“Who was that surly man I landed on?” She frowned as her body flushed from heat not caused by the fire toasting her rear. The man had been muscular and solid as a boulder—quite nice if you liked the herculean alpha type. She swallowed hard and cleared her throat. Why had her mouth suddenly gotten so dry? Maybe because she had never sprawled on top of a breathing mountain before ... and enjoy it.
Tamhas chuckled from across the room.
For some reason, the man’s amusement grated on her nerves. She wished she could see his face and get a read on him.“I really don’t see the humor in that question,” she said while tapping her toes on the rough floor. She needed to find her backpack and slip on some shoes. The feeling was just now coming back to her toes after nearly freezing them off in the chill of a Scottish February.
“The fine man who caught ye when the time cloud spat ye forth was Chieftain Gray MacKenna. Ye should ask yer grandmother of that action’s significance.” Tamhas’s sparkling aura bobbed slowly across the room. The old man was on the move. “And Chieftain MacKenna needs the assistance that only ye can give him. Never forget that.” Hinges creaked and then came the sound of a door thudding closed.
Trulie shivered. That sounded like a door that weighed a ton. Images of thick oak doors sealing off dank medieval dungeons came to mind, speeding up the already fast pounding of her heart until she became almost breathless. She sucked in a deep breath and shook away the feeling. “What do you mean he needs my assistance?”
Nothing but silence filled the room.
“Tamhas?” She searched for his sparkling aura of indescribable colors. Gone. The old man had just left without saying another word. She almost growled as she rubbed her hands up and down her now toasty backside.
“Karma?”
A soft woof made her feel slightly better. At least she wasn’t alone.
The hinges of the door creaked again, followed by Karma’s low, clicking growl. That warning tone could only mean one thing. She stood taller and widened her stance on the hearth. “Did Tamhas send you in here?”
“So, yer sight has returned to ye?” Gray’s rich, deep voice flowed through the room like a seductive melody.
She blinked harder, wishing that it had. All she could make out were fuzzy shapes of light against dark. Her ability to see auras seemed to be healing faster than her normal eyesight. The circle of light standing across the room was a brilliant royal blue. The light shimmered when the chieftain spoke. Blue? Trulie blinked again. Loyalty. Intelligence. Honor. Maybe her first impression that Gray MacKenna was an insensitive ass had been a bit premature.
The intense aura moved closer. “Can ye see me, lass?”
“Sort of.” She rubbed her hands together. What was it about this man that made her palms—and a few other places she refused to acknowledge right now—go all warm and tingly?
“Sort ... of?” Gray repeated.
“It’s hard to explain.” She shrugged, aiming her focus at the regal indigo aura. No need to spill all the beans about her abilities just yet. In the thirteenth century, one never knew for sure which side of the “witch issue” someone might be on. She had already revealed enough when they entered this time to send them all to a witch burning. “Tamhas said you needed my help. What is it you need me to do?”
A chair scraped against the floor and the blur of shimmering cerulean folded in the middle. He must have taken a seat. The sound of liquid gurgling into a container reminded her of just how dry her mouth currently felt.
“Can you ... um.” Merciful heavens, she hated to ask for help, but who knew if there was another chair over there? Irritation flashed through her. Wouldn’t a gentleman ask if she wanted to sit or would like a drink before he took care of himself?
A large warm hand cupped her elbow. She squeaked and jumped away from the touch.
“Forgive me, lass.” His deep voice rumbled. “I only mean to lead ye to the table. I thought ye might like to sit and have a drink. Would ye care to?”
“But I saw you sitting over there.” She turned toward the spot where she had last seen the blue cloud. It was gone. Now Gray’s aura shimmered right beside her.
“I nay sat.” He sounded confused and just a little bit insulted. “I pulled out the chair to better lead ye to it. And I thought ye said ye couldna see me?”
“I told you, it’s rather complicated.” She swallowed a groan and rubbed the hot gritty corners of her eyes. Irritation filled her. The color of his aura paired with his current behavior completely overrode his bullish attitude back at Tamhas and Granny’s reunion. She felt like a complete idiot, having badly misjudged him.
“Thank you,” she said as she reached toward the shimmering patch of blue. Confusion, irritation, and pride stuck crossways in her throat. She hated being wrong. And hated admitting it even more. “I really do appreciate your help.”
Gray didn’t respond. Just slid his calloused palm up into her hand and waited.
She chewed on the corner of her bottom lip as her hands sank into the soothing blue light. The pulsating tingle in both of them shifted into high gear and rippled through her body. A sly voice in the back of her mind whispered, “Wonder how hard the rest of him would make us tingle?”
The memory of lying across the muscled expanse of the man’s chest sucked every last drop of moisture from her already dry mouth. Therestof him had felt very nice. Very nice, indeed.
He gently pulled her forward. “Your grandmother is resting comfortably farther down the way.” He cleared his throat and his tone changed. “And that cat is with her as well.”
Trulie couldn’t resist a smile. When Gray said, “that cat,” his voice took on a resigned tone, as though he despised the feline but didn’t want her to know it. “Kismet takes some getting used to. She thinks she’s the center of the universe and everything revolves around her.”
“Kismet?”
