The Reluctant Amazon (Alliance of the Amazons) (18 page)

Until the time I have to go.

By the Ancients, how he wanted to tell her all that was in his
heart, how he had grown to love her. The words wouldn’t come,
couldn’t
come until he had things straight in his own
mind.

Her eyes widened and she shook so hard her teeth chattered.
“No. No, you don’t. It was just a—a fling. I—I don’t expect anything. We can
just forget it happened.” She tried to pull away, reaching for her crumpled
towel.

His fingers were digging into the muscles of her arms, but she
frustrated him almost beyond words. “’Twas nae a fling. I wouldn’t shame you
that way. And I don’t mean to forget what happened between us.” He wanted to
shake some sense into that head of hers. “Listen to me, lass. I’ve wanted you
since I first saw you.”

The vulnerability in those dark eyes made him want to prove to
her just what their lovemaking had meant to him. Artair reached down, grabbed
her towel and wrapped it around his hips, tucking it tight. Then he calmly
walked over, picked up his plaid and returned to her side. He draped the
material over Rebecca like a toga, covering those perfect breasts, and scooped
her into his arms. Turning on his heel, he marched back toward the cabins.

“Where—where are you taking me?”

“Home.”

She clung to his neck, staring up at him as he worked his way
through the trees and finally reached the clearing. The cabins came into view.
She squirmed, awkwardly rearranging his plaid over her. When he walked right
past her cabin, she squeaked her surprise. “We shouldn’t—”

He squeezed her tighter against him. “I told you, Becca mine.
’Twas not a fling. I’m taking you home.”

Striding into his cabin, he kicked the door shut behind him. He
let her legs slide down the length of his body as he reluctantly put her back on
her feet.

“This is home?” she asked, looking around.

“My home. ’Tis your home now as well. You shall be staying with
me.” He had to swallow the rest of the thought that she would stay here with him
until Rhiannon returned him to the world. But, now…

Now things were different.

He had no idea how he could ever let her go or how he could
ever leave her behind. Rebecca Massee was a complication he’d never dreamed of,
nor had he had the time to ponder such a beautiful obstacle to all his
plans.

“Everyone will know.” Her teeth tugged on her lower lip.

“I don’t care. I need you here with me.”

“Rhian—”

Artair stopped Rebecca’s words with a kiss.

He’d meant to simply give her a subtle censure so she would
stop worrying about the goddess, but her lips were so sweet, so warm, so
perfect. And she went all soft and loving on him. The kiss turned carnal.

* * *

Rebecca felt like Dorothy over the rainbow. None of this
was real. It couldn’t be. Artair was kissing her, stroking her mouth with that
skilled tongue, coaxing her back to the fiery passion she’d known in Eden.

This was what she wanted—he was who she wanted. His kisses were
so hot, so loving, drowning out all her resistance.

Her heart slammed against her ribcage as naked hope wound its
way through her mind.
I need you,
he’d said. They
weren’t the three words she wanted to say to him, the three words her heart
yearned to hear, but they sounded sweet nonetheless. “Say it again.”

A smile slowly curled his lips. “Say what, sweeting?”

A slow rumble shook the ground. His smile grew.

“Will you hold me down with your wee vines if I don’t tell you
again?”

The rumbling intensified.

“I need you, Becca mine. I—”

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him before he
could say anything else.

The plaid was pressed between their bodies. Artair ravaged her
mouth as he slowly pushed them apart, just until the material slipped between
them and puddled at their feet. His towel quickly followed. Rebecca suddenly
found herself scooped in his arms and laid across his bed. He eased down beside
her.

She wanted to touch him everywhere and smooth her fingers
across every handsome piece of his bronzed skin. She started with the most
interesting part, wrapping her fingers around his erection. He hissed his
approval and took possession of her mouth again, stroking his tongue across
hers.

His skin was like hot silk covering the hardness beneath.
Letting her fingers roam and stroke, she savored his responding growls. He
brushed her hand away before she had a chance to do all she wanted to.

“Nay, lass. You make me want you too much.”

Rolling to his back, he pulled her until she was on top,
straddling him. He gave her braid a tug until she leaned closer so he could free
the restraining band. Slowly, he unplaited her hair, spreading the tresses over
her shoulders.

“So verra beautiful,” he said, putting his hand behind her head
and dragging her down for a long, drugging kiss.

Rebecca rubbed her core against his erection, wanting to show
him how hot he was making her. She’d never warmed to a man the way she responded
to him. He was so masculine, so powerful, yet he’d never hurt her. Leaning down
she pressed her breasts against his chest, wanting to feel the heat of his skin
touching hers.

* * *

Her teasing was driving Artair insane. The hardened
pebbles of her nipples rubbing against his skin burned him like branding irons.
The rush of fire to his groin was exquisite. He needed to be inside her.

