Highlander's Passion (The Matheson Brothers Book 2)

by Joanne Wadsworth

  “It is. Which of the guest chambers have you been given?”

  “On the night I arrived, I bedded down on a pallet in the great hall alongside the other warriors. I needed to remain close to the door in case my bear wished to roam, which he did in no time at all. He’s been antsy this past week.” But not anymore. His bear had settled with one gentle petting from her. The only woman who would be able to do that would be his mate. He set his bag down near the side table and faced her. “We were provided with all we’d need and since I’ve arrived, I’ve traveled light, as have my brothers and Isla.”

  “If you wish, I can ask one of the maids to prepare a chamber for you.” She brought fire forth to one fingertip and lit a candle in the corner stand. Its glow flickered over her queen-sized bed with its red velvet canopy sweeping down onto the polished wooden floors.

  “There’s no need.” He intended to stay right here where he could be close to her. “Would you like your fire lit and your chamber warmed?”

  “I can manage to light my own fire. Fire-wielder, remember?” Grinning, she crossed to the window where a chilly breeze fluttered through and closed it. “I truly am fine now, my skill back under control. You can leave and be assured I’m well.”

  “I can’t leave you, not right now.” He stepped up to her, rested his hands on her shoulders and breathed in her delectable warm scent. A gentle peace invaded his soul. Holding her soothed him. He wouldn’t forget this moment, the one in which he’d most certainly found his mate. Over her head out the window, the white-capped waves rolled into shore and across the bay, a sail shimmered in the moonlight then disappeared into the dark farther along the inland channel toward MacKenzie land. He’d also found her before the coming battle. Relief rolled through him. “This feels so good, standing here with you.”

  “I’m glad you and your brothers are here to aid us in saving the village.” She slid one hand over his, her touch so soft, so gentle. His bear purred deep inside him and demanded a closer touch.

  “Aye, and we won’t leave until we have.”

  “The village is so exposed on the tip and we’ll have so very little warning when the MacKenzie attacks. It does no’ help that this is a busy waterway and intersects with Loch Carron and Loch Hourn.”

  “We can still guard these waterways well from this prominent location.” He slipped one arm around her waist and drew her closer still, a hold she didn’t pull away from. His bear settled even further.

  “A location the MacKenzie too desires, one he intends to take, although I too will never allow him to harm the villagers. He took my parents’ lives but he won’t take another of my kin. I swear it, on my life.”

  “The MacKenzie killed your parents?” He frowned and searched her gaze. Such deep loss swirled within her beautiful eyes and that emotion bubbled up and rose within him as well. “Tell me how it happened.”

  “No’ long after Julia and I came of age, Father entered into negotiations for Julia’s marriage to the Chief of MacKenzie’s third son. At the time we were allies, no’ yet at war as we currently are. The MacKenzie requested a meeting, but ’twas just a ruse. As soon as my parents arrived at his castle, he had them tossed into the dungeon and then sent a demand to Gilleoin. My uncle was told to hand over his lands on the tip of Loch Alsh and in return the MacKenzie would release our parents. For several months demands volleyed back and forth until Gilleoin realized the MacKenzie would never listen to reason. That’s when he set out for their stronghold with an elite contingency of his warriors. His intention was to sneak in under the cover of darkness, rescue my parents and then return with them. Instead Gilleoin discovered my parents had been slain at the MacKenzie’s own hand, several months prior, afore the first demand had even been sent. He is a snake.”

  “What did Gilleoin do?” Rage simmered and he barely held it down. The MacKenzie had hurt his woman, something he’d never allow again.

  “Gilleoin was furious and he attacked with great force then left a bloody trail in his wake. Now the MacKenzie is determined to have his retribution, to ensure he takes all Gilleoin holds as precious. Those of fae blood mingle strongly with Gilleoin’s firstborn line and the MacKenzie fears the strength we’ll gain from being aligned.” Heat flared from her, flapped his hair about his shoulders and rippled the thick red bed canopy behind him. She gasped and jerked away. “I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”

  “Not at all. I can handle your small flares, likely better than anyone else can.” He wrapped his arms around her, tucked her cheek against his chest and savored her closeness. Aye, his feelings for her were strong. Never had another woman ever brought such tender emotions to roaring life within him. From this moment forth, he wouldn’t be leaving her side, not until she’d accepted their bond and the fact that they were mated.

