Love of Her Lives by Sharon Clare Page B

soon as she plucked the rose, a young man appeared. ‘I am the guardian of this forest,’ he said, ‘and that rose does not belong to you.’ Well, Janet had meant no harm and told the man so. He immediately forgave her. ‘I wish I could give all the roses of this forest to one as lovely as you.’ You see, the man was instantly smitten.”
    She felt Calum’s fingers run lightly up and down her neck, so exquisitely arousing every sensual nerve she missed the next few sentences and had to ask for a repeat. If his fingertips felt that good, what would his lips feel like?
    “The man’s name was Tam Lin,” he repeated. “This startled Janet because she had heard of the elf knight. But Tam Lin’s reputation had been tainted unfairly. He told Janet how he had been taken by the Elf Queen as a child and was now spellbound to her. The only way to set him free was if that very night, as the fairy folk rode through the hills, Janet pulled him from his white horse and held him tight to her no matter what the Elf Queen did. This touched Janet, and she agreed to free Tam Lin from the spell.”
    A cool breeze blew off the horses backs over the buggy and Beth trembled, surely from the breeze.
    “Come, I’ll keep you warm, lass.” He gathered her into his arm like her very own electric blanket. Oh perhaps she could lean here a little while, just an hour or so of bliss, in Vieux–Quebec, listening to her very own warrior tell fairy tales in that softly accented brogue that made her weak in the knees.
    “‘Twas a night so fair as this, m’eudail. ” His voice was gilded in magic. “Justly sparkling with the dust of fairies, a high silver moon hanging in gossamer threads, the woodlands gone soft and faded into the night. Janet did as Tam Lin had asked and hid in the shadows of a hawthorn, waiting for the fairy procession. At last, she saw Tam Lin on his white horse. Janet ran from the hawthorn, pulled him from the horse and held him tight.”
    He snuggled Beth in closer. His chin glanced over her head, his warm breath a caress in her hair.
    “The Elf Queen cried out and drew her horse to a halt. Her eyes glared as she cast a spell upon Tam Lin. He immediately shrank into a scaly lizard, but Janet didn’t let go. Then he changed into a slippery snake that she clutched to her breast. Suddenly, her hands seared as the snake turned to a hot coal.”
    Calum picked up one of Beth’s hands and interlaced his fingers through hers. “Though poor Janet’s hands burned, she did not let go, for back in the forest when Tam Lin had promised her roses, she saw in his eyes her true mate and nothing would tear him from her.”
    Nothing? Had she ever loved like that? She was starting to love the rhythm of Calum’s thumb tracing patterns on the palm of her hand.
    “The Elf Queen knew she had lost Tam Lin, for Janet’s love was steadfast and strong. She shaped Tam Lin back into his human form, leaving him in Janet’s arms as naked as the day he was born.”
    Naked? Now, there’s a picture, Tam Lin naked, Calum naked, his great expanse of golden skin …
    The carriage stopped in front of a trio of woodwinds who strung a soft sounding Chopin. It really was the most romantic city in North America. When Calum shifted in his seat, his lips brushed her forehead. She turned into him, her hand resting against his thigh. The man was hard muscle, and she couldn’t help running her fingers toward his hip.
    A faint groan sounded low in his throat as his lips grazed her temple. Her heart pounded in her ears. She knew he wanted her and the thought was intoxicating. His lips were so close, a finger’s width away. His promise came back to her. I give you my word; I’ll not kiss you until you ask me. No denying she wanted him. She was like a train engine bearing down.
    She bridged the gap closing her lips over his, willing to take from him all he would give. It surprised her that he hesitated. He accepted her kiss but held back, as if distinguishing