Trial of a Warrior Read online

  Abela fought the smile forming on her mouth. “Egotistical.”

  “Yes, as you’ve stated many times.”

  “Your assumptions will get you into trouble, Liam MacGregor.”

  He halted their progress. “Tell me, Abela, was I wrong about us? Could you have seen a future? If you can’t answer, then I have made a grave error in assuming we might have found happiness together.”

  Shielding her eyes from the sunlight, she watched as a pair of geese flew overhead. How could she answer him? So much time had passed, yet, she knew in her heart how she still felt for him. “Someone once told me that to look back on past deeds in hopes of seeing another future can result in a skewed present.” She dropped her hand. “Can we not move forward?”

  “A wise person, indeed, but not the answer I was seeking.” Liam strolled along in front of her.

  Following slowly behind him, she was determined to enjoy every second they had together. “Can you guess who told me those words?”

  He darted a glance at her over his shoulder. “Aidan?”

  “No. My mother.” She ran up alongside him. “She had come upon me weeping by the fountain in front of the chambers of the Brotherhood.”

  “Why were you there? Conn?”

  “My mother assumed my tears were over the loss of my brother, since we never spoke before he departed.” Abela sighed and knelt on the patch of flowers. “I could not speak your name. Only within my heart. I was too late in reaching you.”

  Liam halted. When he bent down beside her, his smile was one of sadness. “What am I to do with you, Abela?”

  Her heart already knew the answer, but she had allowed fear to guide her the moment she set eyes on him again. Their past was already written. There were no promises of tomorrow. This moment in time was all they had left—a tiny thread here in the human world. There would be no others to dissuade her on paths of the heart and life decisions.

  Abela grew weary of fighting her own battle of restraint. For the first time in her life, she would take what she wanted, craved, and desired.

  She closed the door on her rambling thoughts that forbade her to do the unimaginable.

  Liam MacGregor was the only Fae she had ever loved. There would be no other.

  Abela took his warm, strong hand into hers and smiled. “Spend the day with me and…” She paused, fearing he would flee once she spoke the words out loud.

  “And?” he echoed.

  “The night, as well.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “I heard the call of love, but cast it aside as foolishness. It was an emotion foreign to other warriors, but I was one of the few to capture its alluring first spark.”

  ~Chronicles of Liam MacGregor

  Liam pressed his palm on the ground between them. Violets in a variety of shades of lavender spread out in a carpet around them. He banished the thoughts of a warrior, screaming at him to leave her presence. They had become annoying, cluttering his heart and soul with the same rigorous training he had honed his body and mind for centuries.

  There had been a void in his life and only one could fill the emptiness. Abela.

  He brought their joined hands to his chest. “I noted your statement is a declaration and not a question. Therefore, I will be with you until the sunlight dances within the sky on Midsummer morning. There will be no regrets, Abela, come the morn. Can you live with only one night with me?” She had to know for certain he would claim all of her.

  Her eyes glittered like lavender crystals, and she gently lowered herself to the ground. Her hair fanning out against the flowers was a feast for his eyes. His hand shook, aching to strip off her gown.

  “But will you have regrets, Liam?” she asked softly. “I will not. However, you are honor-bound by laws and edicts within the Brotherhood and as a Fae.”

  “No.” The answer came swift and sure, and he lowered himself beside her. “Yet this will be no simple lovemaking, Abela. I will take you here upon the land, binding you with the ancient words of our people. If you expected a casual dalliance of sexual pleasure, then you need to seek out the Pleasure Gardens.”

  A secretive smile softened her lips. “If I had wanted sexual release with another Fae, I would have done so many decades ago.”

  “You have waited for me?” Liam’s groin tightened.

  “Always.”

  Liam wasn’t ready to utter the words in his heart. Not yet. The realization that she was presenting him with the gift of her virginity made him love her all the more. His love for her had been hidden, kept locked away in his heart. He'd denied it over the centuries. But no longer.

