HerMatesEmbrace (9 page)

Still, she couldn’t be sure, especially after the long look
that had passed between those two men. It was as if they were communicating
without speaking. She had a feeling that there was something she was missing.

She wasn’t even going to try to figure out what it was.
Without a doubt, she’d end up driving herself crazy. Her thoughts would go in
circles and circles and there was no way to know what happened. Not without one
of them actually telling her what they were thinking and she knew that was
improbable.

“Can I hold your hand?” Linc’s voice broke into her
thoughts.

Cami held back her grimace. She’d been determined not to
brood, yet she was already doing it. Without hesitating, she lifted her hand
and held it out to him. “Yes.”

“How are you feeling about finally being here?” He glanced
over at her and began leading her toward the trees.

Now that was a change in subject, but she was willing to go
along with it. “I’m ready to stop those two. It wouldn’t have mattered to me
where it happened as long as we finally met up with Laed and Kynar and put an
end to their threat.”

“Not satisfied with merely making sure that they can never
hold the sort of power they once did?” Linc glanced over and she saw his brow
arch.

“It wouldn’t be enough, not with them. You don’t know them.
Even without the magic, they’ll still hurt and kill. I can’t let that happen.”
She shook her head. She didn’t need the visions or the magic she’d absorbed to
know that.

“I believe you. And you’re right, they will be a danger
until they’re dead.” Linc’s fingers tightened around hers. “We’ll keep you safe
and teach you how to deal with the magic you now have. You have my word on
that.”

“I can take care of myself. I didn’t have any trouble
finding you, did I? And I know you’ll teach me about the magic. It’s already
more manageable than it’s ever been.” She nodded, simply to assure him that she
was being truthful. She didn’t know if he thought she had doubts about that
since she wasn’t sure of their interest. Trying to decipher what they were
thinking didn’t get her anywhere.

“How about we stretch our legs a bit and run.” He tilted his
head. “In human form. I know you’re anxious to get into these woods and play a
little, but for today, we’ll run as we are now.”

A shot of disappointment burst through her. He was right.
She did want to change forms and charge through the forest, maybe even hunt a
little. It had been a while since she’d simply enjoyed being in her other form,
but she could wait a day.

Running did sound good. Maybe it would help clear away the
problems circling in her mind. She was confident in the lotions and drinks she
was using. The lotion wouldn’t sweat off on a run, and if it did, the herbal
teas changed her scent enough to mask it on its own.

The only problem was she might pay for her enjoyment of this
tonight with cramps along her thigh. She couldn’t be sure what would set them
off. Sometimes it was exertion and sometimes stress and other times she didn’t
know what caused the spasms in her leg.

“A run sounds wonderful. Why don’t you lead the way if you
have a plan on where to go?” She smiled and relaxed, deciding to just let go
and enjoy the day.

“We’ll keep to the plan Colm had. If I go too fast or you
need to stop, just call out.” Linc turned to face her before he smiled and
released her hand.

He turned away and she let her eyes trail over his taut
buttocks before following him. She wanted to reach out and touch that taut
curve, but balled her fists and started after him. The forest lured her with
the chittering calls of animals and the variety of colors and smells she could
see as they approached it.

The scents seemed off, but she knew it was because of the
drink that she used every night. Still, she could easily smell the tangy, sharp
scent of sap and leaves even if she couldn’t identify the trees. One of her
favorite things had always been walking or running through the forest. She
could get lost in savoring the colors or simply enjoying a good run.

When they hit the tree line, he picked up the pace, but she
knew he was holding back because of her. She easily kept up with him. That
began to get on her nerves as they jogged through the forest. If they were
going to run, she wanted to run.

“Go faster,” she yelled as they ran.

He quickly glanced back over his shoulder as if to check to
see if she’d been keeping up with him before increasing his speed. She smiled.
The path was relatively straight and smooth. She knew that was the only reason
he’d chanced doing that here. They moved faster through the trees, but she
still enjoyed seeing the flowers and berry bushes as they passed by them.

