weight, she managed to manoeuvre him in the right direction. With a heartfelt sigh, Drusal
collapsed onto a mound of pillows, burying his head in down filled comfort.
“Hells bells, what a chuffing mess…” Biting back a choking sob, she couldn’t believe that such
a magnificent body could be reduced to shreds of skin. How many victims had been fed to a
sadistic torturer over eons? How much suffering had to be endured to appease the distorted
nature of an unworthy Queen? Cat regretted her threat to send him back to a realm where
the sanctity of life didn’t exist.
Drusal heard the desperate sob that escaped her throat in a choked whisper. Too ill-used to
lift more than one finger, he inhaled the scents of earth, fire, air and water Iscatya had left
behind only a short time ago.
“My body will recover with sleep.” He grunted softly. Unwilling to alienate her further, to
become a pariah she would not tolerate to be at her side, he tried to ease the shock in wide
eyes at the severity, of an excess of injuries.
Leaving a night light on, Cat crawled slowly onto the bed, wary of jostling him.
“Are you absolutely certain I can do no more to help?” Wriggling into the soft comfort of
the duvet she held her breath, waiting for a sign of pain to cross the marred lines of his face.
A twitch of a smile graced a firm mouth, belying the pain he suffered.
“I am grateful for what you have done Iscatya. I ask that you hold my hand, nothing more.”
Voice drowsy with the onset of healing sleep, the request was slurred.
“Why…?” Suspicion crowded that one syllable.
“For comfort foremost, your touch will boost my earth element in healing the superficial
damage, a secondary gift I ask of thee.” Pearlescent grey eyes flashed with latent desire.
“I also ask thy forgiveness, for damning mankind as less than worthy to live. Any trace of
compassion I have is for my brethren, too long have I been witness to their degradation.”
Turning his head to face Cat, sincerity glowed in the swirling copper whirls encircling
dilated pupils of deepest midnight.
“Fur ball you are a mess of conflicting emotions… One minute I could hug you for risking
your life to save mine. The next minute, I want to smack you for being a misguided bigot.”
Wriggling in place she held out a hand hesitantly, remembering how she had callously rubbed
away his blood from her skin. “Tomorrow we begin again, slate wiped clean.”
Twining long fingers with hers, his thumb caressed a soft palm curling into a fist, locking Cat
to him. “As you wish my mate…”
He was unconscious in seconds, fingers latched onto hers in a death grip. Cat succumbed to
physical and mental exhaustion, the story of her life with Drusal in its midst. They were safe
behind a barrier of elemental forces, his brothers not so well protected. Had she done
enough to ensure Queen Grandmother couldn’t extract revenge from their bodies? She had
to hope so, or live in torment until the day she could bring them home to her version of a
safe haven. The house she had extracted from Phillipe was big enough to hold two, maybe
three families at most.
Plans to enlarge the footprint of a rambling house flitted through waking dreams. Planning
for an invasion of huge Sidhe warriors meant earning more money. Cat had to expand her
horizons, explore the earning potential of the optical practice.
Alex had to be brought on board. She was a wizard when it came to cost analysis, etc...
Making any sense of Phillipe’s business portfolio and stock market investments was so much
gibberish to Cat. Given a patient with symptoms of flashing lights and floaters in their vision
was an easy diagnosis to make, possible retinal detachment to be referred immediately to the eye
clinic, a simple, easy decision to make. Unearthing hidden accounts, made her feel as useless
as a chocolate fireguard. Listening to the beat of a steady heart she drifted away on a cloud
of hope, a hope that maybe she and Drusal could overcome the radical differences in their
disparate natures.
Waking to soft light drifting through the open window, Drusal found Cat curled into his
side. A shimmering mass of red streaked hair teased the muscles of his shoulders with a
gentle swathe of blanketing warmth. Even in sleep, her empathic spirit reached out to
heal the torn muscles of his shoulders in an enervating cascade of tender care. Individual
strands stroked his skin, imparting the earth essence his body craved to aid recovery.
With a hand hesitant to wake the female who snuggled so trustingly into his side, Drusal
ran gentle fingertips over the delicate contours of a sleep softened face. This was a face
he wanted to wake to forever, a visage that could show disdain, love and infinite
compassion for all who abided on this earth. Was he more worthy than her to live a life
free of constraint, to be the one in a marked mating to hold the power of decision?
Iscatya Edan-Fire would never submit to a bond, other than equal partnership, of this he
was absolutely certain. Marvelling at the sweep of dark lashes fanning cheeks, pink tinted
in sleep, Drusal gazed upon the rise and fall of rounded breasts taut against the fabric of a
skimpy vest with a growing arousal tightening his loins. By the Fates…
If Iscatya awakes to a male in her bed lacking in self-control, any chance of reconciliation
would be doomed to fail miserably. He would be lucky to be given the choice of exile.
