feet dragging in the mud. The soap seemed to have floated away.
Why was he here?
“I take care of him just fine.” Liadan stood looking at him with
one hand on her hip. She seemed supremely sure of her own
attractions. “He loves me, you know.”
“No, he doesn’t.” Even with all his trouble, Cian knew he would
remember if Beck was in love. If Beck was in love, then it followed
that he would be in love, too. Liadan had never understood the link
between symbiotic twins. She treated them like completely separate
beings when they weren’t. If Beck’s heart was engaged, then Cian
wouldn’t be able to help himself. He would fall in love, too. He shook
his head. Why had the name Meggie suddenly shot through his brain?
He didn’t know a Meggie. There wasn’t anyone named that in the
village. Or was there?
Liadan tossed the towel his way. “You’re just too stupid to
remember. Beck and I are getting married one of these days.”
Cian waded out of the pond, wrapped the towel around his waist,
and started back up toward the cottage. He still remembered where he
lived, at least. He didn’t pick up the clothes he had brought with him.
They didn’t matter. “No, you’re not. He won’t marry you. You aren’t
a bondmate.”
Liadan kept pace. “He loves me, and there are no more bondmates
to be had. He needs to marry, Cian. He needs to have children. You
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know it’s true. He is too important to just languish out here in this
piss-poor excuse for a plane. He’s let you hold him back far too long.”
Cian’s heart ached a little at the thought of children. He’d thought
he’d have a few by now. He loved children, and they always loved
him. He’d started a small school when he and Beck had settled in this
village. It hadn’t taken long before an entire community of immigrant
Fae had built up around the former heirs. They had brought their
children with them, or adopted the orphans they found along the way.
Those children needed to be educated. Cian could remember looking
at their little faces. He’d loved teaching them.
“Where am I?” Cian asked out loud.
Liadan exhaled heavily. “You really are far gone, aren’t you? You
won’t remember a thing I say five minutes from now, you poor
excuse for a royal. You should lay down, Cian. You should fade. The
world would be better if you faded.”
Cian’s eyes clouded over. He’d heard this before. He heard that
voice when he thought about getting up from time to time. He would
wonder about something. His curiosity would urge him to get out of
bed, but then that voice came back. Beck would be better if he faded.
Sometimes he would wake up, and she would be waiting at his
bedside, whispering the words over and over until he believed them.
There was some sort of smoke that went with the episodes. He always
felt so much farther away after he breathed that smoke.
“Get back in your bed, Cian,” Liadan said in a commanding voice.
“It’s time to fade. You’ll be happier, and so will Beckett.” The voice
became soothing. He felt her hands on his shoulders. They were cold.
“It will be nice, won’t it? You can go someplace warm. You can be
with your mother and your sister again. You miss them, don’t you?”
“Oh, yes.” A picture of his little sister formed in his mind. She’d
been his playmate. Beck had been too serious for that. He’d always
been with their father in some important meeting, even when they had
been young children. Bronwyn had been the one to run through the
palace halls, screaming with laughter. She’d been the one to explore
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the river with him, and make fun of him when he started to notice
girls.
She had died in his arms.
Something was wet on his face. Cian realized he was crying. Yes,
it was best to fade. He couldn’t help Beck. He was weak. Beck would
have a better chance if he was gone.
Woodenly, Cian turned toward the cottage. He heard Lia’s
and this time he wouldn’t get up for anything. He would be stalwart.
He would fade, and the world would be a better place. He walked
around to the front of the cottage. He would bolt all the doors.
“Beck?”
It was another feminine voice that pulled him away from his
mission, but this one he didn’t recognize. He looked down and saw a
petite, curvy woman with a mass of wavy brown hair. It wasn’t
brown. There was red and blonde in it, too. It was a glorious auburn.
The lighter places caught the late afternoon light and sparkled. It was
beautiful and a little wild. A proper Fae lady would never wear her
hair so wild. Her clothes were travelling clothes, and they weren’t
perfectly proper either. She had left the top of the neck unbuttoned.
Cian was fascinated by her creamy skin. He could see the soft rise of
her breasts. She was beautiful.
“No, sweetheart,” a very familiar voice corrected her. Cian
recalled that his cousin had shown up last night, riding that flying
vehicle of his. Cian used to love to ride on the back of it. Dante had
thrown a fit when he tried to take it apart, though. “That’s not Beck.”
“Leave me alone,” Cian said, trying to take his eyes off the lovely
woman in front of him. There was nothing cold about that one. Her
hazel eyes were looking up at him with great concern. Those eyes
pulled at him. Still, he heard himself talking to his cousin. “Go away,
Dante. I have to go to bed. I’m tired.”
