Page 110 of Blood & Claw

“Has it worked?” Darach asked, pushing himself upright and inspecting the tattoo.

“We won’t know until you test it,” she replied as she tossed aside the moss. “You should be able to leash the clag-doo now … as well as call upon it and shift back afterward.”

He frowned. “I don’t want to draw the fucker out.”

“I understand that,” she answered with a sigh. “But you might need its help one day … best you test it now. Go on.”

He cast her a rueful look. “I’m not doing that … not with you here.”

Ailsa waved his concerns away. “I’ll take precautions.” She nodded to the large pine tree at the edge of the clearing. “I’ll climb that and watch from safety.”

He snorted. “And you don’t think clag-doos can climb trees?”

“Maybe, if it’s hunting,” she admitted. “But just call it forth, let it sit for a few moments, and then … change back.”

He eyed her. “That easy, eh?”

“You already had some control,” she pointed out. “Every night you’ve changed, you’ve held on long enough to put distance between us.”

Not waiting for him to argue further, Ailsa moved to the tree and began to climb.

She understood his caution, yet it was vital for him to find out if her tattoo actually worked. At least, this way, she wouldn’t be caught off guard.

Climbing the pine wasn’t easy. Branches thwacked her in the face, and her boots kept slipping as she rose higher, yet she didn’t give up. The sharp scent of resin caught in her throat as she settled onto a high branch and peered down. “I’m ready.”

He stared up at her, brow creased. “I fear we may come to regret this.”

Ailsa huffed a frustrated sigh. “I will, if I have to perch in this tree like a crow all night. Go on.”

He scowled. “All right … but you stay up there until I say so. Got it?”

“Aye.”

Casting her another baleful look, Darach stepped back from the fire and unlaced his vest. He shrugged it off.

When he reached for his sleeveless tunic, Ailsa’s pulse fluttered. “What are you doing?”

“What do you think? I have to be naked when the change comes,” he replied, chin lifting as he met her gaze once more. “Otherwise, it rips my clothes to shreds.”

Ailsa swallowed. Oh—she should have realized that.

A moment later, he pulled the tunic over his head and tossed it aside.

And there he stood, naked, his broad, powerful body gilded by firelight.

28: LEASHING THE BEAST

AILSA’S MOUTH WENT dry. She forgot to breathe.

By the Five, he was a sight—scarred, battle-hardened, unmistakably a warrior. Her gaze traced the scar that slashed along one side of his ribs.

He’d told her his brother was responsible for that. And now she knew exactly how.

Her gaze traveled lower then, over the muscular planes of his chest to his belly, and then to his groin. Darach’s manhood hung heavily between his thighs. Even unaroused, he was big.

Heat washed over her, arousal tingling in her core.

And for a heartbeat, she forgot why they were here. She could stare at him all night.