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"You will awake when I count to three. One...two...three..."
A snap of the hypnotist's fingers brought Kate to awareness. She found herself clutching Christian's arm and screaming aloud. Her heart beat wildly as she remembered...oh, God...it was so horrible.
"Kate...lass...it's not really happening. Not now." White-faced, Christian clutched her shoulders, his eyes bleak. He took her into his arms, and she pressed against him, sobbing.
"Christian...you saw it, too..." she murmured against his sweater. "You saw what happened. Oh, God! What are we going to do?"
He held her close, stroking her back. "Aye...that's what we wished to do. Now that we know what happened to Kayla and Cameron, we can go on. Perhaps now that we know, that sense of danger will go away."
Kate grew still in his arms. For a moment, she couldn't speak. He didn't know! "Christian," she said softly. "What do you remember happened after....after he killed you...I mean...Cameron?"
Christian was silent.
"You didn't see anything after that, did you? Because you were dead. You couldn't."
"What is it, Kate?" he asked quietly. "What do you know that I don't?"
Slowly, Kate drew back and looked at him. Her lower lip trembled as the icy edge of fear raced through her body. "The clansman who killed you...the one who was advancing toward me before I came out of the trance...it was Rick."
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The hypnotist had gone. Kate was sitting in a chair next to the fire, sipping a cup of tea. Outside, a storm had blown up from the sea with hard rain and a moaning wind which shrilled around the stone cottage like a grieving banshee. It gave Kate the creeps. Christian had curled up on the floor next to her chair. Since the hypnotist left, their only communication had been through touch, his hand stroking her ankle, hers nestled in his glossy black hair. What was there to say? What was there to do?
They now knew who their enemy was. But he'd done nothing to them...not in this life. And perhaps he wouldn't. But it was all so very odd. Why had the three of them been brought back together again? To repeat history? Or to change it?
"We have to go away," Kate said softly. "Just leave in the night. The two of us. We could go to South America, Australia...somewhere."
"Aye." Christian didn't move from his position. He stared into the fire pensively.
"He'll follow me, though. You know that, don't you? Rick is like that. He detests losing. He won't give up. The more impossible something seems, the more determined he is to attain it."
Christian didn't respond. Kate knew why. He knew, as well as she did, that if they left Scotland, they'd be running for the rest of their lives. Rick was just sick enough to pursue them forever.
"What are we going to do?" Kate whispered, her fingers caressing Christian's scalp. Oh, God...she loved him. She loved him desperately! But what if she'd found him again too late?
He didn't answer her question. Instead, he turned and pressed his face against her knees. For a moment, he didn't move. Kate touched his forehead, moving her fingers down to his cheekbones. She felt wetness. Slowly, he pulled away and stared up at her, his blue eyes brimming with tears.
"I can't bear losing you again."
With a soft groan, Kate dropped to the floor and gathered him into her arms. She kissed his tear-streaked face tenderly, working her way down to his lips.
"Oh, Christian..." she breathed. "You won't lose me. I swear it. This time, we'll win."
She kissed his lips softly, her hunger growing at the touch of his tongue seeking hers. His breathing grew ragged as their senses took over. Kate knew that the time was right. Finally, after all these agonizing weeks of holding back, she and Christian would cement their love with the merging of their bodies. It was right, and it was good. And once united, nothing would tear them apart.
He gently pushed her back onto the floor, his eyes caressing her face. His lips brushed against her eyelids in feathery angel kisses, first one then the other. Finally, when his mouth settled hungrily upon hers, she kissed him back urgently, her nails digging into his back under his sweater. Slowly, he drew away from her and unzipped her jeans, peeling them from her trim thighs and down her legs.
His eyes burned into hers as he pulled his sweater over his head and tossed it to the floor. Kate gazed at his brawny chest covered by a thick patch of black hair. How familiar it looked! As if she'd seen it so many times before.
Her eyes fastened upon a triangular birthmark on his left shoulder. She drew him down to her and ran her tongue over it lovingly. Oh, Cameron...my love...you have returned to me. At the touch of her lips against his birthmark, he quaked in her arms, and his mouth crushed down against hers as if to draw the very essense of her into him.
