fury.
She looked... absolutely exquisite.
It was all he could do to stop himself from throwing her down right where they stood, upon the Clan graves of Drummossie Moor, forcing himself on her in among the heather. He had never wanted anything so badly in all of his life as he wanted Ailill Bascna-Morna. It would be so easy. He knew very well exactly what she did not wear beneath her short kilt. The thought brought a gleam to his velvet-black eyes and Tiernan reached for her, kissed the girl with as much intensity as he had the first time, three years before, when he could deny the truth in his heart no longer. It had been so long since then, since that first kiss. The months of strain between them, after, only because he had not known how to control his desire for her, nor how to heal the growing pain within her heart, a pain that he had caused by telling her the truth. She had been truly miserable; as had he. She was gone for nearly two and a half years after that, working her own particular brand of Magick, out there in the real world. And then she had just appeared one day, out of the blue, at the supper table at Heartfire. More beautiful than ever before. He couldn't keep his eyes off her. He had almost shown her, a mere month ago, when he tried to make amends for what he had caused, just how deeply he had fallen, how badly he wished to change her fate. He had come very close that time to claiming what was meant for another; too close, stopped in the nick of time by Abby, whether she had meant to or not. His kisses since had been increasingly daring yet, without fail, the tall, perfectly sculpted young man would stop abruptly, distance himself, and leave her alone to ponder the reasons why he acted in such a manner; so contrary to their own kind.
This time, however, he doubted that he would have such discipline, such control, knowing that the eyes of the watchers were, for once, nowhere nearby. He had taken Ailill away from any others, away from an army of well-trained guards and the staff of Heartfire, to send her away from all that she knew and loved; away from him, though it had felt like the cold blade of a dirk had sliced through his heart to say it. It was more than the fact that he loved her, much bigger than the unhappy knowledge that she was promised to someone besides himself; two someones, to be exact, though his father had daringly added a secret dispensation to her rights of birth, long before, when Ailill had been a week old infant, knowing that his firstborn son would not wish for any other though the two other promised men, if they were ever found, might; hence, Tiernan was given the greatest of gifts, retaining the honor which had always been meant for him, of being her chosen . Unfortunately, when he had reiterated that fact, moments before, and repeated her father’s demand for her to return home at long last, Ailill had been more furious than he had ever seen her; violently furious, which was far from normal for the well-trained warrior; the leader she would one day become.
By nature, Tiernan did not bruise easily, but she had hit him so hard; the tender flesh around his jaw smarted still, making him wince when Ailill’s small, child-sized hands came up to pull him back to her when he began to draw away. The boldness of the action caused an instant throbbing in his loins, a sensation echoed most painfully behind his eyes, throughout his skull. He took the unaccustomed pain of headache as a sign of warning and pulled his head up, too high for her kisses, holding her by the arms to stop his fiery first love from continuing her rousing actions. In a moment of uneasy clarity, he wondered if it had been wise to nurture her already inhuman strength to the point that they had; she was easily as strong as he; it was a struggle just to hold her away from him.
“ Nay, my love,” he said softly. “Tisna allowed. I am not to be your first, as I have tried so verra hard to explain for so long. I have
She looked... absolutely exquisite.
It was all he could do to stop himself from throwing her down right where they stood, upon the Clan graves of Drummossie Moor, forcing himself on her in among the heather. He had never wanted anything so badly in all of his life as he wanted Ailill Bascna-Morna. It would be so easy. He knew very well exactly what she did not wear beneath her short kilt. The thought brought a gleam to his velvet-black eyes and Tiernan reached for her, kissed the girl with as much intensity as he had the first time, three years before, when he could deny the truth in his heart no longer. It had been so long since then, since that first kiss. The months of strain between them, after, only because he had not known how to control his desire for her, nor how to heal the growing pain within her heart, a pain that he had caused by telling her the truth. She had been truly miserable; as had he. She was gone for nearly two and a half years after that, working her own particular brand of Magick, out there in the real world. And then she had just appeared one day, out of the blue, at the supper table at Heartfire. More beautiful than ever before. He couldn't keep his eyes off her. He had almost shown her, a mere month ago, when he tried to make amends for what he had caused, just how deeply he had fallen, how badly he wished to change her fate. He had come very close that time to claiming what was meant for another; too close, stopped in the nick of time by Abby, whether she had meant to or not. His kisses since had been increasingly daring yet, without fail, the tall, perfectly sculpted young man would stop abruptly, distance himself, and leave her alone to ponder the reasons why he acted in such a manner; so contrary to their own kind.
This time, however, he doubted that he would have such discipline, such control, knowing that the eyes of the watchers were, for once, nowhere nearby. He had taken Ailill away from any others, away from an army of well-trained guards and the staff of Heartfire, to send her away from all that she knew and loved; away from him, though it had felt like the cold blade of a dirk had sliced through his heart to say it. It was more than the fact that he loved her, much bigger than the unhappy knowledge that she was promised to someone besides himself; two someones, to be exact, though his father had daringly added a secret dispensation to her rights of birth, long before, when Ailill had been a week old infant, knowing that his firstborn son would not wish for any other though the two other promised men, if they were ever found, might; hence, Tiernan was given the greatest of gifts, retaining the honor which had always been meant for him, of being her chosen . Unfortunately, when he had reiterated that fact, moments before, and repeated her father’s demand for her to return home at long last, Ailill had been more furious than he had ever seen her; violently furious, which was far from normal for the well-trained warrior; the leader she would one day become.
By nature, Tiernan did not bruise easily, but she had hit him so hard; the tender flesh around his jaw smarted still, making him wince when Ailill’s small, child-sized hands came up to pull him back to her when he began to draw away. The boldness of the action caused an instant throbbing in his loins, a sensation echoed most painfully behind his eyes, throughout his skull. He took the unaccustomed pain of headache as a sign of warning and pulled his head up, too high for her kisses, holding her by the arms to stop his fiery first love from continuing her rousing actions. In a moment of uneasy clarity, he wondered if it had been wise to nurture her already inhuman strength to the point that they had; she was easily as strong as he; it was a struggle just to hold her away from him.
“ Nay, my love,” he said softly. “Tisna allowed. I am not to be your first, as I have tried so verra hard to explain for so long. I have
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