Love Everlastin' Book 3 (36 page)

"Mair like a slip o' yer
heart," she beamed, her wings fluttering rapidly. "Winston, do ye
love me?"

Tightness gripped his throat
as he forced himself to look her straight in the eye. He felt
suddenly claustrophobic. Beads of perspiration broke out on his
brow and above his upper lip. He knew he was trembling but couldn't
stop.

Her right hand tenderly lit
upon his left cheek and it was nearly his undoing.

"Winston, knowin’ ye love me
is all I need. Knowin’ there is a place for me in one verra wee
part o' yer heart is all I need to keep me happy.

"I know ye be a mon wi'
dreams o' family in his future. I canna give ye children. To ma
knowin’, our love could be as deep and as pure as a new-formed
loch, but it wouldna be enough to cross our worlds and provide a
wee one o' our own.

"One day, ye will find tha'
human womon who will give ye all ye ever desired, and I do pray ye
will find her soon. Lovin’ ye does no' entitle me to own ye. Does
no' entitle me to deny ye the gift o' offspring. I only ask tha'
yer heart accept ma love and grant me the peace o' knowin’ I helped
to heal yer soul—if even a wee."

Winston pulled her into his
arms and captured her mouth in a passionate kiss. He cast off his
doubts and insecurities for a time and basked in the glorious
sensations the smell and feel of her awarded him. Her body
conformed to his, molding with his with such rightness, he believed
they were one inseparable force. His hands explored the softness of
her hair, the curve at the base of her spine and the firm roundness
of her buttocks. All the while her arms remained tightly fastened
about his middle, clinging to him as if she planned to never let
go.

He went with an impulse and
gingerly brushed the backs of the fingers of his right hand against
one of her wings. She drew back her head, a gasp escaping her
parted lips. She stared into his eyes with wonder, her face aglow
and more beautiful than he'd ever seen her. It left him breathless
and giddy at the same time, and he stroked the wing once more. This
time she closed her eyes and gave a sweet moan of
ecstasy.

"Does it feel good when I
touch yer wings?"

He actually didn't need to
ask, for the answer had already been given him. But he nonetheless
had voiced the query, and was glad he had when she replied,
"Almaist as good as havin’ ye inside me," she breathed, gazing into
his eyes with passion and such love, his heart skipped a
beat.

"Winston, may I lie wi' ye,
tonight?"

Again his heart began to
hammer wildly behind his breast. "Only lie wi' me?" he
teased.

A humorous, chiding gleam
sparkled in her eyes. "No, ma handsome Scotsmon. I'll have ye in
me. I'll pleasure ye till the sun winks over the horizon, then till
dusk readies the cloak o' night. And I promise ye, Winston, ye will
never regret the havin’ o' me. When the time comes for us to part,
ye will walk away wi' no hurt or guilt in yer heart."

Winston wanted to swoop her
up into his arms and carry her to his bedroom, but instead, he
kissed her with the longing that had been festering inside him for
what seemed an eternity. He didn't want her to think he was merely
after her body. A quick fix to the libido had never been his style.
But the sweetness and soft texture of her mouth carried him away.
His hands began to draw up her nightgown, the tension in his
fingers to touch her private place, maddening. But when he'd gotten
the hemline to her hips, there came a hard rap on the door. He
released Deliah immediately, and she jumped back and dropped her
hemline to her ankles as the door slowly opened.

"Winston?"

It was Roan. Deliah blushed
and Winston scowled.

"Wha', Roan?"

The door opened enough for
Roan to step onto the threshold. He appeared ill-at-ease to
interrupt the couple, but forced a small smile and stated, "Lannie
and I decided to try to make it to Shortby's. Interested in joinin’
us?"

Winston glanced at the dial
of his watch. It was not quite eleven. "When does it
close?"

"Three in the morn. We just
need to get away from the house for a time," said Roan.

