Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Rowen was so sated and content she couldn’t even lift her eyelids.
She drifted on water, or maybe it was clouds.
Not that it mattered. She was too lost in the utter satisfaction of her body.
No one had ever come close to giving her this.
She hadn’t even been able to reach this level of gratification herself.
No, it had come from only one person: Mason.
Had she subconsciously known the sex would be that mind-blowing, that his kiss would be so intoxicating, that his touch would stir her to such depths? If there was ever someone who made her wish she were the kind of person who could be in a relationship, it was him.
Strong arms lifted her from the island, cradling her against his chest. She leaned her head on his shoulder, comforted by the steady beat of his heart. Rowen thought he was taking them to bed, but she soon found herself situated before a hearth and a roaring fire.
“You were chilled,” Mason said as he settled her between his legs, her back to his chest.
They sat on several thick blankets with pillows scattered around them.
There was a myriad of food close at hand, as well as drinks.
While she had been gliding upon waves of bliss, he had been busy.
Rowen had thought men like him only existed in fiction, but he was proving her wrong one day at a time.
She turned her head up and back to look at him and smiled. “This is incredible.”
His lips curved into a grin. “I’m glad you think so. We can stay for as long as you want. Let me know when you get tired.”
That was the thing. She didn’t want the night to end.
Ever. She might like romance and the idea of commitment, but they were anti-Rowen to the extreme.
Love always took one look at her and ran the other way.
She had tried to catch it a few times, but it had only ever ended in disaster.
It had shown her where she fit in the world, and she had accepted that.
She returned her gaze to the fire and rested her arms over Mason’s, which were wrapped around her. “To think that just a few days ago I was angry at being sent to London…”
“And I was bleeding out in the street,” he replied. “Do you know what I noticed first about you that night?”
“My hair?” she guessed.
“Your eyes.”
She scrunched up her face and snorted. “You’re kidding.”
“Not in the least. They were bright and clear. Such a beautiful blue that I couldn’t look away. Then you got me on my feet, and I didn’t think a little thing like you could keep me up. You’re stronger than you look.”
Rowen chuckled. “I nearly didn’t stay on my feet. You have no idea how many times we both almost crashed to the ground. We can smile about it now, but I was terrified at the time.”
“Me, too,” he replied somberly. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head as the fire crackled.
It was, hands down, the most romantic event of her entire life. Not only had he given her mind-blowing sex, but he was a true gentleman. Maybe that had to do with him growing up as a noble, but she rather thought it was just who Mason was as a human.
“How was the wake?” she asked.
He made a sound in the back of his throat. “As horrible as any wakes are. Matt, Kirsi’s father, was a mess. The man never stopped crying. He looked downright lost. As if he didn’t know what to do with himself now that his wife was gone.”
“That sounds horrible.” She couldn’t imagine loving someone that deeply. She supposed it existed. Ferne and Theo might have that kind of relationship, so she figured it was in the realm of possibility. “How was Kirsi?”
“More withdrawn and pale, if you can believe it.”
“Poor thing,” Rowen murmured.
“Ferne told me that Kirsi was very close to her parents. I’m happy Matt is still here for her. I don’t want anyone to know the pain of losing both parents at once.”
She squeezed his arms. “I can’t even imagine. I’m so sorry.”
“I’ll avenge them.”
“I have no doubt.”
He pressed the side of his head to hers. “There was something else I noticed.”
“What’s that?”
“I think Callum is in love with Kirsi. He was never far from her, but he also never got too close. Yet he rarely took his gaze off her.”
Rowen shifted to get more comfortable in his arms. “That’s interesting. I thought I saw something between them, too. Did you ask Ferne?”
“I didn’t get a chance. Too many people were around, and I didn’t want them to overhear. I wasn’t the only one who noticed, though. I saw several of our group taking note of the pair. Killian and Callum, it seems, have a close friendship. That was nice to see, since some outright ignored Callum.”
“Why? What has he done?” she asked, offended for him.
Mason blew out a breath. “I did manage to get that from Ferne when she brought me home. It seems Callum’s family is not well thought of. Every generation, the men become drunks and abuse their wives and children.”
Rowen sat up and turned to look at him, aghast. “You mean that everyone knows Callum and his mother are being abused and no one steps in to stop it?”
“Callum won’t talk about it, and he has asked Killian and Ariah to stay out of it.”
“If they were his friends, they wouldn’t.”
Mason’s lips twisted as he nodded. “I feel the same. Ferne said everyone calls it the Kilmuir Curse.”
“Hasn’t Callum’s mother asked for help? Surely, the Druids would do something.”
“She’s gone. Left Skye with Callum’s younger brother years ago.”
Rowen’s heart broke. “So, Callum experiences the full brunt of his father’s rage. That’s horrible. I’m not sure I could remain silent and do nothing.”
