Highlander's Heart (Clan Matheson #2)

“Agreed?” Hands on her hips, she arched a brow at him. “So, now we are here Mr. Come-swimming-with-me, tell me exactly where this hidden pool is.”


“It’s best I show you rather than tell you. Nice new title you’ve given me there, Miss I-want-to-eat-you.” He tapped her nose, nabbed the basket of cherries from the air which she still had bobbing beside them and set it safely on the ground next to the partially hidden ledge. “Are you willing to follow where I lead?”

“I have thus far, and you arena eating me, no’ even a bite. Make sure your bear understands that as well.”

“All he understands is that you nipped my ear first. That I consider a bite.” He caught her up in his arms, his hold around her firm and leapt onto the ledge. Swiftly, he set her down on her feet, pressed her back against the slick rock wall behind her and ensured they both remained steady on their feet. “I thought it best to just jump rather than warn you. Are you all right?”

“Of course, and this place is truly a haven of beauty.” She grinned at him then swayed forward and glanced at the sheer drop downward. The crashing spray drifted upward and coated her skin, wetting the luscious swell of her breasts and the long column of her neck.

His mouth watered for a taste of her, to lick her flesh and nibble away. Instead, he motioned toward the cherries. “Bring your delicious haul here.”

“One moment.” She lifted one hand and with her skill sent the basket up and sailing across to them.

“I’ll take them.” He swung the basket out of midair, caught her hand with his free one and shuffled sideways under the cascading fall of water toward the slim and almost unnoticeable entrance to a tunnel he’d found at the end. “Take care with your step, my sweet.”

“I shall, and I am no’ your sweet.”

“We’re almost there.” Between two cracks in the rock wall slick with the water’s spray, he squeezed through and tugged his sweet yet feisty woman in after him.

“Never would I have known this was here.” She scampered around to his other side and stared down the darkened passageway carved of black stone. “I wonder if any of my clansmen have found this tunnel afore. Certainly none have ever spoken of it if they have.”

“There’s no sign of any disturbance deeper within. Come. You need to see the pool I found.” He led the way down the tunnel and at the end, jumped onto the grainy white sand a good six feet below.

Overhead, the craggy ceiling of the cavern rose to a high peak with a three-foot wide hole at the top where a wispy trail of steam from the hot water vented out. It had been that trace of steam he’d first noticed from outside that had sent him on a mission to find its source. As the steam disappeared on the breeze, what remained of the late afternoon sunshine streamed in and glimmered across the glassy surface of the pool and the slick rock walls surrounding them.

“This is such an enchanting place.”

The woman before him was far more enchanting. Aye, he could barely take his gaze from her, and bringing her here to this sacred place filled him with such a sense of rightness. No one else did he wish to be with right now, other than her. He set the basket on the golden-white sand beside the wall, returned to her and held out his hands. “Jump, Layla. I’ll catch you.”

“Nay, I can manage the distance on my own. Never forget my skill, Tor.” She brushed a stringy cobweb aside and leapt from the edge and gently glided down and landed with a soft swish on the sand before him.

Slippers kicked off and her shawl tossed near the wall, she twirled around, her arms outstretched and her deep red skirts flaring, her abundance of glorious spiral tresses whispering through the air, a wavy, golden ripple that completely enticed him, just as the rest of her did, both inside and out. He caught her around the waist, ran his hands over the velvet of her gown and caressed her hips, although not for long. She snuck out of his hold, dashed toward the gently lapping water and skirts bunched in her hands, tickled her toes in it. “’Tis terrible that this is the first time I’ve ever been here.”

“This cavern is well protected from both sight and the elements.” He removed his sword belt, propped it against the rock wall and divested himself of his wrist dagger and boots. His need to touch her again raged through him. Hell, the signs that he’d finally found his chosen one were adding up, one after the other, and in an insurmountable mountain. “Are you coming in for a swim?”

“I have naught to swim in, other than my shift underneath.” She walked out of the water and stopped in front of him.

“You keep your shift on and I’ll keep my pants on.” He pulled his shirt from his leather pants, hauled the white linen over his head and tossed it on top of his weapons.