A Shift in the Air Page 14

  She gave him everything for a moment, then broke the kiss with a teasing smile. “I thought I told you no touching?”

  “We’re too close to the moon, Caitlin. I can’t keep my hands off ya.”

  “Yes. You can.”

  Inch by agonizing inch, she slid his briefs lower, freeing his cock. She grabbed a pillow from the bed and tugged him over to a chair, pushing him down as she sank to her knees. With her gaze locked on his, she wrapped cool fingers around his length. The first tentative stroke of her tongue pulled a groan from his throat, and he balled his fists in the blanket. As her free hand cupped his balls and she took him deeper, hollowing out her cheeks and surrounding him with the heat of her mouth, he panted. “Please, luv. Shite. Let me—”

  Her fingers dug into his thigh in a subtle rebuke. She ran her tongue along the underside of his cock, and he thrust his hips forward. Adjusting, she took him deeper. Another hum—almost a keening—and he tightened his hand in her hair, holding her against him as he came.

  When his tremors subsided, his glassy eyes took her in, and he brushed a thumb over her swollen lips. “The moon rises in two days,” he said, pulling her up and wrapping her in a warm embrace. “Ya have no idea how much I want ya. Every minute.”

  “So take me.”

  Her nipples pebbled against his chest. When he was done with her mouth, he nibbled along her jaw, down her neck, and closed his teeth over the tender flesh above her collarbone. “My turn.”

  Liam swapped their positions, easing her into the chair and spreading her thighs. He caged her, kissing her breathless. On his knees, he tugged her forward until her ass hung half-off the chair. His hand splayed over her belly as he bent and nuzzled her. “Ya smell like the wind. Like the sweetest flower.”

  “Liam. Please…”

  “Please what?”

  “I need you.” She tilted her hips to give him better access and then tightened her thighs when his tongue slipped between her folds. Pleasure buffeted her core in endless waves, and he wrapped his hands around her hips, holding her still as she tried to writhe and rock closer, desperate for more of him.

  When he reached up to pinch a nipple as he scraped his teeth along her sensitive nub, she soared, screaming his name as her world went white, and sensation replaced conscious thought.

  He held her as she trembled and then gathered her against his chest. Carrying her to the bed, he laid her down and smoothed her hair away from her face.

  “I’m not done with ya yet, luv. Don’t move.”

  “I don’t think I can,” she managed.

  Liam rummaged through his suitcase for a condom and threw it on the bed next to her. Then he turned back and retrieved a second, and a third.

  “You have a very high opinion of yourself,” she said with a chuckle as he joined her. A lock of her hair appeared to fascinate him for a moment, and he leaned in to brush a tender, almost chaste kiss to her cheek.

  “Ye’re my mate. My wolf…he’s claimed ya already. We’ve two days until the moon, and this”—he tipped his head back and stared up at the ceiling—“might be the last time I can touch ya until moonset.”

  “Why? Because you’ll mate with me if you do?” She cupped his cheek, trying to hide her smile.

  She’d never seen his eyes so dark. The green, flecked with gold, deepened and churned, the colors swirling in pools of molten need. “Yeah.”

  “What if I want that?”

  Shock stole his breath. Caitlin stroked her hand down to his chest, up and over the tattoo on his shoulder, and traced the date he’d inked on his skin—the memory of her ‘death,’ a constant reminder of his love. Older now, wiser, and yes, both sadder, the connection between them had grown from a tenuous thread to a strong, complex tether, not unlike the braid on the cuff she wore.

  “I love you, Liam. I went to Ha’penny Bridge and found our lock. I loved you then, but I love you more now. You’re mine, every bit as much as I’m yours. I’m terrified of what’s going to happen when we face…him…but I’m not scared of you—of this.”

  His kiss left her breathless and aching for more, but when he pulled back, his eyes churned. “We’ll have some trouble with my pack. They’ll respect the matin’, and they won’t harm ya, but they won’t welcome ya either. I’ll…we might have to leave them. Go somewhere new.”