A grin stretched his mouth wide, he would be lucky to live…
Cat slowly reached for consciousness, a deeply mellow voice tickled at her mind. The sense
of pleasant murmuring was lost in a backwash of stomach gripping arousal. The tactile
nature of hair on naked skin, absorbed and relayed Drusal’s present state directly to her
hind brain. She came awake instantly…
During the night she had moved into the inviting curve of his side, her body in contact
along his full length. She knew he was erect. The sexual frustration streaming from his
aura drew an immediate response from her. Would it alter the balance of power if she
accepted the Lord Vardon as her lover? Knowing full well, she was just a body in the
right place at the right time. Oh hell… Maybe it was time to give in to the pheromones.
Opening eyes tinged with flickers of emerald fire Cat stretched against his side, a warm
smile lent a radiant glow to a face he had deemed unremarkable.
“Good morning Fur ball…” Cat’s voice was a low purr, husky from sleep. She felt the
shudder running through his body, watched with simple pleasure as his pupils dilated to
deep wells of dark desire. Score one for the inedible human…
Running a hand over the skin of his back she touched ridged scars, wounds that mere
hours ago had been weeping lacerations bone deep. Satisfaction at amazing powers of
recovery brought a grin to her lips, a musical laugh gurgling to life. With confidence born
from the knowledge she could have this magnificent male, here and now, Cat reached up
to tease his mouth with the brush of thumb over silky lips. A low growl reverberating in his
chest Drusal pulled her thumb between his teeth in a tender bite. Shivering in anticipation
Cat raised her face to lay a gentle kiss on waiting mouth, running her fingers into tangles of
copper curls at the nape of his neck.
A desperate moan whispered over her skin, strong arms gathered her into a solid chest.
Drusal flicked his tongue to part her lips, delving deep to taste all that his mate had to offer
with a kiss that drove her towards insanity. Locked in an embrace where desire collided with
passion, enough to distract the thoughts of the male in her arms, Cat mate marked him with
a line of fire the full length of a rigid spine. The orgasm that rocked him was an unexpected
reaction to the covert manipulation of a love hungry male.
Pulling back from a kiss that promised heaven, Drusal looked devastated at the course nature
had taken. Gripping the duvet to cover his groin, he rolled away, one arm flung across his face.
“I apologise Princessin…” He was deeply shamed by his failure as a lover.
Moving to sit cross-legged by his side, Cat tried to prise the arm from his face. He was too
strong to allow more than an inch of movement, too proud to admit he had lost control
before he had pleasured his mate.
Licking at lips suddenly dry at inadvertently reducing him to no more than an over eager
adolescent, Cat tasted the honey sweet memory of his kisses.
“Don’t ever apologise to me. You have been denied female companionship for over a
to feel shame at a release he had no control of, made Cat squirm. She was no better than
Queen Grandmother. At least Istirina was honest when she seduced the males. Drusal
could be psychologically scarred by a stealthy marking of him as a bonded mate. Finding a
way to reinforce his masculinity, would tax even the awesome skills Alex used to bewitch
the male of any species.
“It’s my fault… I should have had the sense not to tease you until you’re fully recovered.”
Hanging her head, Cat plucked at the duvet. “What I did was unforgivable, I’m so sorry.”
Tears clouded her vision, sobs tore at her throat. She really was sorry for causing him more
pain. “Cat…” Strong arms rocked her as she cried into his chest.
“Please don’t cry for me.” Long fingers brushed through her hair, spreading long strands in
a cloak around them both. Kissing the moisture from her cheeks, Drusal tasted the wash of
remorse in guilty tears.
Wrapping her arms around a solid chest, Cat employed her empathic gift to bolster a
faltering sense of worth, in a male she wanted with her heart and soul. A woman had the
right to be contrary, mood swings came hand in hand with PMT. So she wanted to exile
him from her life last night, today she wanted to be his mate in every possible way.
Her thoughts streamed into his mind in a torrent of desire, building into a flood of passion
that brought the same desire to his eyes.
“We have all the time in the world to explore the promise of a mating bond.” Cat dropped
a kiss on the smooth skin, right above the solid beat of a strong heart. Leaning back to look
into his eyes, her mouth dropped open in surprise. “Do you know you’re glowing?”
Her eyes were wide in wonder at the pulsing golden radiance illuminating and supporting
pale green luminescence.
“As are you, my mate…” Smiling gently, Drusal lifted her hand into view. The same pale
unearthly light infused her skin.
“This is the sign of a true bond, an exchange of elements.” Satisfaction in the mellow
timbre of a bass growl sent her senses reeling, they were bonded viscerally. There was
no going back, Cat had marked him, and in doing so she had to accept the consequences
of that decision. In practical terms, Drusal was as much her family as Shayla and Jarl.
Oh shit… Grandma would not be a happy bunny when she got to meet her new Grandson.
