Finding the Magic (14 page)

He frowned at her and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. “Please, I’m much better than any canine.”

“How could you possibly smell these sandwiches over the scent of the roast in the kitchen?”

“Who said anything about the sandwiches?”

“Are you saying I stink?”

“I’m saying you smell wonderful, like fresh spring air. I’d recognize your scent anywhere.” After a moment’s hesitation, he sat cross-legged on the blanket opposite her. “What’s all this in aid of?”

“It’s a celebration, didn’t we just get engaged last night?”

He studied her a moment, head tilted as though listening to voices she couldn’t hear. Uncertainty was replaced by relief. “I guess we did. But there are things you don’t know yet, things you
havenae
seen.”

Happiness swept through her along with a relief of her own. “I know, and that is going to change right now. I am tired of being the only one not in on the secret.”

His stomach growled loudly and Jayne laughed at his embarrassment. “But while you talk, why don’t you eat.” She smiled at him. “You’re going to need the energy, we both have a lot of time to make up for and I have plans.”

He paused in the act of reaching for the plate and looked at her, eyes hot. “Ah can eat later.”

“
Nuh
-uh. Eat and talk, mister. You can start with your parents and then tell me about the
Dearbh
Ceangal
.”

He sat back, sandwich in hand and Jayne was sorry to see his face had resumed its usual
somber
lines. As fond as she had grown of his frown, she really wanted to see less of it, but there was time for that.

“There isn’t much to tell,” he said matter-of-factly. “My mother hated my father, was terrified and disgusted by what he was. By what he made her. When I was fifteen, she killed herself to escape it.”

“Oh, Cam…” Her heart bled for the angry young boy who looked out of his eyes. At last, Jayne understood why he was so reluctant to believe she wanted to stay with him. She couldn’t help but feel sorry for the woman who had felt that her only way out was to take her own life but she also knew it was also an unbelievably selfish thing to do to your family. She watched as Cam ate a few bites of the sandwich, giving him time to gather his thoughts. A few moments passed in silence before he spoke again.

“When one half of a bonded couple dies the other often follows. They stop
eatin
’, withdraw into themselves. Stop
livin
’. Eight months after my mother died, my father died too,
pinin
’ for a woman who
couldnae
stand the sight of him.”

She wanted to go to him, pull him into her arms but she knew he wouldn’t welcome it. “I’m sorry, Cameron.”

“What for, you
didnae
kill them.” He finished the sandwich and sat back. “So, now you know my sad story and you know why it’s so important to me that you understand exactly what you’re getting into. I
didnae
—don’t—ever want to do to someone else what he did to her.”

His jaw clenched with an anger and pain that Jayne understood all too well. She rose and went to kneel behind him, kneading the tension from his shoulders. “I never told you about my father.”

“I know that he was killed.”

“Then you know the official ruling. He loved my mother more than anything else in this world and when she died he just…slid into a whiskey bottle and disintegrated. He left a note, I still have it.” It still hurt, she discovered, but not in the way that it had. Cameron swore and his hand came up to grasp hers, where it had grown still on his shoulder. He drew her around and onto his lap, holding her in his arms. The warmth of his body surrounded her and she felt comforted. “He drove into that bridge deliberately, the same one that killed my mother. I never told anyone the truth, not even Megan, though I’m sure she suspects.” She shook off the ghosts of the past, determined not to let them drag her back into the place she had been before and lightened her tone. “It looks as though we have more in common than we realized…which brings me to my second question, the
Dearbh
Ceangal
.”

He looked at her from under lowered brows and went along with her change of subject. “Where did you hear that anyway?”

“From you, the first night we arrived you muttered it in your sleep. But I still don’t know what it means. It obviously meant something to Mary though. She was thrilled when she heard you.”

“I bet she was,” he muttered. “The
Dearbh
Ceangal
…it means the proven bond. I
didnae
want to believe a
Dearbh
Ceangal
could exist because it makes what my father did to my mother all the worse. I told you how we recognize our mate but there’s more to it. Aye, we recognize our mates by the birthmark, by scent and by the mental link. The connections that are formed are usually based on purely physical attraction, animal instinct. My parents had that kind of bond…it’s taken me a long time to accept that. A proven bond is different, it exists only between true mates—a couple who are a perfect match.”

Jayne’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “Us? You mean you and me?” She sat up and he winced and shifted her slightly.

“Aye, you and me. Imagine my surprise at finding you at my best friend’s wedding.”

She sighed. “Is that why you brought me here?”

“No. I brought you here because I believed you were in danger and that’s still true. I think that whoever has Nick may be the person who gave James York his information about Jack and Megan. I believe that person is now after you and me. They are
targetin
’
shapeshifters
and women who have the birthmark.” He explained how he had found the pattern among the missing people. She had to agree with him that it was a little too much for coincidence. “That’s why I sought you out. The fact that you were my
Ceangal
had very little to do with it—at least that’s what I told myself.”

“But how did you know?”

“It was hard to miss. Remember in the kitchen when I let you feel the energy of the bond?”

She nodded. “It was like pins and needles on my hand.”

“That was a very small taste of the energy of the
Dearbh
Ceangal
. What we feel is a hundred times stronger. I could feel it as soon as you walked into the church for the wedding and continued to feel it until we bonded.”

“Well…that certainly explains why you were so determined to avoid me. It had to be uncomfortable, maybe even painful.” She wasn’t sure how she felt about the fact that her presence had caused him pain.