  “You would never be able to handle a strong flare, and I cannae lose any more of my fae kin, Finlay.”

  “You won’t, not now my brothers and I are here.” He stroked her back until she snuggled closer. “Do you feel better?”

  “A little, but I shouldn’t allow this kind of touch. I’m no’ quite sure why I have.”

  “Because we are one and the same.”

  “We’re not mated.”

  “Then try and pull away.”

  She pressed her hands to his chest as if she would, only she sighed and dropped them again. “An anomaly for sure. I’ve changed my mind. Could you please light my fire?”

  “Of course.” He released her even though he didn’t wish to and crouched before the hearth. From a log set in a basket at the side, he tore strips off it then brought a flame to life striking flint with his dagger. Once the fire roared and spread its heat throughout the room, he rose and dusted his hands. “Would you like me to unlace your gown so you can ready yourself for bed?”

  “If you dinnae mind.” She turned her back and held her burgundy bodice to her chest.

  “I’ll never mind.” He sank his fingers into her long golden-blond locks, the soft strands sliding like silk across his wrists and forearms. He eased her hair over her shoulder and exposed her back. “You have the most glorious hair. It glows like woven silk in the firelight.”

  “It does?” Over her shoulder, she frowned.

  “Aye, and your eyes—” They sparkled like sapphires, a most striking hue with that glittering flare of gold at the edge. “I could drown in them.”

  “Mayhap I shouldnae have invited you into my chamber.” She raised a brow. “Doing so has clearly given you the wrong idea.”

  “You didn’t invite me. I entered of my own free will, and I would do so again and again.” He loosened her lacings and unable to help himself with the sight of her neck on magnificent display again, he brushed a kiss against the long column, wishing he could damn well take a bite instead. They’d be time for that later, once he’d assured her of the depth of their bond and his commitment to her. “In the future, women rarely need aid in dressing themselves.”

  “How is that?”

  “There are many new inventions, like zips. They have sharp metal teeth that slide together when pulled shut. I don’t know quite how you deal with all these layers of fabric.”

  “As a child, I used to sneak a pair of trews from one of the lads when I wished to roam the woods with complete freedom. Sometimes I still do.” With her bodice scrunched in her hands, she toed off her silk slippers then foraged for her nightgown in the trunk under the window before stepping behind a silk dressing screen hand-painted with a stunning field of heather.

  “It’s dangerous for you to roam the woods on your own.” He paced her chamber, unease tracking through him. Brigands would lie in wait for just such a tempting morsel as his woman.

  “Dinnae forget my skill, Finlay. One such as I hardly needs a guard. I hold one of deadliest of the fae battle skills. ’Tis just a shame I am a woman and no one allows me to use it.” Her gown flopped over the top of the screen then she rustled about.

  He itched to slip behind that screen and tell her
exactly why she did need a guard, that it would be him and only him in the future. Instead he bunched his fists and remained right where he was. “Do you dress for bed often with male company in your room?”

  “Never.” She walked out, all her luscious curves hidden from his sight in a white nightgown, or at least she was hidden until she stepped between him and the golden glow of the fire. The flames lit the outline of her shapely legs to sheer perfection.

  “You are a sight to behold.” Touch was vitally important to any shifter, and more so between mates. He closed the distance between them and caught her hands. “Arabel, from the moment I met you, I’ve been drawn to you, and right now I couldn’t leave you if I tried. These new emotions flaring to life within in me would only rise when I’m with my chosen one. I need you to believe that.”

  “I’m no’ your chosen one.” She stepped away and the distance she enforced had his bear rumbling his displeasure. “You must keep searching, Finlay, and I shall aid you on the morrow if you wish. I know all the lasses.”