  Keeping his focus on her face, Liam trailed his fingers down the side of her neck and to the valley between her breasts. Her heart beat rapidly against the material touching his skin. “Your heart shall be joined with mine.”

  “From the first heart-beat to the last,” she added. “Forever yours.”

  “Abela…” His mouth sought her lips in a fiery possession, demanding entry into the velvet warmth of her mouth. The kiss sang through his veins, opening all the emotions he had kept locked away. She filled a void he was unable to fill for centuries.

  He cupped her breast, massaging the pert nipple between his fingers. Her moan filled his body when he deepened the kiss. She tasted of the land, urging him onward as she wrapped her arms around his neck and stroked her tongue against his.

  Liam broke free and nipped her gently on the side of her neck with his teeth. Glancing around, he swiftly took in their surroundings.

  “Don’t stop,” she pleaded and rubbed against his swollen erection.

  Her eyes glittered with passion. “I’m looking for a more intimate location.”

  “I like it out here in the sun,” she argued, and stretched her arms overhead. Her lips pouted in invitation.

  Drawn to her once again, he clasped her wrists together with one hand. Slowly, he teased his tongue over her bottom lip. “We shall, but not here.”

  “Then decide quickly,” she demanded, squirming beneath him.

  Liam chuckled softly. “You love to give orders.”

  She paused. “A flaw?”

  He kissed the dimple on her right cheek. “No. One of many enduring qualities I’ve admired about you.”

  Her eyes twinkled with mischief. “Then what are you waiting for?”

  Liam stood. Upon extending his hand out to Abela, she grasped it firmly, and he brought her to standing. “The river is soothing, but I know of a better area.”

  “Do you want me to move us there?”

  Scanning the area, he replied, “Keep your magic for the shields.” He pointed north. “If we take the path along the river toward the hills, there is a stunning waterfall that spills into a small lake.”

  Abela leaned against him. “I’m intrigued.”

  He glanced at her. “You should be. The humans have named it the Fae Pools of Glynn.”

  “Truly? Have you seen them?”

  “Once. When I required solitude after a battle and was unable to return home. I heard an elderly woman speak of the enchantment of the land.” He brought her hand to his lips and placed a kiss along the vein in her wrist. “Whenever a human mentions a particular place that is named after the Fae, it brings out the historian in me. I had to see it for myself.”

  She trembled from his touch. “Show me.”

  Smiling he complied, and led her toward the hills. An hour later they reached the secluded lake. Liam lifted pine limbs for Abela to enter. Upon stepping into the clearing, Liam watched her entire face light up with pleasure. The waterfall cascaded down a steep cliff face into a foamy pool. Their haven was bordered by trees, ferns, wildflowers, and rocks carpeted with emerald green moss.

  “It truly has earned its name,” she declared, moving into the sunlight. “I believe one of the Fae has graced this place with magic.”

  “Beauty in all directions,” he remarked. However, the treasured gem was the one standing barefoot in front of him.

&
nbsp; She gasped in delight. “Look at how the water gracefully flows down into the lake. It is so peaceful and serene. The sunlight dances off the rocks like shimmering crystals in a rainbow of mosaic colors. And look at all the foliage. I never knew the human world had these hidden gems of landscapes.”

  Liam stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her waist. She leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed. “Make love to me.”

  Her words undid him, and he turned her around to face him. Brushing back her ebony locks, he sought out her sensual lips, devouring their softness. His hands skimmed down the side of her body, and he cupped her bottom, bringing it against his hardened cock. Desire hummed in every pore within his body. He tasted, teased, and took his time with the kiss until the tide of passion exploded, and their kisses became a wild torrent. He ached to touch her skin and explore all her hidden treasures.

  As if reading his thoughts, Abela drew back. Her eyes mirrored the lust he knew shown in his own. She gave him a bewitching smile and took a step back.

  Liam started to reach for her, but she held up her hand. Slowly she turned her back on him. He froze, and his chest constricted as she gradually slid the straps over her shoulders. When her hands paused at her breasts, he let out a growl. “Remove the garment, or I’ll be forced to rip it from your body.”

