Highlander's Kiss (Clan Matheson #1)

“I’ll return as soon as I can.” Cherub patted his shoulder. “I expect you to take good care of my kin.”


“I’ll take the utmost care. You do what you need to. I’ll keep Julia with me until you return.”

“Of course you will. I would expect naught less.” With a mischievous smile, Cherub backed away then twirled the air. She opened a vortex and as the wind rushed all about, she disappeared within the swirling dark.

“Cherub said you’re close kin. How close?” He steered Julia toward the front door of the keep.

“My sister, Arabel, is Cherub’s sister by marriage, so very close.”

“I’ve heard of a lass named Arabel. She’s mated to Finlay, right?” Which meant her sister held the fire-wielder skill. Even though Finlay hadn’t yet returned to this time, he’d heard all about what Arabel could do from Finlay’s brother, Kirk, during his flying visits in and out with Cherub. “Iain, Finlay, and Kirk are my second cousins.”

“Then ’tis a very small world indeed…or mayhap time.” She smiled and swayed, grasped his arm firmer.

“Here, let me carry you. You’re not stable on your feet yet.”

“I’m truly—”

He scooped her up and she gasped and clutched his shirtfront.

“—fine.”

“No, it’s best I carry you. I wouldn’t want you falling and hurting yourself again.” Too bad about the protocols between times. He wanted to hold her. Up the front step, he bounded then upstairs and along the passageway of the second floor toward his well-lit medical rooms at the end. Once inside, he set Julia down on the white-sheeted medical bed positioned in the center of the room, washed up at the sink and pulled on a pair of surgical gloves. With a tray of utensils in hand, he walked in behind her and set the tray on the side table. “Head wounds can be dangerous, but I promise to take good care of you.”

“Cherub trusts you, which means I trust you too.” Her words warmed his heart and he smiled.

“Thank you. I don’t intend to lose that trust.” He picked up his scissors, carefully sliced the bloodied cloth away then gently separated her hair. The wound was long but thankfully not too deep. “Tell me all about yourself, Julia.” He yearned to know more. “Everything about the past intrigues me, particularly your time when Gilleoin reigned as chief of our clan.”

“I’m an aura reader and can sense another’s true intentions by the color and the sound of their aura, and Gilleoin is my uncle, wed to my Aunt Sorcha.”

“I’ve never met an aura reader before.” But that went someway to explaining her earlier comment. She’d heard the sound of his bear’s contentment. “What does my aura tell you?”

She glanced over her shoulder at him, her smile making his heart lose a beat. Those sweetly pink lips of hers with their perfect pout, enticed him, made him want a taste. “Your aura is a pure white with a tinge of sizzling red at the edge, just as Gilleoin’s is. ’Tis a shifter’s aura you have, but there is more. When I focus on you, I can hear a gentle purr and that tells me you and your bear are as one, that your other half is rather content right now.”

His bear was certainly content, any and all restlessness he’d felt earlier having disappeared the moment she’d arrived. “Your assessment is absolutely correct. Where do you live when not buzzing through time with Cherub?”

“At the House of Clan Matheson on the shores of Loch Alsh.” She rubbed her forehead and grimaced. “There is an ache and it worsens.”

“Did you lose any awareness when you fell from your horse?” He’d give her medication for the headache, the moment he’d stitched her wound.

“How did you know I fell from my horse?”

“Cherub said so when you first arrived. Do you recall her saying so?” Her clear confusion likely came from her losing consciousness.

“I do now you’ve jogged my memory, and aye, I lost awareness, Dr. Tavish. My sister woke me from the dark.”

“Call me Tavish. There’s no need to stand on formality while you’re here.” He reached up and tugged the overhead light on its metal arm closer. Light blazed and Julia’s eyes went wide as she ogled it.

“Oh my, you have light without fire.”

“This light comes from a light bulb, and definitely no fire is needed. This is a form of the electricity Cherub mentioned before. Lower your chin if you can. I’d like to flush this wound and clean it well. I’m also going to numb the area too. The most you should feel is a slight pinch when the injection goes in then maybe the odd little tug as I stitch the edges together.”

“What is an in-jec-tion?” She twisted her tongue around the foreign word as she touched her chin to her chest for him.