Chapter Forty-Five

Gabriel

I searched among thepiles of bodies, exhaling a sigh of relief when I didn't spy a mass of flame-red hair among the victims. I quickly turned from the stench. As the clouds parted, and the Texas sun bore down on the island, the smell of bloated corpses got stronger. More than once, I'd come close to passing out. Even though many of the survivors and I wore kerchiefs over our faces, the masks did little to diminish the stench of death.

"Gabriel!" My youngest brother, Manny, bounded toward me. He stopped long enough to remove his mask and catch his breath before blurting, "Safina's alive!"

I swore my heart stopped beating for an eternal second, as everything around me—people mourning the loss of their loved ones, crews digging bodies out of the rubble, children crying for their parents—went silent. As I stood in the center of so much devastation and destruction, Manny had given me a beacon of light.

"Where is she?" I demanded.

Manny thumbed behind him. "At Papí's house."

My chest squeezed so hard, I had to bend over, steadying my hands on my thighs to keep from passing out. The last time I'd seen my mate, she was being kidnapped by the villain who'd stabbed me in the gut. And though I'd feared the worst, I'd had no time to mourn Safina while I battled the hurricane. After the storm had passed, and the midnight moon shone down on the ruins, I didn't think Safina could've survived such devastation. All the homes on the west side of the island had been destroyed. Lydia's home had only survived through my magic.

Manny leaned over me, patting me on the back. "You all right?"

I nodded. "Just give me a minute." I stood as my heartrate slowed to nearly normal. "And her family?"

Manny flashed a boyish grin. "They are well."

My hand trembled as I grabbed my brother's shoulder. "I need to see her."

"Come on."

I was happy to escape the gloom, though the long trek through the rubble would be arduous. I needed to hold Safina for a few moments before returning to dig for bodies; a gruesome chore, but one that needed to be done. We'd have to slip away before we were spotted, for the sheriff had deputized several gringos, and they'd forced Moses, my oldest brothers, and I, and all surviving able-bodied non-white males, to recover the bodies. And those who refused were shot on-site. I was grateful for my ability to walk and would've helped anyway, but I resented being forced while the others watched from a safe distance.

Two of my brothers, Pedro and Raul, climbed down from a pile of rubble, dragging the body of a man behind them while Moses continued to dig.

I whistled to them and waved my arms. "Safi's alive!"

They gave me a thumbs-up and went back to work.

Just as I was about to follow Manny, I stopped cold. Something about that corpse was eerily familiar. I bounded across the rubble until I was upon my brothers.

I hissed sharply when I noticed the lifeless eyes of my attacker, Dr. Straw, staring up at me. The cane Dr. Straw had used to rip open my guts was protruding from the man's chest. His eyes bulged, his mouth hanging open, as if his face was frozen in a permanent state of shock.

"I know that man," I growled. As much as I wanted to celebrate the doctor's death, seeing his lifeless body only brought back painful memories. I couldn't wait for the doctor to be buried, along with the past.

"Who is it?" Pedro asked, mopping sweat off his brow.

I scowled. "It's that pendejo, Dr. Straw." I pointed to the cane in the man's chest. "He stabbed me with that."

"Hold it just a minute!"

An older, stocky man with sharp, gray eyes approached us. I recognized Colin O'Leary, a strongman who worked for a local saloon. I had witnessed a few occasions where O'Leary had thrown grown men out on the street and knew he was not a man to be crossed.

His iron-eyed glare focused on me before he stared down at the corpse. "You found Dr. Straw?" He kicked the body, and it made a gruesome, wet sound like a fish hitting a butcher block. O'Leary squinted at the corpse and chuckled. "He owed a lot of people money in this town." He nudged me. "Check his pockets."

I swallowed as a sense of unease twisted my gut. Dr. Straw was a snake, but I still didn't like the idea of rummaging through a dead man's pockets.

"Well, go on!" O'Leary commanded. "Or lift him, and I'll do it." He tapped his knee. "Haven't been able to bend this leg since the war."

