Page 26 of Anywhere

I didn’t have to search hard for Rhys. My blood pressure shot through the roof as my eyes locked on the man on the stage. The connection I’d been trying to fight erupted in my chest, forcing me to stagger against the wall for support.

His voice was deep and rich, and the song he was singing made me want to jump up there and sing with him. The corner of my mouth curled up. Maybe the spirits did know what they were doing.

Rhys

The music was pouring out of me tonight. I’d given up trying to decipher what I felt or should feel. I let myself go and didn’t think about anything else. My foot tapped along with the mass of feet stomping and hands clapping in time to the upbeat song. I hit the pedal, and a filthy sound blared through the speakers as I started into the riff part of the song that always brought a cheer.

There was nothing quite like this. The world narrowed into a single moment of peace and erased the feeling of being crushed by the weight of my responsibilities. I’d always been an island floating on my own, weathering any storm, but right now, at this moment, I wanted a few minutes of calm before I needed to take the head winds on again. For me, that could only come from music. The lyrics about needing a vacation from my life were fitting and called to me in a way they never had before.

“You have to excuse me. I’m not at my best!” The whole room hollered at the same time. I closed my eyes and let my body move to the music. “Faster!” The crowd, which had stuffed the pub from one end to the other, screamed, and I stepped forward and let my fingers shred, playing solely by feel. Glancing over at Owen, he took the signal and the lead while I slid Tabitha off, gently propping her on her stand, and picked up the fiddle. The song was taking on a life of its own that only a room with this much energy could create.

Pointing to Caitlin and her friends, they pushed their way up onto the small stage and began dancing, their feet moving in perfect time to the song. The people in the first few rows hooted louder as their kilts flicked into the air as quickly as their feet, giving everyone an even bigger show than just the dance.

I spun the fiddle and tucked it under my chin as we smoothly shifted from the foot-stomping folk song to a crowd favourite. The cheers went up as a couple of the locals who had their hard taps on jumped up on the stage to join in on the fun. I couldn’t keep the smile off my face as the pace picked up to the point where my muscles burned in my arm, but still, I pushed on. The burn made me feel alive and free of the binds that held me like shackles to my duties.

I had a laundry list of things that annoyed me about Rook, but what annoyed me the most was how he managed to spend his life avoiding what I was groomed to do. Even without my parents, the importance of my role was impressed upon me, and I took every second seriously. He’d shrugged off all that we were, travelled the world without a care, and got to perform like this every few days. He was living the life I could only dream of. I didn’t begrudge him not wanting to give it up, but it was yet another kick in the teeth to be paired with him. Worse yet was to be rejected by him and then unable to stop the growing bond that would forever tie us together until another match was made.

The idea that I could have these feelings for the rest of my life and never be quenched was a torturous prospect that clawed at my heart. It was selfish of me to worry about something like that. I’d watched all the women in the family born without a birthmark or red hair suffer with this same plight.

My thoughts drifted to Mari and her bright blue eyes and sweet smile that could light up a room. If I’d been allowed to choose, I would’ve married her the moment she turned eighteen. We were best friends, and even though she didn’t say it, I knew why she left for school. I couldn’t blame her. I felt the same.

We were star-crossed, like Romeo and Juliet, destined never to have what we wanted. Keeping more distance had been safer. Dating and not thinking of her had been safer, but in the end, nothing changed. She was still the girl my heart longed for, and the overwhelming sadness I saw hiding under her mask of indifference did nothing to soothe my doubts.

Our eyes would lock over breakfast, and I could feel her pain. It matched my own. Between Mari and now Rook, I think it was time that I moved out for good. Permanent space was needed between me and the entire Adair family.

“Yeah,” I yelled as the song ended. I held the fiddle up as the sea of people jumped around and held up mugs of beer. And that’s when I saw him. No, he couldn’t be here.

This was my safe spot, the one place I came where no one from my life at the castle bothered me. My eyes locked with the man leaning against the far wall, and my mouth ran dry as they raked over his body. The black T-shirt fit his tall, fit frame and defined shoulders, while the kilt he’d found made him look dangerous and, if possible, sexier than he already was.

All the emotions I’d been trying so hard to keep locked up and pushed down clawed their way back up from where I’d stuffed them. I stood frozen in place, trying to figure out how to escape. I couldn’t be near him. Everything was still too raw from earlier. I groaned as images of pushing him up against the bar flashed through my mind.

From up here on the stage, it was easy to see the attention he was getting, and for good reason. He was the walking embodiment of a ragin’ hard-on, and both women and men were already looking to make a move on the newcomer.

Jealousy stormed to the surface, and I growled under my breath as my body reacted to him. I quickly sat the fiddle down and signaled that I was getting a drink, leaving the stage in a rush. I pushed through the throngs of people feeling like a rat in a trap.

There was no exit at this end of the pub, and I desperately wanted out, or at least my mind did. My body, on the other hand, was all too keen to claim what was mine.

Leaning against the bar, I raised my hand, pointing to the tap for a pint, and smiled as familiar hands wrapped around my waist. Caitlin, my rescuer. She didn’t know it, but it didn’t matter. I turned in her arms and grabbed her face, crashing my lips against hers. I tried to take all of my built-up frustration out on her, but as sweet as she was, she was not who my mind conjured as our lips moved. She moaned into my mouth, and I pushed her back against the wall, not caring who was standing around to see.

I fumbled with the front of her kilt and groaned as her hand wrapped around my cock. My little victory was short-lived as a hand gripped my shoulder, almost bringing me to my knees.

My eyes snapped open, and I tried to take a deep breath as the power I’d barely managed to wrangle earlier erupted to all new levels in my system. The look on Caitlin’s face told me what I’d see if I turned around. I’d seen those eyes glowing. I’d seen them as they tried to burn into my soul and capture me. I didn’t dare turn around and look into them, or we would end up fucking on the bar.

“No one touches what’s mine,” Rook said.

Caitlin shrank away from the menacing tone in his voice.

My jaw clenched tight, my body shaking, as I tried to control the connection swirling out of control. My eyes found Caitlin’s again.

“Get out. Get. Everyone. Out,” I managed to force out as fog began to cloud my mind.

She was one of the few Flitters who knew what I was and what I was capable of. She swallowed hard but didn’t move.

“Go. Now,” I growled.

She darted away from the wall. She could’ve started yelling, but I had no idea what was going on behind me. The entire building could be on fire, and it wouldn’t matter because Rook was touching me. I braced both hands on the cool stone wall.

“‘Ave. Ya. Gone. Mad?” I said, then gasped as his body pressed up against mine.