I bite you, not to suck your blood, but more
or less to inject you with the same powers that I have.”

           
“Like a vampire…this is all so unreal to me,” Nadia told him. “It is like a
science fiction movie that I’m stuck in.” She smiled at him before a horrible notion
dawned. Oh God, how come she hadn’t thought of this before? Her stomach heaved
and she was sickly faint all of a sudden. Tears immediately burned behind her
eyes.

           
“Nadia, what’s wrong?” He was by her side in an instant, his strong arm pulling
her out of the barstool to stand in front of him.

           
She swallowed a painful lump in her throat as she realized just how much he
must have gone through in the past just to be where he was now. “I just
realized that you had to have had a family and that they must be gone, unless
you ‘gifted’ them over.
How did you survive knowing that you
would live on and on in the years to come, all alone without them?”

           
His large hand cradled her cheek and surprisingly enough he smiled at her, even
though she could plainly see the sadness in his eyes. “Ah my little angel, so
worried about me, but honey, I’ve had years and years to get over the pain. I
was the only one in my family that was marked and it was extremely hard because
we were so close, but no, they wouldn’t accept my gift, and I couldn’t force
them to take it.”

           
Hot tears scalded her cheeks as she imagined the suffering he had gone through
to watch his family leave him one by one. Her heart broke for him. She roughly
grabbed his waist and pulled him to her, sniffling into his shirt and trying
not to bawl like a baby. “I would have begged you to bite me if the other
option was to die without seeing you again.” She wanted to bite back the words
the second they left her mouth, but all she could do was squeeze his chest even
tighter.

           
He’d stiffened beneath her hands when she said that, but now his large hand was
smoothing her hair. “Sweetheart, you don’t know what you would have done in
that situation. A lifetime is a very long time when you know you can’t die
normally. It would take decapitation or extreme bodily harm to kill me. As it
is, I never get sick, so I won’t die from infection either.”

           
She was glad he hadn’t put too much emphasis on her words. Instead he had
turned the tables back to what he was. She nuzzled his shirt, inhaling his
luscious woodsy smell. “I’ll bet this isn’t the sort of night you had planned,
was it? I distinctly remember you saying something about second base.”

           
He laughed, and it rumbled into her ear where it was pressed against his shirt.
“Honey, we have all night to worry about second base. Right now you need to
make sure you understand everything I am.”

           
Her insides warmed at the fact that he wasn’t abandoning her seduction. Even
though she knew she was headed for heartbreak, she wanted to feel him touching
and kissing her again.

***

           
Drake looked over at Nadia as she licked ice cream from the spoon. His body
stirred to life the instant she had crossed the threshold of his home; now he
was merely biding his time before he could touch her.