Highlanders Never Surrender — Julie Johnstone

On the path of vengeance, he unwillingly collided with love.No one desires retribution against their enemy more than Highlander Cormac MacLean. Yet his foe has the favor of the king and Cormac lacks irrefutable proof of the man's nefarious deeds, so revenge must be planned with calculated care. But when Cormac's hot-headed brother impulsively attempts to kidnap their enemy's stepsister, Cormac finds himself fleeing with the wounded beauty after she sustains an injury trying to protect him. He has every intention of returning the troublesome lass to her home, until it quickly becomes apparent that she may be the one person who can free his sister from the dark place in which she dwells. At every turn, the strong-willed woman shows bravery and loyalty, and instead of wanting to keep her at a distance as vows given and family allegiance demands he must, he aches to touch her, protect her, and possess her forever.Desperate to escape her impending wedding to a suspected murderer, Brigid Campbell is not exactly dismayed when she's snatched from her stepbrother's clutches by a Scottish barbarian who she incidentally ends up saving from an arrow aimed at his heart. Still, when she awakens from her injury at Cormac's home, she is quite upset that her dearest companion was left behind to face the wrath of her stepbrother. So, when her overbearing captor announces he'll be keeping her to assist his sister, she makes a demand of her own—he must help her rescue her companion. When the officious man refuses, she takes matters into her own hands bringing her the startling discovery that behind the Highlander's mask of dislike for her lies a compellingly complex man who willingly charges into peril to save her. At each brush with danger that ensues, he's there to aid her, filling her with hope that despite the feud that brought them together, she may have finally found a family to belong to and a man to trust and to give her heart.Brigid fuels Cormac's desire and makes him question his oaths, but it takes his enemy making a master move for him to face the truth that since the day he met Brigid, there could only ever be one choice for him—banish his ghosts, silence his guilt, and show the woman he loves unquestionably that she is his and he is hers—if only it's not too late.