Highland Shift (Highland Destiny: 1) (47 page)

“Before you can do that, you both must come to terms with what happened. Intentions are not enough. You must build your trust again; your lives depend on it. You must make yourselves strong so that no enchantment can e’er again tear you asunder. What is it that
fashes you, lad?”

“
Och, I should have come to you sooner and asked. I wished to learn the Eternal Vow spell. I wish to be bound through time to Elena, if she will have me,” he smiled at Elena. “Will you prepare it for our return?”

“By all that’s sacred, Brigid, did you not tell them?” Earnan roared.

Unperturbed, Brigid smiled. Instead of answering, she asked a question.

“Tell me, Faolan, what was it like the first time you kissed the lass?” She went on without waiting for an answer. “How about the first time you made love? Did you ever offer your life for hers? What happened then?”

Elena’s eyes grew wide and she turned to Faolan, but he stared at Brigid.

“Aye, lad,” she continued softly. “I doona’ know the where or the how of it, but she is already your mate, you have already spoken the vows in some life.

He turned to look at Elena, “’Twas the shift, lass,” he said wonderingly.

“Aye,” Elena replied leaping into his arms and wrapping her arms and legs around him.

He cupped her head reverently in his hands and looked deep into her eyes, before capturing her mouth with his. The first time he’d kissed her, Elena had felt the earth shift around them at the magick of their connection. This time the shift started on a shiver and ended on a sigh. It was the in-between that had Lilly sitting on the deck, and everyone else staggering.

****

Elena leaned back into Faolan’s embrace, as they stood together on the rear deck of the boat. The black velvet sky hung heavy with a thick blanket of stars, the Milky Way low over their heads. It was quiet out there, the only sounds the gentle lapping of the water against the hull, and Faolan’s breath near her ear.

“Tell me why you were sad, Faolan, when you found out I might have Fae blood. You know I don’t know the legends. Does that mean something is wrong with me?”

He pulled her hips back and she inhaled sharply at the feel of his erection pressing against her back. He was quiet so long that she thought maybe he wasn’t going to answer, but he was merely gathering his thoughts.

“’Tis said the Fae have a special power and a beauty so compelling that if a man is touched by a Fae princess his soul will be lost to her forever. If ‘tis a male Fae, the woman is ruined for any other man, for none can match the attraction and sexual prowess.”

Elena leaned away from him slightly and looked back over her shoulder, trying to see his face. He smiled down at her, and she felt no trace of the earlier sadness. He leaned down and covered her mouth with his, kissing her gently for long slow minutes. When he straightened, she pressed her back against him once more, and waited.

“I was sad because I thought Brigid was telling me that I had these feelings because you were part Fae. I didna want my love to be part of a Fae enchantment. I have been irresistibly drawn to you from the moment we met. Loving you is like breathing, something I canna live without.

“I am not sad about it anymore. If your being part Fae was the only reason I loved you, then I would still be a lucky man, because you love me back. We know ‘tis much more than that, now. We know we found each other and we canna resist each other because we have been bound through eternity. You are my destiny, and I know I will love you, and you will love me through the end of time.

Faolan scooped her up and carried her to the
flybridge, and they made love under the stars. Their hearts were healing. They were beginning their life journey together. They were off to see new lands, learn magick, and someday, they would make babies. Elena marveled that this magnificent Highlander loved her. They made the very earth shift with the power of their love. She knew that whatever adventures awaited, they would face them together.

Eternity. That was a concept she could live with.

~~The Beginning~~

About the Author

Laura likes it hot, which helps explain why she ended up Arizona after living in such diverse places as Japan, New Orleans, Maine, and Florida. She once enjoyed hobbies such as gardening and travel. Now the characters in her head compel her to tell their stories to her readers, so she writes. She shares her home with her husband and youngest son, two dogs, and a cat. Laura also writes under the name L.E. Harner, and her books can be found at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, All Romance eBooks, and other online retailers.

Connect with Laura at:

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/lauraharner

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Or even better…check out the website at http://lauraharner.com

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