Winston glanced at Deliah.
He was surprised to see she had retracted her wings. Wariness
shadowed her face, and her eyes searched his with a question he
didn't want to answer.

"I'll join you," he said to
Roan, although his head remained turned and his gaze riveted on
Deliah.

The light went out of her
eyes at his words, and her expression became instantly guarded.
Sorrow wafted from her and he absorbed it despite his reluctance.
At this time, he didn't want to explain to her that joining the men
at Shortby's would give him the chance to discuss his situation
with them. A chance to sort through his choices. What she didn't
know—and he blocked from his mind—was that if he did make love to
her again, there would never be anyone but her in his life.
Children or no, he would commit only to her.

For a reason he couldn't
begin to explain even to himself, he wanted Roan and Winston's
approval.

"Are you sure?" Roan asked
hesitantly.

Winston nodded and faced
Roan. "Wi' three o' us, we should be able to get ma car onto the
road."

"Beats walkin’ to town."
Roan dipped his head and smiled a bit nervously at Deliah. "We'll
watch over him."

Winston turned to Deliah
and, although she stiffened and turned her face aside, telling him
she didn't want to be touched, he kissed her tenderly on the cheek.
"We'll talk when I return."

There was a hardness in her
eyes when she again looked at him, one that surprised and unnerved
him. Without another word, he followed Roan into the hall. Deliah
trailed behind them, her shoulders sagging, her movements
lethargic. Lachlan was waiting in the hall by the parlor door, a
full-length coat lending the illusion that he was taller and
broader than he actually was. He smiled broadly when he saw Deliah
and held out the crystal paperweight.

"Thank you, lass," he said
cheerily. "It means a lot to—"

A spark of what looked like
blue electricity manifested inside the crystal and it exploded with
a soft
fssst
into
a thousand segments. Lachlan's leveled palm was not injured, but
the diamondlike fragments were scattered everywhere on the
floor.

Three pairs of eyes stared
at her in disbelief, while Deliah remained unmoved by her actions.
Lachlan's expression crumbled to one of disappointment, and he
murmured something in Gaelic the others couldn't
understand.

"I'll sweep this up," said
Roan, brushing past Deliah and heading into the kitchen.

Winston ran upstairs to
fetch his coat. Lachlan stared at Deliah for a time, as if trying
to understand her motive for destroying one of his
treasures.

She had none. She didn't
understand what had happened, only knew that she had released the
burst of energy and was guilty of shattering the piece.

Within minutes, the crystals
were swept up and tossed in the trash can in the kitchen, Winston
returned downstairs with his coat and gloves on, and Lachlan had
sufficiently recovered and was eager to leave the house. They left
by way of the kitchen door, which faced the street where Winston
had parked.

Deliah waited in the hall
until she heard the kitchen door close, then went out on the stoop
and forlornly watched the men brazen a precarious path down the
hillside to the road. For an undeterminable time, she observed them
brush off the car and scrape the windows free of snow and ice once
Winston had gotten the engine to turn over.

With the shovel Roan had
brought along, they alternated shoveling and rocking and pushing
the car, shoveling and rocking and pushing until, at last, the
vehicle was out of its winter bed and on the road. One of them
released a howl of glee. Then they were all inside the car and
driving off toward Crossmichael. When Deliah could no longer see
the tail lights, she burst into uncontrollable tears.

"Deliah?"

Laura stepped aside and
Deliah dashed into the kitchen, her weeping so painful, she
couldn't speak. When Laura soothingly drew her into her arms,
Deliah wept against the woman's shoulder, great, shuddering sobs
racking her chilled form.

"What happened?"

After a moment, Deliah
managed, "They be gone."

"Who?" Gripping Deliah's
upper arms, Laura held her back to see her face. "Who,
Deliah?"

"Winston, Lachlan, and
Roan."

"Gone where?"

"Someplace called
Shortby's."

