Raising his head, he pressed his lips to her temple and backed away. "We have to leave very early tomorrow to make our flight out of Shannon. It's best you get your rest tonight."

"Duncan-" she started to say.

"Don't, Rose," he cut her off, turning on his heel.

Disappointment welled within her, but this time she wasn't going to just let him walk away. "I heard your heartbeat kick up. I smell you. You want me."

Before she could say another word, Duncan had her slammed against the door.

He pressed his erection against her lower belly and hissed out next to her ear, "Hell, yes, I want. But I'm tired of fantasizing about your fangs sinking into my neck. I want the real deal, Rose. Nothing else will satisfy me."

He stepped away, the look on his face so dangerous, so on the edge, it scared her a little. Damn, she'd never been more turned on.

"You'll come around." She held her ground.

Duncan's hands landed hard on the door on either side of her head. He took a long inhaling breath all the way up the side of her neck. Her stomach tensed when he paused just over her pulse. She felt the tension vibrating within him.

"Don't count on it," he whispered in her ear before he turned and walked down the hall.

Chapter Fourteen

"He'd make a great father," Nigel whispered in her ear.

Rose looked up from flipping through the magazine she'd picked up at the Philadelphia airport.

"Siobhan said you're not mated to Duncan." He paused and grinned at her raised eyebrow. "Her vampire term, not mine. So why haven't you mated with him? It's obvious you care for Duncan very much."

Rose shifted her gaze to Duncan who'd walked down the terminal to buy a newspaper in a side store.

She and Duncan seemed to be avoiding talking to one another. The entire first leg of the trip, Rose buried her nose in a book she'd purchased to keep herself occupied.

"He doesn't love me."

Her uncle snorted. "What are you waiting for, Rosie? The words? The man adores the ground you walk on. It's as plain as day." He spread his hands in frustration, then continued with a sigh, "Some people just can't say those three little words, sweetheart. It doesn't mean they don't feel them. If you wait to hear them, you might be waiting a very long time. Don't keep yourself from being happy."

Rose's stomach tensed and her heart skipped a beat at the hope her uncle gave her-that Duncan really did love her. But deep inside, she knew she needed more. She needed to hear the words. She wanted Duncan to open up, to trust her with his heart. He expected so much from her, but hadn't budged one inch in showing his true self to her, not when it really mattered.

The PA announcement system made a final boarding call. She stood to hug her uncle goodbye.

"I'm really disappointed we can't fly the rest of the way home together. I want to know how Duncan managed to be on your same flight," he complained.

"You just want more to time talk to me about Siobhan," she teased, kissing him on the cheek.

A sad expression crossed Nigel's face. "It upsets me to think she'll never be able to visit me here in the States."

Rose squeezed his hands. "Even if she could figure a way to hide from the sun all the way to the US, you know Siobhan's vow to act as a liaison for the priestesses holds her in Ireland." She shook her head. "Speaking of which, that just goes to show how off the deep end Ronan is to have risked being burned alive to come to the US."

"The Guardians were picked for a reason," Duncan reminded her as he walked up holding a paper. He reached out and shook Nigel's hand. "We'll see you back at home, Nigel."

Her uncle waved goodbye to them and walked through the doorway to board his plane.

Duncan snapped the paper open and sat down. "I'm not happy about the delay. It puts us arriving back later than I prefer."

"Did you call Mark to let him know our flight was delayed?"

"I left him a message," Duncan said, then lifted the paper.

Rose sat down and crossed her arms, staring at the black and white wall between them. First frustration, then outright anger began to simmer within her. How could he deny her? Deny them? The Saoi's blood still sustained her. She only felt a twinge or two of hunger. What she wanted-no, needed-from Duncan was the closeness, the physical connection. And he denied her, damn it.

You know what I want. She heard his adamant tone in her head. Duncan hadn't even bothered to lower the paper.

Her gaze narrowed. You're reading my thoughts now?

No. I smell your arousal and I sense your anger. How does it feel, a ghra?

Rose stood, refusing to be baited. "I'm taking a walk."

"A little cooling off might do you some good," he said with a chuckle.

Grrrr! Rose stomped off, clenching her hands by her sides.

Duncan lowered the paper and narrowed his gaze after Rose's retreating back. Her jeans cupped her sweet ass to perfection. His body reacted instantly to the natural sway of her hips. She'd left her hair unbound and the movement down her back only made him ache for her.

He gritted his teeth and wondered how long he could keep up this farce. He wanted her so fucking bad, wanted to sink into her sweet body. But he spoke the truth to her last night. He wanted more. Correction. He needed more. When the hell did he go from wanting Rose to needing her? He shook his head at the irony that he needed her, yet she acted as though she could take or leave him. That, more than anything else, infuriated him.

Lifting the paper once more, he tried to focus on the news he'd missed while they were in Ireland.

Several minutes later, the smell of sweet vanilla filled his nostrils. Duncan lowered the paper to see Rose sitting next to him...licking an ice-cream cone.

"I see you've gotten over your aversion to human food," he said in a dry tone.

"Did you know that everyone eats an ice-cream cone differently?"

Duncan narrowed his gaze at her question as suspicion kicked in. Yet he couldn't stop himself from watching her pink tongue circle around the creamy mound of ice cream.

"I hadn't thought about it." He set his jaw at the first stirrings of arousal in his groin and folded the paper, laying it over his lap.

"It's true." Her aqua gaze lit up and she circled the ice cream once more.

He held back a groan as he watched her turn the cone.

"See, I prefer to lick all the way around," she began.

But this time when she circled the dessert again, Duncan felt her warm tongue flicking around his cock as if she licked him instead.

He locked his jaw at the sensations rocking through him. Tightening his lower stomach to fight off the arousing vibrations, he kept his tone light. "Interesting."