All thoughts other than the run and following Linc flowed
out of her mind. She didn’t know how long they ran, but when Linc disappeared
around a corner and behind some trees, she hurried after him, not wanting to
lose him if the trail became winding or suddenly forked.

She rounded the corner at top speed and ran right past Linc.
By the time she saw the drop-off, it was too late. Her feet slipped and tangled
with a limb as she crashed through a bush. A twinge of pain stabbed her ankle,
throwing her even more off balance.

A hand closed around her wrist as she fell over the edge.
The fingers tightened. He tugged and tried to pull her back. A raw, growling
curse sounded as momentum pulled him over the edge along with her.

She hit the water and barely managed to close her mouth
before it closed over her head. Kicking to the surface, she coughed a little
and looked around. Linc had fallen in after her. Poor man. All because he’d
tried to save her from a dunking. She’d heard the splash following hers, but he
hadn’t surfaced.

She looked up at the wall of rock and dirt to the spot where
she’d fallen. Her sense of humor kicked in. She grinned as she pushed back her
hair. That hadn’t been one of her more graceful moments. How was she to know
when she rounded that corner there’d be a sheer drop-off into the lake not four
steps beyond the turn?

Linc popped up about an arm’s length away from her. She
laughed as his golden hair fell across his eyes. He pushed the strands away
from his eyes and his lips spread into a wide smile. She stroked forward, but
stopped right in front of him. Before she could think about it, she laced her
arms around his neck.

His eyes widened, but one of his hands brushed along her
arm. Her fingers threaded through his hair. Being this close to him felt so
right. His lashes lowered and his head descended. Almost too softly, his lips
brushed over hers. Her eyes drifted closed. Contentment and happiness swirled through
her. She relaxed against him, her mouth opening beneath his.

His lips were slightly cool from the water, but warmed as
they rubbed against hers. She wanted more than that teasing pressure. Her arms
tightened, bringing him closer. His tongue stroked into her mouth and his hands
loosely settled on her hips. She didn’t even think about resisting. She’d
wanted to kiss him for a long time.

Her fingers clenched in his hair and she thrust her tongue
against his. The water flowed sensuously over her hypersensitive skin. His
hands left a tingling path as they moved up and rested just under her breasts.
She was almost ready to beg for him to move his hands higher. Her nipples had
hardened and tightened to nearly painful peaks and her clothes felt heavy and
abrasive. She could feel the brush of his thighs against hers as his feet
kicked, keeping them both afloat.

A low groan rumbled from his lips as he tore his mouth away
from hers. Raw hunger burned in his eyes as he looked down at her. She knew he
wanted to tear away the barriers between them as much as she did. Her heart
raced even faster than when she’d been running and she panted, trying to catch
her breath.

“Definitely the right idea, but this is the wrong place for
this.” He slowly pulled back from her. “Let’s swim to the shore.”

He slowly released her and the haze of desire began to fade
as they swam to the shore. By the time she waded out of the water, sanity had
returned and she couldn’t believe what she’d done. Her impulsiveness hadn’t
gotten her into this much trouble in years. Then again, since her brothers had
left and Laed and Kynar had come to power, she’d been too tense and too
cautious. Drawing any kind of attention when those two were around was a bad
idea. She saw his eyes narrow as she reached the shore.

“The wariness is back in your eyes, I see.” Linc tilted his
head and watched as she wrung a little of the water out of her shirt.

“That shouldn’t have happened.” She looked at the trees,
down at her feet or fussed with her clothes, anything not to have to focus on
him. She hadn’t meant to start that. That wasn’t anywhere near her goal of
keeping her distance from him.

He leaned in close and sniffed. “I suppose it was a little
wishful to think that you’d given up fighting the attraction so suddenly. You
still don’t smell right.”

“The attraction might be there, but I know what I want and
don’t want. I don’t want to get involved. And as to me not smelling right, if
it came off as easily as taking a quick dunk in the water, the stuff would have
come off with sweat as we traveled.” She shrugged. Her clothes clung to her and
the clinging material was beginning to irritate her.