  “I want to make things right with them.” He’d voiced her biggest fear beyond Fergus. Liam had a family, and she’d had a part in hurting them. “Would we have to live with them? Maybe if we had our own place…they’d have an easier time. I don’t want to cause a rift between you and your family.” In the late night hours of their flight over the Atlantic, Liam had confessed his troubles to her—his failings as a beta, Cade’s order that he reconnect with them all, and his regrets that he’d never noticed Peter’s pain.

  “I don’t know. But…that’s a worry for when we’re free and back home. For now…I’d like to hear ya tell me again.” He grinned, rolled on his back, and settled her on top of him.

  “I love you, Liam.”

  ***

  The moon’s approach didn’t help his nerves. Whether her own stress or a reaction to his, Caitlin worried her hands along the hem of her sweater. She’d stretched the poor stitching almost to breaking in the past half hour, and he’d tamped down a pattern in the thick carpeting of the suite with his pacing. Cade and Mara had landed half an hour ago and were due to arrive any minute. Damn rush hour traffic.

  Several stones arranged in a circular pattern on the coffee table and a bundle of herbs on either side waited for Mara, though Liam didn’t pretend to understand how either would help her. She’d made it through the flight, according to Cade’s text, but she couldn’t keep food down and even getting water in her had proved difficult. His alpha’s worry punched through the terse message.

  Though the moonrise wouldn’t drive the mating call to a frenzy for another thirty-six hours or so, in Liam’s heart, they’d mated already. Her declaration of love, her desire to claim him as he’d claimed her, sealed them.

  “You’re going to exhaust yourself,” she said, glancing up at him with tired, bloodshot eyes.

  “A little late for that.”

  Caitlin yelped at the knock at the door.

  “Liam!” Cade’s deep voice carried, and Liam threw open the door to the suite. Mara clung to her mate, her normally pale skin almost translucent, her hair dull, and her eyes half-lidded. Cade had a single duffel bag slung over his shoulder, and under his jacket, blood and soot stained his gray shirt.

  “Give her here,” Liam said and lifted Mara in his arms, carrying her to the sofa where Caitlin indicated.

  “Water.” Caitlin pointed to a bottle of water on top of the mini-bar and took Mara’s hands. A rush of air surrounded them, so strong Liam swore as the impact hit him.

  “I’m just tired.” Mara slumped back against the brocade fabric and closed her eyes. “Hard to focus.”

  “Mara, stay with me. We need to calm the fire.” Caitlin pulled open the top button of Mara’s wrinkled silk blouse and pressed one of the milky stones against Mara’s heart.

  “Oh Goddess.” Mara cupped the stone, took a deep breath, and the humidity in the room rose almost immediately. “How do you do that?”

  “I wish I could take credit for it, but that’s the quartz. This, though, is me.” Caitlin lit one of the herb sticks and sent her element winding around the two women. She drew a complex pattern of circles in the air, focusing on Mara’s head and her heart and then spread a drop of essential oil between Mara’s eyes. Finally, Caitlin draped a leather pouch on a long strap around Mara’s neck.

  “Keep that on all the time—except when you shower. The quartz against your heart should help center you. Now drink this while I give you my air, and you should feel stronger.”

  Silent minutes passed as Mara gulped down the water. Caitlin pressed her palm to Mara’s, and the rush of her element ruffled Liam’s shirt. When Mara looked back at Cade and Liam with clear,
bright eyes, both men relaxed. “I’m better now,” she said. “And really hungry.”

  “Luv, can ya see to Cade? I think he’s hurt. I’ll order room service.”

  In truth, Liam didn’t want Caitlin’s hands on his alpha—not so close to the mating—but her charms could relieve his pain.

  “I shifted,” Cade said. “Once we parked at the airport. We had a few minutes. The blood is old. I’m starving and tired, but I’m not injured.”

  “You’re in pain. You both are. I can help. At least for a little while.” At his nod, Caitlin directed him to sit next to his mate. She stood in front of them, a hand on each of their shoulders. Fig blossoms scented the suite, and Liam couldn’t help but stare as Cade and Mara both relaxed when the charm took hold.

  “They’re sendin’ up enough food for an army.” Liam took a seat across from Cade and Mara and waited for Caitlin to fit herself to his side. “Ten minutes or so. What happened in Oregon?”

  Mara slid her palm against Cade’s. “Where’s Fergus? Are we safe here for a while?”

