Chapter 25
“It’s a long story, lass,” Shayne said, sighing as he placed his hands on her hips.
“I seem to have plenty of time at the moment,” Ashlyn said, wondering why she wasn’t freaking out at the moment only to realize that for the first time in her life that things were starting to make sense, including how she could fall in love with a man that she just met.
“Where should I start?” Shayne asked as he absently ran his thumbs over her hips, which she allowed at the moment since it soothed her.
“I’m fine with the beginning,” Ashlyn said, gesturing for him to get on with it.
“A very long time ago, my brother Tadgh, ye know him as Tristan now, ended up falling in love with the king’s daughter, Macha, who ye know as Marty today,” Shayne began as Ashlyn found herself thinking about the dream she had of a young beautiful woman surrounded by guards, smiling at something that Shayne said and-
“My sister,” she said hollowly.
“Aye,” Shayne said, leaning in to kiss her forehead before he continued. “Her father promised her ta another man, one that would have given him everything that he wanted, but she fell in love with Tadgh instead. They wed in secret and were able to hide their union until Macha started showing.”
“Around that time, yer father came ta me with a job. He wanted me ta hunt down a young woman with beautiful blonde hair named Lasarín, who’d somehow managed to escape his men the first time. It was then that I realized the real reason that ye were there.”
“That’s why you sent me away,” Ashlyn said, thinking back to her dream earlier.
Nodding, Shayne said, “I knew that he would send all his men after Tadgh and Macha. So, I paid Bécc ta take ye safely up north since it was yer only chance. I knew if he caught ye that he would kill ye.”
“But he caught up with you instead,” Ashlyn guessed, watching as his gaze hardened.
“Barely two days later. I’d delayed leaving, giving them a chance ta catch us,” Shayne said as everything started to make sense.
“You were delayed because you were trying to keep me safe,” Ashlyn said, watching as he swallowed hard.
“I failed,” Shayne said as his expression became pained.
“The curse?” she said when it didn’t look like he was going to say anything else.
“He caught up with us and took his anger out on Tadgh and Macha while we were all forced ta watch. He then cursed us all, which we thought was bullshit, but it was too late by then to stop him. Tadgh ended up killing him before slowly dying of his wounds. It wasn’t until he took his last breath and suddenly appeared healthy and whole by his body that we realized that we’d all been doomed to hell. ”
“After that, we began ta die one by one of our wounds. I died first, then Connal, Declean, Quinn, Aidan, Finn, and finally, Liam and found ourselves stuck among the living. They couldn’t see us, but we could see them, exist among them, as though we were alive.
All of our needs were gone, we didn’t need ta breathe, eat, drink, or sleep and we could remember everything. ”
“But we weren’t alone. We began ta attract ghosts, restless spirits, who needed something from us, whether that was help, revenge, or just someone ta take their anger out on,” Shayne said as her gaze flickered to the cuts on his arm that were almost completely healed.
“The day in the elevator?” Ashlyn said, meeting his gaze.
“He showed up as the elevator doors were closing,” Shayne said as she thought about the way that he’d caged her in, the pained expression on his face, and the cuts on his arm afterward.
“You protected me.”
“Always,” Shayne said, his expression becoming tender as he reached up to gently caress her cheek.
“What happened next?” Ashlyn asked, needing to know the rest.
“It wasn’t until Tadgh felt the pull to return that we realized that our soulmates had been cursed along with us.
They’re forced to return over and over again, living out a curse that they have no idea exists only we get the choice to join them.
We can either follow them into the next life and hope for a chance to break the curse or stay trapped as a spirit.
Tadgh immediately gave in to the pull, desperate to return to Macha.
He had no memory of the curse, of his past life, of any of us, or any idea why he could see ghosts. ”
“We quickly realized just how dangerous the curse really was and took turns watching over each other, making sure that those of us who were reborn were protected,” Shayne explained as he dropped his hand back to her hip.
