Devil's Highlander Book

Marjorie Keith has loved Cormac MacAlpin forever. She and Cormac used to be best friends when they were children, but that ended the day Cormac's twin brother Aidan was mistaken for a beggar boy and forcibly sent to Barbados when he was only ten. Both Cormac and Marjorie blame themselves even though they were just children. Cormac went off to fight for his country while Marjorie suffered silently. Now thirteen years later, Cormac has come back and spends his days fishing. Marjorie aches for Cormac and wants more than just a fragile friendship between them. She comes to him for help. Marjorie tends to the children that are in a poorhouse, and one small lad in particular, five-year old Davie has gone missing. She thinks he has been taken much like Aidan was and wants Cormac's help to find Davie.

Cormac longs to lose himself in Marjorie's arms, but he feels he is not good enough for her. He's damaged and has been since that day he couldn't protect Aidan. He's done some horrible things since then, and if Marjorie knew, she would turn away from him. When he refuses to help Marjorie, she has no choice but to investigate herself, which will lead her to the dangerous docks where ruffians lurk in the shadows. Cormac thinks Marjorie is stubborn and not thinking correctly. She tries his patience, and because he doesn't want any harm her to come to harm, he decides to help.

Cormac and Marjorie maneuver through a dark world of child slavery with shocking results. Marjorie may think Cormac is the very devil at times, but she wants nothing more than to give him peace. She sees such despair and loneliness in his eyes and will do whatever she can to make him see that he is deserving of love.

Cormac is one lusty Scotsman in Devil's Highlander, and the underlying sexual tension between him and Marjorie is hot and very sexy. These two have always had a deep bond starting from childhood that grew into adulthood. Because of a tragedy, Cormac turned away from Marjorie. But his "Ree", as he likes to call her, won't let him walk away from her. She wants Cormac, faults and all.

This is a typical story where the tortured hero thinks he isn't worthy of the heroine because of something that isn't necessarily his fault. Cormac is more than depressed over the loss of Aidan, but soon he lightens up when he and Marjorie pretend to be husband and wife. Those scenes are sweet and funny and these two are not afraid to share affection with one another, which leads to some wonderful love scenes.

Devil's Highlander doesn't have many memorable secondary characters and relies mainly on Cormac and Marjorie to keep the reader interested as they team up to take down some rotten individuals. There is a small twist at the end that some may not see coming that sets the stage for the next Clan MacAlpin novel, Devil's Own.

This was my first book by Veronica Wolff and a very enjoyable read. I look forward to her next Scottish romance with a hero who may be damaged and finally set free by the love of his heroine.