Earth's Requiem(98)

“I wander forever, soul separated from body, longing for you.”

He traced a fingertip around one of her nipples, then bent and kissed it. His tongue felt warm, swirling around mounded flesh that had already hardened into a point from the cold air in the bedroom.

A jolt of desire rocked her, and she closed her arms around him, pulling him close. “Do we have time?”

He raised his mouth from her breast. “Not much. But Aislinn, this may be the last time we have together. Battles are never certain. One of us may not come out the other end of it intact.”

Her throat closed. Between lust and dread, breathing became a struggle. His mouth covered hers. His kissed her as if they had all the time in the world. The spicy, musky scent that was his and his alone enveloped her. She pushed thoughts of the battle to come aside. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t seen combat. But the stakes had never been so high. Before, she’d trusted that the Old Ones were orchestrating everything. They’d provided a buffer between her and the dark. She was just thinking how stupid she’d been, and how naïve, when he shoved the covers down more and spread her legs.

“I am all that will be in your mind, mo leannán,” he murmured just before his mouth settled between her legs, breathing heat into her.

He licked at her, tasted her. She lifted her hips and twined her fingers into his hair, trying to get closer. What he was doing felt incredible, but he amped the intensity tenfold when he sucked on her clitoris and sank fingers inside to press something that made her crazy. She wasn’t even sure what he was doing, but it made her come over and over, the orgasms so close that she wasn’t sure when one stopped and the next began.

He slid his body up hers and buried himself inside her. She raised her legs, locking them around his hips. He told her he loved her in Gaelic over and over before he closed his mouth atop hers. She tasted herself on him; it made her wild with lust. They rocked together for an eternity that ended all too soon. He made that sound she loved—a purring low in the back of his throat—when he came, juddering hard. She’d come so much that another climax seemed impossible, but he carried her with him, hands gripping her ass and pulling her even tighter against him.



“’Tis time to be off,” Bran said from the doorway. “What is it with the two of you? Shy of pulling one off the other, or dumping a bucket of cold water over you, I couldna get your attention.”

“Ye’re just jealous.” Fionn gasped. He balanced himself on his arms and pulled his cock out. Still hard, it glistened with their fluids.

“Doona believe him, lass.” Bran laughed. “Just say the word, and I’ll show you mine. ’Tis bigger than his.”

Aislinn giggled. “Yeah, and I’ll just bet it’s hard all the time, too.” She wiped at herself with a sheet and started tossing clothes on, aware of Bran’s gaze.

“I can see why ye picked this one.” Bran stepped close enough to jab Fionn in the arm. “She’s a beauty.”

“She’s mine,” Fionn growled. “Never forget that. Leave us. We’ll be out soon enough.”

Aislinn layered on clothes and stuffed extra things she thought she’d need into her rucksack. “Are we taking any food?”

“Nay, we can hunt for what we need.”

“May I talk with you?” Rune left the shadows in a corner of the room and padded to her side. “Alone.” He looked pointedly at Fionn, who furled his brows.

“And here I was thinking we were friends, lad.”

“That has nothing to do with it.”

Maybe it was something in the wolf’s tone, but Fionn finished dressing quickly, held out an arm for Bella, and left the room.

“What is it?” Aislinn hunkered down so she and Rune were at eye level.

“I do not like it that the dragon will take you where we cannot fight together.”

Aislinn thought about that and realized she didn’t like it either. She said as much, adding, “It can’t be helped for now. You’ll be on the ground when I land—”

“Not the same,” he snapped. “Bond mates were never meant to be separated. I fear it will bring us bad luck.”

“I can ask Dewi. Maybe she’ll know some other way.”



To Aislinn’s surprise, Rune snarled. “She won’t help. In her mind, you are her bond mate, not mine.”

Aislinn placed a hand on either side of Rune’s head. “You are a part of me. I’ll try to figure something out.”





Chapter Twenty-Three


Aislinn emerged from the house into the gray of a new day. Clouds were thick in the sky, and the air smelled like snow. Winter had been mild since the snowstorm when she’d waited for Travis, but it looked like the trend was about to change. Fionn, Arawn, Gwydion, and Bran circulated amongst the humans. She assumed they were giving final instructions. Slototh was their first target. For some reason, the men thought he’d be the easiest to provoke into making a stupid mistake.