Or perhaps this was not a dream but a hallucination. She’d had a few of them lately, often seeing herself moving about, doing everyday things, and she never knew if they were memories of her life or the lazy inventions of a woman who simply had no past.
But there was nothing lazy aboutthisman, she realized with a dizzying swirl of fascination as she rose to her knees. He was a warrior, clearly, who looked as if he’d spent days, maybe weeks, in the saddle. The evidence was all there to behold—in his weapons, his brawny strength, and the dark shadow of stubble on his finely sculpted face, the grim hue of his exhausted, angry eyes, and the grimy appearance of his shirt.
The horse snorted fiercely and tossed his huge head, and Catherine gasped at the sound. It was exactly what she needed—something temporal, something vociferous, to finally pull her out of her reverie.
She knew now that this Highlander was no hallucination. He was true flesh and blood. But why he was staring at her like that, with such angry, bold intensity?
Did he know her?
Slowly, she gathered her skirts in both fists and rose to her feet, prepared to confront this man from her past, whoever he was.
His gargantuan warhorse sensed her movement and spun in a skittish circle. The Highlander whipped his head around, never taking his eyes off her.
“Be still!” he commanded the great black beast, in a guttural voice that made all Catherine’s nerve endings quiver.
She braced herself, steady on both legs.…
The animal instantly obeyed, and the Highlander swung out of the saddle, landing on the ground with a heavy thud.
He and Catherine faced each other squarely.
Her heart beat like a mallet in her chest.
She struggled to recognize him. Surely she knew him, if only she could remember.…
God! Why couldn’t she?It was inconceivable that she would ever forget a face like that. His black eyes were piercing. They blazed wickedly at her with a savage determination that almost knocked her backwards against the stone.
She should run. Her instincts were telling her that she was in grave danger, but her feet would not move.
The Highlander’s eyes narrowed, and he began to stalk toward her, entering the ring of stones that had, until that moment, been her own private domain. This man’s fortitude, however, seemed to conquer and invade the whole world.
His gaze never veered from hers as he strode across the grass, his muscular legs taking long, sweeping strides, his big hand wrapped around the brass hilt of his claymore. At any moment he would reach her, and what would he do?
Catherine backed up against the stone, crashing into it. She sucked in a breath.
Suddenly he was upon her.
“Surprised to see me?” he asked in a deep Scottish brogue, pushing his big kilted knee between hers and pinning her to the stone. Whether he wanted to ravish her or rip her to pieces, she had no idea. Perhaps he intended to do both. One right after the other.
The firm pressure of his body, so tight up against her own, sent a hot ripple of shock through her veins.
“Should I be?” She was determined not to show fear, even while her body quivered and her breaths came hard and fast. “Do we know each other?”
“Don’t tell me you don’t remember our last encounter.”
Now that he was closer, she noticed a small scar across his left cheek—one small imperfection on an otherwise perfect canvas.
He placed his hands flat on the stone above each of her shoulders, keeping her trapped there while his infuriated gaze swept down the length of her body. He smelled woodsy, like leather and pine.
“I’m sorry,” she answered shakily, her knees going weak, “but I remember nothing.”
Had she been his lover once? Was he the one who had taken her virginity? It was entirely possible, for although she sensed danger in him, she found him brutally attractive.
“You remember nothing?” the Highlander said. “Nothing at all?” His eyes glimmered with challenge. “Well, do not fret, lass. I remember everything. I’ve been going over it in my mind for three years, and I never gave up my quest to find you. And to dothisto ye.”
He wrapped his big hand around the back of her neck and thrust his body closer.
Bewildered and breathless, she willed herself to remember. He had been searching for her. For three years.
