Banished

by Tamara Gill

  Chapter Three

  Chloe walked up to Castle Cree, her steps hesitant over running into the Laird who obviously harbored ... something for her.

  Walking along the road and slight incline, Chloe stopped to look out over the ocean and watched the waves crash against the rocks lining the shore. It was certainly a breathtaking spot to live in. She continued on before stopping on the wooden bridge that sat above a moat. She looked down into the canyon and shivered as the wind blew up from beneath her. The castle seemed to sit on an island detached from the mainland. She stared as the waves crashed, the sea-spray reaching high into the crags. She gasped and laughed when water spray reached right up to her.

  Turning toward the castle, she stopped and took in all its historical grandeur. Made from the same stone it sat upon, Castle Cree was a castle untouched by time. Chloe could see the entrance to the keep. Battlements surrounded the massive edifice which still had four towers. Forgetting the laird, excitement thrummed through her blood as she walked towards the great doors. She wondered if the interior was just as grand as the exterior, only to be met with a sign she was half an hour too early for the tour.

  Chloe swore and sat on the step directly in front of the door. She leaned against the wood and wondered whether she should come back or knock. After last night, she thought it better to come back but before she had the chance to stand, both doors swung open, sending her flying backwards to lie beneath the piercing gray gaze of his lordship.

  “Hello,” Chloe said, smiling. She tried to push away the nerves, which unsettled her composure, but the man’s gaze, no more welcoming than last night, was impossible to ignore.

  The Laird leant down and pulled her to her feet. He stared at her a moment before stepping back and bowing.

  “It’s a pleasure to see you again, Chloe.”

  Chloe wiped down her bottom and swallowed. She looked up at him and caught him ogling her breasts. Pulling her coat closed, she waited for him to look at her face before making a reply. What was he doing checking her out like that? Didn’t he know it was rude?

  And delicious.

  “Good morning,” she said, holding her hand out for him to shake. Her eyes widened when their skin touched. Fire ran up her arm and she had the odd feeling of déjà vu.

  Again.

  “I didn’t think I’d have the pleasure of seeing you again so soon.”

  Chloe stared, unable to form words as she looked at him in the daylight. How was it possible he was even more handsome in his dark denim jeans and blue shirt? He leaned against the door. Again her eyes were drawn to his chest when he folded his arms. Chloe licked her suddenly parched lips and met his burning gaze wholly locked on her.

  Shit he was hot!

  An inkling of familiarity prickled under her skin and she frowned at the sensation. “Do I know you from somewhere? I have the oddest feeling I’ve seen you before.”

  Cian laughed and shook his head. “No lass. I would remember meeting you. You’re forgetting you saw me in the pub last eve and not to mention the ... alley.”

  Oh, yes the alleyway. How could she forget the location? Just the thought of his hands on her skin, her breasts hard against his solid-as-a-rock chest, left an ache between her thighs. She swallowed and hoped he couldn’t read minds or the desire she was hopelessly failing to control.

  “No. That’s not it.” At his intense, heated look a blush burned up her neck. She stepped away only to knock into the bell hanging near the door. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hit that.”

  “It’s no problem. Don’t worry about it. Are you here to take a tour? We’re not open yet, but I can show you around if you like?”

  “Really? You wouldn’t mind?” she said, forgetting about the chemistry abuzz between them for a moment.

  “Not at all, you can come anytime, Chloe.”

  She nodded wondering why those words were also strangely familiar. What was it about this man that conjured up feelings she had no idea even existed? He was making her hot and flustered but extremely relaxed and comfortable. Her reaction to Eddy when she first met him was nothing like this burn in her abdomen which she experienced when around the Laird.

  Perhaps it was because he was so gorgeous, demanded women notice him and watch his every move. Whereas Eddy was just a good-looking nice guy. But this one had a little roughness about him. Like a lion trapped in a man’s body. Power mixed with control all but oozed from every perfectly formed muscle on his body and she had the odd craving to hear him roar.

