“Repress the fantasy, it won’t happen anytime soon.” She placed a hand on her cocked hip. “You just confirmed the Daily Beat’s reports about you.”
Cameron’s eyes darkened. “I can’t be arsed by tabloid rubbish. Why do you read such garbage?”
She wasn’t exactly sure what he meant by not being arsed, but it didn’t sound good. “So shoot me. I enjoy tabloid magazines. We all have a guilty indulgence. What’s yours?”
“At the moment? You.” His mouth eased into a slow grin.
Evie shook her head. What a cad! She wanted to put him in his place, but he was Alec’s friend, and Kate for some peculiar reason considered him a good match for her.
Cameron glanced at his watch. “It’s already three o’clock. Let’s go. We can get better acquainted on the ride over.”
The slightly rough pad of his fingertips touched her elbow, sensitizing her body as a powerful ripple of awareness shot through her. She hadn’t been touched by a man in a long while, she realized woefully. His mere touch made her heart flutter. Evie stiffened and Cameron’s hand dropped to his side.
“Wait here. I have to get my things.” She walked toward the polished walnut desk in the center of the taupe and cream-colored room. She lifted a mauve velvet jewelry pouch and retrieved a long strand of tasseled pearls. Keeping her back turned, she draped the necklace backward, with the vintage rhinestone clasp resting at the hollow of her neck and the two strands of pearls cascading down her bare back.
“Nice,” Cameron murmured, his tone deeply male and admiring. “Verra nice indeed.
Evie ignored him. “I’d better bring my coat. Arriving with you, no doubt there will be paparazzi. I’d rather not be exposed in The Naked Truth this week.”
She turned and caught him checking out her backside.
A wide grin appeared, revealing straight white teeth. “You’ve a lot of cheek for a wee lass.”
Evie’s cheeks burned. “That’s rude and…and not true.” She stared daggers at him. “I do Pilates three times a week.”
“What does Pilates have to do with being cheeky?” When realization dawned, he gave a shout of laughter. The relish in his twinkling eyes grated on her nerves. “Ah, I see. You thought I meant your bum. No need for improvement there, wee Angel. Looks good enough to…”
“Don’t say it—” she cut in. He really was fresh. “And quit calling me Angel.”
His maddening smile remained intact. Her lack of interest in his flirting seemed to entertain and challenge him. “There’s an angel in Evangeline, isn’t there?”
“Not in this one,” she replied tartly. She might be acting like a prig, but she had to set boundaries if they were to be paired for the wedding weekend. Turning her attention to her beaded handbag, she opened it and made a quick inventory. Everything she needed was there: her smart phone, powder compact, red Lady Danger MAC lipstick, cash and an ID. She snapped it shut and joined him at the doorway.
Cameron inhaled deeply. “You smell wonderful. What perfume are you wearing?”
“Chanel 1932.”
“It suits you.”
“Thanks. It was a gift from Kate.” The perfume was a gorgeous fragrance, heady with notes of jasmine, bergamot and neroli. Everything about Kate and Alec’s wedding made Evie feel pampered, especially the old world opulence of the boutique hotel. She was grateful for all of it.
Evie shut the door and straightened her spine as she walked down the spacious hotel hall beside him. When they reached the elevator, she watched Cameron run a hand through his dark, wavy hair leaving it sexily rumpled. A tremor skittered through her and she shivered involuntarily.
“Cold?” Cameron put a strong arm around her shoulder. “If you nestle close, I’ll warm you.”
“No, thanks. I think I’ll put on my coat now.” She went still as he helped her into it. Up close he smelled delicious, an all male combination of sandalwood and spice. Nestling close and being warmed by him was exactly what her body craved, but she was no fool. Cameron was a wolf down to his highly polished ghillie brogues.
Evie punched the L button for lobby and avoided his gaze. He might have an amazing bod and a handsome face, but he was bad to the bone, the promise of wild lust, hot passion and no-holds-barred sex—all the things missing from her life. But she couldn’t afford to lose her head and live to regret it. She was looking for love to fill her heart, not break it.
Bad boys like Cameron were erotic and as tempting as Belgian chocolates. But they were also unapologetically selfish as they wreaked havoc on a girl’s tender feelings. Bad boys didn’t get married, they plowed through girls like they were a commodity, using and discarding them the moment the girls wanted a stable relationship.
Again, Evie wondered what Kate had been thinking—or drinking—to have paired them up for the weekend. Cameron was not husband material, or daddy material, though he might have a few love children wandering about. Evie was looking for someone like Michael. Steadfast, protective and kind, not a cocky player who could easily charm the pants off a statue.
Heartbreak Hunter was hot sex in a kilt…and trouble.
