Highlander's Seduction (The Matheson Brothers Book 3)

by Wadsworth, Joanne

  Eyes closed, she raised her arms and the wind whispered across her skin and with it brought the call of those unmated males below. Here, in this place with them, their need rang stronger. Aye, so many would need to travel to the past, and she wouldn’t rest until each and every man had found his chosen one. Both of the Matheson clans’ numbers had dwindled over the centuries until they’d neared extinction, but no more. Times were about to change, and would bring with it a new and wonderful future they’d all welcome with open arms.

  “You look happy.” Kirk walked toward her, now clean shaven and his hair combed. He’d donned an impeccable blue dress shirt and tucked it into a pair of pressed black pants.

  “I’m in heaven now I have you to aid me in my duty.” She shared her thoughts as he stopped before her then she reached up and straightened the collar of his silk shirt. “You look so handsome, and completely ready to celebrate your brothers’ nuptials.”

  “They’ll only get married the once, as will I.” He slowly lowered to one knee and took her hand in his. A delicious smile tugged at his lips and her heartbeat raced. “Cherub, we need to speak. You are the reason I live and breathe, the one woman I wish to share my life with, to raise a family with, and to share all your duties with. I wish to wed you right alongside my brothers as they speak their vows with their chosen ones, and I will feel completely bereft if I can’t. I love you. Would you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?”

  “Oh my.” Tears misted her gaze as she dropped to her knees before him, her silk skirts billowing around her. “I love you too, with all my heart and soul, so aye, if you wish to wed this day then so do I.”

  “We’ll never be separated again.” With a hearty whoop, he stood and lifted her with him. He swung her about in his arms and kissed her, his delight and hunger for her blazing down their link. “You’ll be mine, in this time and every other.”

  “Aye, as you’ll be mine.” She had her mate and she was never letting him go.

  “Oh goodness.” Megan stood inside Kirk’s now open door with Michael right beside her.

  “Well this looks interesting.” Michael, dressed in navy pants and a tan shirt, grinned. “Sorry, we didn’t mean to intrude but we heard voices and we just couldn’t help but investigate what all the noise was about.”

  “Mum, Dad.” Kirk wrapped one arm around Cherub’s waist and opened his other arm for his parents. “Come and meet Cherub, my mate and soon-to-be wife.”

  Michael and Megan rushed across and hugged both her and Kirk.

  Cherub couldn’t keep her tears of happiness at bay. “We’re getting married this day. So too are Iain and Isla, and Finlay and Arabel. We’ve come in order to take you back with us for the wedding celebrations to come, provided you wish to travel with us.”

  “Try holding us back.” Michael arched a brow at her. “I’ve waited a long time for my sons to find their chosen ones.” He clapped Kirk on the back. “Murdock’s kept us well informed of all that’s happened since you traveled into the past. Congratulations on finding your mate.”

  “I enjoyed every moment of the chase.”

  “I’m sure you did.” Michael kissed Cherub’s cheek. “Welcome to the family, Cherub. Your duty to our clan has always stood firm even though you’ve remained out of our sight and as much a legend as ever. Glad I am to see you chose to accept the bond with Kirk. He’ll never leave your side, only aid you however he can.”

  “Aye, as he has told me and as I now know he too will.”

  “I love a wedding, and seeing all three of my sons speaking their vows will be a most magical moment.” Megan jiggled about in her red ankle-length skirt and white blouse embroidered with red roses along the scooped neckline. “Cherub, since the moment Murdock told us of your bond forming with Kirk, I’d hoped with all my heart for this very outcome. It’ll be wonderful to have a compeller, a fire-wielder, and a time-walker for daughters. When do we leave?”

  “Right now, but first we must collect Murdock on our way.”

  “One second.” Kirk nabbed his case, swept one arm around her waist as he breezed in behind her then eyed his parents. “You both need to hold onto Cherub. If you’re connected to her in some way then you won’t be sent freefalling through the vortex.”

  They all held onto her and she opened a vortex with Murdock’s location in mind.

  The dark ensued and moments later they arrived in a swirl of wind inside Murdock’s solar on the second floor of Matheson Castle.

  “About time you all got here.” Grinning, Murdock rose from a forest-green couch underneath a wall-hanging of a stunning black and white drawing of this very castle as it had stood in the twelve-hundreds, Gilleoin’s castle. Attired in his belted plaid, Murdock clasped the shoulder of a man wearing beige pants and a sword as he rose from the couch to stand next to him. “Cherub, meet Daniel. I had a vision this morning that showed me this coming celebration was about to unfold. I mentioned it to Daniel. Neither of us wish to miss this event.”

  “’Tis lovely to meet you, Daniel. You’re most welcome to join us.”