  “How long are you in Durness?”

  Chloe tore her mind from her ridiculous wanderings and kept her eyes away from the man holding her hand upon his arm and making her knees wobble. “For a week, my lord, we only arrived last night.”

  “Don’t call me, my lord, Chloe. I prefer Cian from my friends.”

  She smiled up at him. “Thank you Cian, that is very kind.”

  Chloe felt him pause. Looking up, she took a steadying breath as he came around to stand before her. She stilled wondering what he was going to do. His lips quirked in a smile and his eyes locked on hers as he leaned around to open a hidden paneled door. She breathed deeply when he stepped away, thankful for the much needed space between them. For a minute, she had thought he was going to kiss her. And for a minute she had hoped he would.

  She looked up into his eyes and watched as his gray orbs ran over her features, lingering on her lips. Her breathing shallowed and all she could think was to have his lips taking her own. With a will of their own, her lips parted and hope welled that he would take what she offered.

  “Shall we,” he said smiling, gesturing for Chloe to precede him into the adjoining room.

  Chloe shut her eyes in self-disgust. What was she doing? About to kiss a man she didn’t even know, while her future husband was in their holiday home waiting for her? Eddy was watching soccer yes, but still waiting for her all the same. She shook her head and cleared it of the vision of the highlander taking her against the wall, his body pinning her there and undulating against her sex. His strong large hands holding her arse while he fucked her until she came.

  A shiver stole down to her core and with shaking legs she walked into a library. Dark wooded mahogany cupboards ran the length and breadth of the room. All were filled with books, no doubt covering the many eras the family had lived here. It smelled of leather and cigars. And another scent she could not name that belonged wholly to the laird himself.

  Hot and tempting to anyone’s palate.

  “You have a wonderful home. You must be very happy here,” she said, and walked along the multitude of shelves full of old tomes.

  “I’m happy here most of the time. Durness is a long way away from everything. We don’t often get women as beautiful as you gracing our shores.”

  Chloe laughed. Was he flirting with her? “Well I’m happy to have obliged you this once. Thank you for the compliment.”

  “You’re all compliment, Chloe.”

  Oh, yes he was definitely flirting.

  Running her hand along the leather spine of a dictionary of mythology book, Chloe looked up and caught Cian watching her. His eyes widened as her finger traced the gold writing embossed on the spine. She probably shouldn’t tease him so with her sensual caressing of his books, but having never acted the siren before, it was quite invigorating when one did. And for the life of her, around him, Chloe couldn’t help herself.

  What was it about this guy that she found herself wanting to be naughty around? She watched him stride toward her, knowing if he would only kiss her she would go with him to Hell and back. She ogled his legs as they strode purposefully, his steps strong and powerful. The shirt he wore today fit him like a glove and she could see the six-pack that sat beneath the fine cotton.

  He came to stand before her, then reached around and pulled out the book her finger had stilled on.

  “Did you want to borrow it, Chloe? It’s a first edition but I’m willing to lend it to you if you promise to come back a
nd return it when you’re done.”

  Chloe nodded, her mind enchanted by his voice and good looks. His knowing chuckle pulled her from her dream and so too did the book when he laid the heavy tome in her hand.

  “Are you ready to finish the tour, lass?”

  “Oh, yes of course,” she answered, not a little disappointed he was all polite gentleman again.

  Cian walked her into the formal dining room which was once the original great hall. “The room has hardly changed in the last five hundred years. Of course this isn’t the original table; we store that in a museum I built some years ago.”

  Chloe walked around him and looked up at the stone walls and old wooden beams that ran across the ceiling. It reminded her of a cathedral with its high ceiling and small ancient windows that would once had been devoid of glass. “It’s lovely,” she said, awe tingeing her voice.

  “Yes it is. Very lovely.”

