Dreams of a Dark Warrior

around his shaft.
    A guttural sound broke from his chest when he felt her sheathe tugging him deeper, its slick clench undeniable.
    In a daze, she moaned, “I want to feel it. Ah, gods, I want
you
. Want you.”
    At her words, pleasure racked him. His eyes rolled back in his head as he growled, “Yours, everything I am … yours.” With one last brutal thrust, the throbbing pressure in his cock gave way, erupting in a searing rush of seed.
    Chase clutched her as if he’d never let her go, one of his big hands palming the back of her head, the other gripping her ass. His hoarse exhalations fanned against her neck.
    Still quivering with pleasure, Regin squeezed her own arms around him.
    They clung to each other, as if they both feared something was about to pull them apart.
    For how long they stayed like this, she didn’t know. But when she managed to lift her eyelids, she saw that dawn had broken, the sun rising above a cloudless forest. She could hear gulls and waves. They must be close to the shore.
    “Never lettin’ you go, woman.” He ran his cheek against hers.
“Love you.
”
    And still Declan remained, his memories foremost. Which was good. Because she was in love with Declan Chase.
I want my Irishman.
    Had the sand in the hourglass started to flow?
    He drew back his head, wrapping the crook of his arm around her neck. Gazing down at her with fierce gray eyes, he said, “You belong to me, lass. It will always be you.”
    It will always be me—but will it ever be you?
The stark light of day filled her with dread.
What have I done?
She’d talked herself into believing this time would be different. She should have fought him harder. But she’d been so desperate to love him.
    Some things might have changed with this reincarnation, but the end result would be the same. Four times before, the man she’d made love to had been dead within hours. Those four times, her body had still borne the marks of his abandoned lovemaking—when his body had gone to the grave.
    She shuddered.
Ah, gods, how could I have?
Chase would die; the hourglass would empty. And this time, she wouldn’t survive losing him.
    When her tears welled, his eyes went wide. “No, what’s this? Shh, baby, please do no’ cry.”
    As tears tracked down her face, she stared beyond him, awash in dread. The brief show of sunlight surrendered to gray. Rain misted once more.
    “Lass, talk to me. You ken that I don’t like it when you’re quiet. This is because of the curse?” He petted her hair, rocking her. “I’m not goin’ anywhere. Nothing will separate us again. Wouldn’t I sense it if the end was near? I’ve never been more at peace in my entire life. It’s … pure peace, Regin.”
    With an angry shove, she clambered off him, disentangling herself from his body. “What about me? What about
my
peace?” She swayed on her feet as realization hit her. Aidan had never been the one cursed.
    She
was.
    Regin was the one left to suffer, to mourn.
To forever know what I’m missing.
    She collected her sodden jeans, dragging them on, then donned her shirt. “When you die this time, Chase, I don’t want you to come back.”
    “What?” He shot to his feet, stabbing his legs into his own pants. “What are you talkin’ about? Look at me! Why won’t you look at me? Christ, Regin, you’re actin’ like I’m dead already.”
    She swiped her forearm over her face. “Because you’re as good as.”
    Declan had never seen her like this. Her eyes were fully silver, but there was no spark in them. She wouldn’t look at him. As if she
couldn’t
.
    Just moments before, he’d felt more centered andat peace with himself than ever before; now
she
was steeped in misery.
    “We need to get to the boat,” Regin said distantly. “We’re running out of time.”
    “You don’t want me to come back because I’m no’ the Aidan you knew?” She’d expected her man to return, to supplant Declan. She’d longed for Aidan for two centuries.
    How could she not be devastated? “I don’t know why I’m still here. Maybe I did something wrong, fucked up the cycle.” Because he was definitely still … Declan. “I have Aidan’s memories, but they’re distant, like the dreams I had.”
Somehow, it feels like
I
came first.
    “Exactly, Chase.” In a deadened tone, she said, “I don’t want you to come back because you’re a scarred, fucked-up Celt.”
    His lips parted.
Never had a shot with her, not as myself.
He ran a palm over his ruined