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

walk away from him now, and before any ties between their souls began to weave together.
    “I’m sorry. That I cannae do.”
    “Legend says the Fae Angel of Love is the faerie king’s firstborn child.”
    “Aye, I am.” She stroked her fingers back and forth over his skin. Touching him, even for this stolen moment in time, soothed her very soul. “You must understand, there is too much at stake for me to allow our joining. So many others need me.”
    “As I now need you too. Surely you can take one night off from your duties. Aren’t you curious at all about who I am and why a bond has taken between us? Give me some time.” He smoothed his hand over her wrist and up her arm then slid his fingers under her hair and around her nape. “I’m so incredibly curious about you. I’ve wondered for five long years just who you were, as well as craved the thought of getting to know you. You can’t leave me now.”
    She should move away, yet his hold, so deliciously tender, and the sheer look of desire in his gaze even though he couldn’t see her kept her rooted to the spot. “I’ve never once sensed I was bound to another. Five years may have passed for you, but for me, only a few minutes have.”
    “I see.” He found her other arm then swept down to her hand and threaded their fingers together. “I understand your dilemma. I certainly don’t wish to see my fellow kin lose the chance of being brought to their mated one. Holding hope is all that the men in our shifter line hold onto, and now I’ve found you, I too have no intention of losing that hope. There must be a way around all of this, so that both of us can receive what we need to from our bond.”
    “My duty is all-consuming, barely allowing me any time for myself, let alone a mate.”
    “Then allow me to aid you. I needn’t be a burden but a partner to share the load.” Slowly, he lowered to one knee, brought her hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss against her palm. “Cherub, from this day forth, I give you my oath. All I desire is to keep you safe, to honor your needs above my own. Allow me to stand at your side, to aid you in your duty. I’ll do all I can to ensure you never falter in caring for your people.”
    A slow heat invaded her limbs and spread in a rippling wave through her body. His words touched her heart. “You shouldnae have made such a vow to me.”
    “My word is absolute and I won’t take it back. Meeting you is all I’ve ever dreamed of, and the thought of you leaving me because your duty is so all-consuming tears my very soul in two. Give me a chance. Allow me to prove I speak the truth and will never fail you.” He rose to his feet, scooped her into his arms and walked with her toward the forest rising high behind the village. The tops of the pine trees swayed in the breeze and an owl hooted from deep within.
    “Where are you taking me?” She looped her arms around his neck and held on as he strode along the trail into the darkening forest.
    “There is a special place not far from here, one I discovered not long after my arrival. I’d like to take you there. Give me this one night. Don’t leave me or forego our bond until you’ve given me the chance to prove my vow was spoken in truth. I would forever honor it, and you.”
    Goodness. If she granted his request and spent one night with him, would she then be able to walk away from him once the sun had risen in the morning? Soul bound mates would do anything for each other. That she’d witnessed time and time again over the centuries, although Amelia had still stood down from her duty after accepting the bond with Olaf. That she couldn’t allow to have happen to her.
    “You’ve gone very quiet all of a sudden. Does that mean you agree to one night?”
    He asked for so little and right now no other needed her. “I’ll give you one night, although no more.”
    “Thank you.” He buried his nose in her hair and grinning, drew in a deep breath. “Mmm, you smell