Highlander's Heart (Clan Matheson #2)

“Do you swim with the lasses often?” She swayed closer, her gaze on his chest and her warm breath fluttering over his skin.

“You shall be the first, unless you count my mother and the odd cousin.” He picked up the laces at the front of her bodice and tugged the bow free, all while wishing he could tug all her clothes from her, to be able to touch her skin without any barrier, to rub his body against hers. Damn, he had it bad. “Where’s your favorite swimming spot?”

“I dinnae have a favorite, although following this swim, it might very well be here.” She took the loosened ties from him, shrugged her arms out of the long draping sleeves and wriggled the velvet down and past her hips until it fell into a pool of shimmery red at her feet.

He crouched, picked it up after she stepped clear of it, folded the velvet and set it next to the rest of their belongings against the wall.

“Thank you.” She waded into the water, went deeper, until her shift swished about her legs then she dove and disappeared underneath the surface. Water rippled across the glassy top as she swam through the darker depths below.

His chest tightened and his fingers itched. He didn’t care to have her moving so far from him, wanted only to grab ahold of her and return her to his side. He prowled the sandy edge of the pool, welcoming the fierce emotions that arose. Aye, Layla was his mate, his bear too demanding it was so. She was the one he’d been searching for all this time and eluding him as well. He wouldn’t allow her to elude him any longer.

In a spray of water, she shot to the surface, waved out to him. “Are you coming in?”

“I’ll be right there.” He had to try and curtail some of this desperate need for her, otherwise he’d frighten her with how strong his desire for her pulsed within him. He bounded in, dove and kicked under the water and emerged before her, grasped her around the waist and treaded water for the both of them. “I want no secrets between us. Do you understand that?”

“I’m not keeping any secrets from you, that I’m aware of.”

“Then tell me how you feel right now.”

“Wet.” An impish smile lifted her lips.

“Do you love Donnan?” He gave her hips a squeeze, hoped like hell she harbored not one single feeling for the man.

“Donnan and I have spent time together whenever he’s visited, and he seems considerate, but I’m also well aware he’s a hardened warrior, blood-thirsty and very determined. He wouldnae be the son of a great chief otherwise. The chiefs of clan MacDonald hold the title of Lords of the Isles, and they do so for a reason. They are a force to be reckoned with, which includes Donnan.”

“What happens if I asked you not to see him again?”

“I would say you had no right to request such a thing.”

“I also wish to ask for a kiss.”

“Nay, Tor. We arena mated and you must cease thinking so.” She pushed him away, dove under the water and kicked toward the overhanging ledge at the side of the pool. She emerged, clambered up onto the slick black rock, water sluicing to her feet as they dangled in the water.

“Let me make one thing absolutely clear, Layla.” He couldn’t allow her to harbor any other notion than that which was the truth. “We are mated and there is nothing you can say which will change that fact.”

Through the vent high above, the sun dipped below the horizon and a heavenly glow of golden-red speared through the darkening sky. The moon rose and shimmered, the stars, one by one, glowing and twinkling all around it.

His claws sliced out from his fingers, his bear fairly demanding his release. He’d never shifted in front of her before, always done so in the depths of the forest when he was well and truly alone, but no more. Gently, he gripped her wet knees through her shift. “I need to make the Change and it can’t wait any longer. My bear wishes to meet you.”

“You intend to shift now?”

“Aye, and since I detest shredding my clothes, the pants have to go. Close your eyes if you need to.”

“This is completely inappropriate.”

“If we weren’t mated, I’d agree.”

“How many times must I tell you we arena soul bound?”

“You can tell me as often as you’d like, but deep inside my heart I know the truth, and very soon, so will you.”

She huffed again, shoved her wet hair from her face and glared at him. “You are completely impossible.”

“Aye, but now I’m your impossible. Are you ready?”

“If you truly must shift then do so, just make sure your bear does no’ bite me.”