He liked sex. He knew from his partners’ reactions he was pretty good at it, and repairing some of her hurts was the best thing he could do for her. The rest, he thought, was pure selfishness. He wanted her. He loved the way she kissed, the way she melted and then fought for domination. She was surprisingly uninhibited, both sweet and passionate, and open to her own and his imagination. Physically, he couldn’t get enough of her and he couldn’t see that changing any time soon.
But the real danger for him was that he liked her. She was funny and bantered back and forth with him. He found himself watching for all her changes of expression. They fascinated him. She had such down to earth common sense, the wisdom of a much older woman, and yet her eyes went dreamy sometimes, serious and beautiful…
And if I don’t keep my mind on the job, I’m a dead man.
Turning away from the seals, he ignored the path up to the observation point, instead climbing over the difficult, slippery rocks that led around the island to the other side where James Black had been camped. Over the salty smell of the sea spray, he could scent a wood fire. He had to climb quite high to keep himself out of the sea at one point, and the whole journey was pretty precarious.
Eventually, he made out voices. Just two, he thought, both male. Moving nearer with greater care than ever, Aidan lowered himself from an overhanging ledge, dropping the last few inches onto a large but slippery rock. He had to save himself with his hands, but at least he did it quietly, and then, creeping forward, he finally saw them.
They sat on a blanket on the sand, in their coats and hats, huddled close to the crackling fire. Aidan looked around them, took in their boat pulled up beyond the tide line—it was the one he and Chrissy had glimpsed part of yesterday, a decent-ish rowing boat. No motor.
He turned, examining the rocks behind them. By the glow of the fire, he could make out the big cave they were using for shelter. There were three rucksacks in it.
The heroin that had to be their reason for being here, was surely in one—or all—of those. Their normal routine would have been upset by Gowan’s murder and the change of leadership and location. But Aidan was positive the changeover must be planned for pretty soon now. He had no more time.
He just had to grab the stuff and run. It didn’t really matter if he was seen. He had to be quicker than them over rocks he already knew, and his boat was certainly faster than theirs. They didn’t stand a chance of catching him.
Of course, they could shoot him, but that was a risk he’d have to take. He had his own weapon in his pocket for the journey, but he didn’t intend to use it unless he was caught red-handed, as it were, in the cave.
Black and his crony were, inevitably, drinking and quarrelling. There wasn’t much else for them to do here and they must have been resentful and pissed off and downright cold. Shame, Aidan thought without sympathy as he climbed over the rocks towards their cave. The wind was his friend, whipping up the sea and no doubt battering the ears of the smugglers as much as his, drowning whatever sounds he made as he clambered behind their backs and entered the cave.
In the end, it was like stealing candy from a baby. They’d even left a phone on the cave floor. After he found the right rucksack by feel and slipped it on his back, he glanced at the gesticulating figures on the beach, shouting each other down. He reckoned he had the time. Taking the back off the phone, he inserted a tiny bug from the case in his left-hand pocket. Then he put the phone back together, replaced it on the floor and climbed out of the cave. As he made his way across the rocks, his spine tingled. The hair on the back of his neck stood up in expectation of the shot that never came.
He’d almost made it out of sight when a shout rang out. “Fuck, what’s that?”
“What?” came another voice in alarm. “What are you on about?”
“There. Something’s moving, James, I swear.”
“Ach, you’re…fuck, you’re right! Who the hell’s that? Get after him!”
Aidan wanted to laugh as he sped up, uncaring now about noise. It felt like a schoolboy game of tig, or a scene from Scooby Doo. Plus he had the advantage of sobriety. He never felt in any immediate danger, not least because one of them yelled at the other to put the gun away or the shot’d be heard for miles across the mainland. Aidan wasn’t sure how far it would carry, but he was still grateful.
Making it finally onto the jetty with nothing worse than damp bottoms to his trouser legs, Aidan untied the boat, jumped in and started the engine. He was a hundred yards from the island before he unloaded the rucksack and pushed it down into the cabin. When he returned to the deck, he still couldn’t see his pursuers.
Plan B, stage one complete.
Trouble was, that was the easy part. He wasn’t looking forward to the rest.
Chrissy was just putting on her coat to walk down to the village and put up the workshop schedules in a few public places, when Rab stuck his head round the door.
“Got a minute?” he asked.
“Sure.” Chrissy sat back down and waved him to a chair. Rab came in and unexpectedly closed the office door. This was unusual enough to alarm and intrigue her. “What’s on your mind?”
“Len,” Rab said with a sigh as he sat opposite her.
Chrissy’s heart began to beat faster. “Is he a problem?”
“No, no, not to me. It’s just…” Rab blushed. “He seems to think there’s something between you and me. Maybe because I shoved him off you at New Year. I’m sorry if I was out of order.”
“Out of…” Chrissy closed her mouth and swallowed. “You were not out of order. He was, and I’m grateful to you. You know that.”
Rab still looked puzzled. “That’s what I thought. But it seems to have given him the wrong impression about you and me.”
“What makes you think so?” she asked faintly.
