Midnight's Surrender

Chapter Two

December 19th

Rennie slowed the old Land Rover as she made her way up to the house. She might prefer to keep to herself, but there were times she had to go into town. Today had been one of those times. She might have been able to put off the trip for another day, but with the snowstorm about to hit, she hadn’t wanted to chance it.

Already the wind whipped the snow at a vicious angle that hampered her vision and had her wipers going across the windshield at a furious pace. Once she was parked, she hastily brought her groceries inside and ran back out to check on her cattle.

One of the gates had managed to come open and the cattle she herded closer to the house were now out. Rennie walked into the wind, and in a short time managed to get the cattle into the pen once more.

That is, all except for one who refused to move. With a sigh, Rennie trudged through the snow toward the cow. Only when she got closer did she realize the animal wasn’t moving because its calf had fallen amid snow-covered rocks and was stuck.

“Great,” she mumbled and carefully made her way down to where the calf was.

The only way to get the calf free was by lifting it up and over. With no other choice, Rennie took hold of the mewling animal.

Dale sunk his claws that sprouted, unbidden, from his fingers when the magic overtook him, surrounded him. It felt … beautiful. And the power of it was nothing like he had experienced in his dreams. The closer he had gotten to Coll the stronger it had grown.

Once on Coll, the Druid’s magic had subdued everything else until all he could feel, all he could think about was her magic. It sizzled over him like a current of warmth, bright and hot.

He had known it was her when she drove up, and though he tried to get a look at her, he could tell nothing with the thick coat, hat, and scarf. So, he hunkered down in the snowbank and watched the woman, taken completely aback at his visceral reaction to her.

Need pounded ruthlessly, relentlessly within him for one woman—the Druid. He fought to stay hidden instead of taking her in his arms and discovering what she looked like as well as learning her taste as he kissed her at his leisure.

Fortunately, the Druid had been so intent on the cattle and the storm that she hadn’t noticed him, which was just as he wanted it until he could get himself under control.

His reaction to her had been instant and astonishing. Every fiber of his being was locked on the Druid. He was rooted to the spot, watching her and learning her. Her magic felt as soft as a cloud, as clean as a summer’s rain, and as beautiful as a clear midnight sky.

His thoughts halted as she hefted the calf next to its mother. A second later she began to climb up when she suddenly fell backward.

Dale’s body jerked when he heard her grunt as she landed. And then nothing. He counted to five before he jumped up from his hiding place and ran to her, panic making his heart pound in his chest. He couldn’t have finally found her only to lose her.

He spotted the ice-covered stone she’d slipped on, but it was the angle of her body as she lay amid the rocks and snow that caused his anxiety to ratchet up several notches.

Dale hunkered next to her once he saw she was unconscious. He reached for her, pulling her body into his arms to protect her, but also because he had to have her close. No sooner did he have her cradled against him then he staggered back, nearly losing his footing, as images flashed in his mind—images of him.

Him with graying hair.

Him bent with age and using a cane as his other hand was entwined with another.

Him sitting on a porch holding a wrinkled, aged hand in his own.

Dale gave his head a vicious shake and stared at the Druid. She had given him those visions. He knew it. But why? He was a Warrior so would never grow old. Were these visions of the life he could have led had Jason Wallace not found him?

Or were the visions something else? He had to know. And now that he had found the Druid who had somehow summoned him, he wasn’t going anywhere.

Dale held her tighter as he climbed up the incline toward the house, herding the last cow and her calf in the process. He couldn’t dismiss a kernel of satisfaction at finally discovering the source of the magic that had lured him to Coll.

He couldn’t dismiss the anxiety that it was somehow a trap, but then he would feel another wave of her magic, and he knew that nothing that felt as good as she did had anything to do with evil. Wickedness might be able to disguise itself, but there was a darkness and a stench that was always there.

The Druid had never been touched by evil. Of that he was certain.

Dale brought the Druid into the house and laid her on the sofa where a silver tabby quickly jumped up on the arm of the couch and stared at him with large, unblinking green eyes.

“Going to make sure I doona take advantage of your mistress, aye?” he asked the cat as he removed the Druid’s scarf.

When he took off her hat, a wealth of hair so dark brown it was almost black came spilling out in long waves of silk. As much as he wanted to touch her hair, he hurried to take off her coat and boots before he checked for injuries.

