Chapter 9
LACHLAN MACBETH
My mate leans back in the opulent booth, her gaze searching around the confines of the train cabin.
The decor is fantoosh, flashy in a way Vlad and Connor would like.
The seats are a deep blue color, padded and comfortable, and are nearly twice the size of airplanes ones, thank you very much.
Much rather plop my arse here and wait to get to my homeland.
The walls are glossy wooden like panels, and the theme of blue and gold covers the whole eating area that’s filled with more than a few tables. I just hope Elena likes it. It’s far too elegant for my tastes.
Although she’s not said anything concerning her being my mate since I admitted it, she’s not stopped blethering since we left the wee airport.
“This wasn’t on any travel site I looked up,” she says.
Elena sits elbows propped on the table across from me, her irresistible scent wafting in the air. When she spots me watching, her lips lift into an amazing smile that crinkles her soft blue eyes, and it makes my old heart skip a beat in its cage. The woman is darling.
“I asked for the best train,” I answer with a shrug.
“This is the observation lounge. There are three cars we can access along with the grand suite and our own bathroom, and there’s even a separate dining car for meals.” She snaps the brochure and map packet open, shielding my view of her but for her dainty hands on the edges of the thing.
“Do you like it?” I want only to please her, but never thought to ask her preference at the moment. I only meant to get us out of that cramped space and in a more pleasant and agreeable environment.
The soft rolling and rocking motion of the train is soothing and the space less cramped.
Fleeting dark silhouettes of trees, telephone poles, and fence lines streak backward as the train swiftly pulls us toward our destination that I couldn’t help but marvel at.
They move so fast, blurring into continuous dark masses, as the lady drones on about our accommodations.
“I think it’s the most luxurious experience a person can get, just like this pamphlet suggests. It’s just, I’m wondering how in the hell we can afford all this, or did you charm the whole train station too when I wasn’t looking?” she asks, her voice muffled over her reading material.
“I’d never,” I tell her honestly, mostly because it’d never dawn on me to do so. My bonnie wee Elena is so smart.
“How are you affording all this?”
“The airline made the reservations using Frank’s credit card. It’s fine, Elena. I just want us both comfortable on our travels.”
She raises a brow but smiles. “And we’re sharing a room. You’re telling me there’s no other cabins on this train available?”
I clear my throat before taking the map away from her and begin folding it, my palms starting to sweat from her line of questioning.
“The airline took care of the booking and the shuttle here. I could try to have the conductor ready a room for you if you’d like, but what if my tail starts acting up in the night? ”
I don’t tell her how it’ll be agony to be that far away, and I’ll be unable to sleep without her.
“Your tail.” She raises both brows suggestively.
I shift in my seat as she examines me and I pull the map down on the table. Her gaze bounces over my features shyly, but when the white of her teeth make an appearance to bite at her lip, my mouth goes dry. She means my cock. “That’s not what I meant at all. I swear on my beard it isn’t.”
I’m painfully aware of what other things could possibly act up in the night near her, but she has to know I’d never lay hands on her unless she bade me to.
“I was only joking. I don’t mind sharing a room with you. The suite has double beds,” she says with a smile.
Her attention moves to the outside of the moving train car where rolling hills seem to float in the opposite direction dotted with trees as the sun dips below the horizon. The mountains out there are stunning in their beauty and splendor, but all of my focus is on the female in front of me.
How can I begin to explain to her that she’s the only woman that exists for me and that no other will ever compare? I know this in my heart, and any distance put between us causes me ill.
There is only her. Only Elena for me until I draw my last breath, and I only wish to be near her.
Those big, oceanic blue eyes turn to me at last. “The brochure also said we’ve got five days to go till we reach London. That seems a bit long don’t you think?”
I nod. “We could ask the crew to make fewer stops if you like?”
Her blonde brows come to a point on her cherubic face as she swivels in her chair. “I don’t know? How long do you want to wait until you’re back in your loch? I’m not the one who’s been locked up for years after all.”
