The Dark Highlander Read online

  “Do you mean that? Truly?”

  “How could ye doubt it? Have I not shown ye my love?”

  Och, in so many ways, he thought, exhilarated. And it was nigh time he show her his. Gently, Silvan placed his hand between her breasts, above her heart, and rested his other above his own. “Place your hands atop mine.”

  She glanced down at his hand and her eyes narrowed. “What happened to yer ring?”

  “’Tis no band of simple metal that holds us together, Nellie. ’Tis something far greater than that. As to what happened to my ring, I gave it to the queen of the Tuatha Dé Danaan when she came and told me Dageus was alive and well, and free at last.”

  “What?” Nellie gasped.

  “I’ll tell you all anon.” Silvan said impatiently. Now that he’d made up his mind to take the binding vows, he was desperate for her answer. He didn’t want to waste another moment. He was frantic to claim her, lest something awful happen, like his heart give out before he could complete the vows. “Will you be saying the words after me, lass?”

  “Och, life with ye is ne’er simple, is it?” she exclaimed. Then she smiled radiantly. “Aye, Silvan. I’ll be saying the words.”

  Silvan’s voice was firm and deep. “If aught must be lost . . .”

  “So, how does one marry a Druid?” Chloe asked breathlessly. She couldn’t stop touching him, couldn’t believe that he was alive, that she had him back and everything had worked out.

  With a finger beneath her chin, he tipped her face up for a soft kiss. “It’s fairly simple, really. You nearly did it once,” he said, flashing her a smile. A smile that fully reached his golden eyes, filling them with warmth. A smile that promised heated lovemaking the moment they completed his Druid rites. And she was definitely in need of some heated lovemaking. She felt as if she might burst from happiness.

  His words penetrated a bit belatedly. She frowned, perplexed. “I did?”

  “Aye.” He placed one hand over her heart, the other over his own. “Place your hands atop mine, lass.”

  When she complied, he kissed her again, this time slow and sweet, holding her lower lip hostage for a long, delicious moment. Then he said, “Repeat after me, love.”

  She nodded, her eyes sparkling.

  “If aught must be lost, ’twill be my honor for yours . . .”

  “I am Given,” Nellie said, blinking back tears. Emotion swelled inside her, crashing through her like an ocean wave, and she might have fallen to her knees had Silvan not caught her in his arms.

  “Aye, lass, now you’re truly mine,” he said fiercely. “Forever.”

  “You married me that day in the heather?” Chloe shouted. “And you didn’t tell me? Ooh! We are going to have to have a serious talk about how we communicate!” She scowled up at him. “And while we’re on that subject, we still haven’t discussed you leaving that night without telling me!”

  “After the loving, lass,” Dageus purred, lowering his dark head to hers. “There will be plenty of time to speak of such things then.”

  And the loving, he vowed, as he slipped her sweater over her head, was going to take a very, very long time.

  He was no longer dark; time was no longer his enemy. He’d claimed his mate, and the future loomed ahead of them, resplendent with promise.

  SOURCES

  The Celts, Juliette Wood, Duncan Baird Publishers

  Heroes of the Dawn, Fleming, Husain, Littleton and Malcor, Duncan Baird Publishers

  The Book Before Printing, David Diringer, Dover Publications

  The Alphabet, David Diringer, The Philosophical Library, Inc.

  Illuminated Manuscripts, Christopher De Hamel, Phaidon Press Ltd.

  The World of the Druids, Miranda J. Green, Thames and Hudson, Ltd. London

  Caesar Against the Celts, Ramon Jiménez, Castle Books

  Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, James MacKillop, Oxford University Press

  How the Irish Saved Civilization, Thomas Cahill, Doubleday

  Irish Legends, Iain Zaczek, Collins & Brown, Ltd.

  Dear Reader:

  Many of you have written to ask me if there is a particular order in which one should read my Highlander novels, and how they are connected. I’ve written each of them to stand alone, yet I suspect the reading experience is richer if they are read in the following order: Beyond the Highland Mist, To Tame A Highland Warrior, The Highlander’s Touch, Kiss of the Highlander, and Dark Highlander.

  The novels are all connected to varying degrees. Adam Black, of the Tuatha Dé Danaan (pronounced “tua day dhanna” *1 ), appears in Beyond the Highland Mist, The Highlander’s Touch, and The Dark Highlander. Dageus’s twin brother, Drustan, is the hero of Kiss of the Highlander.

  The hero of To Tame A Highland Warrior, Grimm (Gavrael Roderick), is the best friend of the hero in Beyond the Highland Mist, Hawk Douglas. Adam Black knows there’s more of a connection than that, but Adam’s not talking.

  I’d originally intended to write Adam Black’s story next, however, I’ve found myself temporarily detoured by another story. I do plan to return and tackle the millennia-old, fascinatingly complex antihero Adam.

  So what’s next for 2003? Here are a few key ingredients of the work in progress: a stubborn, intelligent heroine who gets drawn into a quest against her will when she comes into possession of a most unusual artifact; a powerful, mysterious, darkly sexual Highlander who is trying to help her . . . or kill her . . . ; and a fascinating mystery, the key to which has been hidden for centuries in an ancient Scottish chapel.

  If you’re itching for a hint about what’s in store for Adam, Dageus’s thoughts about the undercurrents between the two Tuatha Dé Danaan, when the queen told Adam to heal Dageus and Adam protested that it would “cost him too much” because the mortal was so close to death, were most apt:

  The male Tuatha Dé had not been pleased. Verily, for such an otherworldly being, he’d seemed mortally horrified by her decree.

  Mortally being the key word there.

  All my best,

  Karen

  To return to the corresponding text, click on “Return to text.”

  *Irish Legends, Iain Zaczek, Collins & Brown, Ltd.

  Return to text.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Karen Marie Moning graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree in Society & Law. Her novels have appeared on both the New York Times and USA Today’s extended bestseller lists, and won numerous awards, including the prestigious RITA award.

  You can visit Karen at: www.kmoning.bizland.com/tartan.

  DELL BOOKS BY

  KAREN MARIE MONING

  The Dark Highlander

  Kiss of the Highlander

  The Highlander’s Touch

  To Tame a Highland Warrior

  Beyond the Highland Mist

  A Dell Book

  Published by

  Dell Publishing

  a division of

  Random House, Inc.

  New York, New York

  Copyright © 2002 by Karen Marie Moning

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. For information address: Dell Publishing, New York, New York.

  Dell® is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., and the colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

  Visit our website at www.bantamdell.com

  eISBN: 978-0-440-33441-5

  v3.0

 

 

 
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