Wicked in a Kilt (Hot Scots Book 2)

by Anna Durand

  "Should I leave?" Aidan asked, running hand through his hair to comb it out. "Seems like the two of you have things to discuss."

  "You don't have to leave," I said, casting him an over-the-shoulder glance. "This is my brother, Gavin."

  Aidan smiled again, his curious gaze aimed at Gavin. "Your brother? That does explain it."

  "Explain what?" Gavin asked.

  "Why you're concerned about her welfare. I have three sisters and I wouldn't like to find a man I'd never met staying in any of their homes. Especially not my younger sister."

  Gavin's face blanked. He didn't move or speak for a minute, maybe more. Then, as one side of his mouth ticked up, he said to Aidan, "Maybe I should go move in with your little sister."

  "You could try," Aidan said, "but Jamie lives with my older brother Rory at the moment. He's not as friendly as I am."

  Grasping the back of his neck, Gavin frowned. "I still don't like this, but… Calli's an adult. She can do what she wants."

  I wanted this conversation to end, but that seemed unlikely. At least my brother was conceding I had the right to make my own decisions. Of course, that didn't mean he'd relinquish his right to critique my choices.

  Gavin took a step toward Aidan, bypassing me, and offered his hand. "Might as well make peace, huh?"

  "Aye." Aidan shook his hand.

  "Just so you know," Gavin said, "I was in the Marines and I served in Afghanistan. Not only could I kill you with my bare hands, but my buddies from the Corps would help me dispose of your body so no one will ever find it."

  "I don't doubt it." Aidan slung the towel over one bare shoulder. "I would never hurt Calli or let anyone else hurt her."

  "Damn straight. If she gets hurt, I'll hunt you down and take you out."

  "You could try."

  Gavin stared at Aidan for a long moment, then slapped his shoulder. Hard. "I think we understand each other, don't we?"

  Okay, this was all the bravado and male bonding I could handle. I waved my arms, to remind them I was there. "Your bromance has begun, congratulations. Should I leave you two alone?"

  Gavin's mouth twisted into an exasperated expression. "Real funny, C. But you and me still need to have a serious conversation."

  "There's nothing to say. Aidan's staying here, you don't like it, I don't care, end of discussion."

  Aidan started for the hall, tiptoeing away.

  "Where are you going?" I asked.

  My brother snorted. "I hope he's going to put on a shirt."

  I covered my face with my hands. This was going to be a long day. Very long.

  As the Scot disappeared into the guest room, I turned back to my brother. "How long are you planning to hang around and scowl?"

  "Depends." He crossed his brawny arms over his chest, fixing me with his military-man glare. "How long is your new friend sticking around?"

  I hated to think about Aidan leaving, it made me sick to think about it, but I could hardly tell my brother that. Instead I asked, "Where are you staying?"

  "Here."

  My stomach dropped through the floor, straight into the earth's core. "You can't. Aidan's in the guest room."

  "You mentioned once there's a hunting shack on the property."

  I blinked rapidly. "You want to stay in the shack that has no electricity and no bed? You'll need to buy a sleeping bag or something and — "

  "Stop. I'm staying and that's that." He lowered his arms but gritted his teeth. "No way am I leaving till I figure out what's going on with you. Besides, I can handle roughing it."

  "But — "

  Gavin marched out the door, calling over his shoulder, "Going to get my stuff. Back in a tick."

  As the door clicked shut behind him, I let my shoulders slump. Oh, wonderful. My bossy big brother planned on sleeping in the shack about two hundred feet from the house in which Aidan and I were having sex on a daily basis. Gavin intended to figure me out. Aidan intended to convince me to marry him.

  If ever someone invented a recipe for thermonuclear disaster, this was it.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  I woke the next morning in Aidan's bed, his warm body molded to the backside of mine and one of his arms hanging over my hips. Yep, I had sneaked into his bed last night — but only to sleep nestled in his arms, dressed in my nightie. He slept naked. Always. I knew because he'd told me so when I asked if he'd really expected us to have sex after spending the whole exhausting day with Gavin.

  Aidan had mumbled, "Sleep naked every night. Not trying to have a poke at ye."

