"What did you tell him?" Christian asked.

Kate stared down at the rolling waves crashing onto the rocky shore. They had walked for a mile north of Christian's cottage, but still she wasn't tired. She felt like she could walk with him to the ends of the earth. But finally, he'd reached out and taken her hands, turning her to face him.

"I told him I needed to capture the late afternoon light for my landscape, and I wouldn't be back at the manor house for tea. Just this once. I don't think he's suspicious. I showed him the sandwiches and thermos of tea the kitchen staff packed for me."

Christian looked at his leather-banded wristwatch. "It's about tea-time now. Shall we turn back?"

Kate's heart beat faster. She was almost afraid of being alone with Christian in his secluded cottage. Not that she was afraid of him, but of herself. Her emotions. For two weeks, she'd been meeting him in the afternoons in the same spot above the cliff. Today, though, would be the first time she'd accompany him inside his cottage.

The strange visions of the Highlander hadn't returned. And the dreams had disappeared after that horrible nightmare during the storm. Kate didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed. She missed the nightly visits of her romantic Highlander, but the way that last dream had ended...the mere thought of it terrified her. Besides, now that she'd met Christian, she found she wasn't thinking of the Highlander so much. Christian had taken his place in her fantasies.

They turned and retraced their steps back toward his cottage. Would her fantasies become reality this afternoon? And what about Rick? Sooner or later, she'd have to break it off with him. How would he take it? He was so volatile, unpredictable. She remembered the icy rage he'd displayed the afternoon he'd burned her Stephen King books. Who knew what he'd do? So, she simply put off telling him. Maybe it would be easier after they returned to America. Besides, it was hard to concentrate on Rick when Christian held her hand...when just the mere glance of his blue eyes sent her pulse racing.

They arrived at the copse of woods that sheltered the tiny cottage surrounded by rose bushes and English Ivy. Christian opened the door and gestured her in.

"Make yourself comfortable. I'll start the tea." He stepped into the small kitchenette, leaving her alone in the tiny main room.

Kate looked around. The room was sparsely furnished with a sofa, desk and chair. On one end, there was a stone fireplace with a wood mantel, and above it, hung a portrait of a woman. Kate moved toward it, wondering who she was. In the shelter of the trees, the cottage interior was deeply shadowed, and it was difficult to see. But as she grew closer, the portrait began to take shape. The woman was dressed in a plaid tartan, and wore her long red hair in ringlets about her face. Her skin was porcelain, her eyes cinnamon brown.

Kate stared, her breathing quickening. She lifted her hand and touched her own hair, felt her own rippled curls, brought a strand in front of her, a strand as red as the woman's in the portrait.

The unknown woman could've been her twin.

"So, you've seen it."

Slowly, Kate turned to look at Christian. But it wasn't Christian who stood there; it was Cameron. He wore his kilt and carried his broadsword. For an endless moment, they stared at each other, not moving or speaking. The image of the kilted Highlander didn't disappear or waver. He was there, as clear and solid as her own flesh.

"Cameron?" she whispered.

He stepped forward, but as he did so, the image of the Highlander disappeared, and once again, it was Christian who stood before her in his jeans and eggshell Aran sweater.

"Her name is Kayla," Christian said, stopping just in front of her. "I don't know how I know that, but I do."

Kate turned around to stare again at the painting. "But it...it looks just like me."

"Aye. But it's more than that."

She felt his warmth behind her, felt his need to touch her, yet, he didn't. His voice flowed over her, compelling and warm.

"Don't you see, lass? She is you. You are her. You are Kayla."

Kate took a step toward the door. It was very clear now. She'd become involved with a madman.

"Ah, lass, don't look at me like that." Christian's eyes pleaded with her. "I'm not daft. You know I'm not."

"I don't understand what's happening here." She looked at the painting and a sudden shiver ran through her. "But I'm not into the supernatural, and this gives me the creeps. I think I should go." Quickly, before he could change her mind, she walked to the door of the cottage.

His voice rumbled behind her. "How long ha' ye been havin' the dreams, Kayla?"

She turned slowly, her heart pumping. Where had that thick dialect come from? His blue eyes burned into her as he took a step toward her.

"How long, lass? A month? Six months? A year, perhaps?"

When she didn't answer, he strode to her and took her hands in his. Desire burned through her, along with fear and confusion. What was happening here, and why did it seem so important to escape now, or be drawn into a cauldron of disaster from which there was no escape?

"It's been three years for me, lass," Christian whispered, his hands grasping hers. "Three years of sweet, sweet dreams of loving you." His hands slid up her arms, making her nerve ends tingle. "You were so real, I could smell your lavender scent. That's how I knew you were there that day on the cliff. Your scent. Every night, Kayla, we made love, and Christ...it was like nothing I've ever known in real life. I fell in love with you...this haunting beauty of my dreams...a lass that only existed in the dark hours." His fingers entangled in her curls, and he closed his eyes, inhaling the scent of her hair. Kate sighed softly as a lovely lethargy stole over her body. "You began to take over my daylight hours. I couldn't stop thinking about you. My red-haired Highland lass. I'd see you laughing in the glens, flirting, enticing me, driving me mad with desire. Gradually, through the dreams, I began to learn about you. About us. We were to be married. Yet, neither of us could wait for the marriage bed. We were too much in love. But then..." He stopped, and a shudder ran through him.

Kate's heart froze. Over his shoulder, she stared glassily at the painting of Kayla. "On the eve our wedding, something happened," she spoke softly, her voice leaden with horror. "There was blood everywhere."

His hands dug into her arms as he pulled back to search her eyes. "So, you've had the nightmares, too. Do you know what happened? What happened to us, lass?"

