body closer to his.
She ached deep inside, ached for something unknown, something she had never felt before. The intensity of it frightened her.
"Channa Leigh." His voice was thick and ragged, and in some way she didn't understand, it magnified the ache deep inside her, left her clinging to him in hopes that he could somehow ease the ache that throbbed in the very core of her being.
With a muttered oath, he put her away from him.
"My lord?" Confused, she reached out for him. She could hear the sound of his breathing. It came in quick gasps, as if he had run a very long way. "My lord, are you unwell?"
Unwell? He burned as with a fever. "Go to bed, Channa Leigh."
"But..."
"Do as I say!"
At the tone of his voice, she scrambled under the covers and pulled the blankets up to her chin, only to lie there, her heart pounding. What had she done to anger him so? One minute he was kissing her sweetly and the next he was pushing her away.
She tried not to cry, but the tears came anyway.
And then she felt a warm tongue lave her cheek.
"Magick!" Wrapping her arms around the wolf's neck, she buried her face in his thick fur. "I'm so glad you're here."
The wolf dropped down beside her, a low whine rising in his throat.
"I don't understand him," she wailed softly. "I don't understand myself, what I'm feeling. He makes me feel so... strange." She stroked the wolf's fur. "He gave me my sight today. It was so wonderful. I saw the sky and the trees. And grass, and a waterfall. And his face... Oh, Magick, I saw his face. And he's so handsome. And his eyes, they seemed so familiar, as if I'd seen them before..."
Her words trailed off and she frowned. "His eyes." Her fingertips slid up the wolf's neck to his head. "His eyes are your eyes," she mused. "The same shape, the very same color. How is that possible, unless... Of course! You're him, aren't you?"
The wolf whined low in his throat.
She felt her cheeks grow warm as she remembered what she had confided to the wolf, and suddenly she hoped she was wrong, hoped that the wolf was just a wolf, hoped if he was indeed Darkfest, he would not remember her words when he shed the guise of the wolf.
When she woke in the morning, her world was dark again, and she was alone. Her first thought was for the wolf. Was he a magical wolf, or was he the wizard? Why did touching the wolf restore her vision when touching the wizard did not?
Darkfest. Sitting up, she folded her arms over her breasts. He had kissed her and she had reveled in it.
Where was he?
And then she felt a stirring inside her and knew, knew, that he was nearby.
"Good morrow, Channa Leigh."
The sound of his voice moved over her, low and husky and strangely melodic. She felt her cheeks grow warm as she remembered the touch of his lips on hers, the way she had melted against him. Was he remembering, too?
"Good morrow," she replied tremulously.
"I've brought breakfast."
His voice was closer now. He was near, she thought, near enough to touch if she but had the courage to reach out.
He touched her shoulder. "Here," he said, and placed a plate in her lap. "There is bread and fresh berries."
"Thank you, my lord."
He sat down across from her, watching her eat, his breath catching in his throat as she licked a drop of bright purple juice from the corner of her mouth. Desire flamed within him as he imagined drawing her into his arms. What a rare and wondrous pleasure it would be to kiss her now, when her lips were moist and sweet with berry juice.
He swore softly. Would she resist his embrace? She had not resisted yesterday. Had it been attraction she felt for him then or merely gratitude because he had not left that whelp in the guise of a toad?
He scowled into the distance. He doubted the lad possessed the courage to risk his wrath a second time. She had lost nothing when the boy turned tail and ran. Nothing but the love of a young man who obviously adored her.
His scowl deepened. Ronin could find another lass. As for himself, in three hundred years he had never seen another woman he wanted or desired. Only Channa Leigh had touched his heart, quickened his need, aroused his desire until it beat within him