  Chloe met his gaze and a slither of awareness ran through her. The flirting highlander was back. She walked toward the hearth, looked at the blackened grate, and inwardly hoped the highlander from last night may make an appearance as well.

  He cleared his throat. “So, you’re here a week. That’s not long enough to sample all the pleasures of the area.”

  Chloe reveled in the deep timbre of his voice, so close, that it tickled the back of her neck. She turned to find him behind her, towering above her with a gaze that bespoke of sin and all the pleasurable things he could show her. Do to her. Teach her. She leaned against the fire surround and looked up.

  “I’m an organized type of girl. I’m sure I’ll fit everything in I wish to see and do while I’m here.”

  The laird threw her a passing look as he walked back toward to the table. His large arms folded against his chest pulled the shirt taut over his rippling abs. Longing like she’d never known assailed her.

  She wanted him. Wanted him bad.

  “You’re engaged to be married.”

  “Yes, next spring.” Chloe tried to sound piqued by his nosiness, but her reply came out husky and wonton. She cursed herself. What was she doing answering like she was a woman out of breath, gasping like she'd just partaken in a marathon session of sex? Not that she would know much about the latter. Eddy was good in bed, but he tended to be on the quick side. She frowned when he smiled as if he knew what she was thinking.

  “Well, that’s a shame that,” he replied.

  Chloe licked her lips, her attention moving down toward his chest. He was so solid; her gaze ran over his every asset before settling on his hands, his knuckles white from clasping the table. Looking away, she walked to the window and looked at the view of the ocean, while striving for calm. Why did he look like his hands were the only things keeping him in place? And why wouldn’t he let go of the blasted table and take her already. “I believe this castle has four towers and all in good condition considering their age. Are these also open to the public?”

  “Some are. Come, I’ll take you upstairs. There is a better view of the ocean from one of the bedrooms,” he said.

  The mention of bedrooms nearly made her swoon. Chloe took a calming breath and followed him up the old winding stone stairs. A mistake because as soon as she’d placed her foot on the bottom step, she had a perfect view of a perfect bottom.

  His arse enclosed in denim was delicious. Holy mother of god, men as gorgeous as he was shouldn’t walk in front of women. Ever.

  They made the second floor and Cian ushered her into a room. A four-poster bed stood opposite a massive fireplace. Old, beautifully woven tapestries covered the walls and made the stone-enclosed room feel warm and inviting. Chloe walked over to the windows and gazed out over the ocean. From this view all you could see was sea, endless blue and green beauty.

  “Wow,” she said.

  Cian walked over to her and looked out the window. “I have something to tell you.”

  “Yes.” Chloe turned and looked at him. His chastened, guilty visage made her smile. “What is it?”

  “This is my room.”

  The air whooshed from her lungs and she stepped back. “Well, I should probably go.”

  He clasped her arm and pulled her around to look at him. Goosebumps rose on her skin and her blood heated.

  “You are more than welcome to stay,” he whispered.

  Oh, she gathered that. When it came to Cian McKay, he held nothing back, feelings or otherwise, when he wanted something. Chloe stood looking transfixed at his lips. With alarm, she noticed Cian moving toward her. Never had she wanted a man to kiss her as much as she wished he would kiss her right at this moment. He smelled divine, like sea air mixed with sex. Hot sex. Really, hot sex.

  Her mind screamed for her to move. Step away and stop this sin she was about to taste. But she could not. When his lips brushed hers, her body fired electrical charges to her core and her hands reflexively clasped his shoulders. Chloe inwardly sighed at the hard, corded muscles beneath her palms, which flexed when he moved to deepen the kiss.

  His mouth became insistent when she didn’t retreat and she lost herself to him. The highlander certainly knew how to kiss a woman to an inch of her sanity. Jealousy over whom he’d kissed in the past pricked her conscience. The thought of him with other women oddly drove her temper up a notch. She clutched his hair and pulled it a little in punishment over her wayward thoughts and she felt him smile though the kiss. Her body ached at her core and for the first time in her life she felt wet between her thighs.