I heaved a groan before kneeling and turning out the doctor's pockets. I found a velvet bag in the man's vest and tugged on the drawstring, surprised to find several pieces of expensive-looking jewelry.

I held the jewelry out to O'Leary. "I doubt this is his."

O'Leary frowned. "Stolen, no doubt. We'll have to bring this to the chief and see if anyone claims it. If not, it will help pay down the doctor's debt."

I stood, brushing my hands on my pants, trying to get the feel of Straw's stiff corpse off my fingertips. A shot rang out so loudly, it nearly split my skull in two. I lurched forward, falling on top of the doctor's body, pain lancing up my chest. The blast had somehow thrown me off balance. I thought I heard my brothers screaming, but their voices sounded more and more distant as my world began to fade.

* * *

Duncan

I KNEW I LOOKED LIKEan animal caught in a snare as I gaped at Fiona. Though I'd dreamed of this moment for so long, I couldn't help but have doubts. Fiona was asking to bond with the man who'd murdered her mother.

"Lass," I rasped, struggling to find the courage to refuse the one thing in the world I wanted more than anything. "You're tired. You need rest."

"I know. But I need you more."

I dropped the rag on the bed. "You don't have to do this."

"But I want to, Duncan." She leaned up on her elbows, her pretty hair fanned out across the bed, her alluring nude body a temptation that was becoming harder to refuse.

I shook my head, hating myself for denying her. "I don't want you living an eternity regretting this."

She sat up, grabbing my thigh, her mouth dangerously close to my groin as she looked up at me with captivating amber eyes. "My only regret is that I waited almost five hundred years to again feel your lips on mine."

I fell on the bed beside her, searching her gaze for any sign of deception. Though I wanted so badly to take her in my arms once more, I feared she only wished to restore the bond to give Safina immortality. I wanted that for Safina, too, but I couldn't stand the thought of Fiona loathing herself afterward.

I stroked her cheek. "Lass," I whispered, "think of what you're asking."

She placed her hand on mine, leaning into me. "I saw my parents last night. I nearly drowned, and they came to me in a dream. My father was dismembered by the Knights Templar, his body parts hidden in boxes." She paused, swallowing. "When you killed my mother, you freed my father from a lifetime of torture. You set them both free."

Though it was a sad tale, if it were true, perhaps Fiona could find it in her heart to forgive me. "It was still wrong, what I did. Had I known what she was, I would have never...."

"She has long since forgiven you," she interrupted, placing a finger on my lips, "and she asks that I do the same."

My throat tightened, my chest feeling as if it were being crushed. "And do you forgive me, lass?"

She nodded, tears streaming down her face. "I forgive you, and I love you."

I'd heard all I needed to hear. I took her in my arms, kissing her neck and the lobe of her ear. "And I love you, lass, with all my heart. I've loved you for the past five hundred years, and I will love you forever more."

We took turns washing, laughing as we splashed each other. She touched and teased me until I thought I'd explode. When I'd finally had enough, I rolled her over with a growl, sinking into her warm heat with one fluid thrust.

I held steady deep inside her, whispering words of affection in her ear before kissing her brow, the tip of her nose, and her lips. She opened her mouth to me, groaning as our tongues sparred with one another. I reached between us, teasing that swollen juncture and coaxing more fluids from her. I thrust again and again until we fell into a rhythm that neither of us could stop.

All outside sounds seemed to fade away. There was just our labored breathing, the slippery sound of our bodies moving together, and the erratic pounding of our hearts. I smiled when I realized I felt her heart beating as if it were my own. I also sensed heat building between her thighs and her need for fulfillment. We were bonded once again.

As I carried her over into one climax and then another, I could no longer hold back my own. I spilled my seed deep within her, crying out as her sheath clenched around me, milking me until every last drop was spent.

I collapsed beside her, taking her in my arms and kissing her senseless. She whimpered and stroked me, grinding against my groin, my length still inside her. I swelled again, rolling her over once more, and we surrendered to that timeless dance of soul-searing love and carnal pleasure.