Highlander's Faerie (Highlander Heat #5)

“As well as could be considering I should never have left Islay’s shores in the first place.” He barred the door so they wouldn’t suffer any interruption, closed the window’s wooden shutters then crossed to the hearth. After kneeling on the thick woven rug of blue and green wool, he built a fire to roaring life and once the solar warmed, patted the space next to him. “Come and sit. This conversation may take some time. Are you well?”


“Yes, but tired. I only arrived here a few hours before you.” She clutched her rich blue skirts and sat cross-legged in front of him. Slippers kicked off, she palmed her flushed cheeks.

“Come closer.” The sprinkle of freckles across her nose made his fingers itch to trace them. He removed his sword, set it on the rug within easy reach then gripped the mat underneath her and dragged her closer when she didn’t move.

“Wait.” She clasped his arms.

“Nay, dinnae deny me.” He seized her knees and kept her locked close. “I’ve missed touching you, having you in my sight. From the moment the MacLean warrior took you, I have no’ been able to rest.”

“Why did you come? You were so adamant you wouldn’t.”

“Where you are, I need to be.” There was no other answer for it. “You shouldnae have run. Why did you?”

“Hearing about Madison was the last straw. It put everything into perspective for me.”

“Madison who?”

“Madison MacDonald. The girl you agreed to enter into a marriage contract with.”

“I did no such—” Damn. He’d forgotten all about the lass from Dunscaith. “Who told you about her?” No one other than Mary, Archie and he knew of Angus’s desire for one of his captains to wed his second cousin from Skye.

“Mary did.” Tears pooled in her deep blue eyes and stirred every protective emotion within him. “She told me Angus’s desire was to strengthen the bonds between the two MacDonald clans. Apparently Archie gave an adamant no, but you said yes.”

“Aye, although those talks disintegrated when the feud escalated and Angus was captured. The lass is barely of age.”

“She’s now sixteen and very much of age. Mary also said such talks are binding.”

“Naught was formally contracted.”

“That doesn’t mean your word isn’t binding.” She cupped his cheek, smoothed her palm along his jaw as a tear trickled free. “Don’t you see, John? She’s the one you’re meant to marry and spend the rest of your life with. She’s the one.”

“I dinnae have any feelings for her.” He wiped the tear away, scooped her up and settled her in his lap. “’Tis only for you I do, and no one will keep you from me, no’ even yourself. You may have come to Mull, but you willnae stay here. Your place is with me, at Dunyvaig.”

“I’ll never change your future. It’s not right for me to do so.” She pressed her chest out and the top rise of her breasts swelled against the soft blue fabric embroidered with silver thread. He traced one finger along her soft skin and over the pebbled tips of her nipples poking the cloth.

“My future is with you and was from the moment we met. What’s no’ right is refusing to accept that we belong together.”

“Madison is the one you will marry.” Adamant words, ones he wouldn’t accept.

“Nay, Katherine, I willnae marry her.” Aching for a closer touch, he swept the edge of her bodice to one side and filled his palm with the warm flesh of her breast. “You’re the only woman who holds my heart. Without you, I cannae live. Dinnae you feel the depth of our bond? What’s between us cannae be denied.”

“Yes, I feel the depth, and at times to the point of pain.” She thrust her fingers into his hair and stroked his scalp.

“There is only pain when we arenae together. You cannae force me to marry another when ’tis you I need to survive.” He dipped his head and grazed his teeth over her nipple. “Being apart from you these last few days has been hell. I never wish to experience such a loss again.”

“But Madi—”

“Nay, enough.” He took her mouth in a slow and tender kiss. “I need you as greatly as I need my next breath. You and only you.”

“I need you too, but that doesn’t make us being together, right.”

“The fae bound us together. You are the woman I live for, the woman I wish to be joined with for all time. I want all of you, heart, body, and soul.” Heat surged through his blood and he tipped her onto her back and sucked one sweet luscious nipple deep inside his mouth.

“John.” She moaned and arched into him. “That feels so good.”

“You are a part of me, as I long to be a part of you, and I’ll do all I can to prove it.” He moved to her other breast and imbibed on the tight bud. “I need to claim you as mine, to ensure you never leave my side again. ’Tis also the only way I can get you safely away from Duart. I cannae take the risk of inflaming this feud.”

“But I just got here.” She pressed her hand against his chest, right over his heart.