‘Are you okay?’ She looked concerned, her brow marred by a thin line of worry.
‘I’m fine,’ he gritted.
‘You’re sweating.’ She reached a hand out to touch his forehead.
‘Damn it, Dara, I said I’m fine.’
He grabbed her hand, holding onto the warm skin and feeling its silky heat seep into him. Touching her skin seemed to remind him that his words were true. He was a grown man, and ghosts had no power over him.
He grasped her hand tightly and steered her out of his nightmare and into the light of the gardens.
‘Where are we going?’ she asked breathlessly as they powered through the overgrown gardens towards the low stone wall of the castle perimeter.
‘I want to show you something.’
He led them down ‘his’ path—the path he had always taken as a young boy. The smell of the sea filled his nostrils, loosening the tight pain in his chest. The rocks were tall and smooth as they descended the swift decline from the castle to the sea. His footsteps were steady and he held her hand tight, gripping her waist at times so she wouldn’t fall. The afternoon wind whipped around them as the weather took an unseasonably stormy turn.
The last of the smooth rocks ended sharply and he jumped down onto the sand of the beach, holding her by the waist and lowering her safely. His fortress still lay nestled in the rocks. A safe, sturdy structure made from stone and mortar. He pushed the door, feeling the hinges creak and groan as they gave way. The roof and walls were still intact—the water hadn’t yet claimed his little haven.
‘What is this place?’ Dara asked, her voice breathless from their climb down, her blonde hair wild around her face.
The small square room had stone floors and tiny latticed windows. He vaguely remembered the walls had been painted a dull white, but now years of damp had rendered them almost black in some places.
‘It was used as a boathouse at one time, back when my father still lived here. One day I was running away and I found it. It became my own little castle.’ He smiled at the memory.
‘Did you run away very often?’ She frowned.
‘Oh, all the time. I would plan my escape in detail, pack a suitcase and food and take off.’
He walked across to the small grimy window, looking out at the wild stormy sea outside.
‘I used to imagine I was a pirate, waiting for my ship to come and rescue me from a desert island. It varied, really, the mind of a boy is fickle. One day a pirate, the next day a dragon-slayer. I never could choose just one.’
She smiled, wrapping her arms around herself in the chill. ‘That sounds very exciting. Did you always return home after these little adventures?’
‘A boy runs out of food very quickly when he’s slaying dragons, Dara.’
‘Didn’t your mother ever wonder where you were?’
‘No. Never. I rarely saw her, you see. This was my castle, and her bedroom was hers. Our paths rarely crossed.’ He pushed away the memories.
‘Is that why you don’t want her room disturbed? Because it was her place?’
Leo crossed back to where Dara stood, shivering in the doorway.
‘I don’t want to talk about ghosts any more.’ He smiled, sliding his hands up and down her soft skin, warming her. ‘In my castle we play games until we’re forced to go back for food.’
She raised an eyebrow. ‘Adults don’t play games, Leo.’
‘Ah, my poor, serious Dara, I beg to differ.’ He leaned in, biting softly into the sensitive skin of her earlobe.
‘You can’t mean...?’ She gasped. ‘In here? But its freezing cold.’
‘I promise we can find ways to keep warm.’
* * *
Dara lay boneless and relaxed, listening to the sound of Leo’s breathing return to normal. His eyes were closed but she could feel the tension slowly returning to his body as he came down from the glow of their lovemaking.
This time seemed been more intense than before, with a pile of nets and blankets providing a makeshift bed for their heated bodies. As attentive and sensual as he had been, he hadn’t been able to shake the shadows from his eyes. It was as though some unknown force was still there and he was running, using the intense pleasure between them to get away from it.
She sat up on her elbows, looking down at his tousled curls against her bare stomach. ‘Tell me what happened back there?’ she asked gently.
His voice rumbled against her skin. ‘You mean when I lay you down and told you I would be the dragon this time?’