La Vie Boheme

"And you had not the courtesy to mention that when first we spoke?" Catriona cried, partly in relief and partly in worry.

"Had I revealed the girl to you then, your men would have felt compelled to fight for her, and I would have been forced to kill them all. Injuring the boy was bad enough."

The absolute arrogance in his words made Catriona's fists clench. She fought to swallow her anger, instead saying, "May I see her, please?"

"We have not harmed her, quite on the contrary," Tiernan said, reaching out to give her arm a comforting squeeze, a touch that was anything but comforting, sending tingling alarms up Catriona's already frayed nerves. She gently withdrew her arm. Tiernan continued unfazed, "In fact, you may be quite pleased. Dubric," he motioned to the dark-haired man, who stepped forward. To Catriona, "This is Dubric, my second-in-command. He is a good man, and true. With the events of last night, he has begun his formal courtship of your lovely sister."

Catriona was thunderstruck. The man before her bore little resemblance to the man at her side. Dubric had an unassuming air, a near-meekness that one did not often find among the members of any nobility, human or fae. "B-But... she is already betrothed! The boy you unhorsed has been her intended since they were children, and they are very much in love."

Tiernan shook his head sadly. "Dubric is in need of a bride, and he wishes to bestow that honor upon a mortal woman, your sister."

"And if she does not wish the honor?" Catriona asked, fearing the answer.

"Then we will have to find another to take her place," Tiernan answered. He sought her eyes with his own, green reflecting against gray. "However, it may be her decision to accept. You will find that my people can be quite... persuasive."

Catriona's mind whirled, caught in the trap set for her within the clear drowning color of his eyes. Some small part of her mind whispered that this must be faerie glamour. "Stop it," she said weakly.

Tiernan laughed, the sound soft enough to reach only her ears, an intimate caressing sound. "Stop what?"

"Stop trying to bewitch me," she whispered. "I've heard how you can cloud minds."

He leaned closer, until those eyes nearly filled her vision. "I use no magic, Catriona, none save that which is natural between a maid and a man."

"We were discussing my sister," she protested, conscious of the weight of his hair swaying against her shoulder.

"We were," he agreed, his eyes flickering over her face, lingering on her lips. "But I find you so much more interesting."

"I'm not--" interesting, Catriona began to mumble, but Tiernan closed the gap between them, slipping a powerful arm around her waist to nestle her closer against him. He lowered his lips to hers, but this time it was no chaste peck surrounded by the safety of her men. His mouth was gentle but insistent, his lips caressing hers, urging them to part for him. Without thinking, seared by the wild heat flowing through her, she complied, growing faint when she felt the tip of his tongue tease against her lower lip. Dizzy, shocked by her own boldness, she leaned closer against him, beyond all reason except a desire to stand in the center of his heat.

Catriona had forgotten where they were, until Dubric cleared his throat. "Tiernan, I hate to interrupt, but the lady's sister is nearing the glade." Suddenly horrified at her own actions, Catriona pushed Tiernan away, her cheeks scarlet. How could she have done such a thing? No well-bred lady would have given such a display outside her lord's bedchamber, and no unmarried lady would have given such a display at all. She stood up, straightening her gown indignantly and resisting the urge to slap the faerie lord across his well-sculpted cheek.