  “Daniel, it’s good to see you again.” Kirk shook the man’s hand then Murdock’s. “Daniel and Isla were partners, both working the same cases together and although not siblings, they’re still as close as any brother and sister could be. Isla will be thrilled to see him, although Iain not so much.”

  “It appears there might be a story there.”

  “There is, one I’ll tell you soon.”

  “I cannae wait to hear it, although right now we must be away.” Cherub held out an arm for Murdock and Daniel. “You both need to hold on to me while we travel.”

  With everyone connected to her, she opened a portal and sent them all whisking through time and into the past.

  They whooshed into the great hall.

  The trestle tables had been pushed to one side and up on the dais, Isla and Arabel sat in flowing gowns, Isla’s cream with a rich entwining of cream and burgundy ribbons lacing the front bodice, and Arabel’s a rich red with yellow lace trim around the hem. They both looked so stunning, and stunned.

  “Dad.” Isla squealed, grasped her skirts and rushed across. Murdock swept her into his arms and Isla cried out with excitement then clutched Daniel to her. “I’m so happy you’re both here.”

  “Cherub wished for you and Arabel too to enjoy a surprise.” Murdock motioned toward Cherub. “There are also to be three weddings this day. Kirk and Cherub’s as well.”

  “That’s perfect.” Isla beamed. “Nothing could make me happier than to stand by both Arabel and Cherub as we wed our men.”

  Megan grasped Arabel’s hands. “Welcome to the family, my dear. I’m Finlay’s mother, Megan.”

  “’Tis wonderful to meet you.” Arabel hugged Finlay’s parents.

  “Mum? Dad?” Iain stood at the front door in black pants and a dark tunic, his confused gaze moving from his mother to his father. “Am I imagining this? Or are you both really here?”

  “My father’s here too.” Isla bounded into Iain’s arms and he swung her around. “We’re getting married today, you and me, Finlay and Arabel, and Kirk and Cherub.”

  Finlay jogged in and stopped and stared. “Whoa. I turn my back for ten minutes and look what happens.”

  Arabel giggled and skipped to Finlay’s side. “Are you ready to flirt with a little more fire, my mate? ’Tis time for us to speak vows afore a clergyman.”

  “Always, my sweet. Bring on the fire.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “I can’t wait to marry you proper. No more handfast wife, but a wife in complete and full truth.”

  “Then you will all need me if there are to be three weddings this day.” Father John from the priory walked toward them in his brown robes and roped tie at his waist.

  Nessa and Gilleoin, and a flurry of their clansmen, spilled into the hall. All cheered as they encircled them.

  Kirk held Cherub’s hands in his and gazed into her eyes. “This day I shall wed the woman I love. Thank yo
u for bringing us all together so we could celebrate as one.”

  “This is another advantage to being mated to a time-walker. I shall always bring you and your kin together, whenever it is needed.” She reached up on her toes and kissed him. “I love you, with all my heart. Thank you for hunting me down. Your chase has been the most memorable one of my life.”

  “I’ll never cease hunting or chasing you.”

  “On that note”—Father John cleared his throat—“’tis clearly time to begin.”

  Cherub smiled. “Aye, please, go ahead, Father John.”

  They all spoke their vows, Isla and Iain first, then Arabel and Finlay, then lastly her and Kirk.

  Applause abounded as they all sealed their vows with a kiss.

  Cherub clung to Kirk as joy unlike any she’d ever experienced before filled her and overflowed her heart. She’d committed herself to her mate in all ways and he’d done the same with her. This day would mark the beginning of the rest of their lives, a most wondrous joining she’d forever cherish. Giggling, she kissed her new husband again and tasted heaven and all the promises it could bring.

  Aye, after more than a thousand years of living alone, her life had now finally begun.

  ’Twas time to let love reign, and for her to share her duty with the man who held the other half of her soul, just as she held the other half of his.

  I hope you enjoyed Kirk and Cherub’s adventure-filled story. Don’t miss the all new spinoff series, Clan Matheson. The ‘power of three’ and their mates will be back to work some faerie magic amongst their kind.

  For book one in the Clan Matheson series, you can grab your copy here.

  Highlander’s Kiss, (Book One)

  Feel free to sign up to my newsletter to catch the release dates for the rest of this new series here. http://mad.ly/signups/94643/join

  If you missed Iain and Isla’s story, you can catch it right here.

  Highlander’s Desire, (Book One)

  For Finlay and Arabel’s story, catch it right here.

  Highlander’s Passion, (Book Two)

  Author’s Note

  Clan Matheson descends from a twelfth century man called Gilleoin, a man who was believed to have been from the ancient Royal House of Lorne. The name Matheson has been attributed to the Gaelic words Mic Mhathghamhuim which means “Son of the Bear,” and the clan chief’s arms carry two bears as supporters. In the twelfth century, clan Matheson settled around the area of Loch Alsh, Loch Carron, and Kintail, and gave their allegiance to clan MacDonald whose chiefs were the Lords of the Isles. Clan Matheson became a large and powerful clan with a force of around two-thousand men, although by the middle of the sixteenth century they’d diminished greatly in size and influence due to the blood feuds raging across the isles at that time. This warring left them to possess less than a third of the original Matheson property on Loch Alsh.

