Donna Grant: Forbidden Highlander

He leaned down and sucked a delicious bud in his mouth. Her nails raked his shoulders when he gently bit down on the hard peak and ran his tongue back and forth over the nub.

“Fallon,” she screamed, her back arching.

He wanted her too desperately to hold back the flow of his desire. As much as he longed to lick every inch of her, his body wouldn’t let him now.

Fallon withdrew from her only to thrust long and deep. Again and again he pulled out and plunged within her, harder, faster. She matched his tempo, their gazes locked.

Her mouth opened on a silent scream as her slick walls convulsed around him. Fallon continued to pump inside her, trying to draw out her orgasm as long as he could before he threw back his head and filled her with his seed.

Fallon’s body jerked with the force of his climax, but Larena was there, her arms wrapped around his neck as she smoothed the hair from his face.

“You keep surprising me,” she whispered in his ear before she bit down on the lobe.

Fallon trembled and ground his hips against her. He was still buried inside her, still hard. “It’s you. You do this to me.”

“I love you.”

He pulled back until he could see her eyes. He knew she cared for him, that much was obvious by her earlier words, but he hadn’t expected to hear her declaration of love.

“Larena…”

She placed her finger on his lips. “I tried to deny it, but the feeling continued to grow. I love you more than life itself, Fallon MacLeod. I’ll take the fights and the laughter and however many years we have together, as long as I have your love.”

“Ah, God, Larena. You’ll always have my love.”

He carried her to the shore were he sat with her on a boulder.

“I know I shouldn’t have left the cave, but I needed to talk to you.”

Fallon shrugged and intertwined his fingers with hers. “If any wyrran saw us, we’ll take care of them.”

“I endangered the others.”

“Most of them are Warriors still eager for battle. It will be all right.”

She turned her head to him and smiled. “I think I will want to take midnight swims often.”

“I agree.” Fallon stared at the stars above him in a sky that had turned from black to light gray. Everything was almost as it should be. “Only Quinn is missing.”

“We’ll get him back,” Larena said, and kissed his shoulder. “Quinn will be back with you and Lucan where he belongs.”

Fallon blew out a breath. “I hope you’re right.”

To his surprise, Larena sat up and tugged on his arm. “I’ve missed every sunrise with you. I’m not going to miss another.”

Fallon jumped from the boulder. “Stay right there.” He hurried to put on his breeches and boots. He hid the gold beneath the tunic she had discarded before her swim.

He walked back to her and handed her the tunic. Her forehead furrowed when she felt the gold through the fabric.

Fallon waited with bated breath for her to find it. When she pulled the golden torc from the folds of his tunic and stared at it, he thought he would die of anxiety.

Her eyes shifted to him. “A torc with a boar’s head.”

“It matches mine. I had it made before Deirdre destroyed my clan, in the hopes of one day giving it to the woman I would spend the rest of my life with.”

Larena caressed the torc lovingly. “You want me to have this?”

“I want you to marry me.”

“Fallon, are you sure?”

He laughed. “You’re the one thing I am sure of. Say you’ll be my wife, Larena.”

“Oh, aye, Fallon,” she said with a wide smile. “If you want me, you can have me.”

He pulled her off the boulder and into his arms. “I want to get married immediately. I want everyone to see the torc.”

“Your mark wasn’t enough?” she asked with a chuckle.

“I need to bind you to me any way I can.”

She leaned back and kissed him. “You already did with the most powerful thing you could. Your love.”

Larena blew out a nervous breath and touched the torc that now rested around her neck. The weight of it felt right against her skin, as if it should have been there long before. The bailey was filled with the Warriors and Druids she now called her family.

“Are you sure?” Fallon asked her.

Larena raised a brow at him. “If you ask me that again, I swear I will have to beat you.”

He smiled, but she saw the worry in his dark green eyes.

“I won’t do anything reckless, Fallon. We just got married. Now, let me do what I need to do to find Quinn.”

Fallon ran a hand through his hair and briefly closed his eyes. “I pray I’m doing the right thing. I’ll never forgive myself if someone gets taken or hurt.”

“We will heal,” Lucan said. “Now, let’s get moving before Cara comes up with a good reason to go with us.”

Larena glanced at her new sister-in-law, who stood on the steps of the castle together with Sonya. Cara’s eyes were clouded with apprehension, her hands fisted at her sides. Larena couldn’t imagine being left behind, so she understood Cara’s feelings.

Next to Cara was Malcolm. She still couldn’t believe what Ramsey had told her and Fallon just the night before. Not even seeing the Monroe name on the Scroll helped things.

She had foolishly thought she was the Monroe Warrior, but it seemed her goddess came through her mother’s family. It took seeing her mother’s maiden name and the Monroe name for it to finally sink in.

It was Fallon’s suggestion that they keep the news from everyone, especially Malcolm. Ramsey hastily agreed, but Larena couldn’t help but worry about Malcolm; she feared he would be taken by Deirdre to be turned into a Warrior.

“Come, Fallon,” she urged her new husband. “Let us bring Quinn home.”

“Aye,” the other Warriors shouted.

Fallon’s eyes narrowed and glanced into the distance where Deirdre’s mountain lay. “Hang on, Quinn. We’re coming for you.”

Malcolm stood on the steps of the castle and watched the small group leave. His arm ached constantly, and no matter what magic Sonya and Cara used, nothing helped. He had realized after waking in the cave that his arm was useless.

He had promised Larena that he would wait for her at the castle before heading to the Monroe lands, but it was a lie. He would never return to his clan because they wouldn’t accept him. Not now, now that he was half a man.

Malcolm nodded to Camdyn, who had stayed behind to protect the Druids. At least he knew Camdyn. Malcolm liked the other Warriors, but he didn’t belong here. He wasn’t a Warrior or a Druid. He was nothing but a mortal that was of no help in the coming war.

Yet, Fallon had offered him a home at MacLeod Castle. Malcolm hadn’t expected that, but it reinforced his opinion that Fallon was the right man for his cousin.

He gripped his shoulder with his good hand and tried to push past the pain. It wasn’t as if he were entirely useless. He had learned to wield a sword using either arm, and he was just as good with his left as he had been with his right.

Sonya’s intelligent amber gaze watched him. He guessed she knew he lied about the pain. The Druid had said nothing, probably to spare his pride, but she didn’t like that he had gotten out of bed that morning.

He snorted as he turned to enter the castle. The scars that now showed on his face, neck, arms, and chest would have been enough to wound any man’s pride. Add the loss of an arm, and it could destroy a man.

“There are things I can give you to help with the ache,” Sonya said. “More magic could help your shoulder as well.”

Malcolm glanced at the Druid but continued walking. As usual, her red hair was pulled back into a single braid that fell down her back. “I need to cope with it.”