Hidden Jewel (Heartfire Series) (35 page)

"Aye... but I will not," Ailill replied simply. "I've yet to lie with Jacob, as I've already said. I cannot leave until I do." Her eyes flashed, shimmered with a rainbowed hue before she turned away. "But, I cannot stand another night in my parent's house. I will be staying in the Dead Wood, until I feel like comin' back here."

"When will that be?" Jacob demanded rather unkindly. He took a step closer, came up behind and grasped her shoulder, intent on forcing her to look at him.

"When I decide," came the sharp reply. She shrugged noncommittally, the motion making his hand drop. "Does it really matter? You've done fine without me for... well, hell, over twenty years! You've plenty o' lasses to bed, Jacob, and you as well, now that the virginity is out o' the way." Her gaze swept down Micah's length, chilling him to the bone with the coldness in the sapphire orbs. "When I return to this veritable prison is up to me alone. Live with it, and don't follow me. I might mistake you for a beast and shoot you." Her glance was proof of her truthfulness; a .22 lay across the bed, the stock polished until it gleamed, a pouch of bullets beside it.

"Uh-uh," Micah grunted, head shaking in denial as he crossed the space between them in one long stride. "You can't go. It ain't fair to us, it ain't fair to your parents, and it's just plain damn wrong! I won't let you leave, Ailill." He kissed her, hard, a lip bruising kiss backed by a strength of feeling that stole her breath away, made her fingers clench into tiny fists at her sides. Just when she thought to catch her breath, Jacob came at her from behind, the two nearly squeezing the life from her as they sought to change her mind, to make her respond; hands groped her, seemingly from every direction, lips seared her flesh, every touch tinged with a hint of desperation that pulled at her heartstrings, her inherent sense of desire, until she nearly caved under such insistent pressure. It was only at the last moment, two pair of strong hands working together to push her pants down, out of the way, that she saw herself with any real clarity and it was devastating. There was naught to do but draw upon an image that would stop the persistent men in their tracks. And boy, did it!

"I still can't believe Annie walked in on us," Jacob drawled, amusement hidden in the depths of his dilated eyes. "Did y'all see the look on her face?"

Settling himself more comfortably on the oversized couch, his long legs stretched across the table before him, Micah laughed aloud, mightily proud of himself. "How else would she look, walkin' in to find her only daughter smack dab in the middle of a Black-wich?"

“
A what?”

“
Ya know, a Black sandwich.” Micah's eyes blinked, glittered with amusement.

Jacob snorted with laughter, his eyes glazed over from the drug coursing through his bloodstream. After a couple of hours of going at it with unfettered abandon, both of the brothers were flying as high as kites, full of exuberance which was echoed in the increasingly ribald jokes and bawdy laughter. "Blackwich," he wheezed, clutching his sides. "Ailill can't handle a Black-anything sandwich! She's too... delicate. Like a flower."

Micah grinned wolfishly at that. "She ain't nothin' near del-i-cate," he answered, sounding the word out with a numb tongue before running it across his lips, a thoughtful look on his handsome face. "She could kick your ass one handed."

"Your's, too." Jacob giggled in merriment, eying his twin.

"She
is
like a flower though." Micah's bare shoulders shook suddenly with silent laughter.

"You mean she
was
, up 'til y'all came along."

"Nah, she still is," Micah croaked, dark brows raised like wings. "Like the gillyflowers and linden flowers she makes into tea. That's what she tastes like." His cheeks burned from within at the thought.

"Oh, yeah? Done that already, Brother?" Jacob could not keep the surprise from his tone at that little bit of information. "Tell me more."

"No way man! Abby wouldn't like us talkin' about her."

"So. Tell me anyways." Jacob sat up, his curiosity piqued through the haze of his mind. "Y'all don't talk to me no more at night and you've been around her alot more. Tell me everything."

Micah laughed, eyes twinkling at the look on Jacob's face. "Y'all gonna beg?"

"If I have to. You wouldn't let her be alone with me, she told me so." Jacob looked slightly miffed at Micah's answering grin. Picking up his mug, he drank deeply to hide it.

"Well, what d'ya expect? She was a virgin and y'all were too willing to take that from her! Lucky for you she was more than willin' to do at least somethin' long before Annie came home."

Grinning darkly through the smoky haze, Jacob's eyes flashed knowingly in the light of the fire. "And unlucky for y'all that she knew her limits or that Black Sandwich would've taken on a whole new meaning," he replied cryptically.

Micah's animated face stilled suddenly into a serious expression. "She's young still, man.
Innocent
. I don't do more than she can handle and she can't handle us both, not even just makin' out," he said in answer, allowing his feelings for her to show, a softly glowing flame in his eyes. "Anything I've done with her has been kinda rushed, except when we, uh, you know, so... today was a shock for all of us. Her parents watch whenever we're around. Makes me uncomfortable, like I gotta sneak her kisses, or James'll be right there, makin' sure I finish the deed. I know it really gets to her. Anything more is hard won. You know that scent behind her ears? The spicy-sweet smell she leaves on your skin when you touch her?" His voice was suddenly husky, filled with suppressed emotions.

His twin nodded solemnly, his nostrils flaring with the vivid memory of it.