I inwardly wince at the question.
I want to be back in my loch now, but it’ll do me no good to be there without my trident fixed, and its packed safely in my luggage. I also want to see Elena smile and hopefully give her time to get to know me. We can get everything sorted and make a quick pitstop to see Vivian on the way.
She’ll have forgiven me by now, surely.
“Bah, a few more days away from home is nothing. What were your plans after sampling the moat?” I ask her.
“Traveling to the Highlands, near your loch actually. A rare beetle was identified there a few years ago that I’ve always wanted to see. Now that I’ve enough vacation time from work, I decided to make it a work trip and collect samples along the way. Just for data really,” Elena says.
“So technically you would’ve been there soon?”
“In a few days, yeah. It actually takes some time to get across Europe when you can’t fly everywhere,” she says.
“Aye,” I say. Unsure of how she’d take it if she knew I’ve never flown anywhere, and most of the time travel by witch magic, if I can find one generous enough to allow me passage.
I start to ask how she feels about my earlier magic charm and magic in general when her lips part and her mouth opens wide to yawn. She lifts her hand to her mouth, and her gaze goes soft as she lets out a long sigh.
The poor lass has to be exhausted after breaking my curse and our travel so far.
“Come, let’s get you to bed. The Highlands aren’t going anywhere,” I say. I get to my feet and hold a hand out for her to take.
An emotion I dare not name rolls through me when she does as I walk us both toward the train car with the sleeping quarters.
I take hold of the wooden handle on the train car and pull, smiling easily when I find the steward there waiting dressed in a black and white suit.
“Sir, your suite has already been turned down for the evening. For your security please ensure your cabin door is locked, and just a reminder to close your curtains before getting changed,” he says, and opens the small wooden door, allowing us to change cars easily.
“Thank you,” I tell him, and bid Elena walk in front of me.
A grin pulls at my lips when she lets out a gasp, and I rush forward to see why. The open space between the cars is only a few feet with intricate railings on both sides for safety, but the deafening sound of the tracks along with the exhilarating whip of the wind in the face is intense.
“Trains are marvelous,” I shout as my hair flutters and swirls with the air current.
I meet her gaze just ahead where she stands in front of the suite doors waiting, a sheer look of exuberance there as if she shares my delight.
The trees whir past in the inky expanse, except for the lights twinkling in the distance I assume are houses or towns.
“Ready?” I shout over the wind as I make it to her.
When she gives me a nod, I push to slide the door open and we both step inside our new room for the time being.
“Wow, look how beautiful.”
Watching her reaction, it’s impossible to turn away. She freezes, seemingly going still at the sheer scale of luxury, and a smile tugs at my lips. I watch as her hand rises to touch there in disbelief as she finally walks inside.
A shaky burst of laughter bubbles out of her when she notices the chilled champagne sitting on the nearby table, and her face lights up with joy at the extravagant surroundings, making me wonder how she’ll react to seeing my home for the first time.
The small cabin room, the most luxurious the railway line possesses, is fit for a king.
Scents of fresh linen and amber waft through the space lending a quietly calming effect.
A beige colored couch is situated on the right wall with a small beige and burgundy table and chair sitting opposite, along with a large double bed that takes up the back of the room.
The wall sconces are lit low to give a cozy and comfortable feel, helped by the glossy, dark toned walls.
“Well, I’m too tired for more champagne, but oh my gosh this is lovely.”
“Yes, it is,” I murmur, unable to look away from her as she reaches out to touch some other frippery.
She lets out another yawn, and I point out what looks to be the loo behind the door that she may have missed on the way inside. “Why don’t you grab a change of clothes and get to bed, aye? The lavvie is just through there.”
What feels like ages later, I move to sit up in the bed when I hear the door open, Elena finally emerging wearing a t-shirt.
My gaze widens when I catch a glimpse of her naked thighs, thick, luscious, and pale, but quickly slam down the thread of my salacious thoughts. She’s tired and the last thing she needs is me acting like a horny bastard.
