MCKALE HELD MY HAND
as we walked down the path toward the waterfall that evening. The clan was still partying it up, but the Masons had been a subdued bunch all day. I accepted with gratitude when McKale asked me on an early evening “date.”
When we reached the gurgling stream the first thing I did was look around for mini-men. I’d come prepared with a bathing suit, but I wasn’t opposed to breaking out a few more wrestling skills if someone dared to mess with us today.
We walked up the mossy, damp bank to where the stream thickened at the base of the falls. As we stopped and looked at each other, a shyness overcame us and we laughed.
“I guess you don’t own any swim trunks, huh?” I asked him. I motioned to my shorts.
“Nay. The lads and I swim without clothing.”
“Oh.” Heat prickled my skin and I cleared my throat.
“I’ll wear me pants today.”
I nodded, looking down at a spongy patch of earth that my toes were squishing around in.
“Okay. I have a swimsuit on under this. It was made for swimming. In case you couldn’t tell from the name.”
Ugh, go away embarrassing babble!
We looked at each other before reaching for our shirts and pulling them over our heads. He dropped his tunic and rubbed his hands over his flat stomach, taking in the sight of my fuchsia tankini. My heart was beating ridiculously fast as I bent to slide my shorts down. My heart never had a chance to relax because his hot hazel eyes never looked away. It was hard to breath and I didn’t know what to do with my hands. He lifted his eyes to my face.
“Are ye all right, then?”
“I’m… nervous.”
“Aye. All is well.”
His voice soothed me. Geez, if I was this nervous about swimming with him, I’d be a complete wreck three nights from now. I needed to calm down. Little nerves were natural, but I was feeling faint here.
“I’ve ne’er seen material such as that. May I?”
I nodded and he reached out, feeling the edge of the tankini top where it met my mid-section. The back of his fingertips brushed against my stomach and the prickly heat flared up again. He used both hands now, pulling at the fabric to see how it stretched. I could see the cobbler in him, fascinated by this creation and wondering how it might be used on the feet of Fae.
When he was done examining my suit, I held out my hand and he took it. Together we waded into the water near the falls. It was cooler than I remembered, probably from all the recent rain. I hissed and walked on my tip-toes. McKale let go of my hand and dove straight into the water’s depths, coming back up in the middle of the pool with a giant smile. He gave his wet head a shake, slinging water to the side.
When he motioned me to him, I let my chest go under.
Cold
! There was no way I was diving like he had. After a few steps the water was too deep and I had to swim the rest of the way. He took my hands and pulled me to him. Close. When his lips covered mine and his tender tongue sought my own, I almost forgot to kick my feet to stay above water. He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me to a spot where we could touch bottom.
And then he kissed my breath away.
My hands slid over his body in the crisp water. I loved the hardness of lean muscle under his skin. I ran my hands across his chest and around to his back, feeling him from the line of his pants up to his shoulders. Unlike me, he kept his hands in one place, around my back. But he groaned with pleasure at my touch and kissed me harder. The water no longer felt so cold.
McKale’s mouth left mine and he pulled me to his chest to hug me. His cheek rubbed the side of my head.
“I can’t get enough of ye, Robyn. I didn’t know it could feel this way.”
I leaned back enough to look at him. “I’m full of surprises.”
He chuckled. “Careful now. Ye aren’t the only one who can give a surprise.”
I lifted an eyebrow, wondering what he meant, but he must have taken it as a challenge because he jumped up and dunked me under the water. I came up gasping, wiping water from my eyes.
“Not nice!” I rushed for him and we wrestled, laughing with sudden playfulness. It was an enjoyable release after the past twenty-four hours.
“’Tis not right for a lass to be so rough!” He laughed as I struggled my way out of his hold.
“That’s me. Take it or leave it.” We’d moved close to the shore now. I yanked the back of his knee forward with my heel so he’d lose his balance. As he fell forward he grabbed my waist and twisted us around so that I would fall on top of him. He grasped my wrists and pulled me down to him. Our upper bodies were on the dirt, but our legs were still in water.
“I’ll take ye, I will.”
