Highlander's Desire (The Matheson Brothers Book 1)

by Joanne Wadsworth

  Such a perfect union, his soul connecting and locking tight with hers, for all time. Aye, she was his, the only one he’d ever desire.

  * * * *

  The wave of pleasure sweeping through Isla had her struggling to gain a decent breath. This was heaven, and she never wanted their time together in this special place to end, not now, not ever. Bright flashes of yellow and white still burst behind her closed eyelids as her channel pulsed around Iain’s cock, over and over. It was too much, yet not enough. She pushed against his broad shoulders though he moved not an inch. “Roll over. It’s my turn on top.”

  “As you wish.” He rolled them smoothly over in the lush grass, every inch of his body still fully aligned with hers, his cock stirring and lengthening within her all over again.

  “I love how you feel inside of me.” She caressed the corded muscles of his damp chest, lifted up a little and smiled at the sight where they were joined below. So beautiful.

  “I love it far more.” He cupped her bottom and rocked his hips, his shaft moving deeper.

  “Mmm, I can feel every little movement you make.” She cradled his face in her hands, lowered her mouth to his and kissed him. “It’s the most precious feeling.”

  “You look glorious on top of me, all smooth skin and full breasts.” His golden eyes twinkled. “Ride me.”

  “I thought you’d never ask.” She eased up then sank back down, taking his cock deep into the heart of her. She moaned at the sweet sensation.

  “It doesn’t hurt?”

  “There’s no more pain, only pleasure.” She leaned forward, her hands either side of his head on the grass as she moved back and forth, faster and faster until a dizzying need built within her core.

  “Come as you please. I’m right here with you.” He caught her bobbing breasts between his lips and drew one nipple inside his mouth. The tension of need within her wound tighter, and with one decisive flick of his finger over her clit, he sent her soaring from her body.

  Writhing, she gave into the whirlpool of emotions taking her. She convulsed around him as she flew, and as she rode the waves, he rolled her onto her back and sank balls-deep inside her. With a fierce bellow, he joined her in paradise.

  This moment marked their future.

  She would set her past aside and embrace her mate and his clan, her place now at his side, and his at hers. He was the one man she could never live without and as he kissed her, bringing her slowly back down from the heavens she’d transcended to, peace invaded her, to the depths of her soul.

  Merged fully as one, he would be hers, for all time.

  Chapter 8

  One month following Kenneth and Elizabeth’s marriage, ancient House of Clan Matheson, 1210.

  In the dark of night, Nessa hurried across the inner courtyard through the drizzly cold. Torches mounted on the stone walls spread their flickering glow across the stony ground and up toward the battlements where guardsmen patrolled in battle attire, their weapons holstered at their sides.

  She’d known this night would come, when tensions would once again fester and rise between the clans. The MacKenzie clan desired their land and the strategic position they held on the edge of Loch Alsh close to the north-eastern tip of Sleat. The waterways they guarded were a prize to behold and their enemy was well aware of it. Control was what the MacKenzie chief wanted, and what he intended to get.

  She stepped inside the front door, untied her black cloak and draped it over her arm as she proceeded toward the great hall. A buzz of voices echoed toward her and she took a deep, fortifying breath and entered the vaulted room with its high wooden beamed rafters and blazing fireplace. Sorcha had already asked the servants to move the trestle tables to the far side of the hall. Sleeping pallets had been laid down to accommodate the additional number of warriors who’d arrived from clan MacDonald to aid them.

  She hurried around the hall and knocked on the chief’s solar door. “Gilleoin, ’tis I.”

  “Come in, Nessa.”

  She entered and closed the door behind her.

  Gilleoin sat behind his desk and Kenneth in the padded chair next to the blazing fire.

  She walked to the narrow window overlooking the courtyard and gripped the stone windowsill.

  “Have you seen aught more?” Gilleoin asked her.