  “My bear wants you, and only you.” His claws sliced out. “He’s hungry for his mate, and there is no arguing with either him or me.” She was his, and of that he had no doubt. A fire-wielder. Aye, her skill would provide a greater challenge than most mated pairs had to deal with, but it was a challenge he was more than up for. They were soul-bound, a match in every way, and he wouldn’t allow her skill to obstruct his path, of completing the bond and ensuring she never left his side.

  Chapter 2

  Standing on the pebbly beach before the fae village, Nessa wrapped her fur cloak tighter about her as moonlight shimmered across the loch’s choppy surface. Farther along the bay, the House of Clan Matheson rose like a sentinel in the dark, its massive gray stone turrets and towering walls topped with battlements and guardsmen roaming the ramparts. From the multitude of square windows, candlelight flickered in welcome. Her sanctuary, and that of her fae people, if only they’d accept it.

  The village leaders had heeded her first forewarning and spoken to the people, but as she’d had no further visions surrounding the battle since then, they now believed all would be well and that they could adequately defend their village and their people. That would not be the case. If only she could force a vision.

  “Mother!” Sorcha hurried through the gate in the high stone wall surrounding the village, her hands clasped in her thick blue woolen skirts. Behind her, the houses of stone and clay, cloistered so tightly together, would soon be naught but dust if she couldn’t convince all within to defy the leaders and seek the safety that awaited them within Gilleoin’s walls.

  Sorcha joined her on the beach, a little breathless. “What are you doing out here in the cold?”

  “Julia is on her way.” A vision had shown her Arabel’s latest flare and their conversation about the four elements.

  “’Tis late. Why does she come?” Sorcha wrapped her plaid tighter about her shoulders.

  “She worries for Arabel and with very good reason. There is now cold-fire present within her aura.”

  “Oh dear.” Sorcha clasped a hand to her mouth and glanced out at sea.

  A skiff came into view with Julia seated at the bow, her golden locks whipping about her in the brisk breeze and the boat’s white sail pulled taut.

  It cruised across the sea, and as a large wave rolled in, the warrior in command of it lowered the sail, gripped the boat’s rudder and skimmed toward the land. As he neared, he jumped into the waist-deep water, seized the bow and hauled the skiff in between two half-beached birlinns. With his white tunic fluttering over his black trews, the warrior swung her granddaughter onto the beach.

  Julia hurried toward her, her forest-green skirts bunched in her white-knuckled hands.

  “I’m here, my dear.” Nessa opened her arms and Julia ran into them.

  “Arabel’s cold-fire rises, Grandmother. I’m so worried.”

  “Aye, I saw all that happened at the pool as well as your conversation. ’Tis well and truly possible that the newcomers’ arrival has upset the balance of the elements. I wouldnae be surprised if that is the case at all.”

  “Then how do we fix the imbalance?”

  “Through a realignment. Fire, water, air and earth must once again join together as one and until that happens, something only nature can provide, you must keep your sister close. Her cold-fire could easily rise again and she will need all of us in the coming days, more so than ever afore.”

  “Aye. I’ll remain close by her side. That I promise you.”

  “Good.” And she’d continue to remain alert until the realignment occurred. Arabel’s life was at stake, as well as her people’s lives here at the village. There was nothing she wouldn’t do, not for any of them.

  Chapter 3

  “You and your bear are clearly confused. We arena mated.” Arabel opened her chamber door and motioned for Finlay to leave. She couldn’t be his chosen one, no matter the soul deep ache in her chest had finally eased for the first time in days.

  “I’m not leaving you, Arabel. Doing so is no longer possible, and I don’t mean to be difficult, I’m just stating the facts.” He removed his belted sword and daggers, placed them on top of the side table and bolted her door.

  “I didnae say you could stay.” Yet deep inside, a part of her rejoiced he was. Goodness. What had the man done to her? Her thoughts were completely out of order, which was so unlike her.

  “It’s late and I’m tired. I’ll take the chair for the night. May I borrow a pillow?”