“And you protected Tadgh,” Ashlyn said, already knowing that she was right based on everything she knew about him from her dreams.
“Every time but one,” he said as she watched a muscle in his jaw clench.
“Thomas,” she said, watching as he nodded.
“My one and only time I tried ta break the curse,” Shayne said as he met her gaze. “Until now.”
“What happens if we ignore it?” Ashlyn asked as she sat there, trying to wrap her mind around everything.
“It’s already too late for that,” Shayne said softly.
“The curse always comes after us after a trigger has been activated, it’s different for each one of us.
For Tadgh, it was when he found out that Macha was pregnant.
Within days, it took him without fail, leaving Macha ta die of a broken heart and dooming her and their unborn child ta do it all over again, except this time.
This time, we managed ta stop the curse from taking him, which caused it ta jump ta me, giving me a chance ta break it so that my brothers will get a chance ta do the same and free their soulmates,” Shayne said as he held her gaze.
“I was brought back that day ye found me in the emergency room, lass.”
“What happens to us when the trigger is activated?” Ashlyn found herself asking as dread slowly began to pool in her stomach as the realization of everything that he told her began to sink in.
“Ye already know, lass,” Shayne said, his expression softening as he reached up to cup her face in his hands.
“How do we stop it?” Ashlyn asked, feeling hollow as she reached up and pushed his hands away.
“I’m already working on it,” Shayne said as she stood up and went over everything that happened, everything he said, her dreams, absolutely everything and-
“What if you made a mistake?” Ashlyn asked, licking her lips nervously as she gestured around them. “What if I’m not who you’re looking for? You said it yourself, your soulmates are cursed just like you. I don’t see ghosts,” Ashlyn rushed to explain only-
“Oh, my God...” Ashlyn said hollowly as she found herself grabbing onto the edge of the bathroom sink as she thought about that night in her uncle’s basement.
“What’s wrong?” Shayne asked as he got to his feet.
“I died,” Ashlyn said, meeting his gaze in the mirror and watched him swallow hard as his beautiful emerald eyes suddenly flashed silver, letting her know that she hadn’t imagined it the other night.
“When?”
“I was in a car accident when I was seven. I had a severe head injury and a broken arm. They lost me twice in the ambulance before they were able to bring me back. I kept getting migraines, so they put me on medication and-”
“Ye saw something,” Shayne said, moving up behind her so that he could wrap his arms around her.
“A ghost in my uncle’s basement after the accident,” Ashlyn said as she found herself leaning back against him, unable to resist him, not when being in his arms made her feel this good. It made her wonder if this had something to do with the curse.
God, this feeling was intoxicating.
“We never stood a chance, did we?” she asked only to sigh softly when he ran his hands down her sides as his lips found the side of her neck.
“No,” Shayne said as he allowed his lips to brush over her skin, making it difficult to focus on anything but him, “we didn’t.”
“Did you dream about me, too?” Ashlyn asked, wondering if she’d haunted his dreams the way that he’d haunted hers.
Chuckling, Shayne ran his hands over her hips as he pulled back so that he could kiss the back of her neck. “Every. Fucking. Night.”
“What did you dream about?” Ashlyn asked as she watched his hands move over her in the mirror.
“Are ye sure ye really want to know, lass?” Shayne asked as his hands settled on her hips and slowly pulled her back so that she could feel the part of him that made her ache pressed against the small of her back.
“Yes,” Ashlyn said, moaning softly as his hands slid over her hips and up her sides only to slide over her breasts.
“I dreamed about how good it would to feel to fuck ye,” Shayne said, giving her breasts a gentle squeeze through the sheet.
“What else?” Ashlyn found herself asking, loving the way that his eyes flashed silver in the mirror.
“I dreamed about what it would feel like to touch you,” Shayne said, giving her breasts another gentle squeeze before he ran his hands down her stomach.
“What else?” Ashlyn asked as she watched his hands move back up stomach and over her breasts again.