"I don't know." She shook her head. "You were wrenched away from me, and then..." She shuddered. "Blood...everywhere...hot and sticky. Oh, Cameron, it was awful." She clung to him, shivering.

His warm arms held her close, his hands stroking her back tenderly. He bent his head and pressed a kiss on the top of her head. "Hush, lass. Don't you see? Fate has brought us together again. Kayla and Cameron. We have a second chance. The dreams told me to come here...because here, I will find the answer. We'll find it together."

Kate pulled away from him. "What are you saying, Christian? Are you talking about reincarnation?"

His lips twisted in a sardonic smile. "A moment ago, you called me Cameron. What do you think?"

She wrenched away from him. "I think this whole thing is crazy! And I don't want to believe it, but perhaps you are, as well." She pointed at the portrait over the mantel. "I'm not her! I'm not!"

He studied her quietly for a moment, his eyes turbulent. "Aye," he said softly. "Perhaps I am daft. That would explain why...a few moments ago when I stepped into the room, I saw you in front of the mantel...and you were wearing the clothing of a 17th century chieftain's daughter."

Kate felt the blood drain from her face.

"And now, I ask you..." He stared at her intently. "What did I look like to you?"

She closed her eyes in defeat, again seeing the vision of Christian...Cameron...standing before her in his Highland kilt. "You were wearing a kilt. And you had some kind of weapon in your hand."

Relief spread over his lean face. "Ah...so I'm not daft. Come here, lass." His arms closed around her again, snuggling her close to his warmth.

Kate inhaled his heather-like scent, giving in to its seductive pull. She still wasn't sure what was happening here; she only knew she could no longer fight it.

"Don't you see?" he whispered. "We were brought together here for a reason. I'm not sure what it is, but we'll find it." He brushed a strand of hair from her neck and kissed her softly there. Kate shivered at the lovely sensation which skittered down her back. His lips pressed kisses along her neck and up her jaw. Her hands clenched into his arms. "Right now," he murmured. "I want to love you. Please let me love you, Kayla." His mouth settled onto hers, his tongue tenderly searching, caressing. Kate moaned softly, returning his kiss with furvor.

His hand touched her left breast through her sweater. She caught her breath as liquid fire scorched through her. "Oh, Cameron..." she whispered.

His mouth crushed against hers as his hands slid inside her sweater, skimming over the lace of her bra. Kate moaned, arching against him. His teeth grazed her neck, his tongue tasting and nibbling. A moment later, his fingers had unhooked the front latch of her bra. The only sound in the room was their labored breathing as he pushed her sweater up above her bared breasts and gazed at them.

"Oh, good Christ..." he murmured, his voice filled with awe. "You're so beautiful."

His fingers spread over the mounds of her breasts, pressing against them gently. Kate felt as if she had stopped breathing, so intense was her aching desire.

"I want to taste you," Christian whispered. "Every inch of you."

His forehead dipped until it touched the swell of her breasts. His mouth pressed against her right breast, his tongue tasting her flesh leisurely as his right hand massaged her left nipple. Kate drew in a long, agonized breath. The ache between her legs grew fierce, demanding. His tongue traced a long wet line down her breast until finally, he took her nipple into his mouth and suckled gently.

"Oh, Christian," she murmured. "You're killing me..."

His hands squeezed her breasts together so he could nuzzle from one nipple to the other. The fire inside her womb blossomed into a raging inferno. Her hands entwined in his hair as his tongue continued its magic upon her tingling breasts.

"Love me, Christian...please love me now."

He drew away from her, his eyes burning into hers. Under the denim of his jeans, she could see his bulging erection, and she wanted him so badly, she felt close to fainting. His hands moved to his belt.

"Kate!"

Kate and Christian stared at each other in shocked dismay. Her heart began to pound madly beneath her rib cage. "Oh, God! It's Rick!" She tugged her sweater down to cover her breasts and flew to the window overlooking the beach. "He's down there looking for me. What do I do, Christian?"

"Steady." He moved behind her and squeezed her shoulders reassuringly. "He can't know you're here. Wait until he walks on up the beach, then you can leave and go around to the trail which leads to the glen. Where are your paints?"

"I left them in the glen. I guess I thought he might try something like this." She slipped her hands under her sweater and hurriedly fastened her bra. At Rick's appearance, her head had begun to throb. "He doesn't trust me. I guess he has reason not to, doesn't he?" She gave him a wry smile.

He gazed at her solemnly. "I can't bear it that you have to go back to him. Not now, after today. You're mine, lass. You know that, don't you?"

She nodded. "I'll break it off with him. But I have to do it the right way. He mustn't know about you. He'll go crazy if he knows I'm leaving him for another man."

Christian lifted her hand to his lips, pressing a slow, seductive kiss against her palm. "Be careful, lass. I have a bad feeling about him."

"I will." She looked out the window. "He's gone. I have to get out of here."

"Wait." Christian took her into his arms, kissing her slowly and longingly. After a moment, he wrenched his mouth away and whispered into her ear. "I love you."

Kate blinked away sudden tears. "Oh, Christian...I don't know how it's possible, but I love you, too. And I'm frightened because it happened so quickly."

"No," he said softly. "Don't you understand, lass? It happened centuries ago. It just took a while to find each other again."

Kate stared at him, knowing what he said was true. She didn't know how or why, but suddenly there was no doubt in her mind. Kayla and Cameron had come back to life.

Christian opened the door. "Be careful," he said again, his eyes concerned. "I don't know why, but I have this terrible feeling we're in grave danger."

"What do you mean?" Kate said.

He took a deep breath. "I'm afraid history will repeat itself."