  "Is poke a strange Scottish term for sex?"

  He'd mumbled again, an incoherent noise.

  My brother and Aidan had circled each other all day, each sizing up the other in hopes of winning the argument about their opposing ideas of what I should do. Eventually, they'd reached a kind of detente — not friends, not enemies, but something in the middle. Gavin had even ribbed Aidan the way tough guys liked to do, which meant he'd accepted Aidan at least a little bit. By that time, I was too exhausted to laud their newfound peace. At least Gavin had retreated to the hunting shack, though not before commenting that he was within earshot of the house.

  Could he really hear what went on in this house? The woods tended to mute sounds, making them seem farther away than they were. I'd noticed the effect with the puppies' barking. Still, having my brother ensconced in the shack not far from the house made me uneasy.

  Oh yeah, thermonuclear disaster on the way.

  Aidan had worked hard to make my brother feel better about my living situation and generally acted like a perfect gentleman. Despite the rocky start to their acquaintance, things had thawed a bit and I was glad for it.

  Rocky start? I shook my head, recalling Aidan's emergence from the bathroom. We were lucky Gavin hadn't kidnapped me to get me away from the Don Juan shacked up in my guest room.

  The Scot in question was snoring softly behind me. I would've loved to stay here, wrapped up in his body, until he awoke. But I really had to pee.

  I crawled out of bed and slunk from the room, shutting the door as quietly as I could. After relieving my needs in the bathroom, I meandered into my bedroom to look for the puppies, but they were nowhere in sight. Outside already, no doubt. The canines rose and shone with the sun. I snagged my robe from the chair, threw it on, and hurried out the door into the hallway intent on whipping up a sumptuous breakfast for me and my Highland lover. By the time I reached the living room, I could hear someone rapping on the glass doors to the backyard. Halting, I peered across the room.

  Gavin was standing outside the doors, one hand in his pants pocket and the other rapping on the glass. The puppies leaped around him, with Misty bouncing up and down. Boing, boing, boing went the puppy. When Gavin spotted me, he waved — though his face was cinched into a grimace.

  Pulling the robe tighter around me, I hurried to the doors and pushed them open. The slider whisked along its track.

  "Morning," I said, with a bit too much cheeriness. "Are the girls being pests?"

  "No, they're fine." He shooed them with his foot, but his gaze remained glued to mine. "You planning to let me in? Or is what's-his-name walking around buck naked?"

  An image of a nude Aidan lying in bed at this very moment flashed in my mind. I squared my shoulders, determined to ignore the image and its effect on me. "Of course you can come in, Gavin."

  I stepped aside to wave him in.

  He shuffled over the threshold and threw me an odd sidelong glance. The puppies bounded after him as he headed for the kitchen bar, muttering something I couldn't make out. With an annoyed sigh, he perched on the nearest stool, facing me.

  Mandy and Misty's ears perked up. Their heads swiveled toward the hallway and they took off in the direction of the spare bedroom. Where Aidan was naked. Gloriously, completely naked. What if he strolled out of the bedroom in that state?

  "You're blushing," Gavin said, sounding surprised.

  I laid a hand on my cheek, the coolness of my
palm easing the burn. The effect didn't last, though. I clasped my hands over my belly, but I couldn't think of a damn thing to say.

  Gavin forged ahead anyway. "Why are you blushing?"

  Ah, the inquisition had begun. In lieu of strapping me to a rack, he speared me with his penetrating gaze. He couldn't know about me and Aidan and our carnal activities.

  Unless it was glaringly obvious to everyone.

  Gavin rested one arm on the bar, drumming his fingers. "You're sleeping with him, aren't you?"

  I marched toward him, targeting him with my stare. "Do you really want to talk about my sex life?"

  He turned a little gray, as if he might throw up. "No, I don't."

  "Then accept it's none of your business."

  My brother frowned and began thumping one finger on the countertop. "What's wrong with you, C? For years, you didn't even date — as far as I know. When I called a week ago, you didn't say anything about a guy and now you're shacked up with him. I don't understand, that's all."