"And then there are people who like to nip straight from the top." She demonstrated by putting an openmouthed kiss over the top of the cone and pulling her lips together.

Duncan held back a groan at the erotic kiss over the top of his cock, especially when she mentally added the cool sensation of the ice cream to the mix.

"Rose," he warned.

Her eyebrow elevated. "You told me I needed to cool off. It was your suggestion," she reminded him. "Then there are the drillers."

He coughed, almost afraid to ask. "The drillers?"

She grinned. "Yeah, you know, those people who like to go right down the middle." She plunged her tongue straight in the heart of the ice cream.

Duncan's entire body jerked at the sensation of her sweet, warm tongue flicking over the opening on his cock. When she added pressure, delving inside, that was it. He'd had enough.

Rose gulped in surprise when Duncan grasped the back of her neck and yanked her forward, planting a hard kiss on her lips.

His tongue thrust inside her mouth, dominant and punishing as he tasted her flavor mixed with cool, sweet vanilla.

When she brushed her tongue against his, responding to his kiss, Duncan pulled back, his expression resolute.

"I prefer the 'all the way around' method, too." His gaze held hers at the same time she felt a featherlight kiss on her sex. Swiping an invisible tongue from her slit to her swollen clitoris, he said, "Just remember, I give as good as I get."

Rose gripped the ice cream as Duncan continued his mental manipulation of her body.

It felt naughty to be so openly public, while getting so privately personal with Duncan. The fact no one knew what they were doing turned her on even more.

She held back a moan when he lowered his head and licked the ice cream that had dripped to her fingers.

I love the stormy color of your eyes when you're in full arousal mode, he said in a husky voice.

Before she could respond, Duncan stood. I'm ready whenever you are, Roisin. You know the terms.

He turned and walked off. Rose wanted to scream at his detached tone, to throw the ice cream at him, then lick it off him...slowly.

Gritting her teeth in frustration, she tossed the rest of the ice cream into a nearby trash can.

"Aw man, and I was just going to ask where you got that ice cream," a woman seated across from her said as she glanced after Duncan with a look of envy on her face.

Rose couldn't help but laugh at the lady's comment. So much for others not knowing what went on between them.

Duncan awoke to a sharp pain in his head as if someone had tugged hard on his hair.

He heard Rose snicker, her voice lowered to a whisper, "Hmmm, maybe let's not use his head as a track," as she untangled what had to be a toy car's wheel from his hair.

Duncan kept his eyes closed and held himself still while he waited to see what other parts of his body could be used for a "track". Once his temper had settled, Duncan had returned to the seating area and promptly stretched out on his back across three seats, falling asleep beside Rose. He hadn't slept much the night before since he'd tossed and turned all night long, dreaming of her.

He heard a little girl's high-pitched voice spoken in a loud whisper, "What about here?" at the same time he felt a car roll across his shoe and up his bent leg.

"Perfect!" Rose encouraged. "His knees can be the hills."

Duncan's feet were flat on the seat. His bent knees probably did make perfect hills for a tiny child to run a car up and down if the vroom, vroom sounds accompanied by wheels running up and down his legs were any indication.

Just for fun, he let one of his feet slowly slide forward, stretching his knee out flat. Not to be waylaid, the child's hands went around his knee and lifted his leg back up, then she began playing again.

Duncan let his leg slide forward once more. He repressed his laughter when he heard a huge sigh escape from the child before tiny hands lifted his leg for the second time.

His shoulders shook with silent amusement when he started to lower his leg yet again. But apparently the child was prepared this time. He felt a tiny hand lift the toe of his shoe and something was shoved underneath his foot. Other cars maybe?

He heard Rose's laughter in his head. I know you're awake and teasing the heck out of her. Let her play. Her mother is exhausted. Her infant has just fallen asleep. I compelled the woman to sleep for a bit while the baby napped. I've been entertaining her older child.

She's a resourceful little tyke, isn't she? Duncan mused to Rose, impressed with the fact the child figured out how to stop the huge "hill" from disappearing on her once more. Creating a wedge under his shoe was quite ingenious on her part.

Indeed, Rose agreed.

When he heard the little girl sigh, then yawn, he grinned. All that lifting had worn her out.

He tensed when he felt her little hands tugging on his shirt, then her body lying down on his chest.

Intuitively, his hands went around her slight form to keep her from rolling off as she snuggled her head under his chin.

The child smelled like baby powder. He couldn't resist inhaling as he opened his eyes and glanced at Rose.

She stared down at them, a look of longing on her face. When she saw him staring at her, she quietly cleared her throat and glanced at the sleeping mother, then whispered, "Her mother said she recently lost her husband to cancer. I'm sure this little two-and-a-half-year-old misses her 'daddy' time."

Rose touched the little girl's red curls, then lifted her and put her in a chair next to her mother.

Duncan sat up and looked down at the child dozing next to her mother. She had such an angelic face. A sprinkle of freckles across the bridge of her nose and her grubby shoes told him this little one loved the outdoors as well as the mud.

When Rose sat down next to him he glanced at her. "You could have it all if you wish, Rose. Just say the magic words."

Conflicting emotions stirred in her gaze from surprise to stubborn determination before she looked away, mumbling, "You first."

Duncan started to ask what she meant, when the little girl across from them said, "Hi, I'm Katie."

"Hi, Katie, I'm Duncan, your 'car track'," he replied with a grin.

"That was a fast nap," Rose said with a chuckle.

The little girl jumped down, smiling. "My mommy says I skipped the nap stage." Tilting her head to the side, a perplexed look flitted across on her face as she asked them as only a child would, "You look big like my mommy. Why don't you have kids?"