Highlander's Heart (Clan Matheson #2)

“I’ll sleep here. You can take one side of the tent and I’ll take the other, if that’s what you desire.”


“I certainly do.” She fidgeted with the white lace edging her gown’s long sleeves, not wanting him to leave at all, or for him to sleep so far away from her. This bond was completely impossible, her need for him roaring to full force now he was so close to leaving her. She didn’t want him to shift, or go. Argh, so frustrating.

“Then that is what it shall be.” He hauled a couple of pelts off the pile and spread them on the other side of the tent then loosened the ties of his pants at his waist. “Last chance to turn around.”

Her throat clogged and she tried to push away the fear rising within her. Fighting with him felt so very wrong and instinct took over. She needed to keep him here with her, apologize in some way. Her temper had risen fast, but also fallen just as swiftly away. With no more thought, she shoved her sleeves down her arms and shimmied the royal blue velvet down over her hips until it fell in a soft swish to the floor. In her shift, she scooped up her gown and hung it on the hook protruding from the center pole then stepped in front of him. “Disrobe as you wish.”

Tor watched her, his gaze moving over her body then he nodded, pushed his pants down and kicked them off. In the flickering light from the lamp, every inch of his heavily muscled body gleamed, from his wide chest and trim hips to his manhood lengthening and rising from a thatch of dark curls at the apex of his groin.

“My turn.” No turning back. No more would they fight. Life was too short for arguments. She gripped her shift’s hem, lifted the cotton up and over her head then hooked it over top of her gown on the pole. Heat flushed her cheeks, but she wouldn’t allow any further embarrassment to take her. He was her mate and he held the other half of her soul. He’d also battled Donnan and made him repudiate their betrothal. She couldn’t deny she was now free to be with him. “I wish you an enjoyable romp in the woods,” she murmured, her body on full display for him alone.

“Thank you,” he whispered, his words ragged as he trailed a finger down her neck then gently, carefully, he scooped her breasts up and dipped his head. He licked one nipple and the hot rasp of his tongue across her sensitive flesh doubled the flurry of need pulsing through her.

She cupped the back of his head, scraped her nails lightly over his scalp. More need rushed through her and she guided his mouth to hers and kissed him, with all the longing she held deep within her heart. ’Twas time to set all her fears aside and trust only the man to whom she truly desired. Having his warm lips moving over hers and the hard length of his body pressed against her, fueled her need for even more.

With one thought from her mind, she lifted them both up and laid them down on the pelts, her underneath him and her mate on top, his hot shaft pressed firmly against her belly and every inch of him a delicious weight she wanted more of. “Grant me one more kiss afore you shift and leave,” she breathed against his lips. “And I wish to stipulate that it be a long one.”

“One long kiss coming up.” He captured her mouth with his and kissed her, the heat of his body wrapped around hers making her cling to him for more.

Breasts pressed against the wicked heat of his chest, she stroked her thumb over the mark she’d given him on his neck. Her mouth watered with the desire to bite him again, to have him bite her in return and lay claim to her in every single way. She leaned in, sucked his skin deep into her mouth then bit down, hard and fast.

He lifted his head and roared, his bear so close to the surface. Fur rippled across his chest and down his arms, a soft padding of silk there one moment and gone the next.

“Shh.” She giggled and clamped a hand over his mouth. “These canvas walls are thin.”

A tap sounded on the wooden pole out front. “Is everything all right in there?”

“Aye, all is fine,” she called back to one of her kinsmen. She giggled again then nipped along Tor’s jaw and sucked on his ear. “Do you still need to shift?”

“Not if you’re going to keep laving attention on me like this. I promise to keep my bear at bay.”

“May I touch you?”

“Any part of me you wish. My body is yours, as is my heart and soul if you choose to accept me.”