“So when the railway company mentioned double beds it looks like they meant a double bed,” she says.
“Don’t fash yourself, I can sleep atop the covers, and there’s an extra blanket just there if I catch a chill,” I tell her. I point at the ivory colored throw that’s draped across the end of the bed.
Her gaze bounces around the room landing everywhere but on me, and I realize she may be feeling nervous. I swing my legs over the edge of the mattress, the pads of my feet pressing into the cold hardwood of the floor as I get up from the bed. “You get comfortable. I’ll be back in a wee bittie.”
I make myself scarce and let her acquaint herself with the room, stepping inside the private bathroom to change out of my denim jeans and shirt, into a soft gray t-shirt and matching cotton pants to sleep.
When I get back to the bedroom, I find her looking like a sprite cocooned in the soft bed with the sheets pulled to her chin.
Moving to dim the sconce on the wall nearest me, I turn to her. “Do you want any of the lights on when you sleep?”
“No, I usually sleep in pitch black with no lights on at all.”
Switching the sconces off one by one, I plunge the room into darkness before getting back into the soft bed, careful to not disturb her or her personal space, and become acutely aware of how near she is.
My head touches the soft cotton of my pillow and a wave of comfort and peace comes over me so swiftly, chills cover my body from head to toe, raising the hair on my scalp.
My heartbeat picks up erratically at the thought of how long I’ve waited for her and now here she is, within my reach and trusting enough of me for this much closeness.
Gratitude and an overwhelming sense of adoration pours through my being when she sighs happily.
Gods be good, I’ll continue to have good fortune, and she’ll grow to appreciate my nearness in kind.
Given time, perhaps she could learn to feel as strongly for me as I already do for her. Her kindness, and obvious want to help along with the way she stood up for me even against Vlad says a lot about who she is as a person.
Because of who and what she is to me, I’m already intensely loyal to her by fault, but her quiet acceptance of the supernatural and the intelligence behind her gaze drive me to distraction. I can tell I’ll never tire of hearing her speak about anything.
So far she’s given me everything I could ever hope for or desire from a new mate.
“I have a question,” she asks. She turns on her side, pillowing the side of her face on her hand, and my attention goes to the curvy hills and valleys the bedcovers make along her form.
“Anything,” I reply.
“You said I’m your mate, but what does that mean exactly?” she whispers.
I take a steady breath, and think a moment of how to explain to her without scaring her off instantly with the talk of mate bonds and magic, plus all the other potential pitfalls given once a mate bond is accepted, it’s permanent.
However, the thought of telling her how to reverse our matehood before she’s gotten the chance to know me rankles in the worst way. I’ll not rush her, and I’ll explain how it’s not permanent unless she wants it to be later. There’s time enough for talk of bonds when she’s well rested.
“You’re my mate. It’s how your falling into the moat broke the spell’s hold on me, because you’re meant to be my true mate. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have a choice in the matter,” I tell her honestly.
“What do you mean?”
“Can I see your hand?” I ask.
She reaches across the bed linens without hesitation, causing my lips to lift at the edges in the quiet way she already accepts me. I open her palm and bring my fingertips to graze at just the center there.
“Did you know there are some seahorses that bond and mate with their partner for their whole lives?” I ask.
“I did know that,” she murmurs, covering a small yawn.
I let the silence stretch between us before I move my hand again. I allow the light pressure of my forefinger to share my true intentions and lay my emotions bare for her to see directly from the source.
A light blue spark of light, faint in its intensity, flows between us. The touch between us acts like calming balm, reducing anxiety through the mate bond and creating a sense of belonging and sureness.
“You’re my anchor, Elena. My seahorse,” I say, appeased that she at least feels secure enough to fall asleep next to me.
I move to kiss her forehead, pressing a light peck there, and pray she decides to like me again tomorrow.
“Goodnight, my flower.”