She couldn’t keep her eyes off him. She was still trembling from the ride in the car. The feel of his body so close to hers reminded her of the other time when his body had been close to hers. Inside hers. But before that. Before the guard came and saw them…She’d never felt anything like having him kiss her and touch her. Her excuse was that it was the drug the guard had given her, but she wasn’t drugged now, and she still couldn’t get him out of her head.
Tavis turned and looked at her then. He held her gaze a moment, then clenched his jaw and looked away. He was hurt. And worried. She could see it in the slope of his shoulders. Wide shoulders. Beautiful shoulders. Beautiful chest. Would she ever get the image of that damned soapy washcloth out of her head? She knew he felt something for her. Probably just gratitude and lust. She always got the lust.
That was the part that frightened her. Not physically. Mentally. Sex represented control. Loss of control for her. Wielding control for him. Not him. She closed her eyes in frustration. Tavis hadn’t done anything wrong. He wasn’t the one who’d raped her mother and left her pregnant with a child she didn’t want but was unwilling to abort. Tavis wasn’t the one who’d trained her, mentored her, and when she’d begun to trust him like the father she never had, wanted her to show appreciation for his work. Appreciation with her body.
Sex sucked. Love sucked.
Didn’t it? What about Ronan? That hadn’t sucked. Bad timing. Wrong person. But it hadn’t been bad. Just awkward. And Tavis…before the guard came, that had been amazing. She wasn’t being fair to him. They’d shared some kind of connection in the dungeon. Maybe just because they were both prisoners trapped and scared, but she’d felt something for him that she’d never felt for a man before. The thought of exploring it made her sick to her stomach.
When they reached the castle, Faelan came charging out to meet the plane. “He looks like an angry bull,” Ronan said.
Tavis knew that look too well. “Aye. I’ll handle him.” When he was pissed the only thing to do was to confront him head-on.
“Good,” Lachlan said, shutting himself in the cockpit when Faelan started pounding on the door to the plane.
Tavis had to wait for Ronan to open it. He couldn’t figure out how to get out of the confounded thing.
Faelan stood there, his hands clenched, eyes frightened. “You just leave without telling me? Go off on some bloody mission without a word? You’ve just come back from the dead.”
“I had to do it. Lance said I had to come alone.”
“Alone?” His incredulous glance swept over the others, who were looking at their feet, twiddling their thumbs. Lachlan was watching from the window in the front of the plane.
“They weren’t supposed to be there,” Tavis said. “They waylaid me.”
Ronan jumped down and stood next to Tavis. “Lance told him he had to come alone or he wouldn’t take him to Anna.”
“You found Anna?”
“Aye. I didn’t want him going alone, so I followed,” Ronan said. “Same with Shane and Duncan.”
Cody stalked up to meet them. He didn’t look any happier than Faelan. “You could have told us you were going,” Cody said, frowning at Lachlan, whose face vanished from the window.
“I did. I put a letter under Faelan’s door. I didn’t want to knock. You and Bree were…engaged.”
“And he did leave a letter,” Ronan said. “I saw him write it.”
“I didn’t see it.” Faelan looked around and spotted Anna standing behind the others. “And where the bloody hell have you been? And what’re you wearing?”
“Don’t start with me, Faelan.” Anna walked off the plane.
“She’s in a foul mood,” Ronan said. “But she’s been visiting with Tristol and Voltar, so I don’t blame her.”
“Tristol and Voltar!” Faelan eyebrows rose, and he looked like a duplicate of Duncan, who’d moved next to him. Everyone started talking at once.
Cody held up his hand. “Hold on. Come inside and let’s get the story straight. Bree needs to know Anna’s OK. She’s been worried sick. Everyone has.”
“I’m sorry,” Anna said. “There wasn’t time to warn everyone.”
“If you’d bothered to replace your cell phone, you could have called,” Ronan said.
Anna didn’t answer. They all walked toward the castle, but it was slow going with everyone along the way stopping to talk. By the time they got inside, they had an entourage. Anna had been missing for some time, and the whole clan had been worried.
The interior structure of the castle was so similar to the one Tavis had grown up in that he felt homesick. He expected to see Ian and Alana rushing out to greet him. Instead, Bree and Shay ran down the hall. “You’re back. Thank God.” Bree hugged Anna and suddenly jumped back as if she’d been burned.
Anna peered at her. “Are you OK?”
Bree appeared at a loss for words. She must be overcome with emotion. Tavis remembered when his mother was pregnant with Alana. How easily she’d cried.
An elderly man and woman joined them. Both were white-haired, with happy faces and warm eyes. The man stared at Tavis and then grabbed him in a hug.
The move surprised Tavis, but he hugged him back. When the old man stepped away, he looked up at Tavis, his eyes glistening. “I never thought to see such a remarkable thing in all my days.”
“Sean, Tavis has no idea who you are,” the woman said, smiling at him like his mother used to.
“I got a bit ahead of myself. I’m Sean Connor, and this is Coira. We’re your family.” He beamed, hunched his shoulders, and chuckled.
Tavis nodded to them. “Tavis Connor, and I’m very glad to meet you both.”
“He’s overwhelmed, Sean.” The woman took Tavis by the arm. “What you need is a good meal.”
Food. “Aye. I am hungry.”
“Come along then,” the old man said, “and let Coira feed you. You’ve a lot to learn. Times have changed. Even in my lifetime. I hardly recognize the world sometimes. But you’ll sort it all out. Your brother did. He’s become a whiz at texting.”
Tavis didn’t know what texting was. Perhaps a new kind of weaponry. Coira led the way to the kitchen. It was similar to the one at home, but there were more of those modern appliances like the ones he’d seen at Faelan and Bree’s. Several people were in the kitchen working at large ovens. Some were baking bread, others chopping vegetables. He had a wistful moment remembering how his mother had fussed about having to feed so many warriors, even with help, when everyone knew she loved every moment of it.
Tavis ate some bread and stew and answered more questions. When he’d finished, Sean took one of Tavis’s hands and one of Faelan’s. “A family reunion. That’s what we’ll have.”
“What about Voltar and Tristol?” Sorcha asked.
“They’ll have to wait,” Sean said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime event. I won’t let the demons ruin this moment.” He stopped and paused. “Your brother Ian, he’s not coming is he?”
Tavis shook his head. “God, I hope not.”
“With two of you here, I was beginning to wonder if the whole family was coming.”
“Ian stayed behind to take care of Ma.”
Sean’s lips pressed together, and he nodded. “I understand. You’re a brave lad for doing what you did. And he’s a brave one for staying behind. Makes me proud to be a Connor.”
Warmth stirred in Tavis’s chest. He’d worried that he’d arrive to find Faelan dead, Druan on a rampage, or worse, the world already destroyed. But he’d found his family. Part of his family. His eyes strayed to Anna, whose eyes were damp. She turned her head.