  “Aye, my visions are strong this eve. Ivan has arrived safely and found his mate awaiting him.” She turned, faced them both. “A vision has also shown me we’re about to receive the most interesting aid. Three warriors of immense strength are soon to arrive.”

  “We’ll need more than an additional three sword-hands to win this war.”

  “These men are unlike any warriors who have come to our shores afore.”

  “How do you mean?” Kenneth leaned forward, elbows to his knees and the fire’s glow lighting the bits of steel studded within his thick brown leather vest.

  “They can shift shape and draw claws as you, your brother, and your father can.”

  “How is that possible?” He shoved to his feet. “Father is the first.”

  “These three warriors are the ‘power of three,’ our future as well as our past. If we wish to win this war, to save our people and to give hope to those yet still to come, then we must listen to them well. Far into the future, they are all that we shall become.”

  Aye, the prophecy was in motion, and very soon, the ‘power of three’ would be unveiled.

  Chapter 9

  Bottom snug in the curve of her mate’s groin, Isla lay curled on her side in Iain’s king-size bed two weeks following their first joining. Never had she awoken more content and rested in her life. Here at their cabin, they’d made love every day, lazed together by the river and fished and tramped. They’d bonded so strongly, their merged link now a rich entwining of their minds and her love for him so deep, it hurt just to walk a few steps from his side.

  She wriggled around and squinted as the morning sunshine streamed through the sheer white nets and played its lacy pattern over the wooden beamed walls of his room. The partially opened window blew the nets inward and circulated Scotland’s freshest air, but it was his warm woodsy pine scent that overrode it all and made this space so heavenly.

  “If you’re awake,” he murmured, eyes closed as a ray of sunshine played over the vivid midnight-black of his shoulder-length locks and across his high cheeks, “then I demand my morning kiss.”

  She trailed one finger along his jaw then over the sharply defined cleft in his chin. She kissed the delectable indent then nipped his bottom lip. His breathing changed and her smile widened. “I’m going to take a shower. Care to join me?”

  “Hell, yes.” He slowly opened one eye. “There is nothing I love more than seeing your skin flush under the heat of the water.”

  “It’s not the hot water that causes the flush.” She shoved the forest-green leafed bedcovers back and skipped into the bathroom. The lovely rich colors of gold and cream greeted her, as well as a massive mirror along one wall, which reflected the bedroom and Iain already standing guard at her back, his gorgeous body on stunning display and making her ache for him all over again. “I’m not sure I’m going to be able to return to civilization today.”

  “I’ve kept you all to myself for a fortnight now and my clan will descend on us if we don’t show ourselves soon.” He reached past her, opened the glass shower door, turned the lever on and stuck his hand under the water. “This is a perfect temperature.”

  “I’m nervous about meeting your parents. I ran for so long.”

  “You had your reasons, ones even I understand, and they will adore you. It will be impossible for them not to.” He walked her backward into the shower and closed the door. The water sluiced through her hair and down her body as he pinned her against the side, one hand planted beside her head on the glass, the other curled around her nape.

  Hot water pummeled his shoulders as she slid her arms around his neck and held on. “I love the way you hold me. It makes me feel so cherished
and grounded. And when you’re inside me, I can feel your strength and the most exquisite tenderness.” She hooked one leg behind his knee, rubbed up and down his calf. These past two weeks, he’d stolen her will to be anywhere but with him.

  “I intend for you to feel far more than cherished. I want to see to your every desire.” He whispered the words as steam swirled around them.

  “Can you tell what I desire right now?” She nibbled his neck and heat flooded her below, making her wetter than she already was.

  He breathed deep, scenting the air then grinned and cupped her bottom. He lifted her up, pressed himself hard against her. “I have a very good idea. I want inside of you, now.”

  With one hand, she grasped his shaft and rubbed the plump head against her folds. His already hard cock got incredibly harder, then he slid her down over top of him, and he filled her, so slowly, so completely.