McKale lifted his head to try and kiss me, but I dodged to the side. Instead I kissed his cheek before moving further to nibble his earlobe. He tensed underneath me and I could feel
everything
. Instead of making me nervous, his apparent arousal spurred me on. I kissed his neck and he held his breath. My mouth was hot in comparison to his cool skin. He sucked in air when I ran my tongue over his lightly freckled shoulder, down to his collarbone. I’d never done such a thing, and the way he reacted made me experience another delicious surge of power like I had when we kissed by the hen house.
“Aye, yer likely to drive me mad if ye keep that up.”
“Just getting you back for driving me mad my first month here,” I said against his chest.
I was only teasing, but he sat up and pulled me up with him, setting me at his side and taking my face in his palm.
“Robyn.” His eyes pleaded with mine. “Ye did not deserve to be treated so. I was a fool boy and didn’t know how to act. Fer awhile there I thought ye’d given up on me.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I was sad and scared, and maybe a little stubborn too, but I never gave up.”
“Will ye forgive me?”
“I already have. And I’m sorry I was upset with you and wouldn’t talk to you.” So much wasted time we could have been getting to know one another.
“Ye don’t need to apologize to me fer anything.”
He laid me back in the moss, one knee between my legs and a hand on my waist. McKale kissed me with such sweet tenderness I thought I’d come apart at the seams. My body was impatient for more of his touch, but he remained a perfect gentleman. I squirmed closer, arching my back, needing more.
“I think I’m ready to bind with you, like, right now.” The words spilled out with abandon, spurred on by my greedy body. “I’m not even kidding.”
He laughed heartily at my admission and I savored the sound of it.
More words surfaced and I let them tumble out bravely. “I’m falling in love with you, Kale.” My heart pounded as I watched his laughter turn serious. “Do you believe me?”
“Aye,” he whispered and touched our lips. “I believe ye,
Bláth mo chroí.
”
“What?” I asked.
“’Tis the old language. Gaelic.”
“What does it mean?”
He held me with his eyes. “Flower of me heart.”
In that beautiful second, as he leaned to seal those words with a kiss, an itchy burn buzzed across my skin. I recognized the feel of being glamoured, but this was stronger than when I put a glamour around myself. It felt thick and unnatural around me.
McKale’s eyes widened as he pulled back from me. “Khalis-!” Before he could finish saying her name, another burst of magic hit me and McKale was gone.
But not really. There was a tiny bit of weight still on me.
“Oh!” Mini-sized McKale was splayed across my belly. “Are you okay?” I asked, unsure if I should try to pick him up or something. My voice sounded strange in my ears and he seemed frightened of me. When I peered down at myself I almost puked. I looked like
her
, pale skin swaddled in white gossamer. McKale clambered off me, sliding down my waist and running a few feet away.
A giggle sounded from behind us and I sat up fast, turning my torso to see her.
“McKale shifts small when he’s startled. But you wouldn’t know that, would you, Robyn Mason? You hardly know him at all.” Khalistah smiled pleasantly from the opening of the trees where she glowed. Her white-gold hair rested on her slim hips, glittering in the twilight. The green pixie was perched on her shoulder, its fat face like a pug, minus the cuteness factor.
She stepped out and I stood to face her. The glamour felt so strange—I couldn’t see my own skin. This was a power show, and she had the upper hand. She’d stolen my identity and individuality, turning me into
her
.
Khalistah looked me up and down, amused. “I thought McKale might find your moment together more enjoyable if you appeared this way.”
I bit back the obvious retort that he’d been enjoying himself just fine. I planted my feet a foot apart and squared my shoulders, refusing to cower, even though I couldn’t help but be petrified on the inside.
I must have come off as aggressive because the stupid pixie came flying at me and grabbed a handful of my hair. He made little yipping sounds like a barking squirrel while I screamed and tried to slap him away. My head felt like it was on fire. Khalistah clapped her hands and he flew back to her shoulder. He flung his hands to try and rid his fingers of my loose hairs. I rubbed the tender spot from where the strands had been pulled.
Khalistah clucked her tongue and sighed. “Pixies are such beastly little things, aren’t they? No manners whatsoever.”
