Powerful Magic (48 page)

          
To Kenric's surprise, Arwydd came to his support.
 
"With a warrior such as he, used to discipline, it will be possible.
 
Difficult, yes, especially since they are soul mates.
 
But Kenric is strong.
 
He knows the magic will leave him if he does not remain celibate."
 

          
Touched by the elderly Faerie's faith in him, Kenric inclined his head.
 
"It is so."

          
"The fate of our people - and that of humankind too - rests on this battle."
 
Vychan reminded them.
 
"Do you really want to chance it?"

          
Lord Brighton, who had been allowed to sit in on this council meeting by virtue of his connection with Edmyg, stood.
 
He addressed the entire room, careful to keep his gaze fixed on Kenric.
 
"There is no need for him to chance anything.
 
I would have the woman.
 
I can keep her well satisfied."

          
Megan gasped at the insult.
 
Kenric went still, one hand going to the hilt of his sword.
 
Other men had died for lesser slurs than this.
 

          
Apparently unconcerned, Lord Brighton marked the gesture with a wary smile.
 
"Wait before you run me through.
 
At least let me have my say."

          
Glaring at him, Kenric tamped down his fury.
 
"There is nothing to hear.
 
She is mine."

          
No one spoke.
 
All the faeries, Rhiannon included, watched to see what Lord Brighton would do.

          
"I have land."
 
Lord Brighton said, his voice casual.
 
"As you have seen.
 
Miles and miles of fertile, untouched soil."

          
Kenric inclined his head in a stiff nod.
 
"So you do."

          
"Though you are not her father, nor her guardian, I would give you much land in exchange for her.
 
As a bride price."

          
Land.
 
Kenric smiled grimly.
 
Once his hearts only desire, the offer no longer tempted him.
 
What good would the land be, without Megan to live beside him?
 

          
Worthless.
 
He would have land of his own someday, but not like this.
 

          
He saw Rhiannon's gaze sharpen.
 
She knew how badly he yearned to build his own keep.
 
But the truth of it was that he yearned for Megan more.

          
Laying his sword hand on the top of Megan's head, Kenric stared at the pompous Lord Brighton.
 
"Megan is not for sale, nor is she unpromised.
 
She is to be my bride."
 

          
"What of this Lord Roger you mentioned before?
 
Her betrothed?"
 
The other man's smug tone further infuriated Kenric, but he would not waste his valuable energy punishing one as harmless and foolish as he.
 
Lord Brighton, though tall and broad, had the soft body of a man of leisure.
 
Kenric doubted he even knew how to defend himself, never mind using a sword.

          
"Lord Roger is no longer an issue."

          
"Ah, you have found him then?"

          
"Megan and I have settled this between us."
 
Kenric held up his hand.
 
"Speak of this no more.
 
Megan is the other half of my soul.
 
As such we cannot be parted."

          
Slowly the other man's smile faded.
 
"This cannot be.
 
It is because of her that I was able to escape the spell that kept me trapped in my keep.
 
I love her."

          
"Nay."
 
Rhiannon stood, making a queenly gesture of dismissal, "You only think that you do.
 
Your own soul half waits for you, if you will but search for her."

          
"Fools."
 
With a disgusted growl of protest, Lord Brighton stomped out of the room.
 

          
Kenric squeezed Megan's shoulder.
 
"Thank you."
 
Megan told him, her voice soft, her eyes luminous.
 

          
He thought about kissing her then, Lord Brighton and the council be damned, but he had this other thing to settle.
 
The issue of him and Megan being together at night.

          
So he waited until the room had quieted, fixing each faerie there with his gaze.
 

          
"We cannot be parted," he repeated deliberately,

knowing they all listened and watched.
 
"Even at night."

          
Rhiannon nodded her agreement.
 
Arwydd and Vychan immediately resumed their argument.
 
Again Kenric waited, while the talk eddied and flowed in murmurs around him.
 
Through it all, Megan kept her hand firmly in his, though he sensed the questions that she longed to ask.
 

