Chapter 21
The scream jerked him out of his slumber.
Scott sat up and blinked away the last of his sleep.
His head swung to the side as his eyes landed on the figure stretched out on the couch.
Elodie. He jumped up, tripping over the blanket he hadn’t realized covered him.
Scott landed awkwardly on his knee before getting back to his feet and lunging for the sofa.
He grabbed Elodie’s shoulders and gently shook her. “It’s just a dream, Elodie. Wake up.”
It took another shake before her lids fluttered open. Her pupils were dilated, her breathing rapid. Her entire body was stiff.
“It was just a dream,” he said again.
At the sound of his voice, a shudder went through her before her body finally relaxed. She drew in a shaky breath and closed her eyes. Worry settled deep within him. She’d mentioned a dream earlier. This had to be about her father’s murder. Maybe being back in the cottage wasn’t such a good idea.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked after a lengthy silence.
She swallowed loudly and met his gaze. “If I could remember it, I would. As soon as I wake, the images disappear.”
“Do you know who was in it?”
Elodie shook her head.
Scott glanced at the fire and rose to add more wood. He didn’t want to take the chance of the mist returning for another try. After he’d stoked the fire, he returned to the sofa. Elodie was sitting up now, the blanket wrapped tightly around her.
“I’m no’ sure being here is good for you.”
She glanced at him and grinned. “Is it the nightmares or the attempts on my life that made you reach that decision?”
Despite the circumstances, he found himself chuckling. “Point taken.”
“You’re right, though.” Her smile died as she stared into the fire.
“I can take you to Edie’s, if you want.”
Elodie drew in a deep breath and slowly released it. “I’m not going there.”
“Something happen?”
“Yes. No.” She sighed, her frustration clear. “Maybe. It’s probably that I’m on edge and just took things wrong.”
Scott shrugged and fought the urge to put his arm around her. “Siblings fight.”
“It wasn’t Edie. It was Trevor.”
Scott also turned to the fire and considered her words. “Is he upset about the cost of things?”
“I never visited Skye. I didn’t even see them get married because it was a spur-of-the-moment thing.
Edie never pushed me to come back here. She made a couple of trips to see me, but I understood that her life was here.
I say all of that to explain that I don’t know Trevor.
And in the brief time I’ve been here, I’ve spent little time with him.
It’s obvious he loves my sister and the kids. ”
“But?” Scott urged when she paused.
Elodie’s nose wrinkled as she shook her head. “As I said, I probably took things wrong, but he got really snippy when Edie and I discussed the repairs for the cottage. The smiling, loving man I had seen with my sister was suddenly gone. He became someone else entirely.”
“Money tends to make people act crazy.”
That elicited a small grin. “True. Edie seemed shocked by it, too. It was partly my fault. The lack of sleep has made me irritable, and I didn’t help matters.”
“This is between you and your sister, though.”
“That’s what Edie tried to tell him,” Elodie said as she looked at Scott. “Trevor then told her that he was her family.”
Scott raised a brow as he turned his head to her. “Really?”
“It’s weird, isn’t it?”
“Aye.”
She let out a relieved sigh. “I’m glad I’m not the only one. Regardless, the entire thing felt awkward, and I really don’t want to be around him.”
“I doona blame you. But I also doona think you should stay here alone.”
“I’m not sure Trevor would appreciate me asking Edie to come here.”
Scott glanced at the cushion as he recalled their brief kiss. He was about to tell her that he could stay with her. He knew just how to put the suggestion so she would think it was her idea. He knew just the right expression to have, too—and the right amount of magic to use.
And yet, he did nothing. What the hell was wrong with him?
Elodie slid her gaze away and cleared her throat. “I’m sorry I woke you.”
“Doona be. How many nightmares do you have a night?”
“At least one. Sometimes two.”
“And you doona remember them?”
She rubbed her hands on her arms beneath the blanket. “No.”
It was the perfect opportunity to use his magic, to deepen their trust. And it felt wrong. So very, very wrong.
“How do you feel?” She turned her head to him. “The spell you used earlier wiped you out.”
Scott found himself nodding. “Better. It’s been some time since I’ve used that much magic at once.”
“I’m glad you were here.”
“Me, too.”
He couldn’t look away from her light blue gaze.
The flames from the hearth reflected in their depths.
He liked being with her. The cozy cottage, the wildness of Skye, the magic that pulsed through the island like a heartbeat.
The resilient, fierce beauty beside him.
In another life, he could’ve been happy with having all of this as his.
But no matter how much he wanted it, that life wasn’t his to have.
What if…?
He shut the thought down quickly. He wouldn’t be doing himself, Elodie, or the organization any favors by allowing his attraction to rule him.
Elodie was the first to look away. “I don’t like that I can’t defend myself. I don’t like being a burden on anyone.” She shot him a quick glance. “I’ve no right to ask, but would you or Filip consider staying until I know if I can get my magic back?”
Scott’s stomach clenched with a mix of excitement and dread. He’d wanted this and had somehow gotten it without saying or doing anything. Being with her would allow him to help her with her magic—as well as impart information about the organization.
It would also try him in ways he’d never been tested before.