  She glanced back at him seductively, letting the material slip all the way to the ground. After stepping free from the gown, she ran her fingers through her locks. Her hair cascaded down her backside, caressing the top of her lush bottom, and Liam became mesmerized. When she turned fully toward him, her rosy nipples teased him.

  “You are an enchantress—a vixen who steals the breath from my lungs.” He stripped free from his tunic and removed his boots with a wave of his hand.

  Her gaze traveled over his body and then back to his eyes. Stepping toward him, she trailed a hand over his chest. He trembled from her touch. “And you are perfection. All that I have ever wanted, Liam.”

  He allowed her to continue her exploration as she marveled at the markings on his body. When she kissed the Celtic knots near his heart with his name emblazed in the center, he let out a groan. “I have never been with a man, but when I’ve touched myself, your name has been on my lips.”

  His cock swelled more at her confession. “Not only a vixen, but a brazen one.”

  She moved nearer, her nipples brushing against his skin. “Do I shock you?”

  In all his lifetime, no one had made his blood boil like the woman standing before him. “Never.”

  With a snap of his fingers, he magically removed his trews. Her eyes widened as he brushed his cock against her skin. Waves of tingling sensations traveled through his body, and he clenched his jaw, trying to maintain control and not spill his seed.

  Lowering her gaze, her hand lifted. “Impressive,” she whispered.

  “Do not touch me there.” His demand sounded hoarse even to his own ears.

  Without giving her time to react, Liam grasped her firmly around the waist and covered her mouth hungrily. He sought to teach her the ways of lovemaking, but he believed he would be the one learning. She was a tempting feast, ripe for the plundering, and he would take all she had to offer.

  He broke their kiss to feast on her ivory breasts. She dug her fingers into his scalp as he teased one nipple with his tongue and then the next. Her skin tasted of honey and all the flowers from their realm. The heady floral scent drove him to madness. He couldn’t get enough and desired more.

  Dropping to his knees, he grasped her thighs. “You are intoxicating, mo ghrá.”

  “Wh…what are you doing?”

  Nudging her legs further apart, he responded, “Bringing you pleasure.”

  Her chest rose and fell with each breath. “Oh…”

  She squirmed, but he held her firmly. “Are you not curious?” He placed a feather-like kiss on the inside of her thigh, her scent filling him. When she refused to answer, Liam continued to kiss her all around her nest of curls. He slid one hand slowly down the back of her leg and then up to her bottom.

  “You’re tormenting me,” she blurted out, her legs trembling.

  He needed no further invitation and slipped his tongue between her delicate folds until he found her center. Liam teased and nipped, feasting on her forbidden nectar. She uttered a guttural moan and placed her hands on his shoulders, moving in a rhythm that drove him mad.

  Liam’s body roared for release, but he refused to do so until Abela sought hers. His entry into her body would be a harsh one. When he dipped a finger inside her, Abela moaned.

  “Too much,” she whimpered. “I can’t grasp…”

  “Let go, mo ghrá. Allow me to taste your pleasure,” he murmured against her thighs and went back to her intimate center, making lazy circles with his tongue.

  “Liam!” A scream of pleasure ripped free from her as she dug her nails into his skin.

  After collapsing into his arms, Liam brought her gently down upon the ground. He continued to lavish her body with kisses and brushed his hand over the curves of her body. When she wrapped one of her legs around his waist, he needed no further invitation, and nudged his swollen cock between her thighs. Her heat invaded him as he tried to move slowly into her.

  Abela cupped his face, her eyes the most beautiful he had ever witnessed. “Don’t prolong the agony. I know there will be pain, but I have dreamt of this moment for a long time. Permit me to guide you.”

  He groaned as her delicate hand stroked and guided him into her. With a powerful thrust, Liam entered fully into Abela. She let out a hiss and closed her eyes. Slowly, he withdrew and entered her again.