With a quick move that made her squeal, he had her on her back.
As he moved to enter her, she wrapped her legs around his hips and raised
herself to meet him halfway.

He almost came from just the feel of her heat sheathing his
cock. Taking deep breaths, trying to hold back the enormity of his response, he
looked into her eyes.

The brown staring back reminded him of the finest
uisge beatha.
And those eyes made him feel just as
drunk as that aged whiskey.

Rebecca rocked her hips against him, and he was lost. The
primitive mating ritual took over as he drove into her again and again, the
sound of the bed squeaking in rhythm with their movements filling the cabin. The
instant her inner muscles tightened around him and she called his name, he gave
up control. He poured his essence deep inside the woman he loved.

Several long moments passed before Artair came back to his
senses. Afraid he was crushing her, he rolled to his back, hauling her up
against his side.

“I—I need you too.”

Her words were hesitant, so soft he almost missed them. While
there were different loving words he wanted to spill from her lips, he’d take
what she offered for now and be satisfied. After the way she’d made love to him,
there was nothing else to feel except content.

Trying to contain the smile that threatened to burst across his
face, Artair teased, “Did you say something, Becca mine? I heard a wee squeak,
but it could just be a field mouse.”

She slapped his chest. He chuckled then and allowed himself to
smile.

“I need you.”

“Aye, lass. I ken it.”

She took a little nip at his chest before soothing the mild
sting with a lick of her tongue.

“You’ll have to give me a few minutes if ye want more loving.
I’m nae a young man anymore.”

Artair leaned over, grabbed his plaid from the floor and draped
it over them. Tugging Rebecca closer against his side, he kissed the top of her
head.

He let the tempo of her breathing lull him to sleep.

Chapter Seventeen

“You best have a good reason for pounding on my door!”
Artair shouted at whoever was incessantly knocking.

Jerking awake when he bellowed, Rebecca blinked back the sleep
from her eyes. Sunlight streamed through the windows. It had been a long time
since she’d slept past dawn—not since she’d become an Amazon. “Who is it?” she
whispered.

He shrugged. A few more knocks, louder this time. “Give me a
moment,” he yelled, “then you may enter.”

She grabbed the plaid that they’d kicked to the foot of the
bed, frantically pulling it up to cover her bare body. “You can’t let anyone
in.”

“Why not?”

“They’ll—they’ll know.”

“Aye, they will. I told you, yer staying here now. ’Tis nae a
secret. ’Twill be fine.”

She’d die from embarrassment.

Megan’s voice filtered through the door. “Artie? Are you in
there?”

“Aye. Come in, lass.”

Rebecca squealed, yanked the plaid over her head and tucked
herself harder against his side. She sure didn’t want to see Megan’s reaction to
finding her in Artair’s bed. Her face was on fire. Even her ears were
burning.

The stupid Scot was chuckling.

“Are you decent?” Megan asked, the creaking floorboards
announcing her entrance.

Then the cabin grew so quiet, Rebecca couldn’t stop herself
from peeking out from under the protective cover.

Megan was grinning like she’d just been crowned Prom Queen.
“Gee. I guess you’re
not
decent. At least not as
decent as I thought.”

“What do you want?” Artair asked.

“I forgot.”

“Then ye may leave.” His tone had changed from gentle lover to
Sentinel.

Fire gave him a cheeky smile. “I remembered.”

“And?” he barked.

She took a deep breath and her grin shifted to a frown. “I
can’t find Sparks. I think she’s gone.”

His sigh filled the air. “I feared as much.”

It was what Rebecca dreaded, and it seemed she wasn’t the only
one.

Another knock rattled the door. Artair bellowed, “Come in!”

She was mortified. “Artair! You can’t—”

But it was too late. Johann came striding through the door,
skidding to a stop next to Megan. His wide-eyed stare made Rebecca’s face flush
hot again.

“I’m interrupting,” Johann said, a note of mirth in his voice.
“I can come back later when you’re…finished.” He glanced at Megan. “Fire and the
Sentinel, huh?”

Megan shrugged, shifting her guilty gaze to Artair.

They’d finally been caught in their game.

“Fire?” Artair arched an eyebrow at Rebecca.

“
Rebecca
is as surprised by this as
I expected her to be.” She waited to see if Artair would follow her lead or
expose their deception. She gave him a poke in the ribs, hoping to push him in
the right direction.

“Aye,
Megan.
It does appear that
Rebecca
is shocked by the turn of events.”

There was another knock. Megan shouted, “Come on in! The party
already started without you!”

“I thought I saw Johann duck in here. Is he here?” Sarita asked
as she and Gina came walking into the cabin. They came to an abrupt halt and
gawked.

