won her case, Piper thought as Duncan followed Daryl out of the room. She wasn’t running away. But it was the argument she’d made earlier when they’d been in the stone arch that was bothering her. Once this was over, she’d make another case to Duncan. Because she wasn’t going to let him run away, either.
DUNCAN KNEW THAT HE WASN’T going to sleep. He didn’t have to waste time lying in his bed and staring at the ceiling to figure that out. So at midnight, instead of following Daryl up the wide staircase to the second floor, he’d slipped out of the castle to walk on the castle grounds. The storm that had thundered through earlier had left a clear sky peppered with stars. With the moonlight, there was plenty of light to see by as he made his way through the gardens.
He rarely experienced restlessness or felt at loose ends, but those were exactly the feelings that had been plaguing him since he’d seen those rose petals strewn outside the library. He could deal with the cold hard fear that had settled like one of Angus One’s stones in his stomach. But the other two were more problematic. Because they’d been triggered by Piper.
He could have holed himself up in the library and distracted himself with the Lightman files, but that wouldn’t have brought him any closer to solving his problem. When he reached the stone arch, he stepped into it and then turned. What he saw first was the gardens, then the castle and the gleam of the lake below, all surrounded by the darkness of the mountains and the trees.
Angus One could have built the stone arch anywhere on the estate, so he must have taken care with the selection of this spot. He also must have stood here many times, with Eleanor’s hand in his, looking at what they’d created together. And they’d risked everything to do it.
Over the years, he’d never given much thought to the legend of the stone arch. Why would he? At ten, he’d been much more fascinated by the missing sapphires. Even when he’d stood here and heard his mother make her vows to A.D., it hadn’t been the legend he’d thought of. Once he’d looked into Piper’s eyes, he hadn’t been able to think much at all.
That’s what had scared him off. He was a rational man and she had the power to make him lose his control over that. In fact, he’d never been able to rationalize what he felt for her. Not then. Certainly, not now. He wanted her, needed her to a point way beyond reason.
Was that love? And what did she feel for him?
Those were the questions that had sent him into default mode. When she’d demanded that they break everything off, he’d agreed because he understood her decision. He hadn’t lied to her or to the others when he’d said that the person who’d strewn those petals on the terrace was unpredictable, and therefore dangerous. Perhaps even more dangerous than Patrick Lightman. The RPK was a creature of habit, pattern, bound by ritual. The person who had followed them into the cave that morning wasn’t. Duncan needed to put Piper’s safety first.
And by going along with her, he’d slipped comfortably back into his own pattern—being cautious and staying on the sidelines. Nothing of what he was seeing right now would have been here if Angus One and Eleanor had been either cautious or predictable.
To hell with rationality, he decided as he stepped out of the arch and strode toward the castle.
When he reached her room, Duncan slipped in quietly and closed the door behind him. Moonlight poured through the closed balcony doors. The tangled sheets spoke of restlessness, of a battle hard fought and won. So like his Piper. Now she lay curled into a ball with one arm tucked beneath a pillow, her breathing even.
He recalled watching her sleep before and wanting her mindlessly. That hadn’t changed. What had changed was the very different rush of emotion he experienced now. For a moment he saw what it might be like to see her like this every night and every morning, and something inside of him opened.
Moving soundlessly, he slipped out of his shoes and clothes before he joined her on the bed. When he drew her close, she pressed herself against him and settled. He kissed her first on the cheek and then very softly on her mouth. Her lips were warm and softened by sleep. Her taste was almost familiar now. He let himself absorb the sensations, drift with them.
He heard the moment she awakened, a sound of pleasure, a quick gasp of surprise. Her nails dug into his shoulder as she drew back and opened her eyes.
“Duncan. We said … We agreed.” But she didn’t push him away, and her body remained soft against his.
“I can’t sleep for wanting you, Piper.” He whispered the words against her lips. “Let me touch you. Show you how much. Just for tonight.”
She didn’t have the strength to say no. How could she form the word when his mouth was nibbling at hers? And she’d been dreaming of this, wanting him to come to her, yearning for the pleasure of his mouth, his hands on her.
But this wasn’t a dream. His heart beat fast and steady beneath her palm, and the pulse of it echoed her own. She wanted to touch him, to offer him as much pleasure as he was giving her. So she did, testing the strength of his shoulders, feeling those smooth muscles flex beneath her hands.
There was no need to hurry or rush. Time was a gift they offered each other as they lay loving each other in the moonlight. Steeped in him, she whispered requests and murmured in pleasure when he granted them. Should she have known how tenderness both given and received could make her aware of every pore and pulse of her body?
Even when he moved over her and made a place for himself between her legs, there was none of the speed and the fury that they’d brought each other before. She absorbed every detail of him, the gleam of those dark eyes, the strong lines of that warrior face. Framing it with her hands, she drew it closer until their lips melded, parted and then touched again. She would remember seeing him this way forever. Her throat ached when he linked his fingers with hers and pressed their joined hands into the tangle of sheets.
She spoke only his name as he slipped into her and filled her completely. The sound aroused him unbearably, but he kept the pace slow and easy. With their minds and needs fused, she moved with him and gave everything.
As desire built, her taste darkened, her body shuddered for more. So he gave her more. As he felt her crest, he clung to control and guided her up and over the next climax. And the next.
And when he knew she thought only of him, he finally gave his own needs their freedom and poured himself into her.
DUNCAN STOOD JUST OUTSIDE THE main foyer of the castle, in the hallway that ran back to the library and the kitchen. From his position, he could make sure that no one wandered back to the library area and still keep everyone in view. Deanna Lewis was halfway up the stairs taking shots of the stained-glass windows on the landing. She’d impressed him yesterday as competent and efficient. She carried a notebook with her and consulted it frequently, especially when she gave instructions to the two young assistants she’d brought along.
The trio had started with the main parlor and moved on to the formal dining room and the ballroom that was used for many of the wedding receptions. Currently, the two young men were outside the main entrance taking a break. Through the glass panels, he could see that Sheriff Skinner had engaged them in conversation.
Across the hall, he could see Daryl and Vi in the main parlor where Richard Arbogast was having tea. The senior editor had been disappointed when he’d learned that Piper wouldn’t be