  “More,” she pleaded.

  “Open your eyes,” Liam demanded.

  When she did, Liam moved in a primal dance as old as time. With each kiss, brush of his hand over her breasts, and words of endearment, he watched her embrace the sensual passion. As her desire built, his expanded. The blood pounded in every fiber of his body, and his cock throbbed to release all he had into the woman he loved.

  She was beauty beneath him.

  His thrusts became urgent and beads of sweat broke out along his brow. His control failing as the tide of passion began to sweep him away. Unable to hold back, Liam shook as the pleasure exploded and vibrated all around them. His roar of release echoed throughout the land, along with her own. Iridescent lights shimmered around them in a rainbow when he took her mouth with savage intensity capturing her own pleasurable sighs.

  Liam couldn’t move. His body heavy and spent. The residual fervor rippled over his skin.

  He could feel her heart beating against his skin, and the air cooled around them. Sunlight faded, and he slowly lifted his head. Unable to focus on their surroundings, he rolled over and brought her still quaking body against his chest. He tried to calm his own rapidly beating heart and closed his eyes. When he finally did open them, he glanced upward.

  “Where is our sunshine?” asked Abela, her question muffled against his chest.

  He stroked a hand down her back. “The sun and moon are as one.”

  Abela visibly shuddered, her eyes growing wide. “No,” she whispered.

  Liam wiped a finger across her worried brow. “What troubles you? It is only a solar eclipse.”

  “Have you not heard the legends about a Fae witnessing the appearance of both—sun and moon—at the same time?”

  “I believe it is only a tale told of—”

  “Two Fae who defied the kingdom and married,” she interrupted.

  “And they were banished,” he concluded, kissing her lips. “It is a story about a couple on our homeland, Taralyn. I do recall it was when the moons crossed with the sun. We are in the mortal world.”

  She pursed her lips in concentration. “Yes, you are correct.” Glancing over her shoulder, she added, “Yet, can this similar occurrence be an omen?”

  Liam cupped her cheek, forcing her to meet his stare. “Again, we are in the human world and not our own. This
does not apply to us.” Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, he asked, “Are you truly worried? Have I brought you shame?” He held his breath, fearing her reply.

  “No, no,” she whispered against his lips. “I have waited a lifetime to be with you, Liam. My heart is yours. It has always been yours. Why do you think I freed you?” She swallowed. “I love you.”

  He swept his gaze over her lovely features. “I have never known love…until you, Abela. From the first moment I saw you walking with Conn, I watched, waited, and yearned to claim you for my own. Though I understood your parents had most likely chosen another for you to spend your life with, I was unfazed. However, time and circumstances prevented us from being together. And as all young Fae do, we sought out other pleasures.” He blew out a frustrated breath. “It wasn’t until our paths crossed again a few years later near the time I was thinking of joining the Brotherhood that I had hoped you might consider choosing me for a life partner. If you had, I would never have enlisted.”

  She laughed softly. “You did seem boastful and arrogant at the time. However, I was intrigued. My parents did choose someone for me, but I was adamant in my protests that I find my own love. They finally relented. When I saw you leaning against the pillar by The Library of Ancients, my breath caught.”

  Taking her hand, Liam placed it in the center of his chest. He banished all negative thoughts. He would not believe in ill omens or legends of forbidden lovers. And in their own ancient language, he uttered the sacred words to bind his soul to hers. “From the stars we came, to the stars we shall remain. Heart to heart, I am yours. Blood to blood, we are one. I weave my soul into your soul with the thread of our lovemaking. When I take my last breath, your name shall be on my lips. Until we gather at the Tree of Life in Tir na Og.”

  Abela’s eyes misted with unshed tears as she took Liam’s hand and placed it in the center of her chest. “From the stars I call home, to the stars I shall be with you for eternity. Heart to heart, I am yours. Blood to blood, we are one. I weave my soul with yours with the thread of our lovemaking. I will claim you once more at the Tree of Life in Tir na Og.”