Page 30 of Highlander’s Bride

“Then this is what is supposed to happen.”

As if in slow motion, his lips found hers. It was a soft kiss at first, tender. But the moment his scent was in her nose, and the taste of his lips reached her tongue, the gentleness, the tenderness turned into something more. An avalanche of want, a hunger for him that felt like fire in her belly. She deepened the kiss. This place, this man, the peacefulness and adventure, the sense that she had finally arrived, filled her with an ache, and he was the only cure. She wrapped her arms around his neck and felt the iron clasp of his arms around her waist, bringing her closer to him.

Raghnall Mackenzie was like Scotland. Rough and difficult but so gorgeous and warm he was worth risking being lost in the wilderness.

But was he worth dying for?

He pulled away, breathless. His gaze as dark as the depths of a starless night, he said, “Lass, yer kisses are testing my restraint…”

She swallowed and leaned back, biting her lip. “I didn’t mean to. I just got caught up in the moment… Let’s just go back to Tigh na Abhainn.”

He nodded, the damn perfect gentleman, and gave her his hand, helping her to stand. “Aye, let’s go, lass. But if ye think that this is over, ye’re wrong. We’re just getting started.”

Chapter 14

Two days later…

Bryanna pulled on the reins and let the horse come to a halt before Raghnall. As it had many times during the past few days, her heart did something odd in her chest, that little jump that she’d never felt before with anyone—like she’d just dove off a cliff into the vastness of the sea and was weightless.

Soaring.

She beamed at him, and he cocked his eyebrow in return and didn’t smile. But his eyes sparkled, gleaming. That was his way of smiling, she knew, in response to her.

There was still that darkness within him, something related to the woman from that ballad he’d sung to her on the night they arrived here.

And she couldn’t get that out of him.

As she jumped off the horse and into his arms, there was that moment again, like always, when he caught her and held her close, towering over her like a mountain. She thought for a moment he might kiss her, and she knew she’d let him. Since their kiss by the river, despite the constant danger of her suddenly developing hyperglycemia, strangely, she’d never felt safer, more alive, and more present than she did with him here in Tigh na Abhainn.

Even though he was sulking and never let her out of his sight. And she loved it. That feeling that she was in the right place at the right time continued, but she realized it wasn’t about the place.

It was about the man.

Something about him made her feel calm and optimistic, like everything was finally all right in the world. Even though, realistically, it was the opposite. She was in the wrong time, in the wrong place, and with the wrong man.

She needed to be back in the twenty-first century, somewhere near a hospital, and making sure her mom and her sister knew where she was and that she was fine.

“Enjoyed yer ride?” asked Raghnall, not letting her go. She rubbed his shoulder, steely under the indigo linen tunic, with her thumb and tightened her lips so that they wouldn’t spread into the most ridiculous smile.

“I did.” She met his eyes and felt as if she swam in their depths, light-headed and warm and fuzzy. “Maybe next time we can go even farther into the mountains? It’s so beautiful here, I want to see more of—”

“Lord!” The cry came from far off, and the drum of horse hooves followed it. “Lord!”

When she turned, there was a rider approaching at full speed from the northwestern side of the river. Raghnall let her go and stood between her and the stranger, shielding her. His hand landed on the sword at his belt in a casual way, but his body tensed and there was no doubt in her mind that he’d react fast if he had to.

The horse galloped closer, and it was clear it was exhausted, poor animal, with foam forming at its mouth.

“They’re coming!” the rider cried as he approached. “An army, from the northwest!”

Raghnall sputtered an oath under his breath.

Bryanna stepped forward. Raghnall’s face was pale. “Who’s coming, the Ross clan?”

Raghnall left his hand hanging by his side. “Aye, the Ross clan.”

The rider brought the horse to a halt, and the beautiful animal nodded its head repeatedly, breathing heavily, glistening with sweat. “Poor thing, it needs to drink.” She could trust herself enough now to take the horse by the bridle and lead it to the trough. “Come, sweetheart, it’s okay.”

“Aye, I ken I drove the poor beast hard, but it couldna wait. Lord Angus did right to put the net of sentinels up north to give enough time to prepare. A man came with the news this morn. They’ve camped two days away in Ross.”