Highlander's Heart (Clan Matheson Book 2)

by Joanne Wadsworth

  “I’m sitting in the hull, roped to the center mast and I can hardly breathe with this gag in my mouth and whatever covering it is they’ve tossed over me.” A wealth of worry channeled through from her. He sensed her pain as she shoved at her bindings and tried to wriggle one hand free. The soft skin of her wrists had almost been rubbed raw from her struggle to free herself. “Please be careful. I’m surrounded by MacDonald warriors and I have no intention of living on this Earth without you. If you die, then I die.”

  “I’m almost there. Tavish spoke to Julia along their link and she’s at the castle. She’s about to alert the guard and find your father. We’re coming, all of us.” Determination spurred him on as he hurtled down the final stretch of the trail. He rode hard along the grassy verge of the loch then hauled his mount to a halt a mere horse-head in front of Tavish at the sea-gate landing. He jumped down and sprinted toward the MacDonald galley moored at the end.

  Donnan stood at the stern, his claymore drawn and a fierce smirk on his face as one of his men released the mooring rope then bounded on board. They pushed off the landing.

  Over his shoulder, he yelled to his brother, “Stay alive, Tavish. It’s time to fight.”

  “I’m right here.” Tavish whipped his sword free.

  Fight they would. Sword in hand, Tor leapt the distance from the landing to the moving galley, landed in the vessel with Tavish, his blood roaring for revenge and his enemy now standing directly before him. He’d never allow MacDonald to take his chosen one from him. He’d fight, to the death if he must. “I love you, Layla. Where you are, is where I too shall be, on this Earth or beyond the veil.”

  Up along the battlements, the horn trumpeted and he swung and met Donnan’s brutal blow while Donnan’s men stood at their captain’s back and hauled their weapons free.

  Chapter 7

  Swords clashed and Layla screamed where she sat trussed up to the center mast and unable to see a damn thing. The galley shook and men bellowed. She focused only on Tor and their merged link, his thoughts careening through to her. Strike. Duck. Attack. Donnan and his warriors were coming at him from every side, Tavish the only one aiding him in his fight.

  She had to free herself so she could help him. The breeze whispered across her neck under the loose edge of the smelly sack and waves crashed against the side of the galley. She sawed her hands together, the skin at her wrists on fire.

  A fierce battle cry boomed all around, then another clash of steel hitting steel rung loud in her ears.

  “Hold tight, Layla.” Tor’s warning ricocheted in her head as the vessel rocked from side to side.

  “Get back!” Donnan’s shout, his bellow laced with fury. “She’s going over.”

  Over? The galley rolled and she slid down the mast and struck something before her head shattered with pain and the turbulent waters of the bay closed in over her. Within the depths of the icy cold bay, she fought to stay alert and rid herself of her bindings. The underwater rip churned and tossed her about, jerked the sack away into its murky gloom. Goodness. She could finally see, no matter how badly within the darkness of the water.

  The ropes attached to the mast pulled excruciatingly tight around her middle. They tore at her chest and legs as they tangled tighter about her. With her skill, she wrenched the bindings free, yanked her hands out then tore the gag from her mouth and clawed for the surface. Her drenched skirts dragged her back down and the swell pulled her even deeper. Nay, the sea wouldn’t take her, not now she’d finally found the man who held the other half of her soul. She wanted to live, to have him hold her in his arms and never let her go. “Tor!”

  “I’m here.”

  An arm cinched around her waist.

  She lurched around and stared into the most piercing golden shifter eyes. Tor firmed his hold on her and pushed them both upward through the twisting current and in a flurry of bubbles, they broke the surface.

  “Are you hurt?” She gulped in great drafts of air as she clung to him.

  “My heart will never be the same again.” He cupped the back of her head and drew her closer. His black hair floated around his neck as he treaded water and kept them both afloat. “Too many of Donnan’s men surged to one side during the battle and she went over, fast. I thought I’d lost you. Your thoughts were blaring at me, your struggle mine. I couldn’t reach you in time, not through the tangle of sail, ropes, and men.”