A sense of urgency overtook them. Kate tugged at her sweater, trying to get it over her head. Christian helped her, and managed to drag it off. Her copper curls spilled around her shoulders, covering her lace-covered bra. Lovingly, he brushed her hair away, and bending down, ran his lips over the swell of her breasts just above the lace-edged cups. "Hurry, Cameron," she whispered. "Hurry!"
His trembling fingers unfastened her bra, and the lace cups fell away, revealing her full pink-tipped breasts. He cupped them in his hands and bent over her. His mouth went from one to the other, nuzzling and nipping, drinking in her sweetness while she cried out in soft, mewing kitten-like sounds. She pressed her palm against the bulge of his jeans, wanting to release him, but not having the strength or the desire to stop him from his love-play with her breasts. Finally, he had his fill and drew away, his blue eyes dark with arousal. Kate caught her breath and spoke in a ragged voice.
"Let's not wait another minute, Cameron," she pleaded. "Love me now." Before it's too late.
He unzipped his jeans and tore them off with an urgency that might've been comical if Kate hadn't been as impatient as he. Just as quickly, he flung off his undershorts, and in one frenzied movement, tugged her panties off, and then there was nothing else between them. He gazed at her, and she gazed back. Her hands enclosed his throbbing erection, and she stroked it lovingly. A fire burned in his eyes. He took a deep, shuddering breath as if trying to bring himself under control, and she could almost read his mind. Slow down. We must make it slow, and make it last . For a moment, he poised above her, his eyes locked on hers. He smiled, and his hands cupped her face tenderly.
"I love you, lass," he whispered. "More than life itself."
Kate stiffened as a feeling of deja vu swept through her. She shuddered, her hands clenching on his hard biceps. He paused, a look of consternation on his face as he recognized her fear.
"No," he whispered. "It will be all right. Nothing will happen. Just let me love you."
She gazed at him a moment longer, still afraid. But finally, she allowed the reassurance in his eyes to calm her. She nodded and slowly, he thrust into her silken moist core, releasing his breath in a long, soft sigh. Home. Cameron had come home.
He thrust slowly, and with each stroke, it was as if he imbedded himself deeper and deeper. Imprinting himself onto her, branding her with his eternal love. And with each stroke, she arched against him, urging him on, coaxing him with her body and every sinew of tissue inside her. As he delved into her, his image swam and wavered; sometimes Christian, sometimes Cameron, both of them murmuring words of love in Gaelic. And then as his pace quickened, the two men became one, and as his strokes grew fierce and frenzied, Kate cried out with him in Gaelic, joyously celebrating the reuniting.
The fire crackled in the grate. The wind howled outside. The rain beat against the windows. Kate was lost in Christian, in the wild abandon of their loving. For a few soaring moments, she forgot about the danger, forgot everything except the present, and the heady sensation of being in Christian's arms. Their loving lasted forever, yet, it was over too soon. Kate stiffened and cried out softly as Christian shuddered against her, grasping her tightly. His hands entangled in her damp hair as he turned on his side, still enmeshed inside her. He gazed into her eyes. "I love you, I love you," he whispered. "I want to stay inside you forever."
But reality had returned. Christian finally withdrew from her and gathered her close, stroking her bare arms, kissing her face softly. Kate sighed and snuggled into him. It had never been like that before...not with Rick...not with anyone.
Ancient souls had touched.
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Kate wasn't prepared for how hard it would be to leave him, even if it was only for a half-hour. Their plans were made. She'd return to the cottage, pack a bag, and they'd head for London. And from there...somewhere.
"Let me come with you to the cottage," Christian said, clutching her hands in his.
Kate shook her head. "No. I have no idea what time Rick will return from the village. He said he'd be doing research there all day, but it could be he's just told me that to put me off guard. He's been acting so strange lately. Sometimes, I see him watching me, and the look in his eyes..." She shuddered. "Anyway, if he should come back and find you there with me..." She shook her head. "I promise, I'll be quick. Just wait for me here. If I'm not back in...say, forty minutes, then come looking for me...but please, Christian...be careful!"
