Free Forever Rowan by Violet Summers Page B

rage that triggered blinding pain at the base of his skull. He took several long, deep breaths, forcing a calm he didn’t really feel.
    Leaning over he inhaled deeply. Her skin carried his scent now. Lying back, he couldn’t help the joy he was feeling for the first time in many years. He let it wash over him, warming his blood. His chest felt light, as though the weight of the world was suddenly a little easier to bear.
    Aidan still felt the guilt, the anger over his sister. Revenge was still a priority for him. But it was tempered now, because of the woman asleep next to him. She had taken some of his pain into herself, locking it in her heart.
    Closing his eyes he started the deep breathing exercises that would help him to sleep, and for the first time in twenty years, as slumber claimed him, he no longer saw Fiona, tiny and frail being ripped from his grasp as a bullet slammed into his chest. Now he saw Rowan, lying beneath him, her body open for him, taking pleasure in what he offered.

    Chapter Six

    Rowan lay still and silent, eyes closed, and took stock. She ached, but nowhere near as much as she should. In fact, she didn’t ache where she should, either. Yes, her back was a low, nagging pain, but the searing agony she expected was missing. No, the ache that caught her attention was the one deep in her core. The one centered between her thighs.
    An odd feeling of euphoria teased at her, and she slowly opened her eyes. She was lying on her side and there was a massive back in front of her. Aidan. She squinted as she studied the large tattoo that ran the entire expanse of his back. From shoulder to shoulder, nape of his neck to the base of his spine, stretched a Celtic cross, the name Ghallager written in Old English letters above it. One of the arms of the cross bore the name Fiona. Who was Fiona? A tiny charge of jealousy jabbed at her, but she shoved it away. She didn’t have time to ponder as something else caught her eye in the design. Down the middle of the cross was a blue diamond. The familiar symbol made her stomach knot up. She traced the diamond pattern across his skin.
    “Do you like it?” Aidan’s voice was drowsy, his accent even thicker than usual.
    “Who is Fiona?”
    His shoulders stiffened at the question. She continued to run her hand along his back and they relaxed infinitesimally. She’d noticed that he enjoyed being petted.
    “She was my sister.” His reply was terse, causing her to flinch. She withdrew her hand, but Aidan turned to face her. His arm snaked out to capture her and pull her back into the safety of his embrace.
    “When I was twelve, my baby sister was taken by hunters.”
    “Oh God, Aidan. I’m so sorry.”
    He kissed the top of her hair. “I didn’t save her.”
    ”You were twelve .” She gripped his arm. When they’d shared themselves she’d felt a great sorrow from him; now she understood why.
    “Doesn’t lessen the guilt. Doesn’t erase the memory of my three-year-old sister being jerked by her hair into a van.”
    “It’s a beautiful way to honor her.” She rubbed her hand down his chest. He felt so warm, so alive. He was vitality and passion, manifest in this body.
    “I designed it myself.”
    “Really?” Rowan turned her face up to his. “Because I’ve seen that blue diamond shape before.”
    “Do you know others from my clan?”
    “No, you’re the only Dragon I’ve ever met. My little sister Erin has this same thing on her back.”
    Rowan watched as all the color drained from Aidan’s face. He sat up, dragging her with him, gripping her arms brutally. “What are these lies you’re telling me? It’s impossible for another to have this pattern on their back, unless it’s a tattoo.” He hissed.
    She tried to wriggle out of his grasp. His grip on her arms was painful and she was starting to lose the feeling in them. “They aren’t lies. My parents adopted Erin when she was really young. Father said that it was some kind of birth defect, or