Erin's Awakening (2 page)

They all shook hands and Erin's eyes widened as her mark began to heat.
She could still see Reilly looking back and forth between all three, then he broke out in a big smile. He leaned over to Erin and whispered, "I'm telling Ari," he taunted as she pushed him back through the doorway to the dining room.

She shook her head, he was becoming like a brother she wanted to throttle.
She glanced over at the two newest Guardians. There seemed to be an instant attraction between the three of them when she had opened the door. She didn't need this now, she had to get hold of her powers and decide what she was going to do about her professional future. She turned and headed up to her room to get ready for their workout. Men were not in the cards right now, she kept repeating to herself as she went. Now if she could only believe it.

As the two men left Erin's bedroom, Myles smacked Aedan on the shoulder.  "What the hell was that?  She can't go to Dublin without us, Aedan, it's too dangerous."

"We have to let her do this, Myles.  If we don't, she will resent us.
”  Aedan remained calm.

"It's too dangerous
,” Myles growled.

Aedan sighed.  He knew where his brother was coming from because he felt the same way.  When they had arrived at the castle and met the sisters, they had known something was up.  When they each had shook Erin's hands when introduced, their medallions had heated up, telling them she was the one.  She was their match, their future wife.  They had both looked at each other stunned and happy all at the same time.  They had agreed to teach the sisters some fighting skills in order to spend time with her.  It was actually the only way they had been able to touch her so far.  To say that both brothers were frustrated was an understatement.

She was everything they could want in a woman.  She had light brown hair that fell past her shoulders and her eyes were a rich brown that reminded Myles of the chocolate he loved so dearly.  She had a shapely body, curvy in all the right places.  She seemed confident when she was around her sisters but when they caught her alone, she became shy and standoffish.

Well, unless they questioned her work. 
Which was obvious with what just happened in her room
, Aedan thought.  They were going to have to prove to her that they could be trusted and that she could open up to them.

"The Council needs contacted and a report made.  I spoke to Lachlan this
morning and he assured me they would be back either tomorrow late or the next morning,” Aedan said.

"I will call the Council now and see if anyone is headed our way
,” Myles said and headed to his room.

A
edan nodded and headed off to find Coni.  She may be able to help in some way to slow Erin down until they could go with her.

****

As Myles headed to his room to call the council, he thought back to when he had first been able to get Erin alone. She had stormed away from where they were practicing different fighting techniques with all the sisters. Kira had made a comment to her about her being all 'hot and sweaty' with the men. Myles had smiled at Erin and Erin had turned to begin to head back to the castle. He, of course, had followed her. He walked behind her for a few silent moments while he let them get out of sight of the clearing. Then he reached for her hand and pulled her to a stop.

"Hey there, what's got you so stirred up?" he asked her.

She whirled on him and said, "Why must you do that to me?"

He frowned. "Do what? Teach you to defend yourself? It is your destiny to be part of the Blessed Five. You need the skills."

"No, touch me
," Erin said.

Myles smiled widely and said, "Well
, that is not only a pleasure but a necessity."

Erin snorted.
"Yeah, okay."

Myles pulled her closer and slid his hands down her arms slowly
, her breathing increased as he leaned in to place his lips next to her ear and growled, "You are in need of a spanking and I am just the man to do it." He lightly patted her ass and then caressed it.

He heard her sharp intake of breath and could feel her increased heartbeat.
He smiled, his little witch liked that thought. He ran his tongue along the shell of her ear and she pressed closer to him, rubbing her breasts against his chest. He kissed the side of her neck and then down to her chest. Her arms came up to surround his neck.

He felt her stiffen for a second as Aedan approached her from behind.
Myles had heard Aedan approach, knowing he would come to check on Erin as well. Both of them were drawn to her in such a way that they had to assure themselves she was all right at all times.

Aedan stepped up behind her and ran his hands up her back
, then circled her neck from behind with his hands, tilting her head back. He leaned around and kissed her deeply as Myles slowly slid her shirt up. He kissed around her collarbone then lightly traced her mark with his tongue. She moaned at the contact. Then he curled his finger into the cup of her sports bra to pull it down over her nipple. It was poking out, reaching toward his waiting tongue, all rosy, begging for his touch. He curled his tongue around her nipple slowly and then sucked it into his mouth.

Erin gasped into Aedan's mouth as he continued his onslaught, dueling his tongue with hers.
Aedan groaned as she began to suck on his tongue, mimicking what she wanted to be doing elsewhere. Just as he slid his hand down to tuck inside the front of her pants, there was the telltale signs that someone was coming in their direction though the woods.

Myles groaned as he released her nipple with a 'pop' and began to put her bra back into place.
Aedan slowly released her mouth as he began to step back to give her room. Erin blinked her eyes slowly as she came out of the sensual haze the men had placed her in. Myles waited for her to start screaming or railing at them but she didn't, she took their hands in each of hers.

"I'm sorry I got angry
," she said. "I'm not used to this, whatever this is. We can't do this again."

She turned and walked awa
y from both of them, leaving them looking at each other, stunned by her reaction and comment.

Myles
shook off his thoughts of Erin as he entered his room to call the Council. He had to be in Guardian mode when speaking to them. They were all about business, although he knew they would approve of their match with Erin. He went over to where the laptop was set up on the desk in the corner and signed on to Skype.