He drew her into his arms and kissed her long and thoroughly before finally letting her go. "This will be the longest forty minutes of my life!"
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Kate stepped into the cottage and drew a soft sigh of relief. Rick wasn't back. She just hoped she had enough time to pack a bag and get out before he returned. It took only a few moments to gather her essentials and fling them into a small canvas bag. Most of her stuff, she'd have to leave behind--even her paintings and supplies.
She moved over to the bureau to grab her hairbrush and a few toiletries. Suddenly, she froze as her eyes caught sight of a typewritten note weighted down by a perfume bottle. A message from Rick? She moved the perfume bottle and picked up the paper, her fingers trembling.
Dear Rick:
Please forgive me. I didn't mean to hurt you. You see, I couldn't
help falling in love with the poet who lived in the far
cottage above the cliffs. But he didn't feel the same. And that's
why I can't go on living. By the time you read this, my broken body
will lie on the rocks below. As will Christian's. He could not
commit himself to me in life. But perhaps in death, he will. Your
gun will be found on the rocks, and as I have no wish to have you
implicated, I am leaving this note for you to show to the authorities.
I, Kate Cullen, do confess to killing my lover, Christian Laird. Rick,
I'm sorry I couldn't love you the way I loved him.
Kate
Incredibly, her first reaction was to laugh at the hideous melodrama of the note. As if someone would believe she'd write such maudlin crap. But then the implication of what it all meant hit her, and she felt the blood drain from her face.
Rick really intended to kill them, and pass it off as a murder-suicide! A spurned lover and her victim. And who knew? It might actually work!
She dropped the paper to the floor and looked around, feeling as if hidden eyes were watching her. Had Rick really gone into the village? Or was he lurking around outside at this very moment...just waiting to strike? And then another thought occurred to her, and her face blanched.
What if he'd already murdered Christian?
The note mentioned a gun. That could only mean Rick would shoot Christian, throw his body off the cliff, and then throw her off after him so it would look like she'd jumped. Suppose he was over at Christian's cottage right now, holding a gun against his head, forcing him to walk to the cliff edge where he would be executed.
She had to get back to Christian before it was too late!
Her heart racing, Kate snatched up the suicide note from the floor, crumpled it into a ball and stuffed it into her bag. Seconds later, she ran out the door of the cottage into the mist.
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Kate burst through the door of Christian's cottage. "Oh, thank God! You're alive!"
Christian took one look at her and dropped the shirt he'd been folding. "What is it, love? You're white as a ghost!"
"We have to get out of here now!"
He grabbed her hands, his blue eyes anxious. "What happened? Did he hurt you?"
She shook her head frantically. "Not yet, but he will! He plans to kill us, Christian. He'll shoot you and throw your body off the cliff. Then he'll push me off after you. It will look like I murdered you and then committed suicide. Look! I found this in the cottage!" With trembling hands, Kate smoothed out the wadded note and handed it to him. He read it, his face expressionless.
Their eyes met. He nodded. "I'm ready. Let's go."
The door burst open with the force of an explosion. Kate screamed and reached for Christian. He folded her into his arms, and shielded her from the door. But with mounting terror, Kate saw Rick standing inside the doorway, his brown eyes emotionless. In his hand, he held a revolver. He gave them a cold smile. "Let's all go for a walk."
Christian's blue eyes glittered. "Look, leave Kate alone, and take me. What happened between us was my fault."
"No, Christian!" Kate cried out. She turned to Rick, her eyes imploring. "Rick, I love him! Please don't punish us for that. But if you have to, kill me, not him..." She stared at Rick, and her blood ran icy through her veins.
It was no use! She wasn't reasoning with a normal person. Rick was void of emotion, which made him more dangerous than the wildest psychotic. Nothing she could say to him would make any difference. Their fate had already been determined...centuries ago.