"That's what she tastes like, Jacob. All over; and the scent grows stronger, the more turned on she is, when her pores open up and she sweats, it's like a perfume. I am drawn to her like a bee. When she opens to me, so hot and slick with her need, I know the scent will be strongest there, in her juices, her nectar. Yeah, I've done
that
. Couldn't help myself, you know, so, yes, I've sampled more than just her mouth." He held up one long finger, touched it to his lips; smiled. "The taste of her is...intoxicating. She is like a drug to me and I am badly addicted." Micah's eyes stared into the darkness outside the window, far away from his brother and the cabin in his thoughts, seeing Ailill in his mind. He had said enough, too much in fact, but he did not know how to stop himself from going on. Watching him intently, Jacob nodded in encouragement, wanting to hear more.

"She cried out in Gaelic the one time I did that; wrapped her legs around my head and came in a flowing stream that poured over my tongue and down my throat like sweet water. The look on her face was... magic... unbelievably beautiful; she
is
a fairy woman. I believe it, I saw the change, the signs... so full of life, so willing to try anything without shame or apology, just like it says in the legends. I've never known anyone like her. She's all I think about, all I see, whether I'm awake or asleep. All I hear is her voice, her low, sexy voice; her laughter. The sound of her her breath when it comes faster as her need grows. She cries out very loudly when she knows no one will hear; gives in completely; tells me what she wants. She cusses. She knows more swear words than I ever knew existed!" Micah smiled at his twin with unabashed emotion, making Jacob smile just to see it. There were tears in his eyes, a shocking sign of the depths of his feelings which Jacob could not ignore.

"She whispered thanks to God!" he whispered. "Not just to Brigit, or Thor, or Saint anybody. To the one and only, and only at the end, when she could barely utter the words over the poundin' of her heart. To know that I can bring her to that... that point, where she can forget everything that has been bred into her since she was born; that she would reveal herself so completely to me. I can't describe what that does to me, man. I didn't know it would be like this. I never felt so strongly for McKell before she died and she taught me everything I know, but if this is what it was like for you, then I can understand it all better now. I just hope you can also feel this way for Ailill. It ain't just about sex with her, Jacob, it's... everything. To think that we could lose her to someone else, it tears my heart slowly in two."

A single tear spilled over the dark fringe beneath each midnight blue eye, rolling slowly down the sharp, chiseled planes of his face. He turned toward his twin, looking directly into Jacob's eyes widened with surprise.

"Now you know everything, like you wanted," Micah said gruffly, swallowing down the lump in his throat. Picking up the canteen from the table, he paused to drink before asking, "Are you satisfied now?"

In effort to lighten the mood once again, Jacob took a deep breath, set his empty mug back on the table and said, "I wanted the raw details, Micah. Pure uninhibited sex. Y'all gave me a love story instead of the porn I was hopin' for." At his twin's start of surprise, he added, "I ain't gettin' stoned with you again, Brother. Ya get all mushy and cry."

Laughing uproariously, he dodged Micah's fist, rolling away to the floor where he looked up into his twin's face with laughing eyes. "We better git goin' if were gonna have time to sleep before she leaves us for good," he said, pushing himself up onto feet that felt somewhat numb. "Besides, I don't wanna wake up tomorrow and find you gone exploring and me with all the work to do alone. This place is a damn mess! Come on... let's go sleep next to our beautiful flower."

And with that Jacob was gone.

Savage Creatures

Halfway down the mountain, under the thick canopy of wide, fragrant pine boughs the brothers stopped suddenly, tense and uneasy, stepping off the faint trail which led far into the Dead Wood. In one smooth motion, each had silently swung his rifle into position on a bare shoulder, eyes watchful, seeking those things which most could not see in the dark. There had been no visible sign of danger, no unusual noise, yet each man had felt the small, thin hairs rise on the nape of his neck, the human equivalent to the raised hackles of a threatened beast. They were being watched; both Jacob and Micah realized the fact at the very same moment and their eyes met in the dark, wary, questioning. The Dead Wood was never patrolled like the rest of Wilderdeep; they were in unfamiliar territory, too close to Jewel Mountain's graveyard- resting place for too many of the areas dead; uneasiness lay like a ball of ice in the pit of each man's stomach. Moving with extreme caution, Micah stepped back onto the trail. Silent. Stealthy. Jacob followed close behind.

A wolf howled in the distance, the sound echoing far up into the canyon, the canid song followed instantly by an answering call that made the blood of both run cold.

Feet. It was only feet away.

Jacob looked over to his right, directly into the glowing yellow eyes of the wolf, and dread spread icy fingers around his heart at the thought of Ailill alone nearby, camped out under the trees, without the protection of a shelter, without the shelter of an old cabin hidden in the heart of Wilderdeep. Without him and Micah there to keep her safe, as they had unknowingly trained to do for all of their lives.

A low growl began; a rumbling deep in the beast's furry chest, the sound barely audible, just loud enough that both men released the safety catch with a soft double click and took aim, long fingers testy on the trigger. A snarl overhead caused both to jump, hearts suddenly hammering violently against ribcages soon tender under the reverberating beats. Micah's head swiveled in slow motion upon his neck, arcing around and up to look into the glittering eyes of the tawny cat that screamed in defiance five feet above his dark head. Before either had the chance to turn his weapon from one beast to the other, the huge cat's haunches bunched, the thick branch crackling under the weight, snapping back up with the sound of a whip as she leapt.