parted lips, Adlin didn’t give a bloody hell about anything anymore but getting as deep inside her as possible. With a sharp tug he pulled down the front of her clingy, wet, white garment and wrapped his lips around an eager nipple. Arching in pleasure, she cried out.
He almost burst with release.
Forget magic. Shoving this flimsy thing up her wet thighs and settling in for the plunge seemed so much sweeter an idea.
Adlin! Trouble!
Startled by the sound of Iosbail’s voice in his head, he stopped. Disabled by a raging erection he pulled on even more magic, grabbed Mildred under her arms and moved at the speed that would have had her screaming had he not covered her mouth.
Within seconds they were wedged into a small cave in the side of the cliff, his hand hard on her mouth, his body pressed tight cushioning her against the frigid rock. No more magic now. Mildred’s eyes were wide and frightened. He shook his head and tried to warm her against the sheer, frigid wind blowing in from the north.
Within minutes they’d both enter into hypothermia.
But they had bigger problems.
“Scan the area well. She’s vanished. So has that bastard, Adlin!”
Bruce.
Adlin cursed himself a thousand times over for the danger he’d put them in, nevermind his sister. Iosbail would be damned lucky if that message she’d sent him mentally wasn’t detected.
Hell.
For the first time in his long existence, Adlin felt true fear.
He didn’t much like it.
Bruce’s men fanned out but found nothing. Still, their laird was less than convinced. Adlin watched as the MacLeod chieftain walked to the very spot he’d walked Mildred out of the water, as if he sensed what had happened there. Face to the wind, Bruce seemed to sniff the wind, his eyes narrowed as they swept the landscape.
Adlin sent a prayer to his new God for protection.
This would be a slim escape if one at all.
Mildred’s body shook harder against his and he did all he could to protect her.
When Bruce’s head turned in their direction he thought they were done for. He held his breath, ready to summon all the power he had.
Long, tense seconds passed.
As Bruce’s eyes peered into the darkness, wind whipped up, strong and sure. A sudden storm rolled in, impatient and angry, its turbulent intent wicked and twisting. The tide began to push forward at an alarming rate, creating vicious, white-tipped waves within a minute.
This storm was not born of magic.
No, it was born of the old gods.
Adlin never stopped watching Bruce as the water started to rush past their feet. And it seemed Bruce never stopped watching him either.
“My laird, we must go!”
The cry came from one of his men. Bruce, already knee deep, continued to stare. Adlin, already knee deep, did the same. Oddly enough, in that singular moment, Adlin wondered if his new God would make an appearance or would it always be the old gods who came to his rescue?
Even though he knew it a silly thought, aggravation reigned.
Mildred shook, her head buried against his chest. The waves now lapped at their thighs. Still, the MacLeod laird stared. But Adlin knew though Bruce searched, he didn’t see. Not really. Not yet.
“My laird, now!”
With a mad scowl, Bruce waded out of the water, gave the coast one last miserable sweep with his brooding eyes then followed his clansmen off the beach. Adlin waited several minutes until he knew they were gone.
But even that was too long for Mildred. Her frigid body went limp in his arms. If magic was an option right now he’d have her to Iosbail’s chambers in a second. Regrettably, it wasn’t and her core body temperature had fallen dangerously low. Regardless of his fear, five hundred years of life taught a lad a few things. Grabbing her around the midriff he dragged her out of the cave and onto the shore.
Once he had her onto a dry piece of land he took her face in one hand and said, “Mildred, wake up, now.”
Totally unresponsive, he lowered and leaned her against a rock. Supporting her back, he shook her face a little. “Mildred, listen to me, now!”
A few muscles jerked in her arms and her cheek twitched. “No, Jim.”
Adlin rocked back and stared. Jim?
But he already knew who Jim Seavey was. Her friend from New Hampshire. Her friend from back home. That she mentioned Jim now told Adlin much. Jaw clenched, he shook his head.
Saving Mildred was so very important.
Adlin glanced around. He had nothing to warm her