  I didn't understand either, but I'd given up worrying about why I liked having Aidan around. He made me feel good, period. Didn't I deserve to feel good for a little while? Sure, the other night I'd thought I might be falling for him. That was crazy, though, and I'd convinced myself it couldn't be true.

  Convinced myself. Yeah, that didn't sound at all like self-delusion.

  Gavin hunched his shoulders. "I'm sorry, okay? Maybe it is none of my business. But I love you, Calli, you're the only family I've got — besides Tara, who's a good kid but kind of ditsy. You're supposed to be my level-headed sister, the one I can count on to make sense."

  I supposed I couldn't blame him for being taken aback by my recent behavior. For five years, I'd had virtually nothing to do with dating or men. I might as well have joined a convent. Then one day, my brother stopped by to check on me and found his sister in flagrante with a stranger from another country.

  "Sorry I disappointed you," I told Gavin, "but you're acting like I committed a capital offense by getting involved with a man. I like Aidan. You've been spending time with him, do you really think he's a Euro-trash gigolo taking advantage of me?"

  Gavin sank back in his stool, slumping and gusting out a sigh. "No. I don't think that."

  The gleeful yips and barks of two puppies worshiping my lover echoed from down the hall. At the thought of Aidan, the tension relaxed out of my shoulders.

  "Now you're smiling," Gavin said, with a hint of wonder in his voice. He glanced at the hallway. "I may not like you sleeping with him, but I have to admit I've never seen you this happy before. Ever. When you look at him, you get… gushy."

  I stared at my brother. Gushy? No. Did I really gaze dreamily at Aidan? In front of other people? In front of my brother?

  "Yep," Gavin said, in a knowing tone, "that's right. You moon over him and I'm guessing you don't even realize you're doing it. Man, you've got it bad, don't you?"

  Got it bad? Noooo, oh no-no-no. I did not have it bad for Aidan.

  Except every time I thought of him, my insides went warm and gooey.

  I clamped my lips between my teeth and shifted my gaze to the kitchen cabinets.

  Gavin laughed softly, not mocking me, just expressing a growing understanding of the situation. "At least promise me if you marry him, you won't move to Scotland."

  My attention snapped back to my brother. "I'm not marrying Aidan."

  "No?" Gavin's brows knit together over his nose. "You say that like there's no way in hell you'd even consider it. You always wanted to get married. I remember you acting out fake weddings between your Barbie and Ken dolls."

  "That was a long time ago."

  "What's happened to you, C?"

  His question stabbed into my heart. What had happened to me? I married a foreigner so he could get a green card and then citizenship. I was trapped in a marriage I'd never wanted, struggling to break free but hampered by legal hurdles. If I went to the authorities, I'd get arrested for marriage fraud. Jail time, hefty fines, ruination. Who on earth would hire a convicted criminal?

  "Whatever's going on with you," Gavin said, "you can tell me."

  But I couldn't. I wouldn't involve him in my criminal mistake.

  I opened my mouth to speak, having no clue what I'd say, but footfalls padding down the hallway spared me from bumbling through a lie.

  Aidan sauntered into the living room dressed in khaki pants and a blue button-down shirt. The long sleeves only served to accentuate the impressive muscles in his arms. The top two buttons of the shirt were undone, granting a glimpse of the toned flesh beneath.

  Out the corner of my eye, I noticed Gavin's smirk. He might as well have stuck his tongue out and said I told you so, you moony idiot.

  Because yeah, I was mooning at the Highlander. The scent of his cologne wafted toward me, and with his wavy hair brushed back, he looked so good I wanted to run right over and lick him like a lollipop.

  "Good morning," Aidan said, smiling at my brother. "Are you joining us for breakfast, Gavin?"

  "Sure," Gavin said, still smirking. "You guys must be starving after all that… driving."

  I shot my brother a sharp look. Aidan had told him about our road trips yesterday, but Gavin seemed to have guessed our activities involved more than sightseeing.

  Gavin's lips warped as he tried not to laugh.

  "Better have a quick breakfast," I said. "We have to pick Jamie up at the airport."

  Gavin and Aidan began discussing breakfast options, while I headed to my bedroom to get dressed. At least one secret was out. The other one, the big one, had to remain a secret. I wouldn't tell Gavin. But the longer Aidan stuck around, the more I longed to confide everything to him. Why should I want to confess my lawbreaking to a man I'd known for eleven days?