  “You reached me just fine. I’m alive. You’re alive, and that’s all that matters.” She clutched his shirtfront. He was real, his body solid, his flesh warm and his hold exquisitely tight. Next to them, the galley bobbed upside down with its hull on the surface and Donnan’s men surging toward the shoreline from the vessel. Donnan led the way, slogged through the surf and onto the beach.

  Father stormed toward Donnan, two score of his Matheson warriors flanking him as he bellowed orders and corralled the drenched MacDonald warriors as they stumbled in.

  “I’m so sorry I forced you into a battle with Donnan.” She looked into his eyes now awash with relief. “I never should have left you, will never do so again.”

  “All that matters is that you’re safe and well.” He swept her hair back from her forehead and fingered a spot that throbbed. “You’ve got a nasty bump that’ll bloom into the quite the bruise. Let’s get you out of this cold water, warmed up and Donnan and his men dealt with.” Holding onto to her, he cut a fast path through the churning waves toward the landing where Tavish stood in soaked battle attire and water sluicing to his feet. Tor gripped her waist and boosted her upward toward his brother.

  “Are you well, Layla?” Tavish grasped her, set her on the landing beside him. “Your wrists look red and raw.”

  “Dinnae worry of them. They’ll heal.”

  Tavish smothered her in a tartan one of her clansmen passed him then offered Tor a hand and heaved him out of the water.

  Tor swept her bundled form along the landing and grasped her father’s shoulder, one arm still firm around her waist. “Is everyone accounted for?”

  “All appear to be here, and thank you for saving my daughter.” Father pulled her into a hug. “Julia got word to me of your abduction, but then the galley tipped over afore I could ensure you were set free.”

  “The sack covering my sight jerked away in the water. I managed to free myself then Tor brought me to the surface. Tor and I spoke handfast vows last eve, Father. Donnan intended for me to repudiate my vow once we reached Dunscaith Castle. He would have forced me to wed him.” She hugged her father just as fiercely back. “Donnan also strung Gerald up in a tree a half mile from the keep. You must send someone to free him. This is all my fault and I’m so sorry.”

  “This is Donnan’s doing, no’ yours.” Father whistled to one his men. “Find Gerald. He’ll be in a tree a half mile away.”

  “Will do.” The warrior and another raced to the stables and mounted horses.

  “What are we going to do with Donnan and his men?” She rubbed her cheek against Father’s arm, his solid presence comforting her just as Tor’s fierce warmth and firm hold around her did as well.

  “I’ll deal with Donnan, although ’tis now because of his rash actions here this very morn that any ties between our clans will now be severed. If we ever ally ourselves with them again, it’ll be a very long time away.”

  Donnan snarled and stormed toward Father, his men rallying in behind him. “Your daughter broke our betrothal agreement and I was simply taking what was rightfully mine.”

  “My daughter is soul bound to another and none can tear the two apart, no’ even I.” Father raised his hands, twirled his fingers and with his skill, thrust Donnan toward the landing, right along with his men.

  She lifted her own hands toward the overturned galley and with a single flick, she lifted it up. The waters surged and the galley heaved over. Water flowed out of the hull, the ropes and the sail a tangled mess. Wood creaked and groaned as she settled the galley back down at the end of the landing while Father sho
ved Donnan and his men on board.

  “There will be no mingling of fae blood between our clans.” Father’s voice rose above the din as he glared at Donnan. “Raise arms against me and my kin again and we shall do so with you. Take your men and leave, and never forget that my strength and my daughter’s far exceeds yours. None can best those with the ‘power of thought.’”

  A few of the MacDonald warriors dove into the water and collected their lost oars, boarded and with their men settled on the seats and retrieved oars in hand, rowed out of the bay then heaved their drenched sail up and disappeared across the sea toward Skye.

  Relief flared through her. Was it truly over?

  “I’m so sorry.” She turned in Tor’s arms, caught his face in her hands and kissed him, with all the longing and need she harbored for him and he kissed her back, crushing her against his chest.

