Free My Highlander Cover Model by Karyn Gerrard Page A

tasted paradise, I want more.”
    Cailin leaned down and picked up the towel from the floor and continued drying her off. He moved in slow and methodical strokes, and when he was finished, he kissed her hot and hard. Tossing the wet towel into the shower, he strode from the room.
    Holy. Shit.
     
    ***
     
    Cailin did learn quickly. After an hour, he drove around the barren field with a good deal of skill. He wanted to drive back to the house, but Skye refused. When he showed her the license in the wallet he carried, she laughed nervously, but let him behind the wheel. The experience of controlling such a piece of machinery spoke to his warrior soul. A battle won, an obstacle overcome. He wanted to feel control over something, mayhap. He tried to be resolute in front of Skye, but deep inside he was torn.
    The lass loved him. God’s stones, had not counted on that development. His own feelings were rather muddled. Honor and duty compelled him to try and return to his time. Leaving Skye, however, would be the most difficult thing he’d ever done.
    As the days passed, he grew more comfortable in this skin, for it was not entirely unlike his own body in many ways. The fact remained it was not his body, not his life. Every chance he could manage, when away from Skye, he held the sword tight, and murmured his family’s motto in his own tongue. Nothing happened. Who the bluidy hell knew what druid magic could be at work, or mayhap could be a curse?
    The only time his mind felt at peace was when he made love to Skye. Facing his own emotions was not something he wanted to do. For every hour that passed, the prospect of leaving her became more difficult to bear.
    The next day was Thursday, and the photo session in the city of New York. He had so much to remember. He was to pose as fierce highland warrior, not speak, and do as he was told. They would use the excuse of a sore throat again. How long could they keep that ruse up? Couldn’t he be like the movie actor Sean Connery and talk in his own voice? He supposed not. How to explain why Roderick all of a sudden spoke with a brogue?
    Cailin stood on the back deck and gazed at the blanket of stars in the evening sky. Night peepers and crickets sang in unison from the tall grass. This was not Scotland. Not his home. The twinge in his heart told that tale true enough. The sights and smells of this era were nothing like he remembered and ached for. Adjusting to 2013, with its hot and cold running water and electrical conveniences, would not be a hardship. They made life more tolerable and left time to reflect. Even so, in his heart, he longed for the smell of the heather, the sounds of cattle lowing in the fields below, of his younger brothers arguing over who would hunt for the meat for supper. ’Twas a simple life that quieted the soul. How to explain all this to Skye? He did not want to hurt her, not for the world.
    What of poor Roderick? The lad must find the uncomplicated life in 1814 difficult to be sure—if he were there. Where else would he be? It wasn’t fair of him to usurp the lad’s life. Skye informed him Roderick had told his mother of his interest in her, and had planned to ask her on what they called “a date”. A sharp shaft of jealousy speared him with that knowledge. He and Roderick had the same taste in women, it seemed. The fact he’d made love to Skye with the lad’s body did not sit well.
    A few gray clouds covered the half-moon briefly before continuing on their nocturnal journey. Life was closing in on them both. Skye had to return to work, and Roderick received calls for modeling jobs. Roderick’s family wanted to talk to him. There were those things called “e-mails” on the computer contraption that needed answering.
    He wanted to go home.
    The sliding glass door opened, and Skye stepped out onto the deck. Curling her arm about his waist, she leaned her head on his chest. Cailin’s heart stuttered and skipped at her nearness. Who was he bluidy