“I dreamed about all those things that ye liked,” Shayne said, gently squeezing her breasts again before he was reaching for the sheet.
“And what do I like?” Ashlyn asked as she watched him pull the sheet free as he stepped back just far enough so that he could slowly unwrap her.
“Everything I’m going ta do ta ye,” he said, releasing his hold on the sheet so that it pooled around her feet, leaving her naked except for the panties she put on earlier.
“Are you sure about that?” Ashlyn asked, watching the way his eyes devoured her in the mirror as he reached down and pushed her panties down to join the sheet.
“Positive,” Shayne said as he ran his fingertips down the middle of her back, causing her back to arch as her grip tightened around the bathroom counter.
“And you learned that from a dream?” Ashlyn asked only to moan when he ran his hands over her bottom.
“No, lass,” Shayne said as he leaned back in and kissed the back of her neck. “I remember everything ye like.”
“Lasarín,” Ashlyn said, wondering if she was really like the woman in her dreams.
“Mmmhmm,” he murmured against her skin. “I know how ye liked ta be touched, teased, and fucked. I know that if I keep kissing yer neck like this that ye’ll push back against me, needing to feel my cock against yer ass,” Shayne said even as Ashlyn found herself doing just that.
“I know that ye love rubbing yer pussy against my cock, the way it feels when it slides between yer lips, and just how good it feels when it teases yer swollen, little clit. I know that you prefer ta come against my cock first, but when ye moan the way that ye are right now, lass, I know that ye need my fingers instead.”
“Are you going to give them to me?” Ashlyn asked, pushing back against him as the thought of his fingers touching her had her licking her lips.
“Not yet, lass, because I know that if I keep talking and letting ye know all the ways that ye liked ta be fucked that yer pussy get wetter and sooner or later, I’ll get ta watch yer hand slide between yer legs so that ye can tease yer swollen little clit for me,” he whispered in her ear, making her swallow hard as she found herself spreading her legs apart as she dropped one hand away from the counter and-
“That’s it, lass,” Shayne said, groaning softly in her ear as he watched her tease her slit with her fingertips.
“Shayne,” Ashlyn said, her grip tightening around the bathroom counter as her fingers found her clit, the move leaving her feeling empty.
“And I know that yer seconds away from begging for my cock,” he said as she felt him reach between their bodies and-
“Oh, God...”
Moaned when she felt his cock, hard and thick, tease her bottom.
“Did ye dream about the day I fucked ye in the glen?” Shayne asked as he cupped her hips and pulled her back, forcing her back to arch a little more.
“Which time?” Ashlyn asked, making him chuckle.
“Fair enough,” he said, rewarding her with a kiss as he began to move, rubbing his cock against her bottom as she felt herself growing wetter.
“Did ye dream about the time when ye were carrying the buckets ta the river only ta bend over on purpose, hoping ta entice me into carrying the buckets for ye?”
“Yes,” Ashlyn said, slowly teasing her clit as she thought about the moment she pushed down her trews down for him.
“Do ye remember what happened when I saw yer pretty little pussy glistening in the sunlight?” Shayne asked as she felt him shift behind her and-
“God, yes,” Ashlyn found herself admitting when she felt the tip of his cock press against her slit from behind.
“Do ye remember how ye milked my cock all night?” Shayne asked as he slowly began to push inside her.
Unable to talk at this point, Ashlyn simply nodded as she closed her eyes, savoring the feeling of him sliding inside her. He felt so good, she thought as he stretched her, taking his time filling her with his cock.
“Do you remember what happened after I fucked ye in the glen?” Shayne asked as he began to move, rolling his hips against her so that he filled her just right before he slowly pulled back, letting her feel his cock tease her before he pushed back inside her.
“You carried me back to the bed and fucked me again,” Ashlyn said as she felt his hand gently push her hand away so that he could take over.
“Then, ye know how this night is going ta end.”