And then he kissed my breath away.
My hands slid over his body in the crisp water. I loved the hardness of lean muscle under his skin. I ran my hands across his chest and around to his back, feeling him from the line of his pants up to his shoulders. Unlike me, he kept his hands in one place, around my back. But he groaned with pleasure at my touch and kissed me harder. The water no longer felt so cold.
McKale’s mouth left mine and he pulled me to his chest to hug me. His cheek rubbed the side of my head.
“I can’t get enough of ye, Robyn. I didn’t know it could feel this way.”
I leaned back enough to look at him. “I’m full of surprises.”
He chuckled. “Careful now. Ye aren’t the only one who can give a surprise.”
I lifted an eyebrow, wondering what he meant, but he must have taken it as a challenge because he jumped up and dunked me under the water. I came up gasping, wiping water from my eyes.
“Not nice!” I rushed for him and we wrestled, laughing with sudden playfulness. It was an enjoyable release after the past twenty-four hours.
“’Tis not right for a lass to be so rough!” He laughed as I struggled my way out of his hold.
“That’s me. Take it or leave it.” We’d moved close to the shore now. I yanked the back of his knee forward with my heel so he’d lose his balance. As he fell forward he grabbed my waist and twisted us around so that I would fall on top of him. He grasped my wrists and pulled me down to him. Our upper bodies were on the dirt, but our legs were still in water.
“I’ll take ye, I will.”
McKale lifted his head to try and kiss me, but I dodged to the side. Instead I kissed his cheek before moving further to nibble his earlobe. He tensed underneath me and I could feel everything. Instead of making me nervous, his apparent arousal spurred me on. I kissed his neck and he held his breath. My mouth was hot in comparison to his cool skin. He sucked in air when I ran my tongue over his lightly freckled shoulder, down to his collarbone. I’d never done such a thing, and the way he reacted made me experience another delicious surge of power like I had when we kissed by the hen house.
“Aye, yer likely to drive me mad if ye keep that up.”
“Just getting you back for driving me mad my first month here,” I said against his chest.
I was only teasing, but he sat up and pulled me up with him, setting me at his side and taking my face in his palm.
“Robyn.” His eyes pleaded with mine. “Ye did not deserve to be treated so. I was a fool boy and didn’t know how to act. Fer awhile there I thought ye’d given up on me.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I was sad and scared, and maybe a little stubborn too, but I never gave up.”
“Will ye forgive me?”
“I already have. And I’m sorry I was upset with you and wouldn’t talk to you.” So much wasted time we could have been getting to know one another.
“Ye don’t need to apologize to me fer anything.”
He laid me back in the moss, one knee between my legs and a hand on my waist. McKale kissed me with such sweet tenderness I thought I’d come apart at the seams. My body was impatient for more of his touch, but he remained a perfect gentleman. I squirmed closer, arching my back, needing more.
“I think I’m ready to bind with you, like, right now.” The words spilled out with abandon, spurred on by my greedy body. “I’m not even kidding.”
He laughed heartily at my admission and I savored the sound of it.
More words surfaced and I let them tumble out bravely. “I’m falling in love with you, Kale.” My heart pounded as I watched his laughter turn serious. “Do you believe me?”
“Aye,” he whispered and touched our lips. “I believe ye, Bláth mo chroí.”
“What?” I asked.
“’Tis the old language. Gaelic.”
“What does it mean?”
He held me with his eyes. “Flower of me heart.”
In that beautiful second, as he leaned to seal those words with a kiss, an itchy burn buzzed across my skin. I recognized the feel of being glamoured, but this was stronger than when I put a glamour around myself. It felt thick and unnatural around me.
McKale’s eyes widened as he pulled back from me. “Khalis-!” Before he could finish saying her name, another burst of magic hit me and McKale was gone.
But not really. There was a tiny bit of weight still on me.
“Oh!” Mini-sized McKale was splayed across my belly. “Are you okay?” I asked, unsure if I should try to pick him up or something. My voice sounded strange in my ears and he seemed frightened of me. When I peered down at myself I almost puked. I looked like her, pale skin swaddled in white gossamer. McKale clambered off me, sliding down my waist and running a few feet away.
A giggle sounded from behind us and I sat up fast, turning my torso to see her.
“McKale shifts small when he’s startled. But you wouldn’t know that, would you, Robyn Mason? You hardly know him at all.” Khalistah smiled pleasantly from the opening of the trees where she glowed. Her white-gold hair rested on her slim hips, glittering in the twilight. The green pixie was perched on her shoulder, its fat face like a pug, minus the cuteness factor.
She stepped out and I stood to face her. The glamour felt so strange—I couldn’t see my own skin. This was a power show, and she had the upper hand. She’d stolen my identity and individuality, turning me into her.
Khalistah looked me up and down, amused. “I thought McKale might find your moment together more enjoyable if you appeared this way.”
I bit back the obvious retort that he’d been enjoying himself just fine. I planted my feet a foot apart and squared my shoulders, refusing to cower, even though I couldn’t help but be petrified on the inside.
I must have come off as aggressive because the stupid pixie came flying at me and grabbed a handful of my hair. He made little yipping sounds like a barking squirrel while I screamed and tried to slap him away. My head felt like it was on fire. Khalistah clapped her hands and he flew back to her shoulder. He flung his hands to try and rid his fingers of my loose hairs. I rubbed the tender spot from where the strands had been pulled.
Khalistah clucked her tongue and sighed. “Pixies are such beastly little things, aren’t they? No manners whatsoever.”
Another smaller burst of magic made me flinch, but it was just McKale. He stood now, normal-sized, but he gave himself distance from us both, creating a triangle. His tan pants were slung low from the weight of water, revealing a happy trail of red hair between the V-line of his hips, heading downward. I wasn’t the only one to notice.
“Mmm.” The FFG looked McKale up and down with fingertips fluttering above her throat.
Nobody was going to Mmm my guy but me. She needed to get those glacier eyeballs back in her head.
“Will you please unglamour me?” I asked through gritted teeth.
She slowly turned her eyes to me. “I have seen the way you look at me. In awe. Admiring the sort of beauty humans can only obtain in dreams. But if your pride is so great that you prefer the less attractive appearance, then so be it.” She waved a finger and the glamour disappeared. I felt lighter.
“Khalistah,” McKale said. I tried to ignore the way his voice softened and his eyes still held a small amount of awe as he looked at her. “I’m glad ye’ve come. I wish to speak with ye.”
“How long were you going to wait to speak with me? Moments before your mockery of a binding, or afterward?”
“I… I’m…”
She glided toward him and pressed a finger to his lips. He flinched then shivered.