Dante’s sigh told of his weariness of the subject. “Not again.”
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The woman reached out and put her hand to his chest. Her skin
was warm after the chill of the pond. “No, Cian. You need to get dry,
and I need to brush out your hair. It’s a mess. It hasn’t been brushed
in weeks, it looks like.”
Her small hands suddenly fussed in his hair. She played gently
with it, and Cian liked it. Her little hands felt like the flutter of pixie wings against his skin.
“What is your name?” Cian looked down on her in wonder. She
was so beautiful. She was a lovely siren, calling him away from his
duty. He had something to do, but he’d rather stay here with her.
She smiled up, and all the light and warmth in the world was in
her face. “I’m Meggie.”
Cian felt such a rush of emotion at the sound of the name. He
pulled her into his arms and hugged her with all the strength he had
left. After a moment of startled surprise, she wound her arms around
his chest and held him close. He didn’t know why he felt this way, but
he knew she had saved him from something. A word to describe her
leapt to his addled brain. It was the only clear thing in his head.
“Wife,” he whispered in her ear. It was a prayer.
* * * *
Beck settled back in his chair after suppertime. The
fire blazed in
front of him, filling the cottage with warmth. Meg rocked in the chair
beside him.
“What’s wrong with him?” Meg asked. Beck looked at her pretty
face and felt a contentment he hadn’t felt in a long time.
They were both pleasantly full from the meal Beck had produced.
It had been simple, but Meg had eaten the chicken, potatoes, and
carrots ravenously. Beck was pleased that Meg had gotten Cian to eat.
Cian had followed her around like a lost child. By the time Beck had
come back to the brugh, she had gotten Cian inside the cottage and managed to sit him in front of the fire with a blanket around his body.
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While Beck had prepared dinner, Meg had patiently worked a
comb through Cian’s long, dark hair. It had been a tangled mess, but
Cian hadn’t complained. He’d sat quietly. He’d let her tug and pull
until his hair was straight and shiny. Cian had then laid his head in her
lap and promptly fallen asleep. He hadn’t woken until dinner was
ready. Beck had been happy that Meg seemed content to sit and rest
while Cian slept. They looked good together.
“What’s wrong with Cian? The same thing that was wrong with
me,” Beck replied quietly. “He is out of balance. He needed to be
bonded five years ago. For me, it came out as rage. For Cian, he is
dissolving into chaos. It’s worse than I thought. He’s better when I’m
around, you see. I had no idea he was having episodes where he
forgot years of our lives.”
Dante had been the one to tell him that bit of news. He had pulled
Beck aside for a long discussion while Cian contentedly slept in
Meg’s lap. He’d explained that Cian had barely remembered where he
was when Dante had spoken to him the night before. Cian had been
confused and slightly scared when Dante had awakened him. The
vampire had to explain the situation to the sidhe every time he woke.
“The sooner you bond with him, the better. You need tonight to
rest, but tomorrow it should be done,” Beck said soberly.
After the events earlier in the day and the arduous travel, Meg
needed to rest. The bonding could be intense. Beck was a little
worried about Cian’s state of mind, but the bonding had to be done.
Beck was suddenly intensely aware that he was alone with his
wife. Cian was sleeping, and Dante had left before dinner, saying he
had someone he needed to see. That was bullshit. Beck knew he was
going to the tavern. He wouldn’t be back before morning, if then. It
didn’t matter. Beck had what he needed from Dante. He’d used the
communication device to speak with Susan. She had promised Beck a
good salary to clear out the tunnels in Dellacorp’s latest mining
project. They were full of some form of monstrous bat. Vampires
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didn’t like bats. He hadn’t mentioned his impending trip to his wife.
He didn’t want to disrupt the happy place they had found tonight.
Meg left her own seat and slipped to her knees beside him. She
laid her head on his lap, and Beck felt his cock respond. It lengthened
to painful proportions. He would go slowly with her tonight, he
promised himself. The need to make love to her was riding him hard,
but he forced himself to relax. It felt like forever, but he’d taken her
twice the day before. He needed to show her he wasn’t an animal who
would fall on her at every given opportunity, even if that was what he
felt like doing. He was her husband. She had been gracious and gentle
with Cian, and he owed her nothing less.
Beck let his head fall back against the wood of the rocking chair.
It had been a rough day. Between the kelpie in the morning and the
painful conversation he’d had with Liadan this afternoon, he was
spent. He hadn’t wanted to hurt the widow, but he needed to make it
plain he wouldn’t see her any more. Liadan had taken the news of his
marriage with tears, but she had been a lady about it. She had
promised to help Meg fit in.
