Fionn sent out fingers of magic to the three siblings, hit their carotid sinus, and watched them slump to the floor in a tangle of unconscious limbs.
With one last snarl in their direction, he traveled to the hotel’s side entrance, deliberately setting off the perimeter spell Schneider had alarmed the building with. Let him find the Blackwoods and let them deal with each other.
Relief flooded him at the sight of his shaken companion searching the car park for him. He hurried toward Rose and she whirled around at the sound of his approaching footsteps. Without thinking, driven purely by instinct, he grabbed hold of her slim but strong biceps and hauled her against him.
She wrapped her arms around his waist, burrowing her face in his chest, and he hugged her with his free arm.
It was but seconds before her slim heat penetrated his anxiety and brought reality crashing down on him.
What the fuck was he doing?
Fionn pressed her away, bending his face to check her expression. She looked exhausted. “Are you okay?”
Rose nodded and he stepped out of her reach, putting much-needed distance between them. What was he doing hugging her?
He was losing his mind.
“Have you got enough left in you to travel back to the hotel?”
She shook her head, her voice hoarse. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. They’d blocked the bathroom with iron. I couldn’t get past it until I heard you scream.” He flinched, knowing he’d remember the sound of Rose screaming for the rest of his life. “You were gone, but I saw what they’d done with the iron.” Pride was an ache through him. The twisted fuck that he was. “You are very powerful, Rose.”
She gave him a weary smile and shrugged. “My mom always said I have a will of steel.”
“Your mam was right.” And thank the gods for that. He nodded toward the street. “Come on. We’ll grab a cab back to the hotel. I’m afraid from there, we need to keep going. We need to get out of the city before the Blackwoods catch up with us.”
Rose walked toward the street and he hesitated to follow, wondering how much Layton had told her. “Moving on first and then sleep. Got it.”
Fionn relaxed. If Layton had told her the truth, she didn’t believe him or she wouldn’t still be with Fionn. “What did Layton say?”
“He’s creepy.” Rose’s voice was still hoarse as she threw the opinion over her shoulder at him. “I didn’t hear much of anything he said. I was too busy concentrating on getting away from his licentious ass.”
Licentious? “Did he touch you?”
“Nope.”
Fionn relaxed.
“After we grab our stuff from the hotel, where to next?”
Fionn took in Rose’s body as she walked slightly ahead of him. Her hips were gently rounded, not voluptuous like his past lovers’, but they hypnotically swayed from side to side with her natural swagger.
He could smell fresh sweat on her skin blowing back on the breeze, and he zeroed in on her neck as she reached to lift her hair off her nape. Several strands stuck as a bead of sweat trickled down her spine.
It had taken some exertion but she’d retrieved An Breitheamh and then escaped an iron trap few fae could have.
Exhausted, she still didn’t complain when he informed her they needed to keep moving. Just accepted it.
Strong.
A will of steel.
Beautiful.
As heat flooded low and thick inside Fionn, his frustration became a physical ache in his gums, in his very nerve endings. Curling his free hand into a fist, he fought against the overwhelming urge to surround Rose Kelly with his body and not let her up for air until they were both satisfied.
Fuck.
She’d want that from him. She’d made that plain and clear.
All thoughts of traveling directly to Ireland flew out of his head. There was no way he would touch Rose like that, make her take him deeper into her trust, only to betray her unto death. Which meant he needed another avenue to vent his frustrations, and soon.
“Eventually Ireland,” he bit out as he caught up with her. “But first we’re making a pit stop in Orléans.”
“France?” She glanced up at him in surprise, those astoundingly blue eyes of hers making his stomach pitch. “What’s in France?”
Deciding that staring at her was the problem, Fionn glared ahead, searching for a taxi stand. “Just something I need.”
19
Bran arranged another car for them since the Blackwood Coven was now watching the train and bus stations and the