  “He hasn’t come after us. Well…not directly.” Caitlin recounted Fergus’s invasion of her dreams and his attempt to charm her when she’d been alone on the streets of Dublin, and Liam explained Peter’s absence.

  “He should call soon.” The knock at the door announcing food brought any questions to a halt, and the four dug into steaks, chips, and warm rolls with butter.

  “Why does the quartz work so well?” Mara asked, toying with the leather pouch that hung between her breasts after polishing off an entire plate of food.

  “Cleansed stones absorb negative energy. I can cleanse them every few weeks for you—help keep them working. Or…I can teach you how to perform a cleansing when we get home.”

  Cade picked up on the hint in her words. “You’re planning on sticking around after this mess is done?”

  “She agreed to accept—”

  Caitlin stopped Liam with a hand on his thigh. “I want to ask for permission to join the pack as Liam’s mate.”

  The words set loose a storm inside him, his wolf clamoring to be free. He hadn’t known how much he’d needed to hear her promise until that moment or how much he needed Cade to agree.

  Cade and Mara looked at one another for a long minute before Cade nodded and returned his focus to Caitlin. “I won’t oppose it. You’ll have to make peace with the rest of the pack, but you’ve proven your loyalty to Mara several times in the past few days, and though I don’t know that I’ll ever forget what you did, I’ll forgive you for your actions.”

  Caitlin reached for Liam’s hand. “Fergus used the air he stole from me to ensure I obeyed him, though I never wanted to. But Katerina’s control…the charm she wielded to create the crystal didn’t affect my body. She used her element—and mine—to ensure that Bella trusted her completely. If she asked me to do something, I complied because I believed in her. I knew the risks when she offered to protect me. Between her strength—fire, one of his greatest weaknesses—and her conviction— I wanted to believe she wouldn’t take advantage of me.”

  Cade snorted. “You didn’t know her.”

  “At the time, I didn’t. I didn’t trust anyone. Not even myself. That’s why I jumped off the cliffs in the first place. She knew what I needed—sensed it somehow—and said all the right words.

  “‘Give yourself into my protection, allow me to keep you safe, and trust that I will never harm you. You’ll help me and in return, I’ll kill anyone who hurts you.’” Caitlin plucked one of the stones from the table and smoothed her thumb over the flat surface. “That’s how she controlled me. I trusted her because she compelled my trust—I didn’t know that was even possible until her charm. But I needed her protection so desperately that I let her cast the charm. If you’d asked me at the time, I knew right from wrong. That’s why I tried to help Mara in the hotel. Why I couldn’t hurt her.” A tear glistened in her eye, and she sniffed once, then stared down at her hands.

  “Thank you for that,” Mara said. “And one day, perhaps you can tell me about the parts of my sister I never saw.”

  “She had good in her under all the pain. I wish you’d known that side of her. But whatever made her crack so long ago, stole the rational side of her…at least surrounding Cade and his father.”

  Mara turned to Cade, brows knit together, confusion deepening the purse of her lips and the tiny lines around her eyes. “What if whatever is affecting me, took Katerina as well? The elders said the world needed to find balance again. Are we all at risk?”

  Caitlin shivered. “We are if we can’t stop Fergus.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Mara’s too tired to go to Doolin tonight,” Cade said, rubbing the back of Mara’s neck. “We won’t be any good to anyone until we get some rest.”

  “We haven’t slept much either. Caitlin, is Fergus still in County Clare?” Liam reached for her hand and linked their fingers.

  “I think so. If he gets close, I’ll feel it. We’re probably safe here for the night.”

  “What did ya learn in Oregon?”

  Cade snorted. “Fucking elementals. This blood?” He gestured to his shirt. Burnt red stained his left sleeve. “I had to fight my way to Mara when they went after her. The whole fucking community wants Mara dead. They’re convinced if they don’t stop her, she’ll end up like Fergus.”

  “I will.” Mara’s voice broke, and she shied away from Cade when he reached for her. “Every time I have to use my fire, I lose myself. I don’t remember anything after you broke into the meeting room. I…’woke up’ at the airport. If we don’t find the book, I don’t know how long I have left.”

