Highlander's Kiss by Joanne Wadsworth Page B

let go of you.” With her arms tight around his waist, she held onto him and smiled as his beautiful aura shimmered with sparks of silver, his enjoyment in their trip clear to see. She kissed his chin and nuzzled his neck.
    “Do that again.” He dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “Keep touching me.”
    “You are one very demanding mate.” But she obeyed his request. Such peace invaded her soul as she held onto the man who’d taken over her world. With the ropes in hand, his biceps bulged and his billowy white tunic flapped free, his hair now a wind-tossed mess which she completely adored. She stroked over his broad shoulders and arms, along his trim sides. Muscles bunched and rippled under her palms. Her mate was a man who held great strength, would fight to protect her and his clansmen, but also a man who held the gentlest touch when healing another. The fates had certainly shined on her. She’d been gifted with such a wonderful man, one her parents would have loved.
    “What are you thinking?” His warmth enveloped her.
    “Of how you make me feel, safe, protected, cherished.”
    “Aye, you’re mine to protect, my mate, the only woman I will ever hold in my heart.”
    “And you’re the only man I will ever hold in my heart.” She slid her fingers under the flapping hem of his tunic and smoothed over his muscled back.
    They rounded the tip and as the wind eased and the skiff settled back down, Tavish jumped from the edge into the hull and took her with him as he did. “You can take a seat again if you wish.”
    She plopped back onto the bench at the stern and rubbed her achy head. Jeremiah MacKenzie’s attack had caught her unawares and hitting her head a second time hadn’t been all that helpful. ’Twas just as well she hadn’t reopened her wound.
    “Does your head hurt?” Tavish tied the ropes off to hold the sail in place then dropped in beside her. With the rudder in hand, he guided them alongside the rugged coastline toward one of her favorite places. “I noticed you’re rubbing it.”
    “Nay, my head is fine.” She shoved her hands in her lap. She didn’t wish to speak of Jeremiah’s attack, not when she’d rather embrace this moment and the precious time she’d been afforded with him. “Will your kin be missing you and Tor back home?”
    “They’ll know where we’ve gone since we ran straight out into the courtyard chasing you, Cherub and Kirk.”
    “What of your parents? I didnae get to meet them while I was in your time.”
    “You wouldn’t have anyway. Mum and Dad are away on holiday, touring a place far from these shores, two countries yet to be discovered in this time.” He spread his hand over hers in her lap. “Mathesons have traveled the whole world over and continue to do so.”
    “Which countries are they visiting?”
    “Australia and New Zealand. They’ll be back in another month, or maybe two. They’re enjoying their travels too much to return, although that might change when they hear I’ve found my mate, and that Tor will soon be searching for his chosen one. They’ll want to be close, offer their aid if we need it. For certain they’ll want to meet you.”
    “I would love to meet them too. Tell be about the countries they’re visiting.”
    “Australia and New Zealand are right around the other side of the world. Australia is around a hundred times the size of Scotland, while New Zealand would be three times the size of our fair land. There are so many countries and large continents that have yet to be explored, places I would love to explore with you when we return to my time. One can almost travel around the entire world in twenty-four hours should they wish to.”
    Surely he jested. “One cannae even travel the length of Matheson land in one day, let alone the entire world.”
    “We fly by airplane, a large contraption that can seat hundreds of people and fly thousands of feet high above in the sky.” His aura remained pure, ringing with complete