you suppose they feel that way? ’Tis most odd, is it not?”
“Nay,” Alick said, “I think if we’d met at their age, we’d have done the same. Some souls are meant to find each other.” He leaned in to kiss her temple. “I was meant to find you.”
***
Derric tugged Dyna back out into the courtyard, into the storm, while everyone else watched Coira and John. “What does it mean, lass? More of that spectral swords foolishness?”
Dyna said, “Thanks for helping me find Coira.”
“Aye, I hope we have the need to work together again, lass.”
“Soon,” she said, feeling a fire rage through her as bright as the lightning above them. “That bastard was disgusting. He was only too happy to give his own daughter to a couple of strangers. Fool needs to learn a lesson.”
Derric took one look at her and said, “Bloody hell. Do you not know how you excite me when you talk like that?”
She took one step closer and gave him a look that said, I dare you.
Derric put his hands on her shoulders and tugged her to him. Lips so close they nearly touched, “Tell me you don’t want the same thing.” His warm breath spread a heat through her unlike anything she’d ever felt before.
Her voice came out in husky tone. She wrapped one leg around his backside and squeezed. “Do it. I want you.”
Derric’s lips captured hers, ravaging her mouth with an urgency she loved, his tongue forcing her lips apart until she gave him everything. She could feel his power, his desire, his hardness, and a fierceness rose up between them that was barely controllable. His hands were everywhere, and she roamed his body the same way he explored hers, with a need that struck them both as if they were the only two people in the world.
He ended the kiss and her head fell back, languishing against his arm that held her so tightly. “Bloody hell,” he hissed. “We’re both in trouble.”
He set her down, letting her go, but not before his gaze traveled over her body, singeing her as if marking her as his. She grabbed his arm before he left her and said, “You will be back.”
Derric returned and leaned in to whisper to her. “Sweetling, you can count on it. Like a bee to his queen. I won’t stop stinging until I get your honey. And you’ll not be sharing it with anyone else.”
Epilogue
Alexander Grant woke up from a sound sleep in the middle of the night. He could tell by the imposing silence outside the door of his chamber, meaning the fires were out and all were abed.
But he’d had a dream he could not shake.
Maddie.
His dear wife had come to him in his sleep again. In his dream, they’d been in this very chamber together. She’d approached the side of the bed, and he’d sat up and pulled her to him. Savored the familiar feel of her curves and the soft scent that was only hers.
“Maddie mine,” he’d said, “but I do miss you in my arms every night. My bed is lonely without you there.”
“Alex, you could find another,” she’d told him, something she’d said before in these dreams. “I would not be upset.”
He chuckled and ran his finger down her jawline. “You think anyone could compare? They could not.”
“Do you like my hair golden again?”
“Aye,” he whispered, nuzzling her neck. “I had noticed that we look young again.”
His words were rewarded with a smile, but she pulled away slightly when he attempted to draw her closer. “Alex, before you get so distracted that you’ll not hear me, please listen. I came for a reason.”
“Tell me, please.”
He stopped nuzzling her and gave her his complete attention.
“You’re looking at it all wrong.”
“What?”
“The spectral swords. John is not intended to be a part of the group. ’Tis John they protect. Aye, he helped their power grow, but he is not needed any longer. He was filling in until the last of the group arrived. He mustn’t be included in any other battles. He’s so young and powerful, the surges were draining the cousin’s strength.”
That gave him pause. “Filling in. Who were we missing?”
A voice came from behind him, one he was pleased to hear. His dear brother Robbie. “You’ll be mighty proud of all of them, Alex. We are.” He waved and disappeared into the mist that had formed at the back of the room.
Alex had a tight hold on his wife because he knew what was coming. “Please stay, Maddie. I miss you so.”
“Alex, I treasure these moments, too, but they are difficult for me, and I’m only given a short time. You’ll understand someday, but now I must go.” She kissed him tenderly on the lips. Her last comment was, “This last person will be more difficult to pull in, but he must join the group if they’re to play the role they’re supposed to in the war.” With that, she disappeared, leaving Alex alone to think on her words.
Restless, he made his way to the hearth and sat down.
John was the true power they needed to protect. He’d helped them for a short while, but only because the last member of the group had not yet arrived. A male who would be difficult to pull in.
Who could it be?
Then suddenly he knew.
Derric.
Author’s Note
Dear reader,
Thank you for reading the third installment of The Highland Swords. I have two more books planned for this series.
As always, I’ve used real historical events to heighten the story, but sometimes I play with the details to suit my needs. Timing is often one of them.
I hope you are all staying healthy!
Keira Montclair
http://facebook.com/KeiraMontclair/
http://www.pinterest.com/KeiraMontclair/
OTHER NOVELS BY KEIRA MONTCLAIR
THE CLAN GRANT SERIES
#1- RESCUED BY A HIGHLANDER-Alex and Maddie
#2- HEALING A HIGHLANDER’S HEART-Brenna and Quade
#3- LOVE LETTERS FROM LARGS-Brodie and Celestina
#4-JOURNEY TO THE HIGHLANDS-Robbie and Caralyn
#5-HIGHLAND SPARKS-Logan and Gwyneth
#6-MY DESPERATE HIGHLANDER-Micheil and Diana
#7-THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN THE HIGHLANDS-Jennie and Aedan
#8- HIGHLAND HARMONY-Avelina and Drew
THE HIGHLAND CLAN
LOKI-Book One
TORRIAN-Book Two
LILY-Book Three
JAKE-Book Four
ASHLYN-Book Five
MOLLY-Book Six
JAMIE AND GRACIE- Book Seven
SORCHA-Book Eight
KYLA-Book Nine
BETHIA-Book Ten
LOKI’S CHRISTMAS STORY-Book Eleven
THE BAND OF COUSINS
HIGHLAND VENGEANCE
HIGHLAND ABDUCTION
HIGHLAND RETRIBUTION
HIGHLAND LIES
HIGHLAND FORTITUDE
HIGHLAND RESILIENCE
HIGHLAND DEVOTION
HIGHLAND BRAWN
HIGHLAND YULETIDE MAGIC
HIGHLAND SWORDS
THE SCOT’S BETRAYAL
THE SCOT’S SPY
THE SCOT’S PURSUIT
THE SOULMATE CHRONICLES
#1 TRUSTING A HIGHLANDER
#2 TRUSTING A SCOT
STAND-ALONE BOOKS
THE BANISHED HIGHLANDER
REFORMING THE DUKE-REGENCY
WOLF AND THE WILD SCOTS
FALLING FOR THE CHIEFTAIN-3RD in a collaborative trilogy
THE SUMMERHILL SERIES- CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
#1-ONE SUMMERHILL DAY
#2-A FRESH START FOR TWO
#3-THREE REASONS TO LOVE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Keira Montclair is the pen name of an author who lives in South Carolina with her husband. She loves to write fast-paced, emotional romance, especially with children as secondary characters.
When she’s not writing, she loves to spend time with her grandchildren. She’s worked as a high school math teacher, a registered nurse, and an office manager. She loves ballet, mathematics, puzzles, learning anything new, and creating new characters for her readers to fall in love with.
She writes historical romantic suspense. Her bestselling series is a family saga that follows two medieval Scottish clans through three generations and now numbers over thirty books.
Contact her through her website: www.keiramontclair.com
The Scot’s Pursuit
Highland Swords Book 3
Published by Keira Montclair
Copyright © 2020 by Keira Montclair
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereinafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Printed in the USA.
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