  Interestingly, the other main branch of clan Matheson lived near Loch Shin, Sutherland, at this time, and it was when I discovered this piece of vital information that the story I wished to tell of this once mighty clan and the whispers in ancient times of their ability to shift into the form of the bear became clear.

  For the purposes of this story, I chose for Gilleoin to have two sons, both when they came of age forced to go their separate ways, one remaining at Loch Alsh and the other traveling farther afield to an area near Loch Shin. Those sons would then lead their own clans, yet would one day once again merge to bring the legend surrounding clan Matheson back to life. It’s time for the whispers to reignite. Clan Matheson are the “Son of the Bear.”

  This story is woven with as much accuracy to the period and locations as possible, although any mistakes made are mine alone.

  This book forms part of The Matheson Brothers series, and each story within it is stand-alone.

  Please feel free to search for any of my other works. I simply adore strong heroines, and have a ton of fun matching them with their honorable alpha heroes.

  Joanne Wadsworth

  I love reading romance, but even more, I love to write it. My characters hound me, demanding their stories are told. I’m happy to oblige, giving them the romance they’re after, provided they can accept a little angst and adventure along the way.

  In beautiful New Zealand, I live with my hubby and four energetic children, and adore using the stunning countries of Scotland and the South Pacific as backdrops in many of my books. One day I hope to travel further afield, to visit the Scottish Highlands, America, and everywhere between.

  With several series underway, I write historical Highlander romances featuring strong heroines whose paths collide with their delicious Highland heroes, as well as fast-paced YA/NA fantasy romance, and heart-pounding romantic suspense.

  There is no greater feeling than seeing my characters come to life, so come and join me...where romance meets fantasy and adventure.

  To learn more about Joanne and her works, visit:

  Website and Blog

  http://www.joannewadsworth.com

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  The Matheson Brothers Series

  by Joanne Wadsworth

  The Matheson Brothers Series

  Highlander’s Desire, (Book One)

  Highlander’s Passion, (Book Two)

  Highlander’s Seduction, (Book Three)

  Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Joanne-Wadsworth/e/B00AVRVIBM/

  Highlander’s Desire, Book One

  The Matheson Brothers, #1

  (Amazon)

  Highlander’s Passion, Book Two

  The Matheson Brothers, #2

  (Amazon)

  Clan Matheson Series

  by Joanne Wadsworth

  Clan Matheson Series

  (Spinoff from The Matheson Brothers Series)

  Highlander’s Kiss, (Book One)

  Highlander’s Heart, (Book Two) - Coming Nov 2015

  Highlander’s Sword, (Book Three) - Coming Jan 2016

  Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Joanne-Wadsworth/e/B00AVRVIBM/

  Highlander’s Kiss, Book One

  Clan Matheson, #1

  (Amazon)

  Highlander Heat Series

  by Joanne Wadsworth

  Highlander Heat Series

  Highlander’s Castle, (Book One)

  Highlander’s Magic, (Book Two)

  Highlander’s Charm, (Book Three)

  Highlander’s Guardian, (Book Four)

  Highlander’s Faerie, (Book Five)

  Highlander’s Champion, (Book Six)

  Highlander’s Captive, Novella (Short Story)

  Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Joanne-Wadsworth/e/B00AVRVIBM/

  Highlander’s Castle, Book One

  Highlander Heat, #1

  (Amazon)

  Magio-Earth Series

  by Joanne Wadsworth

  Magio-Earth Series

  Protector, (Book One)

  Warrior, (Book Two)

  Enchanter, (Book Three)

  Hunter, Novella (Short Story)

  Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Joanne-Wadsworth/e/B00AVRVIBM/

  Bodyguards Series

  by Joanne Wadsworth

  Bodyguards Series

  Witness Pursuit, (Book One)

  Bodyguard Pursuit, (Book Two)

  Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Joanne-Wadsworth/e/B00AVRVIBM/

  If you enjoyed Kirk and Cherub’s story, please consider leaving a review.

  Reviews help authors tremendously, and also help other readers find books.

  Thank you.

  ~ Joanne

  Copyright: Highlander�
��s Seduction

  Copyright © 2015, Joanne Wadsworth

  Cover Art by Joanne Wadsworth

  First electronic publication: July 2015

  First paperback publication: September 2015

  Joanne Wadsworth

  http://www.joannewadsworth.com

  eBooks are not transferable. All Rights Reserved. This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE:

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. The author does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.