The evidence was all around her. But most of all , she felt it inside her. She’d been returned to a place and time she belonged, it was like nowhere else. If she had any doubt – which she didn’t – the love shining in Rogan MacGraith’s eyes as he sat beside her on the huge medievalfour-poster bed, told her everything she needed to know.
The important things, anyway.
Such as how much she meant to him and how glad he was to see her.
That his dog – the one she’d seen below the cliffs, when she’d fall en – stood beside the bed wagging his tail and looking at her with adoration was another boon.
She was definitely welcome here.
The dog edged forwards to nudge her with his nose, proving it.
His master grinned, the sight warming her to her toes.
“Precious lass.” Rogan’s voice, so deep and deliciously burred, was even more seductive than in her dreams. “I would spare you every hurt, but if you had to fall down the cliff to come to me, then—” he kissed her hands again “—I thank the gods for the misstep that brought you into my arms.
“And now that I have you—” he reached to smooth the hair back from her face “—I would know your name at last.”
“Lindy.” She didn’t want to speak. It was bliss just to listen to his beautifulvoice. “My name is Lindy. Lindy Lovejoy.”
“Lindy.” He made her name sound like a song. “’Tis a fitting name for one who fills my heart with such gladness. Sakes, lass—” he took her face between his hands, kissing her soundly “—when I saw you fall , I thought I’d lost you. To have you so close, within touching distance and then . . .” Rather than finish, he pulled her hard against him, almost crushing her in his arms. “You are mine, Lindy. Now that you’re here, I willnever let you go.”
Lindy almost swooned. “You won’t have to. I’m here now and I’m not going anywhere.”
She hoped that was true.
It was so hard to believe he really was holding her. Running his hands through her hair, touching her face, and – oh, joy! – kissing her.
She wasn’t dreaming.
This was real.
And – she suddenly realized – with the exception of the linen bandaging wrapped around her hands, she wasn’t wearing anything. She was naked. Though, proving medieval gallantry, someone had taken care to cover her with a soft furred throw and a lustrous welter of silken, richly embroidered sheets. She was also leaning back against a sea of plumped pillows.
Her comfort clearly mattered.
But her clothes . . .
They were definitely gone.
As if he’d read her thoughts, a slow, dangerously sexy smile curved Rogan’s mouth. “You couldn’t stay garbed as you were. I had to—”
“You undressed me?” She blinked. The notion both excited and embarrassed her.
“You’ll no’ deny I’ve done so before?” His smile reached his eyes, the effect positively wicked. “Many times, it’s been, aye, if I were to count.”
“I know that.” She spoke the truth. He’d undressed her a thousand times, in her dreams and fantasies. In the pages of her umpteen times rejected romance novel. And, she now suspected, he’d also done so in other lifetimes such as a Viking.
She tightened her arms around his neck, half afraid he’d disappear. “What I don’t understand is how I came to be here. How did you find me?”
He glanced at his dog. “Truth to tell, it was Snorri. He’d gone missing and when I went searching for him, I heard his barks and followed, knowing he’d be at the cave. I reached the strand just in time to see you falling.”
“You didn’t see me before?”
“Oh, aye.” He grinned. “In my dreams, nigh every night, if you’d hear how it was.”
He patted his dog’s head, scratching the beast’s ears. “You can ask Snorri. We keep no secrets from each other. He knows how I’ve pined for you.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Lindy hesitated, aware of the heat staining her cheeks. “I know we’ve shared dreams. But there’s more. I’m certain – ” this was so hard to say “ – we’ve shared past lives. That we’ve always been together, but this time something went wrong. I was born in the wrong place. Somewhere distant and far from here and impossible to reach you, until —”
