A surge of lust tore through him, and a growl escaped his throat. He drew in a deep, cooling breath and pressed his forehead to hers. "I need you too,mo chridhe, but we must wait until we say our vows."
She nodded and averted her gaze. "That would be smart. Only fools rush in."
Aye, he felt like a fool, for he'd near lost his head over this mystifying lass. Where had she come from, and why had he dreamed of her before she appeared? How could his father have predicted her arrival? He understood none of it.
Regardless, he had to protect her at all costs. Wilona MacRae strove to thwart their union. Would Father John recover and oversee their vows in time?
Chapter 9
Before dawn, Gavin slipped from his bed where he had gotten little sleep, partly because of the stunning kiss he'd shared with Dani. His unruly body had refused to calm.
As well, his concern over Father John gnawed at him. Of course, he wanted the priest to recover for his own sake, but also for Gavin's. At the moment, he was the sole clergyman about to perform a wedding. If they had to search out another, it could take days or weeks. Plus, with Wilona and her henchmen lurking about, waiting to sabotage his efforts, 'twould be dangerous for any of them to venture far from the castle. He trusted that Finch, being a well-trained and robust soldier, would make it to Torr's clan's holdings to retrieve the physician.
Gavin's father used to have a small army of guards and warriors—more than threescore. 'Twas a tragedy they had all left except for Finch and Ewan. Gavin had to ensure they would return once the scourge vanished.
His clan's future depended on one lovely lass.
After wrapping a plaid around his waist, he crept to Dani's chamber and opened the door. A dim glow from the window revealed the outline of her form, still tangled among the sheets and blankets. Leaving the door ajar, he slipped closer and observed her beautiful face in the blue-violet light of the magic hour.
He wished to kiss her forehead and watch her for a long while, but the time drew near. Dawn stole into his bones, spawning the urge to fly.
After leaving her room and closing the door, he bounded up the narrow stone steps to the battlements, five stories above the barren land. As the sun ascended, a shaft of blood-orange light speared through the soft violet predawn sky. The sharpening light beamed from behind the granite mountains in the east, stirring the animal within, but he could not yet see the edge of the sun.
Why couldn't the curse be extinguished already?
'Twas too early. He'd not yet wed her or consummated their union. He detested being patient, but he had to wait for Father John to awaken and recover. Gavin glanced skyward.Please.
But he was too jaded to pray. Too cursed. No deity would hear the prayers of someone like him.
The ravings of his father echoed from one of the windows below, slicing him to the core.
The first blinding ember of sunlight knifed over the mountain. He drew in a deep breath, held it, and waited. Though he longed for a different outcome, he knew what would happen.
Pain pierced his body as all his muscles contracted and shrank. The plaid dropped. With his altered body, Gavin soared from the ramparts upon great black-feathered wings, outstretched to catch the wind.
The deserted barmkin, the empty fields, and heathery moor passed swiftly beneath him. His six-foot wingspan took him far and fast. With sharpened vision, his eyes scanned the ground a great distance below. No rabbits or mice scurried about. Of course, they feared him as much as the people did.
He glided down over the loch toward the village his clan had once occupied. Now, most of the cottages sat with moldering thatch and dim, dusty interiors, devoid of humanity. Some of his people had died of a plague, and the rest fled to other villages and towns. He missed them.
He perched in a lone oak, its withered limbs outstretched with no hope of leaves unfurling again. He had always loved this tree, had climbed it as a child. But last year, it had died because of him.
Disturbed, he emitted a high-pitched screech which echoed back at him. The sound drifted away on the cool breeze, leaving empty silence surrounding him.
He missed her. Dani. His future wife, so lovely, sleeping in her bed. Last night, she had been warm and eager, beyond tempting. More than anything, he wished to be a man lying beside her now. And he would be… soon.
Flapping his wings, he launched into the air and propelled himself back to the castle. Drawing in his wings to stop the momentum, he landed on the battlements. He hated the daytime, for no one dared come near him. Even Ewan was leery of him in this form. He thought Gavin would rip him apart with sharp talons and hooked beak.
What would Dani think of him in this form? Doubtless, he would terrify her. He must not let her find out.
∞∞∞
Dani woke, squinting against the sunlight streaming through the window.
"Where am I?" she muttered groggily and glanced around at the stone walls. "Oh yeah. Crap." At least she had gotten a good night's sleep and felt better.
She remembered Gavin's proposal with sudden clarity. How did she feel about being engaged? For several years, she'd wished for a fiancé in a romantic fantasy kind of way. But reality had turned out far different than she'd imagined.
Since she'd only known Gavin a brief time, their union smacked of an old-fashioned marriage of convenience. She felt torn because, on the one hand, she liked Gavin and found him enticing; on the other… what the hell had she been thinking?
