Highlander's Seduction (The Matheson Brothers #3)

“Aye, and I will gladly accept your aid, but first, find Joseph for me.” Tears pooled in Amelia’s soulful brown eyes. “Be careful as you travel.”


“I shall.” She hugged Amelia, melted away and sped back to the castle. Through her open window, she slipped through then shimmered into form before Kirk. “I’m so sorry to have left you as abruptly as I did.”

“It’s all right. I understand.” Kirk tugged his tunic over his head, his sword once again belted at his side. His golden gaze moved over her, as if he reassured himself she was well. “What’s happened?”

“Amelia asked her son, Joseph, to collect some herbs in the forest near the burn and he has no’ returned. Gilleoin and Kenneth have ridden to the watch-point and so she called out to me for aid. Joseph is only nine. Could you track him for her with your shifter senses? We need to find him and bring him home.”

“Of course.” He eyed the breeches in her hands. “I take it those are his?”

“Aye, and we are about to travel, with all speed toward the cliff-top trail where he entered the forest. I’ll extend my cloaking to cover you.” She seized his hand, cloaked them both and whisked them through the open window, a tight fit for two in full cloaked form but she still managed it.

A minute later, she landed along the cliff-top trail and uncloaked them.

“Whoa.” Kirk swayed then found his feet. “That was incredibly fast.”

“There was no time for delay. Undress, as quickly as you can.” The wind rushed up the cliff and whisked over them, bringing with it the salty scent of the sea.

“Woman,” he grumbled as he set his sword belt and tunic on the top of a craggy stone next to a towering pine then removed his boots. “I hope you realize I’m now undressing for entirely the wrong reason.”

“Aye, but you have my most heartfelt thanks for doing so. I promise to make this all up to you, just as soon as I can.”

“Your people come first, that I understand, although I’ll be counting down the minutes until you can in fact make things up to me. That’s one promise I won’t let you relinquish.” He loosened the ties of his tan pants, grasped his waistband and shoved the leather to the forest floor.

Oh, how she wished that moment was right now. All man and hungry bear, he shifted in a sizzling display of crackling energy and searing light. His big bear prowled toward her and she stepped back and knocked her back against a wide trunk.

He rose up onto his hind legs, slapped his paws down on the rough bark either side of her head then ever so gently, rubbed his furry cheek against hers.

“Here are Joseph’s breeches.” She pressed them into his muzzle and he lugged in a deep breath. “Find him, my mate, and I’ll forever be in your debt.”

A rumble escaped his throat then he dropped down onto all fours and lumbered into the forest. Sniffing, he tracked Joseph’s scent.

She scooped up his belongings and followed him along the leaf-strewn trail edged with low brush. She jumped trailing tree roots while overhead, birds twittered from high in the dense canopy and all around, small creatures scurried through the undergrowth at the presence of a predator in their midst. Kirk padded toward the burn, just as Joseph would have and going by the heavy mark of tracks along the busy pathway, so too had many others.

Suddenly, he halted then veered off the trail. He weaved in and around scraggly bushes until they left the thickness of the forest behind and a half hour later emerged before a large clearing dotted with tiny yellow flowers and lavender bushes. This area was so very far from the burn. Kirk plodded in a slow circle, buried his muzzle in the ground then shifted. On his knees in a flattened area of grass and dirt, he carefully separated the trampled stalks and plucked a small swatch of plaid from within free. ’Twas MacKenzie plaid.

She crouched next to him and tried heartily to keep her curious gaze on his find and not his gloriously naked body. Seeing him shift in the dark of night wasn’t one bit the same as watching him do so under the midday sun’s brilliant blaze.

“Joseph’s scent is all over this strip of tartan.” He traced a small, muddy footprint in the dirt. “It looks as if he’s stomped it into the ground with his bare foot.”

“He detests the MacKenzies, just as we all do.”

“For good reason, although for this MacKenzie plaid to be here, so too a MacKenzie must have as well. I’ll keep following Joseph’s scent and see where it leads.” He passed her the tartan. “Don’t lose that, and try not to handle it too much.”

“I’ll keep it safe.” She pocketed it and stood.

He rose and towered over her, bringing her nose smack up against his hard chest as he did.