  “It’s all over, and no more apologies are needed.” He scooped her up and strode toward the forest, leaving Father and her clansmen behind as they made certain Donnan didn’t return.

  She waved to Father and he lifted a hand in acknowledgment, nodded at her with a gentle smile. Her father would understand Tor’s need to get her as far away from Donnan as possible, even though their enemy had now set sail. “Where are we going?”

  “To our sacred cavern. I have a fierce need to see with my own eyes that you came to no harm during your abduction, which means I’ll be inspecting every single inch of you for injury.”

  “As long as I too may inspect every single inch of you.” She nuzzled his neck, licked over the mark she’d given him then whispered, “I would also like to show you how very truly sorry I am.”

  “I never want to experience the heart-wrenching fear I did today, ever again.” He strode with her up the winding trail, trekked deeper into the forest and marched uphill toward the waterfall and their most precious place. “I also have a desperate need for absolute privacy.”

  “So do I.” She kissed him again, her heart and soul rejoicing at being with him. Aye, absolute privacy they needed, and likely for quite some time.

  * * * *

  Along the tunnel into their sacred cavern behind the waterfall, Layla raced with Tor one step behind her. She jumped down onto the boulder wedged under the entrance then bounded onto the soft sand and twirled around. She dropped the tartan she’d been wrapped in and kicked off her riding boots. With her sopping pale blue jacket flung aside, she unfastened the heavy, wet skirts of her riding habit and grinned as Tor shucked his war coat and unbelted his weapons. “I may find taking orders difficult, Tor, but I do intend for you to learn there are plenty of added benefits to being mated to me.”

  “Benefits I intend to claim, each and every one of them.”

  “The first benefit will be my attention to detail in undressing you.” With her mind, she tugged his loose black shirt embroidered with their clan motto on the front pocket free of his faded brown rawhide pants and pulled it over his head. His beautifully broad chest, so heavily muscled and holding a smattering of dark hair, glistened wetly in the sunshine streaming through the wide vent above.

  “That’s one benefit, I too hold.” He stepped closer, traced one finger over her beaded breasts through her lacy cream riding shirt, the fabric so wet the pink of her nipples showed through. “Arms up, my challenging mate.”

  She lifted them and he swept his hands down her sides, gripped her hem and lifted the shirt up and over her head, her tangled and wet curls plopping onto her back.

  “My turn.” She levitated him, knelt at his hovering feet and removed his boots then unfastened his pants and stripped them down his muscled legs and off. His cock bobbed free and brushed his belly, rigid and hard and all hers. Needing him now, she swept him out over the steamy heat of their pool and splashed into the warm water after him. Slowly, she lowered him, inch by inch as she stroked over his trim hips and grasped his firm butt. She licked his thickened shaft from root to tip then giggled as he groaned, his feet still nowhere near the sandy floor of the pool as she kept him just where she wanted him.

  “Put me down, woman.”

  “Benefit number two. I can spin you around and do as I wish with you.” She slowly twirled him where she stood in the waist-deep water, his feet in the water and his magnificent body on full display, all hard and bulging with muscle. All hers. “My warrior mate.”

  His golden gaze seared hers as she whirled him back around to face her. “I’m also one warrior who needs to make love to his woman. Set me down so I can, and that’s a firm order, one I want you to obey.”

  “Still terrible with orders, and benefit number three.” She giggled again. “Is that I wish only to make love with you and adore every inch of you while I do.” She traced the tip of his cock with her tongue and gently palmed his balls in her hand.

  He arched into her, his breath whooshing out. “I love how freely you touch me.”

  “Touching you like this”—she licked all around the head then sucked the salty sweetness that beaded on top—“makes my nipples go hard and heat pool within me below.”

  “Put me down, now. I need to lick you all over too. I want to taste that pooling heat. It’s like sweet honey to my bear and he’s ravenous for it.”