How could she possibly get the hell out of the cabin and away
from all of them? As it was, Rebecca felt as exposed as she did in dreams where
she showed up to some incredibly important event butt-naked.

Artair growled at the intruders. “’Tis a sorry day when a man’s
bedchamber becomes as crowded as a marketplace.”

Rebecca had been rearranging the plaid to cover herself better
when Artair tugged it back over his middle. With a frightened squeal, she pulled
harder on the cloth. He let her win the tug of war. Grabbing the pillow from
behind his head, he held it over his lap, stood up and then backed his way to
his bathroom. The laughter of the Amazons followed him. Johann was chuckling but
pretending to cough politely into his fist.

Since someone in this group needed to act like an adult,
Rebecca gathered the material over her. “Why don’t you all go have some
breakfast? Let us have some privacy. We’ll meet you in the mess hall.”

“Breakfast?” Johann asked with a snort. “You’re kidding,
right?”

“No, I’m not kidding. Go get some oatmeal or—”

“It’s lunchtime. You were
sleeping
the better part of the day.”

“Lunch? Seriously?” She glanced around the Spartan cabin,
looking for a clock, but found none.

“You must’ve been mighty tired to
sleep
so late,” Megan drawled.

Rebecca’s patience came to an end, punctuated by the slapping
of some tree branches against the cabin shutters. “That’s it. Get out. Just go
on. We’ll be out to train in a little bit.”

As if oblivious to Rebecca’s manipulation of the trees, Johann
threw another smile at the women. “Time to go, ladies. Let them have a little
bit of privacy.” He led Fire, Water and Air from Artair’s cabin, the thump of
the closing door marking their exit.

Artair came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his
hips. Rebecca had never seen anything sexier. Except when he was naked.

Lord, she had suddenly turned into a sex maniac. The night
they’d shared had been sating, yet she found her thoughts drifting to grabbing
that towel and baring the assets she’d find beneath it. Then she’d pounce on him
and make love to him again.

He opened the door to the large oaken bureau and pulled out a
clean, folded plaid. She had no idea how he put one of those silly things on and
was settling down to watch when he dropped it on the bed.

“Care to explain your trickery?” he asked, the laughter plain
in his handsome green eyes.

She shrugged. “Megan started it when the computers came and
Johann was bitching about Beagan and Dolan not getting them running fast enough.
I just keep it up to make her happy. Torturing Johann seems to be important to
her. We’ll stop if you want.”

“Nay. ’Tis just a harmless game. He’ll figure out which Amazon
is which soon. Megan will have some trouble containing her wee fireworks once he
raises her temper, which I imagine will be verra soon.”

A heavy sigh of appreciation fell from her lips as he stood
there half naked. He shook out the plaid and began to fold it into layers of
what would be pleats when he donned it.

“If you keep looking at me like that, lass, I’ll nae be able to
leave the cabin.”

“Looking at you like what?”

“Like you’d like me to make love to you again.”

She smiled, wondering if her cheeks would ever stop feeling
warm. “I would. But we should both get dressed, get something to eat and find
out what happened to Sparks. I can’t believe she’d leave Avalon. How could she
do that, knowing Jin’s out there somewhere, targeting all of us? I have no idea
how to locate her if she’s gone. I always feel Megan. Most of the time, I can
pick up on Gina and Sarita. But Sparks is harder for me to link with. And she
won’t be able to find her way back.” A passing thought troubled her.
“Artair?”

“Aye?”

“You needed me to find Megan. Remember? On the day you came to
get me, you needed me to find Fire.”

He nodded, a wry smile crossing his lips. “Aye. And you did yer
job well.”

“Then how did you find me? You came to me first.”

“Ah, ’tis a good question,” he said as he worked his way into
his kilt. “Once you were called, I was able to find you. Just as Helen was the
first I went to in the last generation, then she led me to Sparks. When the
Amazons are called by the Guardian, I’m sent to fetch Earth first. She helps
find her sisters.”

“So you’ve always known where I was?”

“Nay. Not ’til you were called. ’Tis a gift to the Sentinel
from Rhiannon. As soon as Earth is called, I can go to her.”

“I see. But then why can’t you find Helen now?”

“A mystery. I assumed I lost touch with her because she
rejoined the world. It was many years ago, but I suppose I should have
questioned that loss more.” He shook his head. “’Twas not something I felt the
need to dwell on since there was no danger. Each generation eventually left or
passed on.”

“What did you do when the Amazons left?”

His mouth pulled into a grim line. “I kept watch, hoping I
wouldn’t have to call them back or bring in a new group.”

“You waited here in Avalon? Alone?”

“Aye. Alone. The goddesses would pop in from time to time, and
I had Beagan and Dolan for company.”

No wonder he wanted to go back to the real world. Years of
isolation with only capricious goddesses and changelings who seemed more
comfortable as rabbits than in their own skin had to have taken their toll.