Another smaller burst of magic made me flinch, but it was just McKale. He stood now, normal-sized, but he gave himself distance from us both, creating a triangle. His tan pants were slung low from the weight of water, revealing a happy trail of red hair between the V-line of his hips, heading downward. I wasn’t the only one to notice.
“Mmm.” The FFG looked McKale up and down with fingertips fluttering above her throat.
Nobody was going to
Mmm
my guy but me. She needed to get those glacier eyeballs back in her head.
“Will you please unglamour me?” I asked through gritted teeth.
She slowly turned her eyes to me. “I have seen the way you look at me. In awe. Admiring the sort of beauty humans can only obtain in dreams. But if your pride is so great that you prefer the less attractive appearance, then so be it.” She waved a finger and the glamour disappeared. I felt lighter.
“Khalistah,” McKale said. I tried to ignore the way his voice softened and his eyes still held a small amount of awe as he looked at her. “I’m glad ye’ve come. I wish to speak with ye.”
“How long were you going to wait to speak with me? Moments before your mockery of a binding, or afterward?”
“I… I’m…”
She glided toward him and pressed a finger to his lips. He flinched then shivered.
It took all my willpower not to snatch that finger and snap it.
“I’m not angry with you, precious one. You are not to blame. I know she has pursued you with persistent forwardness.”
Give me a break.
He blinked and looked at me. I crossed my arms over my chest and he pulled his face back from her touch. I think he recognized he was turning to a pile of mush like he always did in her presence.
“I wish to speak with ye alone, Khalistah. Please allow Robyn to return to the village.”
“I think not. I know what you wish to say. You are but a man and you have been led astray from the one thing you have always wanted. Does she know how you feel for me?”
McKale’s forehead creased and his eyes flicked to me. The FFG never glanced my way as she moved forward and began petting his face like she’d done in the trees that night. This time she even placed her hands on his bare chest, where my own hands had been minutes before. His breathing went ragged, but I had to give him credit because he stayed very still and appeared otherwise unaffected, allowing her to touch him for that brief moment before closing his eyes and stepping back from her again.
I, on the other hand, was having a difficult time retaining my fury. McKale pushed his hands hard through his hair as a shudder tore through his body. He began to pace with his hands behind his head, putting more space between Khalistah and himself. The FFG stood firm and calm, fueled by confidence as she spoke to him.
“Does she know about the years when you yearned for my presence and followed at my heels with childlike devotion? I had never met a living thing like you. Brave enough to seek me, yet too shy to touch me. Such a refreshing change from the arrogance of Fae males. I am here now to tell you that your years of dedication have paid off, McKale of the Leprechaun.”
“Khalistah.” He closed his eyes to muster courage before facing her again. “I was but a boy. I was reckless to seek ye as I did. I’ll always be grateful for yer years of kindness, but my future is here, in the village with my clan, bound to Robyn.”
Her eyes flashed hard with anger before smoothing again.
“Will you discard me so easily? Your first love?”
I nearly gagged at her crooning voice.
“What we had was no’ love.” McKale said it with extreme gentleness but I froze as I awaited her response to those strong words. The FFG blinked twice, the only sign that her composure was not solid.
“I know this notion of
love
that humans search for and abuse. It is easy to speak of lifetime loyalty when your lives are so bitterly short. If you were Fae you would become bored with Robyn and come crawling to me in less than a thousand human years.” Though she appeared unruffled, I had a bad feeling she was about to throw a major hissy fit.
“But I am not Fae,” McKale said. “And I cannot pretend to be. Neither of our people would accept a union betwixt us. What would yer friends say in the courts? And yer father? The Summer King will no’ be havin’ it.”
The Summer King?
Excuse me? Holy crap! The FFG was a friggin’ princess? I covered my mouth, afraid I might be sick as the weight of the situation crashed around me, dimming like the evening sky.
The FFG waved a hand, dismissing his words. “Fae take human consorts all the time—”
He stepped back, a small bit at a time. “But not for purposes of love, Khalistah.”
Ugh, each time he pronounced her name so beautifully felt like a punch in my already upset stomach. She strode toward him, ever steady. As he lowered his head I saw his eyes dart from side to side, looking for the best escape route.