The Immortal Highlander

No questions spilled from lips too enchanted with kissing. No worries tumbled through a mind too intoxicated by lovemaking. No thoughts of tomorrow intruded.

There was now, she was happy, and that was enough.

On the fourth day he roused her while it was still dark outside, bundled her nude body warmly in a down comforter, and sifted them repeatedly until at last he stopped atop a mountainous outcropping.

Perching with irreverent grace on the edge of a sheer thousand-foot drop, he cradled her in his arms and they watched the sun come up over the Highlands, their breath frosting the chilly air.

It began with the merest kiss of gold on the far misty horizon, slowly burned off the fog, turned to a rosy-orange fireball, then bathed the hills and valleys in gold.

And as they sat on top of the world while the day was being born he told her of his plan: the why of the rituals the MacKeltars performed on the feast days and what would happen if they didn’t perform them; that they’d agreed to hold off on Lughnassadh, a few days hence, in order to bring Aoibheal to MacKeltar land; that when she came, Adam would apprise her of Darroc’s treachery and secure Gabrielle’s safety as he’d promised.

He said nothing about what might happen between them then. No words of any future beyond that time.

And she didn’t ask, because she was a big, fat coward. Falling for a fairy prince in human form was one thing.

But an immortal being? With all kinds of powers? Adam was overwhelming in human form. She couldn’t imagine him in his natural state.

She wasn’t sure she wanted to see him in it. She wanted things to go on like this forever. She didn’t want any changes. Things were perfect as they were.

Adam with unlimited power could be terrifying.

Anyone with unlimited power could be terrifying. She could be terrifying with it.

So she refused to follow that line of thought any further. There was no point in speculation, it would only drive her crazy. So many things could happen, so many things could go wrong. She would deal with what came to be when it came to be. For all she knew, maybe Adam couldn’t really protect her, and the queen would kill her or turn her over to the Hunters, and it would all become a moot point anyway.

There was a sobering thought.

And all the more reason to savor the now.

Which she did for the rest of the day, rolling across the bed with him, laughing and teasing and mating wildly.

Until dusk.

When the gloaming came, he bundled her up again, sifted them back to that high place, and they watched while the sky went violet, then black, and the moon rose and the stars came peeping out.

“I’ve seen thousands of these Highland dusks and dawns,” he told her. “And I never get my fill.”

She tipped her head back, staring up at the black velvet sky pierced by glittering stars.

And she started thinking about thousands of dusks and dawns, about immortality and living forever, and before she could stop herself she blurted, “Why didn’t Morganna take the elixir of life?”

His body stiffened instantly. He turned her roughly in his arms and stared into her eyes a long moment.

Then he kissed her and kissed her until she was breathless and no longer thinking about Morganna and immortality.

Though it would come back, that question, to gnaw at her.

“The two of you are cheating!” Dageus scowled at Chloe and Gabby.

“We are not,” Chloe protested indignantly.

“You are too,” Adam said. “I saw Gabby tilt her hand so you could see it. It’s the only reason you keep beating us.”

Gabby arched a playful brow. “Sounds to me like somebody who’s used to being immortal and all-powerful just can’t handle losing at a mortal card game.”

Adam shook his head, smiling faintly. She was irrepressible. And she was cheating. Had been for the past two hours, but he’d been letting it slide until Dageus had pointed it out. He’d found it rather amusing that the Highlander wasn’t catching on, too distracted by the steamy looks Chloe kept shooting him, or the way his petite wife would wet her lips and smile to jar his concentration.

He hadn’t needed any such looks from Gabby. Her mere existence jarred his concentration. He’d thought the past week might have burned off some of his edgy, relentless desire for her, but it had in no way diminished it. Perversely, the more he bedded her, it seemed, the more he needed to bed her again.

He would have kept her all to himself, until the very dawn of Lughnassadh, had Gwen and Chloe not come pounding on the Crystal Chamber door a few days ago, informing them enough was enough and they really should socialize with their hosts, at least during part of their days. Surely that wasn’t too much to ask?