  Cade clenched his hands on his thighs. “Don’t give up, honey. Please. Don’t leave me.”

  “I don’t know that I’ll have a choice.” Mara fiddled with the leather pouch around her neck. “The elders know Fergus. He’s been in and out of mental institutions for years. Apparently he’s addicted to Rohypnol. The pills help keep his mania in check.” She snorted and pinched the bridge of her nose. “They tried to drug me, too.”

  “Mara.” The single word rasped roughly, and Mara leaned against Cade and let him wrap his arms around her. ”They did. You don’t remember because of the drug. When I found you…you could barely stand. I thought I’d lost you.”

  “No one’s losing anyone,” Caitlin said. Mara curled into Cade, the haunted look in her eyes stirring Caitlin to change the subject. “Did you learn anything about the book?”

  Cade dug in his pocket and tossed her a crumpled piece of paper. “Before everything went to shit, Eleanor—she’s a friend of Mara’s aunt—gave me this. She’s the one who told me I had to get to Mara. She died trying to save us.”

  Smoothing the paper on the coffee table, Caitlin read the hastily scrawled words aloud.

  “’Diedre McKean, 300 Uisce Road, Lisdoonvarna.’ She’s not far from Doolin. She knows about the book?”

  Mara lifted her shadowed gaze and swallowed hard. “One of the elders, an air elemental, Siobhan, lived in Ireland for most of her life. She knows Diedre. From what she said, Diedre’s a loner, lives off the radar, and doesn’t interact with any of the other elementals in the country. And she used to talk about her great-grandmother’s charm book and some of the far-fetched ramblings that spoke of power and darkness. Siobhan wanted to help until the others convinced her of my…instability. I’m supposed to tell Diedre that ‘her little flower’ sent us.”

  “So tomorrow,” Liam said, rubbing a hand along his jaw, “we’ll go to Farren’s and then find this elemental.”

  “What about Fergus?” Cade stilled his restless movements and fixed Caitlin with a hard stare. “Can you fight him if he comes after you?”

  “She doesn’t have to. I’ll protect her.” Liam covered her hand with his.

  If only he could. He couldn’t possibly know the evil Fergus carried within him, nor how easily he could wield her air. “No, Liam. If he gets anywhere near us, you have to run.”<
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  “Ye’re talkin’ to a werewolf, luv. We don’t back down. Not when our mates are threatened.” The edge to his voice stirred her anger.

  “Dammit. You don’t know him. I’m fucking sick and tired of you trying to ‘save’ me. I’ll save myself.”

  “No, Caitlin.” Liam gripped the arm of the sofa so hard the wood creaked under his fingers. A muscle twitched in his jaw.

  “No? You don’t get to tell me no. I’m not your little damsel-in-distress-porcelain-doll about to shatter, and growling at the problem won’t solve anything. Fergus is out there, and he’s going to come for me—and you—unless I stop him. Me. The one who ‘made’ him. I need your help—don’t get me wrong. But you can’t be the one to fight him. I fought him earlier. I can do it again.” Caitlin’s element stirred the drapes five feet away. “Mara, if you start to feel odd, come get me. Otherwise, I’ll be in bed.”

  Alone in the bedroom, Caitlin threw open the window and sucked in a few breaths of fresh air. Dublin smelled different than Seattle—fresher, saltier, and somehow calmer. Though perhaps her history here had something to do with that. “I can fight him.” Saying the words aloud gave them power. She could escape him and take back her life—and then forge a new one with Liam. Assuming he didn’t continue to be an ass. Damn werewolves with their overprotective instincts.

  Exhaustion muddled her thoughts. She wanted Liam…needed him. But she also needed him to listen and trust her. Giving up on answers for the night, Caitlin slipped between the sheets and buried her face in Liam’s pillow.

  “Someday you’ll find the one you’re meant to love and restore balance to your world.” Her mother’s long-ago words, said in comfort to the terrified eighteen-year-old girl who’d fled from Fergus’s insanity, clawed their way free of her tangled memories. Balance. What had she meant by balance?

  Caitlin ached to speak to her mother again. She had no one. Yes, Liam loved her and she loved him, but she had no friends, no family. I miss you, mum.