When he found none, he sat on the small stool and finally looked at the Druid. For several seconds, he simply stared at the beauty before him, then he ran the back of his fingers down her cheek to her jaw.

She was more than beautiful, she was ravishing. Utterly captivating, completely enthralling.

Simply breathtaking.

Her oval face held not an ounce of makeup to mar her unblemished creamy skin. High cheekbones added to her beauty, but it was her full, dusky-pink lips that kept drawing his gaze. Dale wondered what color her eyes were as he held a lock of hair between his fingers.

He couldn’t stop touching her, and the more he did, the more he wanted, needed … craved. Her skin was as soft as down, begging for a caress. He shook himself and moved to a chair as far from her as he could manage. Then he contemplated what he would say to her when she awoke.

Dale closed his eyes and drank in the feel of her amazing magic. It was so different than what he had lived with before that he could almost think her magic could wash away his sins. It was ballocks, but it was a nice thought.

No longer did he try to push away the raging need her magic brought. Now, he welcomed it, greeted it with open arms.

And the sheer force of it took his breath away.

He turned his thoughts to the visions he had been given and how he had seen himself growing older in them. That alone had made his heart skip a beat. All he could hope for was that the Druid would know what the visions meant—and how they affected him.

Rennie woke and immediately grabbed her head as pain exploded.

“Easy,” said a deep voice.

She stilled, her heart pounding erratically at the sound of that sexy voice. There was a man in her house. Rennie slowly opened her eyes to see him sitting opposite her, watching her with dark, hooded eyes. His bushy beard hid most of his face and mouth, but she saw the intelligence and aloofness in his gaze.

He suddenly ran a hand through his hair, as if her staring rattled him. Which was good since he certainly flustered her.

She couldn’t look away from him. He might be sitting down, but by the width of his shoulders and the confidence that oozed off him in waves, he filled up the space.

His large hands rested casually on the arms of the chair, and though he appeared calm, there was a tenseness about him that said he was ready for anything.

Rennie’s gaze took in the bulge of sinew along his chest and arms and there was no doubt he would most likely win against anything that dared to threaten him.

“You fell,” he said into the silence. “I was walking by and saw. When you didna rise, I came to check on you and found you unconscious.”

Rennie remembered freeing the calf and trying to climb up, but then nothing after that. She must have hit her head when she fell. Rennie rolled to her side and sat up, noticing how Felix couldn’t take his eyes from the man.

“Thank you,” Rennie finally said. “It’s quite a storm we’re going to have. You’re welcome to remain until it passes.”

The man’s head cocked to the side. “You’re American?”

“Yes. My aunt left me this house when she died. I came to sell it, but once here, I couldn’t leave.” She wasn’t sure why she had told him that. She didn’t even know his name. Rennie cleared her throat. “I’m Rennie, by the way. Rennie MacBeth.”

“Dale Alexander,” he answered.

She licked her lips then pointed to the cat. “This is Felix.”

When Dale didn’t respond, Rennie rose and found some aspirin that she quickly took. She stood in the doorway of the kitchen and regarded Dale.

“You’re new to Coll, aren’t you?”

“Aye.”

“People usually only come as tourists. If anyone comes to stay it’s normally because they want to hide from something.”

Once again his dark eyes held hers.

Rennie released a deep breath. “I’m not trying to pry. It’s just odd to see anyone this far west on the isle is all. I can go weeks without encountering anyone.”

“Is that how you like things?” he asked, his tone soft and curious.

She shrugged. “I don’t dislike the solitude. I go into town when I have to, just as I did today.”

“But you wouldna if you didna have to.”

“No.” She answered without thinking and cringed. “I don’t know why I just told you that.”

Dale sat forward in the chair so that his forearms rested on his thighs. “Is it because you doona want the others to know you’ve magic, lass?”

Rennie felt as if the ground had been yanked out from beneath her. She began to shake, unsure how Dale knew she had magic and what he intended to do about it.

“I’m no’ here to harm you, Rennie,” he said matter-of-factly. “If I wanted that, I’d have left you out in the snow.”

True. That didn’t mean she had to trust him though. Even if some part of her she didn’t recognize told her she could. He would have to earn her trust.