          
Finally it was Rhiannon who cut to the heart of things.
 
"What choice do we have?
 
They are soul halves, after all. If my brother wishes to do this, how can we deny him?"

          
Smiling grimly, Kenric settled a look upon his face that dared any of them to try.

          
It was Drystan the sorrowful who led them off into an intense discussion on the merits of temptation and how it could strengthen the will.

          
Kenric watched with amusement as, the original issue forgotten yet again, they clustered around Drystan, arguing fiercely.

          
Tugging gently on his hand, Megan stood, her ripe lips curving in amusement.
 
"Shall we go?"
 
She murmured.

          
Though he knew she had not meant the husky suggestion to sound, well,
suggestive
, still his body responded instantly.
 
He groaned.
 
It would be a very long night indeed.

          
Kenric growled his answer and, tugging her along beside him, made his way towards her room.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

          
Megan had never heard of anything so preposterous. Not make love?
 
What possible difference could
that
make? Maybe it was something like the restrictions placed on athletes. She'd heard they had to restrain themselves, though it seemed to her that they seldom bothered.
 

          
How would anyone know?
 
Eying Kenric's broad shoulders and muscular arms, she knew
she
wasn't disciplined enough to lay beside him and not want to love him.
 

          
When they reached her room, she preceded him inside.
 
As soon as the door closed, she launched herself into his arms and pulled his head down to give him a deep, satisfying kiss.
 

          
As she'd known it would, passion instantly flared between them.
 
She felt the fine shudder go through him, felt too the hard evidence of his desire pressing into her belly, which thrilled her.
 
Now he would take her, now he would carry her to the bed, lie beside her and bury himself deep inside her.
 

          
She shivered, anticipation and desire making her feel feverish.
 
His hands roamed over her, stroking her skin, inflaming her already heightened sensitivity.
 
Though it was she who had begun the kiss, he took over, deepening it, possessing her mouth with a fierceness that told thrilled her to the bone.

          
Melting against him, she molded her breasts against his chest, undulating her sensitive nipples and moaning into his mouth.

          
"Nay!"
 
He pushed her away gently, his voice cracking with regret.
 
"We must not."

          
Stunned, Megan could only gape at him.
 
"You really mean this?"
 

          
He frowned, looking every bit the fierce warrior she'd first met.
 
Except in his eyes, where she could see the pain warring with a fierce desire equal to the one she felt.
 

          
Still he said nothing, merely continuing to gaze at her, his jaw set and body rigid.
 

          
She remembered what they had said in the council chambers.
 
"They spoke the truth?"
 
She whispered, still only half believing.
 
"The magic really won't work?"
 

          
He nodded, keeping his hands clenched in fists at his side.
 
"Today I could do nothing.
 
I had no power, none at all."

          
Blankly she stared.
 
"You--"

          
"We made love last night."

          
"But how do you know for certain?"

          
"God's blood, woman."
 
he roared, "think you that I want this?
 
I have thought of nothing but my need for you all day. Yet would you have me cede victory to Myrddin so easily?"

          
Her own body throbbing, Megan forced a smile.
 
With every ounce of dignity she possessed, she took several deep breaths, willing herself to calmness.
 
If she felt shaky and weak, she was determined not to show it.
 

          
Keeping her chin up, she marched over to stand in front of the man she loved.
 
Careful not to touch him, she gazed up at him hoping he could see her love shining in her eyes.
 
The idea that she could tempt a man such as he gave her an odd feeling of power, one that she would tuck away inside her for now and take out and examine later.
 

          
"Maybe they were right then.
 
You should not sleep here."
 
           
He gave her a look of such anguish that she took a step back.
 

          
"I cannot bear to be away from you."
 
He admitted, his voice a low rumble.
 

          
Heart swelling, she shook her head.
 
Never had she loved him more, this giant warrior who cherished her so well, even if he could not yet bring himself to speak the words.
 

          
"I don't want..."
 
She hung her head, ashamed to finish the sentence and tell him.