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“It’s like that, Lia. Everyone has their tastes. Beauty, like food, is a subjective thing. And for me, well, you’re a five-star meal. If I was a dying man, you’d be the last meal I’d request.”
Lia halted and turned to me once more. Her lips were wide, and her mouth hung open as though she wanted to say something but couldn’t get it out. The moment hung suspended between us.
“Damn it, Munroe,” Lia said, and then her hands were on me, pulling my head down, and I gladly indulged her.
She tasted sweet, the hints of lemonade and my gin still on her tongue. Something about that combination, knowing this woman enjoyed something that I had created, heated my blood. Without thinking, I lifted her, pulling her legs around my waist, and cupped her bum with my hands.
Lia’s mouth was desperate on mine, and she made soft sounds of pleasure as she kissed me, her tongue dancing across mine. We feasted on each other, each kiss an exploration, each taste a discovery. Lust raged through me, but love quieted me. My heart had broken open, and Lia now occupied the space where loneliness had once resided. Slowly, and ever so softly, I gentled the kiss until Lia brought her forehead to mine.
“What am I going to do about you?” Lia murmured.
“Give us a chance,” I whispered. I wouldn’t beg, not yet, but if it came down to it, I would.
A shimmer of light caught my eye, and I turned my head, as did Lia. We froze, cheek to cheek, while I cradled her close in the cool night.
A unicorn poked its head from the hedge and trotted forward.
A soft glow surrounded the majestic animal, and it stopped a few feet from us. She was a brilliant white, with a gossamer mane, and an intricate horn protruded from her head. Huffing out a breath, the unicorn bowed once to us, her horn lighting with an effervescent shimmer, and she stomped her hoof once.
“Please tell me you see this,” Lia said, her voice barely a whisper in the night.
“I do,” I said, keeping her close. Although my arms shook, I would do anything to protect Lia, and while I didn’t feel that this unicorn was a threat, I couldn’t quite understand what it was trying to tell us.
Once more it bowed, and then, in an instant, it disappeared into the night as quickly as it had arrived. We stood there, frozen, Lia clinging to me. I could feel the pulse at her neck firing rapidly, and her breath came in rapid little pants.
“A freaking unicorn,” Lia said. Turning, a smile bloomed on her face. It was a smile of wonder, of acceptance, almost childlike in its delight. “I’ve never seen something so beautiful in my life.”
“Me neither,” I said, drinking in Lia’s joy.
But it wasn’t the unicorn I spoke of, it was Lia.
I just had to figure out how to make her mine.
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
LIA
“I, Cecilia Blackwood, the second in the Order of Caledonia, announce my arrival. I accept the responsibility of protecting the Clach na Fìrinn and promise to restore the Order to its fullness. In doing so, I show myself worthy of the magick bestowed upon me, the same magick given to my blood before me. It is with these words that I establish the Order of Caledonia as the first line of protection for the Clach na Fìrinn, and accept the power given to me therein. It is with a pure heart and sound mind that I accept this gift, and I give my promise to stand with the Order of Caledonia.”
My words drifted back to me the next morning as I lay in bed, far later than I usually would, my emotions knotting in my stomach. Yesterday had been, well, it had been a day for the books, that was for sure. Between seeing the broonie, learning about the Order, all the way to meeting a unicorn on the path home, it had been incredible.Incredible. Overwhelming. Unbelievable. All of the things. I felt like I was in that Space Invaders video game and just cruising along, dodging all the meteors trying to blow up my ship. It was truly that wild. I couldn’t actually believe all of the things that I had learned the day before.
That I had become.
I looked down at my hands and wondered what my magick would be. Archie had told me it would manifest after the ritual was completed, and while I had felt a ripple of something…awareness, maybe, go through me at the completion of the ceremony, I still felt like me.
Lia Blackwood. Fish out of water.
Which was fine, really, I reminded myself, as I took a sip of my coffee and stared out the window to the loch. The rain came down in vicious sheets today, which also contributed to my reluctance to leave my bed. That and I needed a moment or two to process.
A freaking unicorn.
I still couldn’t believe it. I sincerely hoped that it wasn’t my drunk imagination. But Munroe had said he’d seen it too, and I just couldn’t see him being mean enough to toy with me like that. He was about the nicest teddy bear around, it just didn’t seem to be in his nature to lie. I groaned, flopping back against my pillows, as I thought about our kiss.Kisses, my ladyparts helpfully reminded me. I was doing a horrible job of establishing my boundaries. It was like, my head told me one thing and then two seconds in the presence of Munroe, and I was climbing the man like a tree. What was it about him that was like catnip to me? I truly felt like a cat in heat, and I was certain I’d soon be wailing and strutting myself in front of him until he moved past the kissing stage and eased this ache that I had for him.
Maybe he was just an itch that needed to be scratched. Maybe, because since I’d arrived in Scotland, I’d been blindsided left and right, which was making me feel all sorts of things. I was unsteady on my feet, and maybe I just needed the distraction of Munroe to keep me balanced. Men I could understand. Attraction I could understand. Lust I could understand. Kelpies, broonies, ghost coos, and unicorns…well, they were a bit harder to grasp.
I winced as I remembered yelling at the poor men at the table. I needed to rectify that situation immediately, or I’d get a reputation for being difficult. Although baking wasn’t at the top of my skill set, I still was better than the average chef. I resolved myself to making up a nice box of treats, and I texted Agnes to see if she’d be able to deliver them for me, along with an apology note, since I had no clue who the men had been but was certain Agnes would know.
Agnes: Happy to! Only if you make some for me too. Yes, I’m greedy like that.