Heart Hunter: Chapter Two
With a light hold on Evie’s upper arm, Cameron led her to the dark green 1930s Bentley parked in the hotel’s circular driveway. He tipped the valet and waited while she wriggled and struggled with her narrow skirt to step into the car. Once she was seated comfortably, he crossed over to the driver’s side and got in.
Cameron studied her for a few seconds before starting the ignition. Evie sat in the passenger seat with a straight back and graceful hands entwined on her lap. She might be short, but with her straight little spine and shoulders pushed back she appeared taller. Her ruby red nails pressed downward on the tops of her pale hands, the only sign she was out of her comfort zone. He didn’t know what to make of her. She wasn’t the least bit interested in his flirting and had no qualms about telling him she had hoped for someone else today.
Even if she wasn’t his usual type, she was a tempting eyeful. The pulse-pounding image of her backless dress invaded his peace of mind. It showcased her shapely back above a small waist and pert bum with just enough jiggle to make him want to squeeze with both hands. Good thing his sporran was covering the front of his kilt or he’d embarrass himself. Enticing as she was, Evie had been acting as if her knickers were in a twist from the moment she saw him. With a hidden grin, he wondered if indeed she wore knickers under that slinky dress.
Evie’s short dark hair was as sleek and glossy as a baby seal’s. Long hair wouldn’t have done justice to her beautiful heart shaped face. She had creamy, pink-tinged cheeks with wide, dark-lashed, violet blue eyes and a straight nose that was perpetually lifted. Her baby doll angel face was in direct contrast to her sass-spouting rosebud mouth.
He wouldn’t tolerate rubbish like what she’d thrown at him earlier—based on tabloid gossip no less. He liked dating models and starlets. Most agreed to sex with nostrings and that suited him just fine. He was a generous lover and always made it clear from the start that they would have fun, but he wasn’t planning on marriage and kids. He was having too much fun.
He’d spent his boarding school years as a short, slight teenager pining for beautiful Phoebe Fairchild who only had eyes for Cameron’s archrival, his cousin, Spenser Winslow. By the time he hit college, Cameron had shot up six inches and packed on enough muscle for the girls to come onto him in droves. Ironically, Phoebe had tried to kindle a romance with Cameron when she got pregnant with Spenser’s baby and Spenser was married to someone else. Cameron took pity on Phoebe and helped her out financially, but he no longer wanted her. He wouldn’t be second best with any woman.
At thirty-four he had been enjoying his freedom until Divina, whom he’d been casually dating, went psycho on him and gave his mother a heart attack in the process. He felt bad about the recent boating accident that nearly killed Divina, but it had not been his fault. It was nighttime and when he maneuvered the speedboat around a rocky cliff o
ff the Amalfi coast a boat shot out and crashed into them broadside. Once Divina recuperated from the broken ribs and head concussion, she tried to guilt him into marrying her. When that hadn’t worked, she had a very public emotional breakdown, accusing him of drinking too much during the boating incident and of abandoning her afterward. All of it false. The investigation of the accident revealed that he hadn’t been drunk and he was exonerated, but it was too late to clear the tainted image she had created of his mental cruelty. The media had had a heyday with drama queen Divina’s scenes.
“How far is the church?” Evie asked, interrupting his musings.
“About ten minutes away. Is this your first time to Skye?”
“It’s my first time to Scotland, but not to the UK. I spent a semester studying at the London College of Fashion.” She smiled. “That’s where I met Kate.”
He nodded. “Aye, she told me. How long will you be staying?”
“In Scotland? About two weeks. I have an open-ended ticket because I want to combine my vacation with a business side trip to London.”
“Brilliant. Two weeks is enough time for me to give you the grand tour.”
“You want to spend two weeks giving me a grand tour? Why?” She inclined her head and stared at him with raised brows and pursed scarlet lips.
“Why so distrustful? You’re Kate’s dearest friend.” He shook his head with feigned affront. “I expected more from you, Angelface.”
She smiled coolly. “Why so insistent? You’re not the type to waste time with someone who’s not interested. I’d expected more from Kate than to set me up with the Devil.”
Chuckling, he kept his eyes on the road. “All right,” he said amiably, choosing not to rise to her bait. “I’ll give it to you plain and simple. It just came to me that we could both benefit from two weeks of good PR. My public image needs improvement and you have a fashion line that could flourish from international press. Why don’t we pair up and give the public something to talk about?”
“What are you suggesting?” Her snappy tone was laden with suspicion.
“We give them enough spice to keep them buzzing for weeks. I finally rid myself of Divina and the bad press. And your fashion line takes off like a rocket.” He turned to her with a cocked eyebrow. “Are you in?”
She squinted at him, her eyes dazzling violet sapphire slits in a baby doll’s face. “Let me get this straight. You want us to get down and dirty for the paparazzi?”
He nodded. “Aye.”
Her peal of laughter surprised him. “Forget it. I’m not interested.”