Seconds passed, and Rick's image wavered. In front of her stood, not her past lover, but a kilted blood-thirsty warrior with long scraggly hair. He stared at her, his expression a mixture of rage and euphoria. The image of the kilted clansman melted away, but Rick's face still wore the ruthless mask of a cold-blooded killer. History was about to repeat itself.
But Kate knew she had to try once more to reason with him. Her voice shook. "Think about what you're doing, Rick. Your career. It's on the way up. If you kill us, you'll be killing yourself as well."
Rick's lips twisted in a strange smile. "Ah, but you know I've thought of that. You've read the note. It's no problem to type another one. You see, I've got the plot all worked out. Love-starved girl meets reclusive poet. Falls obsessively in love with him. But he's just toying with her. When she starts making demands...talking about marriage and children, he tells her to kiss off. She was only a piece of fluff to him. He wants nothing permanent. When she realizes it can never be anything more than a sleazy affair, the girl kills him in a fit of rage, and then jumps off after him because she can't live with what she's done. A tragic story. The villagers will talk about it for months to come. How sad for the poor writer, left behind to grieve for his unfaithful love. The End."
Christian stared at him, his eyes cold. "Thin. Very thin. You wouldn't be able to sell a story like that to the lowliest of pulp publishers. Much less to the authorities!"
Rick grinned at him. "Oh, really? I guess you don't know as much about Kate as you thought, do you? Hon, didn't you tell Romeo here about all those therapy sessions when you were being treated for clinical depression?"
Kate stared at him in astonishment. "That was after my brother died! Anyone would've been depressed under those circumstances!"
He nodded. "True. But you have to admit...when the authorities investigate this case, they'll go through your medical records, and there, in black and white, will be the answer to what happened out here. An unstable woman with a gun and a handsome Heathcliff-like poet. What more do they need? Everything tied up in a pretty red bow! Come on, let's go." He jerked the gun toward the door.
What could they do? Would they have a better chance if they went out into the fog and rain with him? What would Rick do if they refused to go?
Suddenly, Christian began to cough. He turned slightly, covering his mouth with his hand. "Asthma..." he murmured. "I need my inhalator."
Kate stared at him. He'd never mentioned asthma before. Christian made a move toward the fireplace hearth, and with one hand, grabbed the poker. In a blinding second of certainty, Kate saw he intended to attack Rick with it, but she saw also he didn't stand a chance against Rick's deadly weapon. The gun exploded. In horror, Kate saw the poker topple from Christian's hand. A splotch of blood appeared on the front of his sweater and he fell backwards, crumbling to the floor like a lifeless doll. Kate screamed and ran toward him but Rick's hand clenched upon her arm.
"Leave him. He's dead."
"No!" she screamed, struggling to free herself from his grasp. "He can't be!"
"Look," Rick said, his eyes dancing madly. "You don't have to die, too. Help me take care of his body, and we'll go away. I didn't want to kill you. Not really. We can start over. Make a new life."
Furious tears streamed down Kate's face as she pushed him away savagely. "You're insane! How could I have ever stayed with you so long? Why didn't I see it before? Let me go!"
His fingers dug into her arms viciously. "No! I'll never let you go. You belong to me. And if I can't have you, I can't let you live." His mouth crushed down on hers.
Kate kneed him in the groin, as hard as she could. He gasped and released her, sinking to the floor with his hands cradling himself, his face white. With one last despairing glance at Christian's crumpled body in front of the hearth, Kate ran out the door. She had to find help for Christian...if it weren't too late. It couldn't be too late! Once Rick recovered from his bruised balls, he'd follow her. She hoped. If Christian were still alive, she had to draw Rick away from him.
The rain had stopped, but the mist lay so thickly she could barely see three feet in front of her. She turned to the left, knowing that the manor house was in that direction. If she could just get to it and get help...
The trees closed around her as she headed into the forest. It would be safer to go this way rather than make her way down the cliff path and to the beach. Besides, it would be harder for Rick to find her in the mist-shrouded woods. Except for the sound of her ragged breathing, the forest was silent. Tears streaked unchecked down her face as she thought of Christian lying wounded...or maybe dead. It was so unfair...to find him again and then lose him so quickly. He had to be alive. He had to be!