  “You cannae sleep in my chamber, no matter what you believe.”

  “No one will know I’ve remained, apart from you and me.” He strode to her bed, snatched one of the pillows then dropped into the corner navy padded chair. Pillow plumped, he tucked it behind his head then leaned back and crossed his booted feet at the ankle, his gaze on hers. “Seek your sleep, my mate. I’ll not disturb you.”

  “Now you think to call me your mate?”

  “Because you are.”

  “Are you always this annoying?” Arms crossed, she tapped one foot, her nightrail swishing about her ankles.

  “Only around those who are the most important to me, and you right now you are at the very top of that list.” He motioned toward the candle in the corner stand. “Don’t forget to blow that out before you close your eyes.”

  “I’m a fire-wielder. Being mated to me would ensure your death, and no’ just a pleasant one either. There would be a raging fire and scorching involved.”

  “Then hopefully we’ll both learn how to keep your fire under control.”

  “When a fire-wielder lies with a man, he dies.” She tapped her other foot. “My skill is one of the rarest amongst the villagers, and the six fire-wielders who’ve come afore me have all passed, right after they wed and allowed an intimacy their skill forbid them. In the moment when they’d joined with their loved one, they killed them with their loss of control. Then in their grief, they allowed their cold-fire to consume them, to ice their blood and cease their heart from beating. After the passing of the last fire-wielder, the village leaders decreed that none with my skill could ever be allowed such an intimacy again, a decree I will gladly uphold.”

  “We’ll find a way to get around your skill.” He arched a brow, rather challengingly. “We’re soul bound, which means there is nothing we can’t overcome if we truly wish to be together.” He stood and pointed at the bed. “Get in there now, or else I’ll put you in there, and join you.”

  “You clearly didnae listen to a word I just said. You are so frustrating.” She huffed, blew out the candle and clambered in underneath her fur bedcovers while Finlay strode to her hearth and stared at the flames. The fire’s glow flickered across his high cheeks and lit the shoulder-length ends of his midnight-black hair, turning it a glorious sizzling blue. He was one of the most striking men she’d ever beheld, and it certainly didn’t help that everything about him called to her, from his current fiery mood to the teasingly sensuous sm
ile that had lifted his lips earlier at the loch. Aye, she was entranced by him, just as she shouldn’t be. “I cannae sleep if you’re going to stare at the fire all night, Finlay.”

  “I’ve spoken the truth about the two of us being mated. I know the difference between how I’ve felt being around you and every other lass I’ve ever known.”

  “There’s no full moon.” That was the only night when their senses could truly lead them to their chosen ones. “So you must be mistaken.”

  “There’s no mistake. I’ve been searching for you for five long years, which includes dozens of full moons, and I know you are mine.” He gazed at her bed, his fingers twitching at his sides. “I’m itching to join you, to hold you through the night. Already I can’t stand this distance and it’s only a few feet.”

  His words sent a shimmer of heat through her. Good grief, how annoying. “You can stay right where you are.”

  “Or I could join you. I give you my word I’ll do no more than hold you through the night. It would ease both our frustration.” He kicked off his boots and sauntered closer, his move so like that of a bear on the prowl for a tasty treat. She should tell him to return to the chair, only the words wouldn’t move past her lips. Instead, she watched wide-eyed as he rolled in under the covers and faced her. “May I touch you, Arabel?”

  “You clearly have a death wish.”

  “No, my only wish has ever been to find my chosen one and never let her go.” He stroked one hand over her hip, drew her a touch closer, until the blazing heat of his body stamped itself right into her.

  “I—” She couldn’t turn away from his desire-filled eyes, didn’t even have a chance to. “Tell me more about you and your kin, Finlay.”

  “What would you like to know?”

  “Whatever you wish to share.”

  “My parents are mated and my father is the chief of our clan. Of my two brothers, Iain is the eldest by a couple of minutes, and Kirk younger than me by the same length of time. We also share a brotherly bond that allows us to sense each other’s emotions.”