One more frigging confession to add to a growing list… A chuckle tickled her throat, fighting
for release.
“What amuses thee?” Drusal stroked at the skin of her hand, mesmerised by conjoined
patterns of green and gold flowing in whirling patterns.
“Shayla has been angry with me ever since I asked for help in reviving you from near death.
Having to tell her we began the mating bond is going to send her over the edge.” Biting at
her lip deep in thought, Cat missed the frown of confusion creasing a smooth forehead.
“Over the edge of what…?” Splaying her fingers wide, Drusal played with the tips of her
finger nails, testing the sharpness on his own skin.
A little unnerved by his fixation at the texture of her nails, she withdrew her hand, gaining
his undivided attention. “You are far too literal Lord Vardon.” Brushing her hand over the
fading scratches that marred his cheek, Cat nearly fell into the same trap of fixation.
Wriggling from an embrace that was far too intimate, blushing at the way her thoughts kept
returning to the taste and texture of his lips and tongue, she slid across the bed.
“It means that my falling into a trap Shayla tried to save me from will send her over the
edge of reason. Grandma will be more than happy to slap some sense into me.” A wry grin
twisted her lips. “Then tell me, I told you so…”
“Ahhh…. I begin to see. The Lady Shayla has no love for me.” The frown deepened on his
forehead. “Can we not keep the bonding from her?”
The honeyed bass of his voice was hesitant. Evasion was an acceptable alternative to an
outright lie. Cat’s laugh was deeply infectious. An answering laugh left Drusal’s lips in a
“Not a chance Fur ball… No more hiding, no more skirting the truth. Today is the first day
of the rest of our lives. We begin as we mean to go on, either we share all, or we share
nothing.” Cat opened up the way, for her to confess to a plan that her mate would be less
than happy about. Jumping from the bed she offered him the greeting of fingers to head
and heart in the deference to a loved one. His smile was breath-taking as he responded
with ease and exquisite grace.
Desperate to dive back into bed and wrap herself in the earthy scent of his skin, she drew
a deep breath, inhaling the perfume of wildflowers and intoxicating vanilla. Pheromones
beat at her defences in a tidal wave of sensuous desire.
“Stop it right now Fur ball… Go have a bath while I make breakfast.”
A deep growl reverberated in his throat.
“Threats don’t work either.” Cat denied the pull of his glamour, as a delightful shiver of
anticipation ran down her spine, at a feral response to the distance she placed between
them.
Falling back on the bed Drusal grunted his frustration at a refusal to succumb to a scent
that had driven other females wild with passion.
“I’m not immune to your allure Fur ball. I just have more sense than any of your previous
playmates.” Ducking from the room before he retaliated with physical force, Cat ran
down the stairs more light hearted than she could ever remember, except for an idyllic
childhood spent with Shayla and Udg.
CHAPTER NINE
Drusal was seething with impatience at a body that had betrayed him in a moment when
he had the chance to sheath himself in a female who drove him insane with the desire to
touch and taste every inch of her skin. That she forgave the atrocious slight of releasing
his seed before he had pleasured her, blaming herself for the
loss of control, made him
eager to learn more of a soul who cared more for his distress, than to take offence at what
should have been a gross insult to any female of Royal breeding. Wallowing in a bath as
deep as the pool Iscatya had dropped them in last night, he inhaled the comforting
aroma of tea tree oil. Every container bearing the scent of a familiar restorative was
dumped into the water, regardless of the instructions. Sensing Cat’s return, Drusal’s loins
tightened painfully in the hope she would join him in the manmade pool. He picked up on
tendrils of thought seeping from an overactive brain, listening in as she stripped the bed
of rumpled coverings to replace them with clean bedding.
A glimmer of satisfaction that Fur ball could rest more easily had him groaning with guilt.
His mate showed innate compassion when he felt but the rise of passion. Sinking under
the water to submerge completely, his skin tingled with the restorative power of an ancient
remedy, chasing away aches and pains. Drusal ached for his skin to tingle beneath Iscatya’s
hands, longed for a complete melding of body and spirit, to consummate a complete bond.
Bringing a reluctant mate to the point of total immersion of heart and souls, stayed illusively
out of reach. That he wanted her to be his true mate simply because of what that life force
promised, rather than complying to a command issued by his Queen, left Drusal gasping for
breath as he surged up and out the healing balm of the bath.
He felt a true connection to another being, one denied to the males of the court for eons,
a connection of the heart Istirina had beaten from the body without mercy. A female as
lacking in grace and beauty as the least drudge, driven from the Queen’s sight in a purge of
all that could distract the breeding males, held his heart in a cage of warmth and comfort.
Iscatya may not show the inbred decorum, the willingness to submit to a dominant male…
Drusal’s chuckle echoed back from the white tiled walls of the bathroom. Nay…
She had no idea what it meant to be subservient to her mate’s wishes, did not live by the