Highlander's Charm
Page 14
For the purposes of this story, I chose to send Lila MacIan back to the year fifteen-hundred and ninety, because Sir Lachlan Mor MacLean, the fourteenth Chief of Clan MacLean of Duart, had been imprisoned by the king due to his feud with the MacDonald of Dunnyveg, his brother-in-law. The king did in fact induce all those involved in the dispute, being Donald MacDonald of Sleat, Angus MacDonald of Dunnyveg and Lachlan MacLean of Duart, to go to Edinburgh. When they each arrived, they were apprehended and imprisoned. I altered this event slightly, stating that the MacLean chief had been captured by the king’s men to suit the story.
Lachlan MacLean’s successor was his son Hector Og MacLean, a minor, and with someone needing to lead the clan, I chose Calum MacLean.
Calum MacLean and Lila MacIan are fictional characters.
This terrible feud between the clans raged for years. Both MacLean and MacDonald ravaged by fire and sword, laying waste to huge portions of each other’s lands, and all within the Western Isles were affected.
The account told of John MacIan of Ardnamurchan marrying Janet Campbell (Lachlan MacLean’s mother) at Duart Castle in fifteen-hundred and eighty-eight, along with the subsequent massacre of eighteen of his attendants, and MacIan’s imprisonment within Duart’s dungeons for the year following it, was as accurate as I could convey it from the historical information on record of this event. Certainly nothing would persuade MacIan to join with Lachlan MacLean and ultimately go against his MacDonald kin during this great feud.
This story is woven with as much accuracy to the period and locations as possible, but any mistakes made are mine alone.
This book forms part of my Highlander Heat series, and each within it are stand-alone.
Please feel free to search for any of my other works. I simply adore strong heroines, and have a ton of fun matching them with their honorable alpha heroes.
Joanne Wadsworth
I love reading romance, but even more, I love to write it. My characters hound me, demanding their stories are told. I’m happy to oblige, giving them the romance they’re after, provided they can accept a little angst and adventure along the way.
In beautiful New Zealand, I live with my hubby and four energetic children, and adore using the stunning countries of the South Pacific as backdrops in many of my books. One day I hope to travel further afield, to visit the Scottish Highlands, America, and everywhere between.
Currently I have three series underway. Highlander Heat, historical Highlander romances, feature strong heroines whose paths collide with their delicious Highland heroes.
Magio-Earth, is a fast-paced YA fantasy romance line, where across worlds, soul-bound mates battle against both love and land.
And in Bodyguards, each heart-pounding story will bring you a bodyguard and the woman he protects.
There is no greater feeling than seeing my characters come to life, so thank you for joining me...where romance meets fantasy and adventure.
To learn more about Joanne and her works, visit:
Website and Blog
http://www.joannewadsworth.com
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Goodreads
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6469428.Joanne_Wadsworth
Books by Joanne Wadsworth
Highlander Heat Series
Highlander’s Captive
Highlander’s Castle
Highlander’s Magic
Highlander’s Charm
Highlander’s Guardian
Magio-Earth Series
Protector
Warrior
Hunter
Enchanter
Bodyguards Series
Witness Pursuit
Bodyguard Pursuit
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Joanne-Wadsworth/e/B00AVRVIBM/
Highlander’s Castle
Highlander Heat, #1
Traveling through time…for a Highlander.
Anne MacLeod’s identical ancestor has made a wish on the Fairy Flag at Dunvegan Castle, one which sees the two young women swapping places in time and leaving Anne set to handfast with the very man her ancestor wished to escape. Only Anne sees the possibilities, because now she could change the future and ensure her parents never perished in the inferno which took their lives.
Highland warrior Alex MacDonald has made an agreement to handfast with Anne in order to bring a halt to the feud raging between their clans. The last thing he expects though is a woman claiming to come from the future, a woman who stirs him on a physical and emotional level to protect, and to even believe.
When Anne finds herself in her MacLeod chief’s presence, she chooses to go with him in order to leave a message for her parents. In full pursuit, Alex wages a battle of the heart, and of the very essence of time. Can he defy the odds as Anne is taken from him…to work his own magic and get her back?
Protector
Magio-Earth, #1
To love and protect…across worlds.
Eighteen-year-old Faith Stryker is prepared to leap out into the unknown world beyond her home shores of New Zealand to experience life. Only she never expected to encounter Magio, a planet with two warring countries, where its people reach adulthood at eighteen by coming into their strength and prophetic abilities. Only after Faith discovers she’s a Halfling—thanks to her warrior father she’s never met—does her own skill of forethought develop.