  Cian lifted her onto the window seat and stood between her legs. He ground himself against her jeans and Chloe had an overwhelming urge to strip off all her clothes and let him have her. Take her here, up against the window. It was a tempting thought, his touch alone made her feel like he could bring her to orgasm.

  The thought of what sat nestled against her core right at this moment, made her desire spike. He continued to grind against her sex, tempting her, tormenting her.

  Chloe kissed him back with as much passion as she felt coming from him. He moaned and she realized she was unclasping his jeans. It acted like a bucket of cold water. Pulling away, she pushed him off her and jumped from the window seat.

  What was she doing? She was engaged to be married. Her fiancé was, now, right at this moment at their holiday cottage waiting for her return. He may not be participating in the vacation as she’d like but this didn’t give her the right to act like a horny trollop.

  “I’m so sorry, I don’t know what just happened but I think I should go. It’s getting late and Eddy will be waiting for me.”

  At the mention of Eddy all warmth seeped from his deliciously gray orbs that were just a moment ago burning red hot with lust and need. “Are you sure?”

  At his deep, desire-filled tone, Chloe almost said no. “Yes.”

  He nodded and stepped further away. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

  Chloe followed him but this time made sure to walk down the stairs before him. Although the prickling of his gaze between her shoulder blades was more uncomfortable than looking at his delectable toosh on the way up.

  She picked up the old book of mythology and hugged it to her chest. Anything to keep her from launching herself at a man who, with every breath and now touch, made it perfectly clear he wanted her. “I’ll return the book I promise. And if it’s okay, I would still like a tour of the rest of the castle. I hope even after what has happened between us ... ”

  “I’ll gladly show you around the rest of me home, lass. Kissing or no kissing.”

  Chloe smiled. “Again I apologize for before.” She frowned. “I don’t know what came over me.”

  “That would be me, lass.” He laughed. “Drive safely home and I promise the next time I see you I’ll try to be more of a gentleman.”

  Cian settled his need and pushed it down to the pit of his stomach. He didn’t want to frighten her, not that the old Chloe was ever frightened of his strength and powers of persuasion. He inwardly laughed knowing the Chloe of old would n
ever baulk at what he was currently thinking of doing to her. If he knew this Chloe a little longer he would have no qualms walking up behind her, pulling her against him and unzipping her jeans.

  He imagined pulling them down over her thin thighs, his hand finding her sex hidden behind delicious black underwear and stroking her before plunging deep into her heated tight core. He wanted to bend her over and fuck her hard and fast, giving her orgasm after orgasm just like in their old times.

  His body shuddered over an imagined thought he knew to be a memory. A memory in a different time and place. Many different times and places. Still painfully hard from their escapades upstairs, he shifted his stance and wrenched his mind back to a more suitable line of thought.

  Cian searched her face lingering on lips he longed to taste again and greedily plunder. He promised himself it would not be long before he did. “It’s a date then.”

  Chloe smiled but ignored his choice of words. She walked up to him and held out her hand. “Well, I had better go. No doubt your home will soon be buzzing with people and I don’t want to hold you up. Thank you for the tour. I’m sorry to have pulled you away from whatever work it was you were doing.”

  Cian placed a kiss upon her hand. “You’re welcome here anytime, Chloe. Don’t doubt me on that.” He stood and unable to let her go, placed her hand in the crook of his arm while he walked her to the door. His body inwardly sighed at having her next to him again, as if he were coming back to life after a hundred and fifty years of being dead.

  She gazed at him before quickly looking away. Cian smiled, thinking it was probably for the best. For the feral determination to have her again was no doubt visible in his eyes. It would be enough to frighten anyone.

  Even him on occasion.

  Chapter Four

  Chloe shut the door in the holiday cottage and leaned against it. Her ragged breaths not solely due to the distance she had parked the car from the cottage. She had needed the walking distance to cool off, not that she had.