Twila, one of the Council's assistants, answered the call.
"Good day to you, Myles. How can I help you?"

"Good day, Twila.
I need to speak with Kai if possible," Myles informed her.

"I will get him.
One moment." Twila got up and walked away.

Myles waited while Twila went to go find Kai who was a Warlock and one of the Council members.
There were four in all, one representing each of the main branches of power: witches, fairies, elves and warlocks. Vesta was the Witch member who was a strong witch in her own right and wasn’t someone you wanted to tangle with by any means. She was strong in her beliefs and made decisions based on facts presented. Things were mostly black and white with Vesta.

Una, the Fairy member, was the opposite of Vesta.
She always wanted to research the issue and learn more of the outlying facts to determine the ruling. She was very motherly in a way and cared deeply for her subjects.

Eragon was the Elven member of the Council and Myles had always thought he was the grumpiest Elf he had ever met.
Not that Myles had met a lot of Elves in his life, but something had twisted Eragon and made him an angry individual.

Kai was Myles'
s favorite of the Council members. He was a powerful Warlock who ruled with an even hand. He was kind when it was warranted and tough when called for. Most of the Guardians favored talking to him, as he was the most reasonable of the four members.

Myles snapped out of his musings as Kai's face came onto the view screen.
"Myles O'Connor. Good to see you."

Myles put his fist over his heart and said, "Kai, good to see you
, too. We have a situation here and I wanted to see if you knew when more Guardians would be showing here."

Kai frowned.
"What situation?"

"Erin has requested to leave for an emergency with her work.
As you know, Reilly and Lachlan are in New York with Ari. Erin is adamant about going and not willing to wait too long to do so. We are concerned that she might leave on her own," Myles said with a frustrated sigh.

Kai nodded.
"I see. We are doing what we can to free up Guardians to come help, but it is trying as most were on assignment."

"We understand.
We just wanted to touch base," Myles said.

"You cannot stop a woman from doing what she wants, Myles, I know this.
I will see what we can do. Thank you for bringing us up to date," Kai said.

"Of course
," Myles answered.

"We will be in touch soon with an update but for right now, you are on your own
," Kai said with a sigh. "I am sorry to say."

"We will deal with her...I mean the situation
," Myles grumbled.

Kai laughed.
"I know that you will. There is something there?"

Myles nodded.
"Yes, she is our match, Kai, and she is frustrating."

"I understand, Guardian.
Just remember your duty first," Kai said with authority.

"Of course.
Thank you," Myles told him.

Kai nodded and the screen went black.
Kai had signed off, dismissing him. Myles got up to pace with a sigh of frustration over the situation. They were on their own.
Great, what else could go wrong
?

****

Aedan found Coni in her favorite place, her greenhouse behind the castle.  It was there that Coni mixed her potions and wielded her spells.  He knocked and when she called out for him to enter, he found her in the back mixing.

"What brings you here, Aedan?
” Coni asked him as he approached her.

"We have a little situation with Erin
,” Aedan told her.

"Ah, the Dublin situation.  Yes, it must be frustrating.  She's determined to go, eh?
” Coni asked.

Aedan nodded.  "Myles and I don't think it's safe for her to go without us.  We have to wait until the other Guardians show up. 
All of you need protection, but we can't be in two places at one time."

"Yes, I know.  The Five have to be protected and with Ari and her men in New York, it makes things a little difficult
,” Coni surmised.

"We were hoping
you could try to slow Erin down somehow until they return. Myles is contacting the Council now to get more information on the Guardians being assigned and when they might arrive," Aedan said.

Coni sighed.  "I can only try to slow Erin down, I make no promises."

Aedan bowed his head.  "We thank you."

Coni bowed her head back to him and said, "Blessed be."

"Blessed be," Aedan said in return and then headed back to the house.

Coni shook her head as she thought about all the girls and what was to come.  She knew they were getting stronger and more adept with their powers
, but she couldn't help her hands from beginning to make a protection pouch for Erin.  She knew the men wanted to slow down, if not stop, Erin from going to Dublin.  That was like stopping water from flowing, not going to happen.

She took the small heart locket that could hold the ingredients for the
protection spell and began to mix a small bundle of pine needles, bound with natural twine; part of the dogwood plant; part of a willow tree; and a stone with a natural hole through it.

She knew they could make every effort to try to make Erin wait
, but it wasn't going to happen.  She was leaving, alone, to go to Dublin, as was her destiny.  Coni prayed to the goddess that Erin would be kept safe while she was away from them.  She had every confidence that Erin was tough enough to fight if needed.  The locket would just help ensure she stayed safe.

****

As Aedan headed back to the castle, his mind went back to the day he and Myles had gotten their first taste of their woman. He smiled, she had tried so hard to resist them. He also remembered when they finally got her to open up a little and talk to them. They had cornered her after a workout session, she had been ignoring them and focusing solely on her powers. Aedan had grabbed her hand and pulled her in the opposite direction of the castle. Everyone had already headed back so it was now only Erin, Myles, and Aedan in the clearing.

He kept pulling her amidst her protests to the contrary of wanting to go back to the castle.
"Give us a few minutes, we want to show you something."