“He seemed to be warning me I had a rival and that you weren’t…trustworthy. I just thought you should know. In case he’s too interested in your…in you.”
Chrissy forced a smile. It struck her Len wasn’t warning Rab but trying to stir up trouble for her since his more serious effort with the gun didn’t seem to have led anywhere.
She said, “He saw me with Aidan Grieve. There’ll be gossip in the village as well. It doesn’t matter.” She hesitated, new unease filtering through the old. “You get on okay with Len?”
“Aye, he’s all right.”
She drew in her breath. “Look, don’t say anything to the others, but maybe you should steer clear of him, just for a bit. Watch your back.”
Rab’s eyes widened.
“I might be wrong,” Chrissy said in rush. “But he might be spiteful. Between you and me.”
Rab scratched his neck. “Glenn should know.”
“I’ll speak to Glenn. You keep it to yourself just now, Rab, even when you’re pissed.”
“’Course,” Rab said, slightly affronted, as he got to his feet.
“Thanks,” Chrissy said.
Her first port of call in the village was the public library, presided over by Morag Wallace, currently invisible behind the giant pile of books in her arms.
“Hey, book monster!” Chrissy called, since the place was currently empty. “What have you done with Morag?”
“Crushed her,” came Morag’s voice as she dumped the pile on the nearest table. “It’s a game. See how many I can carry before the tower falls down.”
“Slow day?” Chrissy suggested.
“Deadly. But since I abandoned all the shelving in order to go the pub on Hogmanay, there’s no shortage of work. Just distraction.”
“Hello.” Chrissy waved her leaflets. “Got some distractions here. Fancy a workshop in art? Writing? Making jewellery? Basic computer skills? Music?”
“Sure. Bring them on.”
Chrissy blinked. “You can’t do them all at once.” She put a pile of leaflets on the issue desk. “Read that, spread the word, sign up and bring your friends and readers.”
“Maybe I will.” Mora
g abandoned her precarious book tower and wandered over to pick up a leaflet, scanning it briefly. “Sounds fun, actually. Talking of fun, what’s this I hear about you and Aidan Grieve?”
Chrissy rolled her eyes.
Morag smiled. “You’re all right. I’m not looking for gory details, just warning you. True or not, the word is out.”
“I wasn’t discreet,” Chrissy confessed ruefully. “There didn’t seem to be any point.”
“There isn’t.”
Chrissy sighed. “Not sure I can face the post office now. Mrs. Campbell will crucify me.”
“I’ll take your notice in at lunchtime, if you like.”
Chrissy straightened. “No. I’m too proud to be intimidated by the old witch.”
“Give her a treat. Walk in hand in hand with Aidan. Hell, stick your tongue down his throat.”
Chrissy laughed. “I’m almost tempted.”
“Go on. He’s round at the harbour fiddling with his boat. Or at least he was when I came by to work.”
Chrissy walked towards the door. “I never saw Beelzebub as a librarian before.”
“Well, my dear,” Morag said with mock fiendishness as an old lady passed Chrissy in the doorway, “you’ve never been to library school. Morning, Miss Hughes!”
Chrissy left, laughing, and went straight to the post office to ask Mrs. Campbell to kindly display her leaflet in the window. Mrs. Campbell, her eyes bright with more curiosity than hostility, sniffed and agreed. Chrissy made a mental note to check up tomorrow, before she left to stick one on the village notice board across the road. Then, she walked round to the Community Centre to leave some leaflets there.
That done, she contemplated the church hall. She didn’t suppose the minister would mind her putting up a leaflet there. If he was around, she’d ask him. And, she acknowledged, it took her close enough to the harbour to see if Aidan was there.
The minister, whom she’d only ever seen from a distance before, was unexpectedly young and shy. He agreed happily to host her leaflet on the church hall notice board in return for her taking one listing the various church services and events to Ardknocken House.
“Thanks,” Chrissy said in surprise. “I’ll let the boys know.”
All it took to be accepted, it seemed, was time. Though she doubted anything less than several generations of law abiding citizens would be enough for Mrs. Campbell.
Her heart beating just a little faster than it should, she walked around the corner of the grave yard and into the harbour.
She saw him at once, sitting on the front of the boat with his legs dangling down towards the quay. Or at least the sea between. He wore a bulky sweater, rain jacket and gloves, his head bare apart from earphones.
He was talking to a white-bearded old man, and his blond hair blew across his face.
God, he’s beautiful… He took her breath away, even from this distance. Then he looked up and saw her and a spontaneous smile broke across his face. Her heart turned over and she knew that whatever he did and wherever he went, she was lost in him.
How the hell did that happen? I don’t do this. I’m Ms. Sensible where men are concerned, always was, even before…
She squashed the barrage of confused thoughts. Aidan lifted his hand to her. The old man waved too, then shambled off towards the beach. Aidan jumped onto the quay, and strode towards her, pushing his earphones around his neck. Rather to her surprise, he took her straight into his arms and pressed his cheek to hers.
“You spoke to Louise. Thanks.”
“I hope it helps,” she said breathlessly.
“She’s already been on the phone to the Council. Whatever you said made an impression.” He released her partially, leaving one arm around her shoulder as he urged her back towards the boat. “What brings you down here? Missing me?”