She reached a point in the woods where the path separated. Which direction led to the manor house? She brushed a lock of wet hair away from her face, blinking wearily in the thick mist. From the trees above, a dove cooed, its song a lonely call in the fading afternoon light. Kate took a step toward the path leading right. She saw a movement to her left and turned.
A hand clenched onto her upper arm. She gave a sharp scream, but it was quickly muffled by another hand over her mouth.
"You really didn't think you could get away from me, did you, Katie?" Rick sneered, his hot breath fanning her face.
Kate struggled, scratching at him, overwhelmed by a primitive need to inflict violence upon this evil man...a lover who'd become a predator. But physically, she had no chance against his might.
He laughed and held the gun against her forehead. "Have you forgotten about this, love?" Savagely, he wrenched her arm behind her back, pushing her forward through the woods in the direction from which she'd come. "It must be nice and neat," he muttered as if talking to himself. "Nothing to tie to me. Once she's over the cliff, I'll see to that poet's body."
"I always knew you Campbells were no gentlemen. Can you na see you're hurting the lass's arm?"
The low musical voice came from behind them.
Rick whipped around. "What the hell...who are you?"
Kate looked over her shoulder and the breath left her body. The Highlander stood on the path behind them, his legs apart and his hand resting lightly on the sheath holding his broadsword. Cameron! In the flesh. But how could it be? Christian was wounded...or dead.
"Who am I?" A grim smile lingered about his lips, but his blue eyes were cold. He gave a short laugh. "You do not recognize me, Campbell? I am Cameron, chieftain of the MacDonald clan of Glencoe." The smile left his face and his eyes glittered ruthlessly. In a lightning movement, The Highlander whipped out his sword. "But you may call me Death. Release the woman."
Rick's upper lip curled. "I will not. I don't know who you think you are...masquerading around in a bloody Halloween costume. But I'll have you know this is my woman. And she answers to me."
"Release the woman or you will answer to me, Campbell. And I guarantee you will not like the question." Cameron strode forward, his eyes blazing. From a fold in his kilt, he withdrew a knife.
Rick saw it, too. He pointed the gun at the advancing Highlander. "I'll kill you," he screamed. "I've already killed one man today. Another one won't make a difference."
The knife whizzed through the air and struck Rick's hand. "Christ!" he yelped and dropped the gun to the ground. "You bastard! You cut me!" .
Kate realized Rick had released her when he'd been hit.
"Run, lass," the Highlander called out. "Go to your man!"
Kate stumbled through the bushes at the side of the path. But she couldn't do as the Highlander had ordered. Her eyes were transfixed by the drama unfolding on the path. Rick, realizing that the Highlander was indeed, a danger to him, began to run. The Highlander, brandishing his broadsword charged after him. The two of them disappeared into the mist.
Kate took a deep trembling breath. Had that really happened? Or was her anxiety and fear producing hallucinations? Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream came from the trees in the direction where Cameron had disappeared. Kate's heart lurched. She took a step forward, unsure of what to do.
"No!"
The whispery voice came out of nowhere. Kate stopped and looked around. It took a moment before she saw anything, but then, through the trees, a form materialized. A red-haired woman dressed in the 17th century garb of a Scottish clanswoman. She lifted a finger to her lips and shook her head slowly, her cinnamon eyes...eyes so similar to Kate's...staring at her imploringly. Kate gazed back, mesmerized.
"Who are you?"
The Highland woman smiled. "Ah, you know who I am, Katie. You know better than anyone."
Slowly, Kate nodded. "I think I do...but it's all so confusing. Are you real...or a ghost or what?"
"Aye, I am real, all right. Where I am, I am real. But not in your world." She stopped speaking and cocked her head as if listening. Then she smiled, her face lit by a radiant light. "My love is returning. You, my dear, must return to your man and care for him. Be well, and accept my wishes for a long and happy life with him."