Was he up to the task? There was no other choice for him. He had to be—for every Druid around the world.
“Of course,” he replied.
The smile that curved her lips made his balls tighten.
She had to know how alluring she was, how utterly captivating.
He wanted to lean in to her and place his lips on hers again.
To slip his tongue into her mouth and know her full taste.
He longed to have her body pressed against his so he could feel her curves and softness.
He ached to sink deep inside her, fusing their bodies in a dance as old as time itself.
As if his thoughts had conjured it, her mouth pressed against his.
Scott was so surprised that he didn’t move for a moment; thought maybe he was dreaming it.
Until he felt the warmth of her body. Whatever tentative thread of control he had snapped.
His arms wound around her as one hand tangled in the length of her glorious hair.
It wasn’t a soft kiss. It wasn’t a sweet one. Instead, it was fire and passion, longing and hunger so thick and heady there was no escaping it. And, heaven help him, he didn’t want to.
Scott let her sweet taste fill him as their tongues tangled. He managed to catch the throw between them and yank it free to toss aside. Then, Elodie was in his lap. But that still wasn’t enough. He wanted more.
And, in that instant, he knew that he would always want more of her.
How could he not? A woman like Elodie got into a man’s blood, his very psyche, and never let go.
The future didn’t matter at the moment. All he could think about was discovering every inch of her delightful body—and covering it with his scent so she would never forget him.
He wanted her wound as tightly as he was. With need, with desire.
With hunger.
He moved them until she was lying on the cushions.
The sound—half purr, half moan—when he lay atop her made his already hard cock throb.
Her hands were in his hair as their mouths clashed once more.
By all that was magical, she kissed as if she would die without him.
Her ardor made his burn even hotter. When her legs locked around his waist, he ground against her.
This time, they both moaned.
He had to get her clothes off. Apparently, her thoughts ran in the same vein because she yanked at his shirt. There was a loud, ripping noise, but neither paid it any heed. Scott broke the kiss long enough to toss the garment aside. Then he devoured her mouth once more.
His hand lifted the hem of her shirt and met bare skin. He felt her stomach clench as he caressed upward until his hand brushed the underside of her breast. There was no bra in his way. That’s when he remembered that she had been asleep when he arrived.
“Don’t you dare stop,” Elodie said between kisses, her hands holding his face.
Scott grinned at her words. He would only stop if she asked. He cupped her breast, feeling the weight of it in his hand. Then he gently massaged it before brushing his thumb over the hardened peak. Elodie moaned, her back arching.
He rose to his knees, simultaneously pulling her into a sitting position.
Together, they wrestled her top off before falling back against the sofa in a tangle of arms and lips.
There was little room on the couch to move as he wished.
Without a second thought, Scott slipped an arm beneath Elodie and held her tightly against him before using his other hand to push himself to his feet.
She ended the kiss and met his gaze. Her lips were swollen as she smiled at him. “Good idea,” she told him when he laid her on the rug before the fire.
He smoothed the hair back from her face and gazed down at her.
If he were smart, he would let her go right that instant.
He would make up some excuse and return her clothes.
But he couldn’t. He wanted Elodie. Wanted her with such a deep yearning that it left him breathless and reeling.
He couldn’t release her now if he tried.
She was already in his blood, already deep in his soul. There was no getting her out now.
And he wouldn’t want it any other way.
Damn the consequences. Just this once, he wanted to think about himself. He’d sort through the fallout later. Because there would be consequences.
The frantic pace from just a few moments ago had shifted, altered. Scott didn’t understand how or why. He felt it. The desire…the craving had grown. They were no longer drowning in it. They were the emotions.
Elodie’s fingers trailed along the curve of his jaw, the sound of her nails against his whiskers mixing with the popping of the fire. “I’ve been wanting to taste your kiss since I first saw you.”
Her confession hit him hard in the chest. “I’m all yours. Do what you will.”
“You may regret saying that.”
Scott shook his head. “Never.”
Her fingers softly stroked and moved around to the nape of his neck. Then she pulled his head down to hers. If he had thought their fiery kiss was sexy, the languid way their tongues mated now would burn him from the inside out.
He could’ve kissed her for eternity and still demanded more.
Yet there was so much more pleasure to be had.
It took three tries before he finally ended the kiss and sat up.
He loved the way the firelight bathed her skin in a reddish-orange glow.
Her blond hair was spread haphazardly around her as her eyes blazed with need.
His gaze skimmed down to the rapid pulse at her throat, then lower to her magnificent breasts. He fought the urge to bend and take a pale pink nipple between his lips. That was to come. But first, their clothes had to go. He didn’t want anything between them.
Scott reached for the waistband of her pajama bottoms and slid them—and her panties—over her hips and down her legs.
He moved so she could kick them off. Scott rose to his feet and looked down at her.
Her beauty left him awestruck. Lying as she was, naked and exposed and flushed with passion, she looked like some ethereal entity who had come to Earth for a night of pleasure.
He had never removed his pants so fast in his life. As he stretched out between her legs, Elodie’s eyes rolled back in her head as her hands came to rest at his sides.
She scraped her nails lightly along his skin and whispered, “Yes.”