Page 66 of Highlander’s Bride

He’d give his life for her.

Chapter 31

Bryanna was in heaven.

She was warm, lying on something soft, and she was inhaling the scent of Raghnall—the male musk, and leather, and iron…and that barely detectable tang of the sea.

The scent that meant adventure. Being alive. Being fearless.

She’d been fearless. Unapologetic. She’d taken every risk that she could.

And she’d loved it.

But she’d died. She must have. The last thing she remembered was that battlefield. Raghnall, all bloodied and wounded, enemies all around, and Euphemia with her knife, so close, aiming to kill.

She must have killed her, and this must be heaven. And if so, that scent meant the man she loved was somewhere nearby.

But then…he’d be dead, too?

No! Not him!

Fear hit her system like a wall of knives, and the pain returned. She opened her eyes, and was blinded by white walls, ceiling, and furniture. She blinked rapidly to get her eyes to adjust to the light, trying to sit up, but she had no strength. She groaned.

“Lass!” came his voice, and a big, dark shadow was by her side, and that scent again…his scent. “Are ye all right?”

She blinked more as the blurry blotches of white and dark faded away. There it was, the dearest face she’d ever seen in her life.

The long, arched eyebrows were drawn together in a straight line. Underneath them, the black eyes were dark with worry but glistening with emotion. She stretched her hand out to him, needing to touch him, to make sure she was really seeing him.

He grasped her hand, his big, warm, and calloused fingers scratching hers.

Dried blood, cuts, and bruises decorated his face, and his leine croich was torn and cut in places, with caked blood on it.

He looked as medieval as ever, just like when she’d last seen him.

And yet… She looked around, not comprehending how it was possible. This was a hospital. She was hooked to an IV and to a heart monitor. The artificial light of the hospital lamps felt harsh and almost painful to her eyes.

No. A hospital couldn’t be heaven.

She cleared her throat. “What happened? Where are we?”

“I brought ye to yer time, lass,” he said simply.

To her time… Relief rushed through her like a gust of warm air, and she felt the muscles in her neck relax, her head sinking back into her pillow. She was safe. Her mom and her sister were here. There were no clan wars, no rocks to clear, and plenty of insulin available.

“Ye almost died,” Raghnall continued. “I heard the word coma…”

“Oh no…ketoacidotic coma…” she whispered.

“Aye, that.”

Tears welled in her eyes and the vision of him blurred again. She tugged him to her and then he was leaning over her in the hospital bed and grasping her in the tight, warm, strong hold of his arms. She buried her face in the crease between his shoulder and his neck, inhaling his scent like it was oxygen itself. “Thank you for saving my life…” she whispered.

“Dinna thank me. I couldna do otherwise. I promised I’d protect ye.”

She leaned back and grasped his collar, then tugged him in for a kiss. His lips were warm and soft and tender, and his beard scratched her face. She could tell he was holding back. He sat and cupped her face. “Lass, ye’re too weak for kisses. Ye were almost gone. Ye need to save yer strength and get better.”

She let out a big sigh. “So what I saw in my prophecy… You weren’t the reason for my death. You were the one who saved me.”