Footsteps crashed through the underbrush. It was the Highlander. He smiled at Kate, a smile so similar to Christian's that it made her knees go weak. "You'll have no more trouble out of that one. He had an unfortunate accident. Fell off the cliff onto the rocks, he did." He shook his head. "A pity, isn't it? Well, as my ancestors said, the only good Campbell is a dead one."
"You killed him?" Kate whispered.
His blue eyes widened innocently. "Why, lass! You think badly of me. I didn't touch a hair on his bonny head. 'Tis the strangest thing. He saw me coming at him with my broadsword, which any man worth his salt would be carrying when confronting an enemy, and he took off running. Ran right off the cliff edge like he'd seen an apparition. It was very quick, I assure you. The mist was so thick, he had no idea what he'd done until it was too late."
Kate closed her eyes at the image of Rick crashing to the rocky sea below. But that was the fate he'd planned for her, wasn't it? She opened her eyes and looked at the Highlander. "Please tell me who you are. What you are." Her heart pounded. She still couldn't convince herself she wasn't in the middle of a vivid hallucination.
He smiled at her tenderly. "I told you. Cameron, Chieftain of the MacDonald clan of Glencoe." He approached her and took her hands between his. Kate shivered as an electric charge surged through her. "Don't try to understand it, sweet one. There are things in this universe we aren't meant to understand." He pressed a silken kiss on the back of her hand. "Go find your love. Live your life, take the chance we never had in this world, and make it good. Christian is waiting for you back at the cottage. He will live, and the two of you will live for us. Cameron and Kayla."
He turned his head and smiled at the woman still standing at the edge of the clearing. She returned his smile, and the love between them was so tangible that Kate felt drunk on their passion. Cameron looked back at her. "So, it is farewell. The danger has passed and we are no longer needed. Be well." Quickly, he turned and strode to the woman's side, and together, they melted into the mist.
After a moment of staring after them in wonder, Kate ran through the woods, a new urgency filling her. Was it true? Was Christian really alive? Or was this whole thing a cruel trick of her imagination?
The disorienting fog swirled around her. She felt as if she were dreaming...as if she weren't really here at all. Perhaps she was still hypnotized...perhaps none of this horror had really happened. Maybe all this time, she was really sitting in Christian's cottage, holding his hand as the fire blazed in its grate and the hypnotist spoke in his soft, melodic voice.
She tripped on an exposed root and fell to the ground, banging her elbow sharply. A numbed pain shot through her arm. Did one feel pain during hypnosis or dreams? Dazed, she got up onto her knees, cradling her elbow.
A figure burst out of the misty trees. "Kate!"
She screamed and scrambled up to run. Rick! The Highlander hadn't dispatched him after all. His arms enclosed her from behind. She struggled, screaming.
"Lass, it's me! Christian!" His hands held her tightly. "Please listen to me..." He turned her to face him.
"Christian!" Kate stared into his piercing blue eyes, still finding it hard to believe it was him and not Rick. But it was him. Her shaking hands trailed down his strong jaws and fastened around his neck. She collapsed against him in relief. Then just as suddenly, she drew back, her eyes searching. "He shot you! Where...how..." Over his sweater, a strip of bloody bedsheet covered his wound.
"The bullet just glanced my collar bone. It looked like a lot of blood, but the wound wasn't bad. The bleeding has stopped." He gazed down at her. "Did he hurt you? I was mad with fear that he'd...Oh, God...I've been searching these woods for an hour. I couldn't find any sign of either of you." He glanced around warily. "We'd better find help. He's still out here somewhere."
"No, he's not," Kate said, sure now it was true. "I don't think we have to worry about him any more. Come on, let's get you to a doctor." She took his arm.
He stared at her curiously. "What do you mean, we don't have to worry about him any more?"
"Cameron took care of him."
At his look of astonishment, Kate whispered, "I'll tell you about it later. We have our whole lives to talk about what happened here this afternoon."
Kate took his arm and they began to head down the path toward the manor house. From the mists, she felt the benign gaze of Kayla and Cameron. She turned for one last glance of the Ancient Souls. But there was nothing there except the dark silent forest.