“You’re right. Are you ready to go back to the
Thent
or would you like to see some more of the area?” He held out his hand to her.

Her palm slid over his as she accepted the gesture, but with
her free hand, she tugged at her shirt. “I want to go back and get out of these
clothes. I don’t think these were really meant to swim in. They’re bunching and
uncomfortable.”

“Then we’ll go. I take it we’re not running back?” He
glanced over at her with a smile as he led the way to a path.

“You can be funny when you want to be.” She couldn’t help
responding to that smile. “How long will it take to get back?”

“Not too long. We’ll take a path that’s a relatively
straight line to the
Thent
. It definitely won’t take as long as if we
worked our way back up to the path we were on and back the way we came.” Linc
pointed to a very small gap in the bushes as he tugged on her hand urging her
to move.

This path wasn’t as wide as the last or as well traveled.
Branches and bushes dipped across the narrow trail at times, catching and
tugging at clothing. Dappled light danced across the grasses and wild flowers
near the edge of the track. Birds flitted overhead, jumping from branch to
branch and chirping noisily.

Even though they couldn’t walk side by side most of the
time, Linc kept hold of her hand as they walked. She inhaled the moist air,
savoring the smell of earth and the tangy scent of plants all around her. They
came out of the forest near a small group of houses. She saw women at work
outside of the house.

The women worked at various chores around their homes,
tending herb gardens, gathering eggs or hanging clothes to dry in the sun. They
all called greetings to Linc and he greeted them by name. He kept moving, but
from the way they responded to him, they trusted and liked him. They walked
straight to the gates of the fortress.

Cami found herself searching for Colm as they walked. As
much as she’d like not to care, the emotional pull to them was too strong. She
wanted to be with them. Colm was at the stables as they passed on their way
toward the doors of the fortress. His eyes widened and he dropped the piece of
leather he’d been holding to rush over to them.

“What happened to you two?” Colm’s eyes swept over both of
them. He frowned and she could hear the beginnings of a growl in his words.

“We fell in the lake,” Linc said easily and kept walking.

Since he kept moving, she couldn’t very well stop. She
really didn’t want to be dragged by the arm across the yard. Linc nearly
reached the door by the time Colm caught up with them. She guessed he’d been
stunned that Linc had given him such a short answer and walked away without
another word.

“How did you both fall in the lake? One I can understand. If
she can’t swim, I can see you going in after her, but you both falling into the
lake makes no sense.” Colm drew even with them and then stepped in front of
Linc.

Linc laughed. “You’d know if you were with us. We were running.
In this form, so don’t start anything. I know how you are about your plans. I
was leading the way and I went around the corner that overlooks the lake and
stopped so she could see it from there. She came around the corner too fast. I
grabbed for her, but couldn’t stop her in time and we both tumbled in.”

“I can see you were dressed when you fell in. You’re both
still damp.” Colm shook his head.

“Yes, and we both want to change into something dry. You can
save any more questions until later.” Linc went around Colm and tugged Cami
after him.

Cami glanced back and saw the frustration on Colm’s face. A
grin spread across her face, but she managed not to laugh. The man was
obviously used to getting his way and she knew Linc had deliberately baited
him. They obviously had a very close relationship.

Linc smiled as he watched the door close behind Cami. They’d
found the door to the room two down from the room he shared with Colm open and
waiting for her. She’d gone in and found her bag on the bed. She’d smiled and
shut the door so she could get dressed.

He continued down the hallway, a little surprised that Colm
wasn’t already here. Linc knew Colm was curious and wanted answers. Colm was
very observant and he couldn’t miss the fact that Linc was in a good mood after
that unexpected dunking.

He opened the door and strolled into his room, unbuttoning
his shirt as he moved forward. Pushing the door closed, he dropped the sodden
shirt to the floor and reached for the buckle of his pants.