More questions popped in her mind. “How did Johann find Gina
and Sarita?”

“You were called before Johann was ready. The goddesses feared
bringing the four of you together ’til your new Sentinel was able to train you.
I was given you and Megan while Ganga and Ix Chel found the other Amazons and
brought them to him.”

New Sentinel.

The words hung like an ominous cloud over the room.

“I need to go.” Rebecca wrapped the plaid they’d used as a
blanket around her body and quietly headed to the door. Before she ducked
outside, she glanced over her shoulder, a plea to have him stay in Avalon on her
lips. The words wouldn’t come. His path was set, the path he chose and so richly
deserved, and it led away from her.

She left without a farewell.

* * *

Letting her walk out of the cabin was one of the hardest
things Artair had ever done. His mind was in turmoil, all his plans for a normal
life lying like litter around his feet.

He wanted to call Rebecca back, to tell her he wasn’t leaving
her, that he wasn’t abandoning her to another man to watch after her safety.
That thought alone turned his stomach. Artair was her Sentinel. He was the one
who’d taught her, coached her, trained her. And he was the one who loved her.
How could he possibly leave her now?

But if he stayed, would he be able to let her be an Amazon?

Artair had allowed his feelings to get in the way when they’d
tried to rescue Trishna. Now that he realized Rebecca was the love he’d waited
for his whole life—his whole incredibly long life—how could he knowingly send
her into danger? How could he watch her fight revenants and demons and not want
to rescue her? How could he truly be her Sentinel?

Visions of Amazons he’d known and lost haunted him. Trishna’s
lifeless body filled his thoughts as the face slowly changed until Rebecca
stared back at him with glazed, dead eyes. A cold shudder ran the length of his
spine.

Pinning his brooch over his heart as he’d done every day since
he became the MacKay, Artair realized the irony of honoring a clan long gone.
What was he returning to by taking back his mortality? He’d wanted a life. A
mortal life. A wife. A son. Those dreams seemed to have turned to ashes now.

What woman could he possibly take to wife if he left his heart
in Avalon? What other woman would do when the one he wanted was laying her life
on the line without thanks or recognition for her sacrifice? Why couldn’t he
take Rebecca as his bride? Why couldn’t she bear his seed and give him the son
he so desperately wanted?

Because she was an Amazon.

Amazons didn’t become wives. They didn’t become mothers.

Amazons died.

The fact Artair was even considering her in those roles showed
just how utterly confusing his world had become. He was trying to merge reality
and fantasy in his Becca.

Taking a long look around his cabin, his home for so many
years, it suddenly felt cold. Empty.

No closer to an answer about his future, Artair walked out,
slamming the door behind him.

* * *

After Rebecca finished her walk of shame across the
compound, Megan was waiting in her cabin. Sprawled on the still-made bed, Fire
was grinning like a cat with yellow feathers still clinging to her mouth. “It
appears he wasn’t too good-looking for you after all. So?”

“So what?”

“Sooo… How the hell was he?”

Rebecca picked up the clean pants and cotton shirt lying on the
foot of the bed. “You’re crazy if you think I’m answering that question.” She
shut the bathroom door behind her, dropping the soft plaid and donning the clean
clothes. She wanted a shower, but didn’t figure she’d have enough time. The day
was already half spent, and Sparks was missing. A shower was a luxury she
couldn’t afford.

Before she left the bathroom, she grabbed Artair’s plaid.
Holding it to her face, she breathed in his comforting woodsy scent that clung
to the cloth as if it was woven into the threads. The notion was silly, but she
wanted to wrap the plaid around herself and gain comfort from his essence.
Folding the material into a neat bundle, she wondered if he would notice if she
kept it.

Megan was still grinning when Rebecca came out of the bathroom.
“You and the Sentinel, huh?”

“I’m not talking to you about this, Megan.” Opening her bureau,
she slid the folded plaid deep inside and closed the door. She wouldn’t give it
back unless he asked. Her heart ached as she pictured some lonely night, years
from now, when he was gone. She’d wrap the material around herself and dream of
what they’d shared.

“Ah, come on. We’re sisters.” Megan pouted her lip. “I can’t
have sex. At least not here. The least you can do is tell me about your
escapades. All I could tell was last night you were very,
very
happy. Tell me!”

Rebecca ran a brush through her hair, trying to organize the
tangles into a ponytail. “No.”

“He
was
good, wasn’t he?” She
waited a beat before she slammed her fist into the quilt. “Damn, I knew he’d be
good. A guy that handsome—”

“Megan…” If she tried to growl like Sparks and Artair, could
she get Megan to give up her inquisition?
No,
because she’d be doing the same thing had she found Megan in bed with
Johann.