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Chapter Fourteen
She was afraid to say anything else. Afraid if she opened her mouth, she’d tell him she loved him right back. And then where would they be? Locked into something impossible. That’s where. She wrapped her arms around herself and settled into the time shaft to wait out the journey. Just their luck this was one of the longer jaunts.
Time slid past, and she began to hope he’d let the subject drop. He faced half away from her, and when she cast sidelong glances his way, his forehead was creased in thought and his eyes were shut.
When he broke the silence, his voice startled her. “What do you meannot a good bet? Why not?”
She swallowed around a dry throat, not wanting to have this conversation. “I already told you.”
“If it’s that damned virgin huntress thing—” he began.
“’Tisn’t a thing.” Her voice rose, but she couldn’t rein it in. “’Tis who I am. I doona ken why ye doona respect me or my standing in the Pantheon.”
“Fuck the Celts,” he roared and drove a fist into one of the pulsing walls of the shaft.
Reaction was immediate. The shaft ground to a halt, split along one side, and threw both of them out. She landed on her belly and rolled to a sit, cursing. Water from very wet earth soaked into her leathers. The sun was heading for the western horizon, which meant late afternoon. At least it wasn’t raining.
Angus groaned from where he lay a few feet away, half on his back, half on one side. After a long moment, he hoisted himself to a crouch. “Don’t say a word.” He shot a guilty glance her way. “I shouldn’t have done that. Do you have any idea where we are?” He sniffed audibly. “Not home. The air’s too clean.”
She got to her feet, grateful she still had her bow and quiver. “Nay, but I can figure it out easily enough. Give me a moment.” By the time she cast a cautious spell to gather data, he was on his feet and making his way to her side.
“Best I can tell”—she smiled grimly—“we’re around eighty years shy of our own time, and we’re in Northern Ireland.”
He set his jaw in a harsh line. “Good thing it’s not a few years later. We’d be square in the middle of that unholy mess when the IRA took on the Brits. Again. I’m sorry. That was incredibly stupid. How can I make amends to whatever operates the time-traveling mechanism?”
“I have no idea where to even begin to figure that out.”
“We could hunt down the other Celts. Someone would likely know.”
“Let’s save that for a last resort.” She raised her arms above her head to stretch out the sore places from hitting the ground when the shaft ejected her. “The first thing my kin will want to know is how ye came to lose your temper.”
He closed on her and gripped her upper arms. “About that, lass—”
“I doona wish to speak of it.”
“Oh you don’t, do you? Too bad. I do, and we will.”
She wrenched out of his grip and drew back a hand to slap him. He caught it in midair. “No man orders me about.” She yanked at her hand, but he held firm. “Let go of me.” She yanked harder and summoned magic until light danced beneath her skin, spilling from her in an iridescent flood.
“Arianrhod.” He spoke her name like a prayer, a benediction. “Please. Talk with me.”
She stopped struggling and looked hard at him through the prism of her power. The light in his eyes was wounded, yet hopeful—and determined. Anger bled from her. When he held out his arms, she came into them.
He stroked her hair, and she listened to the steady beat of his heart, feeling as if she were being torn in two. She wanted him, ached for him. He must’ve sensed her yearning because he angled her head and crushed his mouth over hers. Desperation and heat kindled a sexual bonfire, turning her nerves into a million points of sensation. The light streaming from her intensified.
Angus forced her mouth open and plumbed it with his tongue. She sucked hungrily on him, pretending she held his cock in her mouth. As if it heard her thoughts, his ridged flesh swelled against her belly, and she forced a hand between them to curve around it. Breath caught in her throat, and her heart hammered against her ribs.
They stood twined together, kissing and touching one another as long moments stretched past. He thrust into her hand and she straddled one of his legs, pressing her inflamed center against his thigh. Finally, she wrenched her mouth from his, breathing hard.
“We need—” He glanced around them, probably seeking respite from the waterlogged ground.
“Aye. Look over there.” She pointed. “’Tis the best we’ll find on short notice.” Letting go of him, she made her way to a tumble of sun-warmed stones and funneled magic to warm them still more. “’Tisn’t perfect, but ’twill do so long as no one ventures by.” She busied her fingers with the fastenings of his breeches and drew his cock out. He made a decidedly male sound when she worked him with her hand and bent to lick drops of semen off him.
He fondled her breasts through her shirt, rolling her nipples between his fingers. Sparks shot straight to her pussy. Already wet, another gush pulsed between her legs, and she hovered on the edge of an orgasm. He moved a hand between her legs, rubbing hard, and brought her over the edge. She cried his name and writhed against his fingers.
Arianrhod let go of him and undid the laces holding her trousers in place. She pushed them down her legs, along with her drenched smallclothes, and bent over the flat rock she’d warmed with magic.
Behind her, Angus gasped, “Gods, but you’re lovely,” just before he surged inside her. He settled his hands on her waist and drove himself until he was fully encased in her body. She tilted her hips to improve the angle and rocked against him urging him to move, fast and hard, but all he did was twitch his cock inside her, making her nerve endings scream for more.
