Page 21 of Connal

“He saw you first in the water,” he said softly. “I ken thus, and so does the king. By the laws that bind us we cannae keep you from him. You must agree to join the Finfolk and mate with one of Merrick’s men, or he shall take all your memories and leave you on the mainland. But for the ring ’twould already be done. I beg you agree wed me.”

Valerie took a moment to stare at the beautiful stone in his wife’s ring. Although it should have looked as hard and cold as Connal’s eyes did now, it seemed to glow softly in the diffused sunlight. It made her wonder something outrageous: Was Joana somehow sending her approval from beyond her watery grave?

Why am I even considering saying yes? Am I a masochist? One husband was more than enough.

“You don’t want to marry me.” She got to her feet. “I need to talk to King Merrick. How do I flag him down? Or do I just go in the water and wait until he comes to abduct me again? If that’s the case, can I borrow Shaw for a little while?”

“’Tis truth that I didnae say thus from any true desire to make you my wife,” Connal told her. “’Twas to protect you from the Finfolk. Or do you wish Merrick take away your memories of Caladh, the clan, his people and your life in the future? You’ll awake on the mainland, surrounded by strangers. You’ll forget all you now ken, even your own name.”

For a moment Valerie was very tempted to say yes to that. It was true that she knew very little about the medieval era in general, and almost nothing about Scotland in the twelfth century. If Merrick memory-wiped her she’d have no point of reference at all; she’d just be there. Her accent would immediately brand her an outsider, and her unfamiliarity with how to do anything in this time might even get her into serious trouble. Being a woman without any family or support system didn’t bode well for her chances to make a new life for herself anywhere, either. Still, the thought of having erased all the pain and guilt she has suffered over the last year seemed like the ultimate one-shot permanent anti-depressant.

Do I want to forget Dale that badly?

As she thought of all that, a deep, dull pain spread in her chest. Aside from the last year of their marriage she had only wonderful memories of her husband. Dale had proposed to her at his favorite fancy French restaurant, unexpectedly kneeling down in front of her to make a wildly romantic speech. Before presenting her with a white rose and a diamond solitaire engagement ring he’d assured her that she had become his reason for living. All the other diners had applauded when she’d accepted, and their server had brought out a beautiful cake and champagne. She had been young and thrilled and so much in love that Dale’s proposal had kept her dreamy-eyed and smiling for days afterward.

Ten years later I became his reason for dying.

Valerie looked up at the laird. Connal needed a new wife as much as she needed a new husband, but he wanted to protect her, or he would never have told Merrick such a ridiculous lie. If there existed some method she could use to bail them both out of this, that had to be her new priority.

“Can we hold off on the wedding for a while?” she asked, grimacing. “We still might find a way for me to return to the twenty-first century.”

“’Tis tradition for mortals to hold the wedding feast within a moon.” His mouth hitched. “Merrick shallnae wait much beyond that.”

“That gives us twenty-nine and a half days.” Valerie glanced at Joana’s ring. “Since this brought me here, maybe there’s some way to reverse the process. I was trapped in my car in the lake…that’s it.” She stood up and peered down at the silvery shimmering surface of the pool and she kicked off her shoes. “This is fresh water, isn’t it? Like the loch behind the castle?”

Now he looked uneasy. “Aye, but ’tisnae the same. Valerie.”

She had assumed a lot of things about the little pool as she stepped into it, such as it would be cold but only a few feet deep. As it closed over her head she nearly gulped in a lungful of the warm, bubble-frothed water. A second later strong arms seized her and pushed her up to the surface.

“Go you mad?” a dripping-wet Connal demanded.

“I can’t believe how deep this is.” Even when she stretched out her toes she couldn’t touch the bottom. “Is it a well? Shouldn’t you keep it covered? Kids might fall in and drown.”

“’Tis a fairy pool.” He tugged her closer, and pulled up her arms to wind them around his neck. “My sire created them as amusements. They’re all warded against bairns.”

Valerie sighed as the heat of his body and the water sank into her. “He thought it was fun to drown the grown-ups?”

Connal brushed the wet hair out of her face. “Fae enjoy trysts out of doors. The prince brought his mortal wives here at night so they might bathe together.”

“It’s a magical hot tub?” She could sense the tension relaxing from his muscles now, and hers had already turned into gelatin. At the same time a strange urgency suffused her from the waist down. “Okay. Now I understand. We should, ah, get out of here.”

“Wait,” he murmured, and took hold of her right hand, plunging it back into the water. “Make a wish to return to your time.”

Right this moment she didn’t want to go anywhere, and couldn’t stop herself from stroking the back of his neck. “Please take me back to the twenty-first century. Wait, there’s something happening. What…ow, ow, ow, too hot.”

He yanked her hand out of the pool. “Does the water burn you?”

“No, the ring did.” She checked her finger, which had turned a light pink, but at least the ring had gone cold again. “I don’t think this is going to work. Maybe we should try the loch, unless that’s enchanted, too.”

“Valerie.” When she looked into his eyes he pressed her against him. “Fae ever long for trysts with mortals. Male Fae especially crave beautiful females. This pool inflames such desires.”

“Well, you’re only half-Fae, so…oh.” The weight of his erection pressed against her belly. “You’re half-human, too, remember?”

“I cannae forget.” He bent his head, almost close enough to kiss her. A second before he did he put his mouth next to her ear and murmured, “Behind me.”

Valerie saw the man standing in the shadow of an oak tree. He didn’t have scales like Merrick, but he was bare-chested, and wore the same close-fitted trousers. Instead of a pendant he had on a wide bracelet made of gleaming, interwoven violet and gold links.

“What want you, Jamaran?” Connal asked in a louder voice.