“Perhaps I’ll speak with Killian. We’re outsiders. Maybe we don’t know the full story.”
“I’m not sure that matters.” She settled back against his chest. “Now I want him and Kirsi together even more.”
Mason grunted. “I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
“You have to be wrong. I need some good news right now, and those two could be it.”
He shifted his leg closer to hers. “It’s a secret. Ferne isn’t even supposed to know, so you can’t say anything.”
“My lips are sealed. Now, spill the tea,” she urged him, grinning. There was something exciting about learning a secret that no one was supposed to know.
“Callum has sworn to break the family curse.”
She frowned, letting that sink in. “The only way that will happen is if he doesn’t have a rela—oh, my fucking god. He’s not going to be with Kirsi, is he?”
“No, he is not.”
“He would rather be alone and lonely than be with someone he obviously cares about?” As soon as Rowen said the words, she hoped Mason didn’t compare their scenario to the couple in question. Because it wasn’t the same.
Or was it?
No, it wasn’t. She was sure of that.
Mason’s chest expanded as he drew in a deep breath before slowly releasing it. “Apparently, most of the men in his family swore they wouldn’t turn into their fathers, and inevitably, they did. Callum wants to make sure he doesn’t continue the generational abuse in any of its many forms.”
“Damn. I’m sad for him. And for Kirsi, for that matter. Yet I also applaud him for taking a stand.”
“If he can go through with it.”
She glanced back at him. “Meaning?”
“What if Kirsi asks him out? What if she initiates sex? Can he remain strong and refuse her?”
“Maybe it’s as simple as Callum not becoming a father. Kirsi could ensure that she never has children.”
Mason slid his fingers between hers and curled his hand inward. “Maybe.”
“We have to be able to help.”
“And what if we aren’t supposed to?”
She lightly elbowed him. “Don’t ruin my moment of planning with common sense.”
“Why do you want them together?”
She was about to give a flippant answer when she paused and reconsidered. “I think it’s because I saw how he watched her. Even as he kept all his emotions hidden, there was something in his eyes.”
“Yearning.”
“Yes. He tries to hide it, but there’s no concealing that kind of sentiment. Then there’s Kirsi.”
Mason softly rubbed his cheek against hers. “Ah. You mean the way she desperately tries not to look at Callum, only to throw a surreptitious glance his way. She doesn’t mask her longing. She puts it out there for the world to see, hoping and praying that he not only sees it, but responds.”
Rowen swallowed hard. “Yep. That, exactly.”
“She’s young to be the one who has to face the evil when the time comes.”
“I don’t think it’s happenstance that everyone in this fight is in their twenties and thirties. This battle was meant to pit the young against the ancient. They expect us to fall.”
“Us?” Mason repeated softly.
She leaned her head back and pressed her lips to his. “I told you I chose a side already. I’m not changing my mind.”
“I don’t think Edie or whatever it is she’s following will give up so easily.”
“Probably not, but I don’t care. I’ll deal with it.”
He cupped her face, his gray eyes darkening. “Not alone. I’ll be there in whatever capacity you need.”
“That’s good to know.”
He rubbed his thumb over her lower lip. “I shouldn’t have left you alone last evening.”
“You can’t be with me every second of the day.”
Those wonderful fingers of his lightly trailed down her neck. “If I thought sending you away would keep you safe, I’d do it in an instant.”
“Safety is an illusion. Nowhere is truly safe.” Though right then, she’d never felt more secure and protected than she did while cradled in his arms. “If they want to get to me, they’ll find a way.”
His head lowered as he placed a delicate kiss on her jaw. “Do you think Edie will visit you again?”
Rowen was having difficulty thinking as his warm lips left a hot trail of kisses down her jaw and then behind her ear. “I-I…don’t know. Maybe.”
“They’ve not approached any of the group before.”
“That we know of.” She was breathing harder the closer his hands moved to her breasts.
She was suddenly lying across his arm, and she couldn’t remember getting into that position.
He trailed a finger from the hollow of her throat down between her breasts and then lower to circle her navel.
Her sex clenched greedily, impatient to have his long, thick length inside her once again.
His fingers and mouth had been sublime, but nothing could replace his cock.
Her breath caught as his exploring fingers drew close to the triangle of curls between her thighs. She widened her legs and waited for him to slip his fingers lower. Instead, he caressed back up to her throat.
“Hmm. That is something to think about,” he murmured near her ear, his warm breath brushing across her skin.
What was he talking about? Oh, yes. That’s right. She had said something about…her thoughts scattered as he lightly rubbed his knuckles over a nipple.
“Please,” she begged.
“You never have to beg me,” he said before taking her mouth in a desperate, frantic kiss that held all the fire and need that consumed her.