Peacio’s Prince Davio Loveria is sent to the young Faith Stryker by his grandfather, but not all goes as planned. Davio discovers Faith isn’t just a Halfling, she’s also his soul-bound mate—an intense relationship he cannot, nor will not, give up.
With two wars now waging…one of land and the other of the heart…can the young lovers find their place in the world?
Witness Pursuit
Bodyguards, #1
One witness...one bodyguard...one life.
Twenty-one-year-old New Zealander Lydia Sands witnessed the hit-and-run of a powerful man’s son. Her bodyguard is shot when the killer returns to dispose of her and The Program puts her in hiding. A year later, the case remains unsolved and her handler needs to get her further from the killer’s reach. Lydia detests the thought of being close enough to endanger the man who nearly died protecting her, even if it’s aboard a super-yacht traveling the South Pacific.
Tyler Whitehall’s shooting stole weeks from his memory. Physically recovered, he oversees security for Whitehall Shipping. While on a family holiday, Tyler is suspicious of the woman accompanying them without notice or security clearance, as his nephew’s caregiver. Stronger than suspicion is his incomprehensible attraction to her, and his instinct to protect her.
Once sensitive information is leaked, Lydia undergoes re-identification to evade a killer and protect the man who’d die to save her. Her bodyguard has just begun his pursuit, and she may have underestimated his abilities.
Short Excerpt: Witness Pursuit
by Joanne Wadsworth
Bodyguards, #1
Down the super-yacht’s hallway, Lydia walked toward Tyler then slowed as her gaze dropped to her case in his hands. “What am I going to do with you?” She shook her head, tut-tutting under her breath.
“You’d already packed.” He slid a hand around her waist and led her to his room. “I’m simply moving your belongings from one room to another, and I’ll show you exactly what you can do with me.” He closed his bedroom door and flicked the lock.
She set her hands on her hips. “Ah, is that to keep me in, or others out?”
“Both.” He dumped her bag beside his drawers and unzipped it. “What did Saria say?”
“We had a long talk, and she said yes. She’ll let me go through re-identification first, and follow as soon as she sits her finals. They’re in just a few weeks.” She stepped up to him. “Ben will place my application tomorrow, although he said it might take a few days for all the arrangement
s to be made. He told me to hold tight and wait.”
Gritting his teeth, he opened his bottom drawer and piled her clothing in. “He approved of it all, this fast?” He’d have words with Ben. She should be with him.
“Of course. It was his idea to start with.” She gripped his arm. “I never said I’d move in with you, and now you’re unpacking for me?”
“Lee.” He dragged her into his arms. “I want you here, no matter the length of time.” He lifted her and laid her on his bed. Stealthily, he moved in to lie over top.
“I know you do. Oh, do you feel that? The ship’s moving.” Cranking her head to the side, she peered out the windows where the lights of the resort flickered.
“We’re sailing to the far side of the island. There’s a quiet cove, and it’ll be the safest place for you.”
“I hadn’t forgotten.” She slid her hand down his chest and played her fingers over the ridges of his abs under his shirt. “As long as we’re all safe, I can deal with it, for a short while.”
He lowered his forehead to hers. “Since you insist on going through re-identification, I need to be able to track you once you go under. I’m giving you fair warning now.”
“Ah, excuse me. That sounds highly illegal. The whole point of re-identification is so no one can find me.”
“Yes, but I’m not a threat to you, and only you and I will know what I’ve done.”
“And what will that be? Ex-act-ly?”
“By track, I mean I’ll place under your skin a very small tagged chip. It’s like a GPS system, but it’ll have a direct signal to me.”
“And…” Her gaze narrowed.
He rubbed his cheek against hers. “I’ll be able to check in with you, no matter where you are in the world. We can hardly have an exclusive relationship without there being some form of relationship.”
“Sooo, you’re asking me to go against the rules of re-identification?” She gave him a look that said she wasn’t going to agree.
“You’re very stubborn, but I happen to be twice as bad. Whether you agree or not, I’m going ahead with it.”
No one would take her from him. Not ever again.
He’d make certain of it.
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Joanne-Wadsworth/e/B00AVRVIBM/
Copyright: Highlander’s Charm
Copyright © 2014, Joanne Wadsworth
Edited by Penny Barber
Cover Art by Joanne Wadsworth
First electronic publication: September 2014
Joanne Wadsworth
http://www.joannewadsworth.com
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AUTHOR’S NOTE:
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. The author does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.
Published in the United States of America