  She gasped at their delicious joining then got lost in a storm of sensation as he took her hard and fast, the way she needed, the way her mind whispered to his in demand for. He pumped into her and her inner muscles gripped and pulled him in even deeper. Then she kissed him and he took her frantically, as unable to hold back in his desire as she was in hers. Soaring, she tumbled over the edge of no return, just as he roared his satisfaction and joined her in their own little slice of paradise.

  Aye, two weeks alone with him wasn’t nearly long enough.

  * * * *

  “I can’t believe we must leave.” Except their duties called and after a late breakfast, Isla packed her belongings in the suitcase Iain had fetched from the hallway cupboard and zipped it up. She’d left a few things in the top drawer of his oak dresser, enough for when they stayed over, but the remainder she’d take with her to Ivanson Castle.

  “Allow me to aid you.” Iain clutched the handle and lifted her bag off the bed. He’d dressed in a white shirt, the cuffs rolled to his elbows and his clan kilt belted at his waist. He looked every lip-licking inch a delectable Highland warrior with daggers sheathed at each wrist and a sword at his side.

  “One thing I am looking forward to is watching you train.” She smoothed her hands through his hair and tidied his drying locks as best as she could. Finlay had sent him a message and told him to come prepared to battle when he returned. “I’ve always wanted to wield a sword, but my father wouldn’t permit it. Instead he taught me how to shoot an arrow and I have a near perfect aim at a hundred yards.”

  “We hold an archery competition in the spring. Many of our women compete as well. You too should. You’ll have fun. I’m sure of it.” Holding her hand, he led her down the hallway, through the lounge and out the front door. He carried her bag to the SUV and stowed it inside the trunk.

  She keyed in the door’s lock sequence, trekked down the steps and lifted her face skyward. The odd puffy white cloud floated across the vivid blue sky and birds soared above, dipped then landed on the highest branches of the towering trees at the forest’s edge. The river ran swifter today after the rain that had fallen yesterday and farther downstream, water gushed around thick boulders and flowed around the bend. The grass grew lusher, greener, and the wildflowers across the meadow bobbed their pretty heads at her as she walked to where Iain held her door open for her. “I’ll miss this place.”

  “We’ll return as often as we’re able to.”

  “Is it wrong of me to still want you all to myself?” She eased inside the passenger seat and secured her seat belt.

  “No, I feel the same way about you.” Iain drove along the bumpy dirt track then turned onto the private gravel road leading toward the castle. The forest stood thick and strong around them, and within a short time the stone walls of the keep rose up ahead. They parked in the large lot at the rear, one filled with dark SUVs and the odd sports car. Iain’s red convertible gleamed where it had been parked near the rear row of pines.

  “Someone cleaned your car.”

  “Kirk would have. The blue ride next to mine is his and he can’t stand seeing any grit on either of our girls.” He collected her bag and guided her through the postern gate. On the battlements above, two men wearing leather vests over dark shirts and pants lifted a hand toward him and he waved back.

  They continued on, around the perimeter of the inner bailey and past a dozen men in belted kilts and white shirts, swords in hand as they trained. Finlay and Kirk were amongst them, sweat glistening on their skin as they swung at each other, steel clashing loud against steel.

  “It looks like I’m just in time.” Iain set her case down near the front steps leading into the keep and palmed the hilt of his sword. “If you’d like, stay and watch.”

  “I’m definitely watching, and be careful.” She lifted onto her toes and kissed his chin. “No one is allowed to hurt you, and if they do, they’ll have me to answer to.”

  “I’ll be sure to inform one and all.” He clasped her jean-clad hips, rubbed his body against hers and marked her with more of his delectable scent.

  “You are one territorial bear.”

  “It can’t be helped.” Grinning, he backed away, removed his sword from its sheath and strode toward his brothers. He warmed up, swinging his blade in a wide figure eight. His shoulders and arms, so thick and strong, were packed with muscle and she’d adored every inch of them this past fortnight. She couldn’t have asked for a more precious time with him.

  Luckily her duties for her own clan were being taken care of by Daniel.

