Page 67 of A Highland Gargoyle's Lucky Star
“I’ll warm you up, love.”
Gradually, the woodstove heats the cabin enough to be cozy and that, in combination with Elryk’s tender ministrations, helps the worst of my full-body shivering start to subside.
Heaving a contented sigh, I snuggle into Elryk’s warmth while we cuddle in front of the stove.
“So what exactly happened out there?” I finally manage to ask again.
Elryk strokes my back in soothing circles. “We were attacked. They chose the perfect moment, when we were all distracted by you finally making contact with the ley line, and got the drop on us.”
I beam at him. “Screw them, but yay me. My mental tentacles stroked that line for all they were worth.”
“Aye, mo ghràidh. I felt it. The power you shared with me was… unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”
Uh… what?
“Wait. I shared the power with you? How?”
He stares at me and then a slow smile spreads across his face. “You didn’t realize you were sharing it with me?”
I tilt my head to the side, considering. “Hmm. I didn’t realize I was doing anything much at all. Basically, I was like an excited kid during their kindergarten’s show-and-tell. I just wanted to let you see what I’d done.”
Elryk leans in and nuzzles my neck. “Interesting. Since I am your mate, sharing your power with me might be purely instinctual. Your Conduit side knew exactly what to do even if you didn’t.”
I snort, unable to repress that part of me that has never gotten too old for a bit of juvenile humor. “Heh. So I probed you with my mental tentacles and injected you with my power?” I waggle my eyebrows at him. “Kinky.”
Elryk barks out a laugh before he captures me in a mesmerizing gaze full of awe, one that I can’t look away from. “Have I told you how amazing you are?”
I swallow hard, my heart hammering in my chest at his words. “Is once really enough?”
He leans down and takes my mouth in a languid, sensual kiss that feels like he’s laying claim to me with slow but relentless determination.
And I fuckingloveit.
When he finally pulls back, I’m warm all over, and my cock has decided to stop hiding. It’s ready to make good on my earlier fantasies.
But I’m briefly distracted when my eyes return to the gash on Elryk’s forehead.
I reach up and gingerly press my fingertips close to the wound, and he winces.
“Are you okay? Should we try to find some medical supplies here?”
The cabin’s quite small, so I don’t even know if there’s a bathroom of any kind.
“Dinnae fash yerself. It’s not too bad. Those mage bastards destroyed the rowboat, though. Everything happened so fast that I had barely a fraction of a second to react. The easiest and safest thing I could do was throw you overboard before their blast hit us. I apologize.”
“Was that how you got this wound?”
“Aye. Most likely from a bit of wood shrapnel when the boat exploded.”
My brain catches up to what he’s saying. “So it was mages who attacked us? Why?”
“Two of them. From what Nasser and I could tell, they seem to be the ones that hired that sleekit bastard, Malcolm, who tried to kidnap you off the sleeper train. No doubt they were hoping to get access to the ley line through your powers.”
I frown. “How would they even know who I am? And why would they need me for that?”
Elryk shakes his head. “Mo ghràidh, I dinnae think you realize just how momentous an event it is to have a Conduit appear here after so many years without one. Your kind are quite rare in the Terran realm, and as a result, many crave to have that power in their possession.” He sighs. “It’s a burden a Conduit must bear. While many want access to the power a ley line possesses, not just anyone can easily tap into that raw magic. For most, doing so would cause them to be incinerated on the spot.”
I feel my heart drop into my stomach like a stone. “And you let me just touch it?!” My voice comes out slightly hysterical but I think it’s totally fucking justified.
