kinds of hot in his suits and overcoat, but the more casual look worked well with the rugged unkemptness of his hair and stubbled cheeks.
Attraction awoke inside her. It was always there, ready to be prodded to consciousness with Fionn’s arrival.
Jesus Christ, she realized she would never escape this mating bond.
Which was another thing she wanted to talk to him about.
As Fionn slowed to a halt before her, Rose gestured to the door leading out of the grounds. “Is it safe to go for a walk?”
“The spell reaches miles beyond the castle.”
“So that would be a yes?” When he continued to watch her, Rose stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets. “Would you like to come with me?”
Fionn studied her, as if trying to work out her motivation. Finally, he nodded.
To her delight, Rose saw there was a little bridge outside the wrought iron gate. It was built over a small stream that ran past the castle and out into the ocean. “Where is it from?”
“Water finds its way throughout the hills here, moving over valleys, either funneling out toward the sea or downward to the faerie pools.”
“Will you show me the faerie pools?”
She felt his perusal again before he answered in the affirmative.
Beyond the bridge was the coastline to their right and forestry to their left. Fionn pointed out dips in the cliff edge that led down to the dunes.
“There’s not a lot of beach here, and it’s pebbled, not golden sands. But, if you feel like dipping your toes in the water, that’s where to go.”
Rose nodded and then followed him as he led her to a worn path through the woods. The sun shone through the seminaked trees, the forest floor covered in a carpet of autumn leaves soggy from the last few days of rain.
“How did you come to own a castle?” She broke the silence, looking up at him, a towering figure walking beside her with the grace of an athlete.
“I bought it roughly a hundred years after the Blackwoods woke me up. It was built in the fourteenth century for a lord of Ireland. I’d discover upon awakening that Ireland had been invaded by England in the late twelfth century, and the reign of the high kings was over.” There was a hint of grim melancholy in his voice. “Ireland would never be the same again.” Fionn glanced down at her, his expression softening a little. “Almost two centuries before I’d awaken, the title of lord of Ireland would be abolished. By the late 1800s the castle had been added to over the centuries and was now under the ownership of an English lord whose coffers were rapidly dwindling. Such situations were commonplace among a dying aristocracy that refused to get their hands dirty by investing in the Industrial Revolution. I discovered this earl had financial troubles and offered a lot more than the castle was worth. He sold it to me.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Because …” He seemed to hesitate. “The gate to Faerie is on this land. I wanted to be able to protect it.”
“Until you could use it.” Her tone wasn’t accusatory. Just matter-of-fact.
“Aye.”
“You bought this place and spelled it. But you don’t stay here all the time.”
“No. But it is home.”
“Is it near your old home? When you were human, when you were king?”
Fionn shook his head. “No, my homestead was in what is now Northern Ireland. Near Enniskillen.”
Letting silence fall between them, Rose followed Fionn through the forest, wondering if he was taking a path buried under the leaves. When they reached a fallen tree, he held out a hand to aid her over it, even though they both knew she didn’t require anyone’s help.
Taking a deep breath, Rose accepted his hand, unable to meet his gaze as his fingers closed tightly around hers. She hopped over the fallen tree with Fionn’s steadying touch and immediately let go of his hand as soon as he was over the obstacle.
He stepped over it like it was a puddle.
Tingles sparked all over Rose’s hand and she stuffed it into her pocket, aware of Fionn flexing his before fisting it at his side.
He’d felt it too.
She gathered her courage to say what had been on her mind all morning. “I don’t think I ever properly said how sorry I was about Caoimhe and Diarmuid.”
His head whipped toward her so fast, she was sure he must have gotten whiplash. Green eyes blazed intimidatingly at her, searching her expression.