Free Christina Phillips - [Forbidden 01] by Forbidden Page B

the way he imperiously brushed her touch aside. “I had a dream—a vision. I need your guidance.”
    “I’m not your mentor. Speak to Hywela.”
    “This is different. I need to show you something.”
    Pure reflex caused Carys to glance over her shoulder to ensure Hywela, the High Druid of the Morrigan, wasn’t within earshot. Hywela, the niece of Carys’s grandmother, most certainly wouldn’t approve of Morwyn assisting Carys in her deception.
    That she would disapprove of Carys’s meeting with a Roman in the first place went without saying.
    But the passage that led into the ancient underground chambers was empty. And Morwyn was leading a clearly reluctant Aeron in the opposite direction of the gateway to the outside world.
    Carys sucked in a quick breath, gathered up her embroidered bag, and hurried through the cromlech.

    Leading his horse, Maximus emerged into the glade and his heart slammed against his ribs at the ethereal scene. The gathering dusk swirled, but a dozen small lanterns were arranged in an oddly compressed cluster, the flickering golden flames and aromatic curling smoke enhancing the mystical creature who stood in the center.
    He tethered his horse, his eyes never leaving her face. Raw lust tightened his loins, lengthened his shaft, and without further hesitation he stepped toward her.
    For one dizzying moment the world undulated, as if suddenly plunged beneath clear water. The effect froze the breath in his lungs, caused his heart to stutter in his chest and sent eerie shivers chasing along the back of his neck, but before his brain could make sense of the phenomenon, it had passed, as if it had never occurred, and once again the world was steady, solid.
    And his Celt awaited him.
    She moved, but not toward him. Instead she walked around the perimeter of the perfect circle formed by her delicate lanterns, a spacious circle, as if the land had expanded between one breath and the next— gods, he was half blinded by lust —until she paused before the gap through which he’d entered. She knelt, still keeping him within her line of vision, and placed a small rock on the ground between the two lanterns.
    His soldier’s mind sharpened at her action, an insistent dagger in his cortex, demanding answers. Instinctively feeling that something beyond his understanding was happening. And her lanterns had definitely clustered around her feet as he’d approached.
    But it was fleeting, instantly obliterated by the knowledge that the woman who had invaded his life two days ago and refused to leave was now within his power.
    Without a word he held out his hand. Was it his imagination or did she hesitate for a moment? But then her hand was in his, small, fragile. He curved his fingers around her, holding her captive.
    “My wood nymph.” In this setting, how could she be anything else? He kissed her fingers, his gaze meshed with hers, and the glow from the lanterns and the strange luminous smoke made it hard to distinguish the fantastical colors of her eyes.
    “My Roman invader.” Her voice was breathless, seductive, as if his slightest touch was enough to arouse. The knowledge pleased him. He pulled her forward.
    “I wish only to invade you in the most pleasurable of ways.” He watched her pupils expand, dark passion rising. For him. “Unbind your hair.” He wanted to see her hair falling loose over her shoulders. Needed to feel the silken curls slide through his fingers.
    “You unbind it.” Her whisper broke into his erotic fantasies. A smile curved his lips.
    “You argue with me, even now?”
    She looked up at him. He’d forgotten how diminutive she was. How infinitely dainty, as if she did indeed possess the blood of a nymph.
    “I think I’d like to feel you unbind my hair.” Her confession stirred his already heated blood, and his smile evolved into a grin.
    “Then how can I refuse?” He released her hand and turned her around, and tugged on the soft length of leather at the end of her