  “Benefit number four.” She slowly lowered him, licked up the rigid band of muscles lining his stomach then flicked her fingers over his tiny yet hard male nipples before she sucked on his neck, right over the mark she’d given him last night. Onto her toes, she moved then covered his mouth with hers. She kissed him, until his breathing became as ragged as hers and the sultry warm air around them thickened with a pounding heat. “Is that I’ll always be hungry for more of you too.”

  With his feet now firm on the sandy base of the pool, she lifted herself from the water and gave him exactly what he’d asked for, the ability to lick that pooling heat in her below. Floating a few inches above the rippling surface, she leaned back, her hair dangling into the water, her back arched over it. “Is this what you wanted?”

  “Aye, we’ll call this benefit number five, of which shall be offered to me on a daily basis. Your body will be all mine for the taking.” He caught her feet, spread her legs and stepped in between her thighs, water splashing his waist. Caressing up her calves and along her inner thighs, he held her pliant with his smoldering gaze alone. “Right now, I’m not sure how slow I can go. I can barely contain my need, or that of my bear’s. He’s pushing for more of you, so hungry to hold you and completely determined to never let you go. As am I.”

  “Benefit number six. I freely give you all of me. I always will, so go as fast or as slow as you like. We have no need to leave this sacred place anytime soon.”

  “I love how you think.” He stroked over her hips, up her sides and cupped her breasts then with his thumbs swiping the tips, he bent his head between her thighs and licked her folds. He groaned, pulled back a touch, brushed his nose against her nub and breathed deep. With pure need lacing his tone, he rumbled, “Your scent is the sweetest yet wildest I’ve ever encountered. I want to smother myself in it.”

  “I would never stop you if that’s what you wished to do.”

  “Good answer.” He plunged one finger inside her and imbibed at the very heart of her, his tongue moving so seductively, so sensually across her flesh.

  Desire for more swarmed through her and she widened her legs farther and gasped as he loved her with such heart-racing passion. Consumed by his perfect touch, she soared to such a fierce height until she couldn’t contain her need a moment longer. She cried out his name, “Tor, I want you inside me.”

  “Bring yourself down or lift me up.”

  “I’m coming.” She pushed herself up with her skill, hooked her arms around his neck, slid down his wet body and impaled herself on top of him, his cock spearing through her folds. She moaned her delight, rubbed her breasts against his chest and reveled in their fast joining.

  “Bite me, now.” He gripped her bottom and plunged into her, over and over and sh
e scraped her teeth back and forth along his neck although before she could bite him, he sank his teeth into her neck and sent her flying to the stars. Her inner muscles clamped down on him and she soared, bright lights bursting in a myriad of beautiful rainbow colors all around.

  “More.” Teeth firm, she bit him and he shuddered, groaned and thrust even harder inside her. Untold pleasure radiated through her as she met each and every one of his hard and fast strokes, and as she urged him even deeper, she catapulted from her body a second time, her second orgasm roaring swiftly through her, hard on the heels of her first. “I love you, Tor, with all my heart and soul. You are my everything and all.”

  “I love you too, and from this moment forth, no one will ever separate us again.” He plunged balls-deep inside her, his seed shooting in one hot rush straight to her core.

  Kissing him, she reveled in their joining, in being as one with the only man she’d ever live for. He held not only the other half of her soul, but her very heart in his hands, one that would forever beat for him. Only him.

  For all time.

  * * * *

  Tor came with such a wildly desperate need as Layla gripped his cock and pulled him ever deeper inside her. She continued to pulse, her heavenly heat his home and her heart and soul his to hold on to for all time.

  She moaned in his arms, soft murmurs that kept his cock hard even though he’d just come. Hell, he still needed her, and with a deep thirst that would never be quenched.

  Kissing her, he delved into the honeyed recesses of her mouth, cupped her lushly curved bottom and walked with her in his arms though the water toward the overhanging ledge at the edge of the pool. Gently, he laid her down on the thick slab of stone, gripped the edge and hauled himself up beside her, water sluicing down his body.