  I didn't dare consider the answer. No matter what my heart might want, no matter what my body craved every second I was in Aidan's presence, this relationship could go no further than sex.

  When you look at him, you get gushy.

  Shutting the bedroom door behind me, I leaned back against it. I couldn't afford to fall for Aidan. But could I prevent it?

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Aidan threw the front door open and his sister tumbled into the house, oohing and ahhing as she spun in circles, traveling across the floor without paying any heed to the obstacles in her path. When she veered toward the endtable, Aidan took hold of her shoulders, bringing her to a stop. Her long, golden-brown hair whooshed around her shoulders.

  Mouth open, hazel eyes wide, she said in a hushed voice, "This is beautiful. Can't believe I'm in America. I want to see it all, every bit of it."

  "Easy," Aidan said, giving her a tolerant, slightly amused look. "You just arrived, Jamie. Give yourself time to adjust to the jet lag."

  "But I want to see everything." She spun again, the sunshine streaming through the windows igniting green sparks in her pale gold eyes.

  Though I hated to admit it, since the moment I'd met Jamie today I'd envied her. She was so full of innocent joy, so free of worries. Of course, everyone had something that bothered them and I'd known her for a matter of hours. I shouldn't assume she was worry-free, but I still envied her ability to thrive in a completely foreign environment. I would've been nervous about my first trip to another country.

  An explosive thwap announced the arrival of Mandy and Misty, who rushed at the newcomer in their home. Misty slapped her big paws on Jamie's tummy, struggling to stretch up tall enough to slather wet kisses on her face but unable to reach that far. Meanwhile, Mandy licked Jamie's ankles, bared by her sandals and knee-length skirt.

  Jamie giggled. "That tickles."

  I moved to shoo the puppies away, but Jamie shook her head.

  "Don't worry," she said, "I love animals. Dogs are my favorite."

  She knelt to let the furry girls maul her with their tongues and climb all over her.

  Right then, Gavin entered through the glass doors at the back of the house. He stoppe
d a few feet inside, watching the spectacle taking place on the floor with a bemused expression.

  My enjoyment of the situation had been tempered by the call I'd received earlier at the airport. While Aidan had helped Jamie retrieve her checked bags, I'd stepped aside to answer my ringing phone. From the caller ID, I knew who it was. "What do you want, Rade?"

  "To speak with my wife."

  "Sign the papers. There's nothing else to say."

  "I need to speak with you in person."

  A hand on my forehead did nothing to quell the headache sprouting there. "I have guests. There's nothing more to talk about, anyway."

  "Please. A few moments is all I ask."

  "No, sorry."

  He fell silent for a few seconds, the dull roar of traffic in the background. "I've already made arrangements to fly there. When we see each other, you will realize we should talk. If you don't, then I will leave again. You have my word."

  "All I want is for you to please-please-please take the divorce papers and stop trying to put the skids on the whole process."

  "I will see in a few days. Have a good afternoon, Calli."

  Before I could balk, he'd hung up.

  The here and now swam back into focus around me.

  "You can love me more later," Jamie told the puppies. She straightened, smoothing out her skirt, and turned toward Gavin. "You must be Calli's brother. I'm Jamie, Aidan's sister."

  At the sight of Jamie — so perky and cute, full of life and armed with that MacTaggart charm — my brother grinned and hustled over to shake the hand of our newest houseguest. "Hey. Nice to, uh, meet you. I'm Gavin. Douglas. Calli's brother, Gavin Douglas."

  Was my brother nervous? Or, heaven forbid, smitten at first sight? After the way he'd reamed me for letting Aidan stay here. After accusing me of going gushy for the Scot. Oh, I'd have lots of fun exacting Gavin's comeuppance for this.

  Jamie's cheeks dimpled, she giggled again. "Nice to meet you too, Gavin."

  Aidan grasped Jamie's wrist and urged her hand free of Gavin's. "Let me show you to your room."

  Though she allowed her brother to haul her out of the living room, she glanced back to smile at Gavin, who — swear to God — mooned at her.