Highlander's Seduction (The Matheson Brothers Book 3) Read Free Page A

shore and jumped into the knee-deep water. He hauled his boat onto the beach and in snug black leather pants, marched toward her. He strode past her then stopped and swung about. With a determined slash to his lips and his nose to the air, he breathed deep and prowled back. In a wide circle, he moved, each of his steps drawing him closer and closer to her unseen position.
    “Why can’t I see you, my elusive imp? I’m finally here in the right time and place and I should be able to.” He halted directly in front of her, lifted one hand and swept it in a wide arc.
    His hand passed right through her, and her very soul shimmered with need.
    “Where are you?” he whispered into the wind, raw pain in his voice.
    Her heart ached with what could never be. A soul bound match was what she sought for others, believed in to the greatest degree. “I’m so sorry, Kirk. You have my sincerest apologies for withholding myself from you.” She allowed her voice to flow to him. Leaving him wondering about her wasn’t something she’d ever be able to do, not to the man her very soul had now been bound to. “You and I, and this mated bond that has formed between us, it cannae be.”
    “You know my name?” He searched where she stood.
    “I do, and that is because ’tis now emblazoned on my heart.”
    “Why can’t I see you?”
    “I’m a time-walker, one of only three who can command the very air itself. ’Tis my element and if I wish, so too I can become as one with it.”
    “Why would you withhold yourself from me?”
    “I…” She wavered in her stance and took form, although she remained fully cloaked and unseen. “You can touch me now if you wish.”
    He swept one hand out, his fingers sliding through her locks then slowly, he brought his hand to his chest, his fist clenched around a long strand of her pale blond hair. “Thank you.”
    “My name is Cherub. I am also the one who hears the whispers between souls who arena yet aligned so that I might bring them together across time, no matter where they might be.”
    “You’re the Fae Angel of Love?” Surprise widened his eyes. “I’ve heard of you, or I should say the legend. Tales spoken of the Fae Angel of Love give our clan hope.”
    “I’m more than just a tale. I was born to serve my people and have done so for over a thousand years.” She looked into his eyes and almost drowned in his stunning golden gaze. A shifter’s eyes, although there was more. They were rimmed with a glimmer of starburst yellow, adding a spark of heat that sent another bout of butterflies flittering about in her belly. “So many seek my aid, and my duty is to those of fae blood who walk this Earth.”
    “I’m one of Ivan’s direct descendants, Gilleoin’s second-born son, and unlike Gilleoin’s firstborn line, our clan is shifter alone. I have no fae blood.”
    “Aye, ’tis true your clan does no’ hold any fae skills as the firstborn son’s line does, yet Sorcha’s blood still flows through your line all the same.” Sorcha, Gilleoin’s wife and Nessa’s daughter was a strongly skilled fae who held the ability of aura reading. “That trace of fae blood, although diluted over the centuries, is still enough to call to me.” She cupped his cheek, her lips lifting. “I have spoken to Isla’s father, Murdock, this night and he has informed me that many of the unmated men in his clan now sense their chosen ones. The same will have occurred for your clan farther across the Highlands from him. I also asked him to speak to your father and to let Michael know I will watch over one and all, just as I’ve always done.”
    “As I intend to now watch over you.” He slid his hand gently over hers and closed his eyes. “I want my mate, the one woman who was always meant to mine. I want you, Cherub. Please, show yourself fully to me. Uncloak.”
    His demand to see her tugged at her heart and caused her to sway toward him, to falter for a mere moment in her stance. She should