Sucking in a shuddering
breath, Deliah walked to the small table against the wall and sat
in one of the two chairs. "We were goin’ to make love. Then Roan
asked him to join him and Lachlan. He didna even hesitate,
Laura."

Her face pale and taut,
Laura angrily tapped a foot on the floor. "Shortby's, huh? Roan
didn't even have the decency to tell me he was going
out."

"Decency?" Deliah smirked.
"There be no decency in how we be treated. I bear ma heart and
soul, only to be put off by the prospect o' mair drink."

"They were drinking before
they left?"

"Aye. In the ither room wi'
the bottles o' drink."

"The bar?"

Deliah nodded.

"What in hell is so
appealing about Scotch?" Laura cried with frustration.

"Tis a monly thing, they
believe. A bondin’ ritual." Deliah sighed, miserable. "Tis foul
tastin’ and burned ma insides."

"Don't tell me they had you
drinking with them?"

"No. I snuck-ed a taste some
time ago. Laura?"

"What?"

"Have we no recourse? How
does a human female deal wi' this kind o' hurtin’?"

"We get even," Laura said
heatedly.

Beth entered the kitchen in
time to see Laura place a large silver tray on the table. Deliah,
sitting at the chair nearest the windows, looked up and gestured
for Beth to join them. Laura pulled out a third chair from the
corner and placed it at the table, then sat as Beth seated herself
between the two women.

"I was going to go up and
invite you to join our tea party," said Laura.

Three cups, three spoons, a
tall silver tea pot, creamer and bowl of sugar were atop the tray.
There was also a bowl of warm brownies with chunks of walnuts
visible in the rich chocolate treats.

"I have to pass," Beth said
woefully, her mouth watering for both the tea and the
brownies.

"Not even a little tea and a
nibble of brownie?"

"Laura, it'll give the
babies gas."

Laura wrinkled her nose. "Is
there something else I can get you?"

"No, thanks." Beth yawned
and excused herself. "I need to turn in soon. These two-to-three
hour feedings are draining me. I can't remember what sleep
is."

"How old are babies before
they start sleeping all night?" Laura asked.

"I have no idea."

"I canna help, either,"
Deliah murmured.

"Deliah, is something
wrong?"

Deliah managed a smile for
Beth, but before she could respond, Laura filled Beth in on what
had happened. When Beth heard that the men had taken off to
Shortby's, she closed her eyes for a moment and clenched her
teeth.

"I swear the boys are less
trouble than our men," said Laura, fuming. She filled two of the
cups with steaming tea and passed one to Deliah. "Dammit, we were
almost robbed tonight! So much for our gallant protectors worrying
about us being alone in the house."

"Was Lachlan drunk when they
left?" Beth asked Deliah quietly.

"Glowing a wee, but no'
drunk-ed."

Beth gulped painfully. "I
don't know what to do, anymore. I'm tired and I'm fed up. But it's
not like I can just pack up the twins and leave, is it? I have no
identity, no money, and no place to go."

"You're right," said Laura.
"You are in a bad position. Hell's bells, aren't we a threesome.
I'm the reincarnation of a murderess. You're just back from the
dead." Laura sighed deeply as her gaze settled on Deliah. "And
you're a fairy."

Hearing it all said aloud,
Beth laughed. "God, how bizarre can we get!"

"The Three Weirdateers,"
Laura said wryly.

"Hmm." Beth fell
thoughtfully silent for a time. "I just don't know what to do, but
I can't stay here. This is Lachlan's house, and yours and Roan's
home. I don't belong."

"I do," said Deliah in a
husky tone. "This house is built on wha' remains o' ma clan's
kingdom, and I'll no' leave."

"The three of us are
staying," Laura said with a frown. "We have as much right to be
here as any of the men. I can't. . .I can't believe they just took
off to have themselves a good ol' time, and left us here to wait
for them like dutiful, subservient little wives."

"Tis cold to us they be,"
said Deliah.