“He seemed better at dinner,” Meg murmured.
She practically purred when he stroked her hair. She was so sweet
and responsive. Beck wondered if her pussy was purring yet. His cock
began throbbing. The simple fact that she was so close made him long
to shove her down and thrust into her soft, welcoming body.
“Your presence makes a huge difference.” Beck let his fingers
play with the nape of her neck. “I felt it the minute I met you. Even
before we bonded, I was calmer, more centered.”
Meg looked up at him, her pretty eyes wide. “I have to sleep with
him to form the bond?”
“No.” Beck sensed her hesitation. It worried him. Growing up on
the human plane probably hadn’t prepared her for the reality of taking
on two husbands. “Cian can form the bond without intercourse. I
could have, too. I just lost my head. I pushed you.”
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“Don’t apologize again, please,” she said with a sigh. “I have fond
memories of that arena, even if you don’t.” Beck wasn’t sure what to
make of that, but she continued without explaining herself. “I’m just
not sure what I think of sleeping with two men, even if they do look a
lot alike.”
Beck snorted. “We’re identical, Meggie. Our own mother had
trouble telling us apart until we opened our mouths.”
Her cute little nose wrinkled. “I guess you look that way at first,
but I can tell.” She got up and eased herself into his lap. Her hands
framed his face. “You have a small scar right here.” She leaned over
and feathered a kiss above his left eye. “And your mouth,” she said as
she lightly kissed his lips, “is a little bit wider than Cian’s.”
“Is it now?” Beck asked as his heart started to pound. His blood
worked its way from his brain down to his cock. Her lips were petal-
soft against his. Everything about his Meggie was soft and sweet.
Goddess, how had he come to need her so much in so short a time?
Meg nodded. “Cian’s hair is slightly longer than yours, and his
eyes are a shade darker.”
“I don’t think anyone has ever noticed that.” Beck tried to stay
focused on what she was saying. It was hard because she was wearing
one of his old shirts as a night gown, and he could see the swell of her
breasts. If she moved just a little to the right, he might be able to see
her nipple. He loved that she was wearing something of his. It marked
her as his wife, his lover.
Her face was bunched up in a distressed frown. “You’re different
people, Beck. You’re brothers. Where I come from, one woman
doesn’t sleep with two brothers. It’s considered cheating, and most
men wouldn’t put up with it.”
It was Beck’s turn to frown. How could he make her understand?
“But we’re not different. There might be minor differences in our
appearance, but we’re symbiotic twins. We share a soul, Meggie.
He’s the other half of me. You need to understand that we’re married,
and that means you’re married to Cian
, too. I won’t push you into bed
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with him. He would never force you, but if you can’t accept him, it’s
going to be hard on us. We would never cheat on you. Cian will never
take another woman as long as he’s married to you.”
“I just need a little time. I’ll do whatever it takes to get Cian
healthy.” She wiggled in his lap, seemingly trying to find a
comfortable position, but every wriggle of her sexy hips went straight
to his engorged cock. “I also would like to explore our relationship a
little. Where I come from, newly married couples take this vacation
together. It’s called a honeymoon. The new couple gets away from
everything and relaxes and spends a whole lot of time together. They
really get to know each other.”
His hand closed over her hip. He wondered how to gently
maneuver her to the floor. He could take her in front of the fireplace
so she would stay warm. He would keep the blankets around her, and
this time he would be in control of his baser instincts. He would very
gently make love to her.
“Sweetheart,” Beck said soothingly, “I think that’s a brilliant idea.
I would like very much to know what pleases you.”
“I like it when you kiss me,” she suggested.
That he could do, Beck decided with a satisfied sigh. He pulled
Meg close and nudged her face up to his. “Give me your lips, a
chumann.”
She obediently tilted her head up. He would have Cian teach her
Gaelic. Though almost everyone now spoke the vampires’ language,
Beck enjoyed the old ways. He wanted to tell her he loved her in his
own tongue. He wanted her to know she was his darling.
She was sweet in his arms. She clung to him and allowed him to
take control of the kiss. It should have made it easier for Beck, but
every time he felt her soften, his need rose like a wildfire. He meant
for the kiss to be gentle, a promise of the way their lovemaking would
go this evening. She was so soft under him that his dominant instincts
shoved their way past his defenses.
She is mine.
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He had fought for her, offered his blood to possess her. His hands
tightened on her arms. He deepened the kiss, his tongue forcefully