“When I lifted you to bring you inside, I had … a vision.”

Rennie turned her face away and gave a shake of her head. Damn. Why did it always have to happen? “It’s one of the reasons I stay away from people. When people touch me they see things.”

“What kind of things?”

She faced him, squaring her shoulders to give herself more courage she didn’t feel. “Tell me how you knew I had magic.”

“I felt it.” He said it so straightforwardly, as if they were talking about the weather.

“Felt it?” she repeated, confused. “How is that possible?”

“I’m no’ sure you want to know.”

“Oh, I assure you I do.”

His chest expanded as he took a deep breath. “I’m a Warrior.”

Rennie knew how the Warriors came to be and why. She had even heard rumors that some still existed, but to have one sitting in her living room seemed so unreal. She was both excited and frightened at the same time.

What would bring a Warrior to their small corner of the world? Even as that question flitted through her mind she had a million others to ask him about his god, his powers, and his abilities. All of which she wasn’t sure she was brave enough to ask.

“You know what a Warrior is.” It wasn’t a question Dale posed.

“I do.”

“Do you fear me?”

She swallowed and realized he hadn’t threatened her. He had saved her, and he continued to keep his distance between them so as not to frighten her. “No.”

“Good,” he said and visibly relaxed. “Now, will you tell me of your magic?”

Rennie would rather continue talking about him being a Warrior, but he had answered her questions. It was only fair that she do the same. “It doesn’t happen all the time, but on occasion people touch me and see things. Sometimes it’s the past, sometimes the future.”

“Do you have the same visions?”

“I see nothing. I have magic, and I can use it for simple things. But I have no control over the visions others have or who gets them.” Then he stared at the floor, disappointment radiating from him. “What did you see?”

“Myself. I was old.” He hadn’t bothered to try and be coy about her question. He lifted his dark gaze to her. “I hoped you might tell me if it was a path that I could’ve taken had I no’ had my god unbound.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and slowly shook her head. “I’m sorry. I can’t. I wish I could, but I don’t even know what you saw.”

“It shocked me, is all. I know I’ll never age. The only way I can die is if someone takes my head. If they find me.”

“Is that why you’re here? To hide?”

He lifted his wide shoulders encased in a black long-sleeved thermal shirt showing every rippling muscle. “I want to get lost for a while. I was forced to do things I wish I hadna, and I doona want to be in that position again.”

Rennie didn’t want to feel sorry for him. In fact, she wanted to tell him to leave. But she couldn’t. There was something about the man that tugged at her heart—and made her body heat in ways she didn’t think was possible.

It had been so long since she’d even looked at a guy with interest that it promptly set her back on her heels. In a short time, her orderly world had turned into absolute chaos.

Dare she admit that it was exhilarating and terrifying?

Rennie ran a hand through her long bangs that kept falling into her eyes. The aspirin was finally dulling the pounding of her head, but it was doing nothing to calm her heart. Or the fire raging in her body.

She couldn’t stop looking at Dale. He was imposing and handsome and commanding. He drew her gaze, but to make matters worse, she had to fight to keep her distance from him. An unexplainable need to be near him, to touch him kept intruding in her thoughts, drowning out everything else and adding to her desire.

“I make you nervous.”

Dale’s statement made her inwardly wince. Mostly because it was true. Her reaction to him was new and frightening. “Aye,” she admitted.

“Now that I know you’ll be fine, I’ll leave.”

Rennie glanced outside to see nothing but sheets of snow falling rapidly. “In this weather?”

“It willna kill me, lass.”

“I can’t let you,” she said hurriedly as he got to his feet. It was all that came to mind, but she wanted—no she needed him to stay.

Rennie bit her lip when he narrowed his gaze. She was making a muck of it. She wanted to be near him, and God help her, but she wanted him to touch her. Even if disaster ensued, she craved—no, she hungered—for him to touch her. He had carried her into the house, and she hadn’t even gotten to experience that contact because she had been unconscious.

She took a deep breath and tried again. “I’m used to being by myself, but it’s no excuse for bad manners. Besides, you saved me. The least I can do is feed you.”

After several tense seconds, Dale lowered himself back into the chair. She found herself gazing into his dark eyes wondering what secrets he kept hidden away.

More than that, she wondered what it would feel like to be in his arms.