“Maybe, but I came to pimp our new workshops. I’m hoping people will sign up now they’re not quite so wary of the project. We had a good open day in November that helped a lot.”
“So I hear. I expected much more opposition. Truth be told, I had plenty myself.”
“Yes, well, we’ve clearly got one wrong.”
“Seen him this morning?”
She shook her head. “No. Glenn says he’s gone to Mallaig to buy supplies for Jim.”
“Nah, he’s gone to meet our friends from the island.”
She stared. “How do you know that?”
“Read their text messages,” he said with a wink.
She felt her eyes widen along with her mouth, which he shut, one finger under her chin.
“Don’t ask. The good news is I can take you for coffee.”
She raised one eyebrow at him. “Trying to get all the gossip over with at once?”
“It doesn’t work that way, I’m afraid. No one will stare directly, so just ignore everyone else and gaze into my eyes.”
She laughed “Adoringly?”
“If you can manage it.”
“Morag says I should just stick my tongue down your throat in the post office.”
Aidan grinned. “Go for it. The tea room’s just as good.”
“Hmm. Quick coffee. I need to get back.”
The tea room wasn’t busy, but several people there, both staff and customers, greeted Aidan with enthusiasm and even smiled at Chrissy. Aidan took it all in his stride, exchanged questions after the health of various family members, and then walked away to join Chrissy at the table in the window.
“I used to be too discreet to come here,” Chrissy confessed. “Afraid of upsetting the locals by contaminating it.”
“No, they’d have been wetting themselves with curiosity.”
“That wasn’t the impression Glenn and Dougie got when they went to the pub.”
“Pub’s different,” Aidan said. “And Glenn’s a physically intimidating person. Especially when he’s uptight about something, he looks mean as hell.”
“I know, but he isn’t.”
“And I hear you all go to the pub now.”
“Not en masse. But yes, we’re getting there. And Izzy brought me here a couple of times. We’re integrating. Slowly. That’s why—”
She broke off. That was why the Len situation was so galling, but she couldn’t say it aloud. She gave an impatient shrug, and Aidan nodded.
“I know. Two coffees please, Frances.”
In danger of being overheard, they kept the conversation mostly impersonal and neutral, which could have felt awkward and didn’t. Curiously, it was another way to get to know Aidan, discovering his taste in books and films and food and just enjoy his company, which was beguilingly easy. Overlaying everything, of course, was the zing of physical awareness. She liked that too. She’d never been so comfortable with such a feeling before. And yet this now was so much more intense.
When they’d finished and Chrissy stood up to go, Aidan said lazily, “I’ll walk you up the road. We can go the beach way.”
“Not exactly a short cut.”
“Give yourself a break,” he advised. “If you take an extra ten minutes, will it really matter?”
“No,” she admitted and took his hand as they walked along the front towards the beach.
She didn’t notice until they’d cut onto the cliff path that he had one earphone still in his ear. She stared. “Are you listening to football or something with one ear?”
“On a Monday morning? Hardly.” He paused, gazing out over the path. A smile flickered over his face and was gone.
“What?” she asked.
“See that cottage down there on the edge of the beach? Well, that ruin down there on the edge of the beach. I used to imagine living there, parking my boat in the front garden. What was left of it seems to have fallen down in the gales now.”
He was right. There were only a few random stones and part of a gable wall. Chrissy had never really noticed it before.
“Isolated, peaceful, overlooking the sea,” she said thoughtfully. “Would you really have been happy there?”
/> He shook his head. “No, I had to get away. See places, do things.” He walked on, swinging her hand in his. “Dreams get muddled. And change.”
“So what’s your dream now?”
“I’ll let you know when I work it out. What about you, Chrissy? Are all your dreams wrapped up in the project?”
“For now,” she said calmly. “I don’t do life plans.”
“No point. Everything changes.” They walked in silence for a while, turning up the fork in the path that led to the far grounds of the big house. “I’m glad you came by the boat this morning.”
“So am I,” she said, touching her head to his shoulder.
He halted, turning her to face him. “The thing is, I won’t be able to see you for a couple of days, probably. Stay away from Len, but don’t try and look for him if he vanishes.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “Oh shite, Aidan, what are you doing?”
“My job. And when it’s done, please can I take you out for dinner?”
“Not unless you tell me what’s going on,” she said firmly.
He put his mouth to her ear, sending a thousand tingling shivers of pleasure straight down her body. She gasped.
“Trust me,” he whispered, and when her head snapped back in anger, he covered her mouth with his and kissed her with deliberate yet aching sensuality. She tried to break free, to speak, but in the end she just loved his kiss too much and gave in, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him back. He held her nape and delved deeper. Against her tummy, his erection lengthened and hardened. Answering lust dampened her knickers. She’d have rolled in the cold grass with him if he hadn’t finally raised his head.
“I’ll be in touch,” he murmured, pressing his lips to hers once more, briefly, and then he turned and strode back down the path.
She stared after him, stunned. He pushed the other earphone into his ear and began to run.
In Her Secret Fantasy Page 16