  Finlay eyed Iain as he advanced, his weapon held high. “About time you turned up.”

  “You sound mad, and you also appear rather on edge.” Iain jumped into the fray and brought his weapon down on Finlay’s. “What’s up?”

  “I’ve had trouble with my bear these last couple of days.” Finlay battled him, landing one hard blow after another. “He’s getting antsy, clawing for the next full moon. I’ve already shifted twice today to calm him. Kirk’s in much the same fierce mood.”

  “Fierce would be putting it mildly.” Kirk struck Iain and the clash of their blades clanged around the yard.

  “Hey!” she called out. “No hurting my mate.”

  “Aye, I should warn you both.” Iain swung at Kirk. “No one is permitted to hurt me. Orders from my chosen one.”

  “Good to see you’re back, Iain.” Across the yard near the armory, a man in his mid-forties wearing tan trousers with a chunky black belt and a dark button-down shirt, strode toward Iain and his brothers, a glinting blade in his hand. A woman walked at his side dressed in a pleated blue skirt and a cream blouse, her wavy black hair swaying in a soft bob on her shoulders. The man had to be Michael, Iain’s father. The similarities between him and the three battling brothers were too striking for him not to be.

  Her phone buzzed and she pulled it from her pocket and answered it. “Hey.”

  “Hey back at ya.” Daniel’s deep voice rolled over her, made her miss home. She’d had the odd call from him and Dad, each time insisting they were fine. They’d both updated her on the Mathie case each time they’d rung. Keeping her in the loop was important, not that they’d had any new information other than that Owen and Ewan Mathie still remained under the radar.

  “How are Emma and the baby?”

  “Emma’s just taken our little boy to the doc for his eight-week checkup and she won’t be back for another hour. Where are you now?”

  “I’ve just returned to Ivanson Castle but I need some time to get to know Iain’s parents and clan. I’m coming home in another week. Let Dad know for me.” She leaned against the stone wall, in the cool of its shadow and rubbed one sweaty palm on her jean-clad leg.

  “You sound a little nervous.”

  “I ran from their son for five years. What’s not to be nervous about?”

  “I met them when I scouted out your new digs. They weren’t condemning of you at all when we spoke, only excited that Iain had finally found you.”

  The woman next to Michael with the soft bob walked past a center well trailed in ivy.
She was headed on a direct course toward her.

  “I have to go. It appears I can’t hide out any longer.”

  “Sure, but take care, and don’t fight the pull.”

  “Don’t fight what p—” A beeping sounded in her ear. Daniel had hung up on her. Unusual.

  Iain’s mother stopped before her, her smile radiant. “Welcome to Matheson Castle. I’m Megan.”

  “I—ah—I’m sorry for the anguish I caused you and your kin these past five years. I mean, this is a momentous moment for me, meeting you.”

  “There’s nothing to be sorry about, and I knew Iain would eventually find you. Everything happens in its own time and usually for a very good reason, something I’ve learnt well over the years.” Megan squeezed her hands and looked into her eyes. “Iain was so determined to find you, just as his brothers have been in their search for their mates. They long for what Iain has now gained, a strong and loving woman at his side.”

  “Thank you.” Megan’s words touched her heart.

  “Are you all right?” Iain met Kirk’s hard strike then darted a look at her. “Come out of the shadows, love. I’m about to lose my focus with you out of my sight. My brothers will soon notice my distraction and take advantage of it.”

  She stepped into the sunshine. “Is that better?”

  “Infinitely.” His sexy grin made her heartbeat pound.

  Finlay and Kirk circled him.

  “Watch out. Your brothers are preparing for a dual attack. Keep your eyes on them, not on me.”

  “You’re a far more appealing sight than them.”

  His brothers advanced from opposite sides.

  Finlay mouthed to Kirk, “Three, two, one.”

  Their blades descended.

  Iain spun his sword high and blocked both well-timed blows with one swing. He dropped low, kicked Finlay off balance then swept his other leg out and knocked Kirk in the shin.