“No, no’
painful
,
it’s
no’
unpleasant
.
It’s more like a tingling sensation, an intense awareness that your
fìor
cèile
, true mate, is nearby.” He stroked her arm with his fingertips, making goose bumps shiver over her body. “I avoided you because Ah
couldnae
even be in the same room without
wantin
’ to be near you,
wantin
’ to be a part of you. Ah still can’t.”

She reached up and touched the prickly stubble on his cheek, loving the way the light caught its blond
color
. “The feeling is very, very mutual.”

He turned his face into her caress. “Ah know…especially now.”

She looked at him, puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“Ah told you that when we started the
Ceangal
that our mental connection would get stronger.”

Jayne winced, he had but somehow she had managed to forget that little fact, which made no sense at all. How is it possible that she could put something like that out of her head?
Because you trust him
. “Um, yes, you did. You said you could hear some of my thoughts.”

“Usually that’s the main effect of the link, it lets us communicate when we change but with it also comes a certain amount of empathy. How strong that empathy is varies with each couple.”

He hesitated but she had already guessed what he was going to say. “It’s very strong between us.”

“Aye.”

She knew he was waiting for fear or anger but surprisingly she felt neither, just a calm acceptance. “You realize you are a woman’s dream come true?” He raised his brows in question. “You can read her mind, know exactly how she feels and are very good in bed.”

He laughed.

A deep, rolling laugh that seemed to take him by surprise as much as her. There he was. This was the man she knew was behind the
somber
, grouchy exterior. Her eyes stung and she smiled at him. “You should do that more often.”

“I
havnae
had reason to until now, no’ for a long time.” He tipped her chin up with his fingertips and claimed her mouth in a sweet, soft kiss. She parted her lips and touched her tongue to his, inviting him inside. Desire unfurled within her, warm and heady. They separated, she nipped at his chin and moved to straddle his lap. The robe opened, leaving her naked to his gaze. His cock was hard and ready beneath her, trapped within the confines of his jeans. When he lifted his hands from her waist to cup her breasts, she caught them in her own. “I have plans.”

His eyes were hot, pupils dilated, he squeezed her fingers gently but let her hold on. “You mentioned that.”

“Take off your shirt and lie back.” He complied with a speed that made her grin and she shimmied, allowing the robe to slide from her shoulders. She let her eyes drift over his body for the first time in full light. His hair was loose around his shoulders, his chest broad and well muscled, covered with a fine mat of hair that trailed down over his abdomen and into his jeans. He had scars too, she supposed that was inevitable for someone who had been in the line of work that he had. Apart from the small ones on his chin and eyebrow, there was a thin silvered line across the left side of his ribs and a smaller, rounded mark on his side. Someday she would ask him about all of them and do her best to make him forget whatever pain they had caused him. He reached for her again and she held up a finger. “Not yet.” He rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh but lay back on the blanket. She leaned over him and pulled the picnic basket nearer. Her long hair trailed over his chest and he shivered.

“Close your eyes.”

His brow creased but he did as she asked. “What are you up to, lass?”

“You’ll love it, I promise.”
Hmmm
…
chocolate or honey
?
No contest really, she picked out the bottle of chocolate sauce.

Cameron lay before her, eyes still closed, hands at his sides, trying to look as though he was relaxed. But Jayne could see the tension of his jaw and feel the heat of his erection through the rough fabric of his jeans. She twisted the top off the bottle and watched Cam’s nose twitch as he caught its scent. His eyes popped open and she raised the bottle and wiggled her eyebrows at him. “This could get messy.”

“Jayne…”

With a wicked grin she poured some of the rich sauce over his flat brown nipples and onto the middle of his chest. He sucked in a breath as the cold, thick liquid made contact with his skin. Jayne set the bottle aside. Keeping her eyes on his, she kneeled over him and swirled her tongue over one chocolate-covered nipple.

“
Mmm
, delicious.”

She lapped the sauce from him, leaving his skin damp and glistening. With another quick glance at his face, she kissed her way down the middle of his chest until she reached his waistband. Holding his gaze, she opened his jeans, letting his erection spring free. She brushed her cheek along the velvety hard length of him, enjoying the way his breath quickened.

“Lift your hips.” She pulled his jeans off and tossed them away, pausing a moment to enjoy the sight of him spread naked before her, a bad-tempered gift from the goddess. But he wasn’t bad-tempered now, it was lust that heated his eyes and he was all hers. She straddled his legs and grabbed the chocolate sauce, holding it high and letting it trickle onto his cock until it was liberally coated. Cam made a strangled sound, his hands gripping into the plaid blanket beneath him.

“Sorry.” She smiled, unrepentant. “Guess I should have heated it first.”

“Ah hope you’re
goin
’ to clean up that mess you made.”

In answer, she leaned over him and flicked her tongue over the very tip of him, tasting rich chocolate mingled with the evidence of Cam’s excitement. Then stroked her tongue along the hard length, exploring the veins and ridges of his cock. Cleaning the sauce off every inch but the crown until he was panting.

“Have I told you how much I love chocolate?”

“No
kiddin
’?” he gasped. “Ah think I love it too, remind me to get you more.”

Jayne tilted her head. “Look at that, I missed a bit.” She bent and took him in her mouth, licking the remainder of the chocolate from him. When she had taken as much of him as she could, she drew back slowly, sucking and caressing the underside of his cock as she did. He groaned and she repeated the action. “
Mmmm
.”

Cam moaned, his body shaking. “Oh, god, enough!”

She released him and he pulled her up to kiss her hard and fast. Her own body was wet, pulsing with the need to have him inside her. She felt his erection damp against her abdomen. He rolled her beneath him, holding his weight on his elbows so that her pebbled nipples just brushed the coarse hair on his chest.