Cameron felt like wrapping his fingers around the curve of her dainty nape and holding her still for a long, hard kiss. He’d have the feisty little cat purring for more in no time. “If you don’t agree, I’ll find someone else. But you, my bonny lass, would be perfect.”
“Why?”
“You’re American and will be heading back to the States after your trip. We can have a hot fling and give the press enough gossip to speculate for weeks. Afterward, when they see things begin to fizzle, they’ll move on to the next story.”
“Why on earth would I agree to that?” she demanded, getting huffy. “You’ve got this all figured out, but you’re forgetting one crucial thing. Your mother’s wishes.”
What the bloody hell was she doing dredging up his mum? “What do you know about my mum’s wishes?”
“What everybody knows. She’s bound and determined to marry you off. Don’t look at me that way. Your mother nominated you as one of the UK’s most eligible bachelors and she’s desperate for grandchildren. She said so in an interview in Hello magazine. She also said you needed to start dating a different type of girl,” Evie pointed out with a smug smile.
The wee smart aleck was beginning to piss him off. “That was bloody unfortunate.”
“How is she doing after her heart attack? Don’t you think it’s unwise to get embroiled in another scandal?”
He felt like throttling her for dredging up a raw subject. Mum had recovered from the heart attack, but he was still plagued with remorse for being the cause of it. Whenever he remembered her lying in a hospital bed with tubes in her chest connected to monitors, he felt sick at heart. She had had him at a late age and he was her only child. She doted on him, but she also tried to micromanage his life—something he wouldn’t tolerate. His jaw ticked. He did not want to discuss his mother with Evie or any other woman.
“Are you always this uptight?” Cameron stared at Evie’s rosebud mouth, the lips were pressed so tightly he wanted to make them part for him
Her fine, arched eyebrows snapped together over flashing violet blue eyes. “I’m not uptight at all.”
“Said the nun to the priest.”
“I’m no nun.” She leaned forward and poked his chest. “And you, Heartbreak Hunter, are no priest.”
“Damn right.” It was time to show her who wore the kilt. “Why don’t you want me to be your weekend date? Searching for Mr. Right?”
She leaned her head back and studied the car’s ceiling. “I’m not sure there is a Mr. Right anymore.”
“Why so jaded?”
“Not jaded,” she said, gazing out the window. “Just realistic. I married the best and he’s a hard act to follow.”
Cameron cast a dubious look at her left ring finger. “If he was the best, then why aren’t you still married?”
She looked down at her hands. “He’s gone. Passed away seven years ago.”
His exasperation vanished. That was one detail Kate hadn’t shared with him. “Oh. I’m sorry.”
She raised her face and met his gaze directly. “Me too.”
“Do you have bairns to keep you busy?”
“Children? No, we never had any. I keep busy with the bridal boutique I co-own with Kate.” She smiled. “I’m thrilled Kate’s having a baby. I can’t wait to be an auntie…and a godmother.” Her radiant eyes dimmed with a hint of wistfulness.
The longing in her voice made him change the subject. He almost felt guilty for bringing up something that filled her with longing, but then he remembered her censorious belief that he was a rascal. “What do you do for fun?”
She opened her mouth and closed it abruptly. “I used to love to cook for my husband. Now I have other hobbies,” she said vaguely.
He smothered a grin. From the rigid set of her shoulders, he could tell Evie needed a vacation. Two weeks of abandon with plenty of shagging would do her good, and he’d be more than happy to provide it. “I’ll show you a good time.”
“I’m sure you would, but I haven’t agreed, Heartbreak Hunter.”
Cameron’s gaze dipped to her small breasts and found them pleasingly round with tip-tilted nipples. Since she insisted on seeing him as Heartbreak Hunter, he might as well live up to it. “If anyone could use some fun it’s you, Angel. By the time our first week together is over, you’ll be limp and satiated. Whimpering with pleasure,” he added wickedly.
Evie’s plush lips parted and formed a stunned O as her cheeks bloomed pink. A rapid pulse throbbed on the side of her porcelain neck and her nipples hardened to tight buds under the fabric.
“By the second week you’ll be…”
“Stop right there.” The fierce glare in Evie’s eyes warned him to back off. She clutched her evening bag with both hands and cleared her throat. Cameron shook his head as he watched Evangeline Parker steadfastly hold onto her tenuous self-pride. “I don’t doubt you’re a skilled lover, Hunter. If that was all I was looking for, you might do. You’re not bad looking,” she said with an uninterested shrug.
“Thanks,” he said dryly. “Before you say no, think about it. Two weeks of touring Scotland during the day and erotic pleasure at night.” He rubbed his chin. “Of course, we don’t have to limit the fun to nighttime. We can do it any time you like, Angel.”
“Sounds tempting,” she said with a fake sweet smile, “but no thanks.”
“There are benefits to the kind of week I’m offering.”
“Like what?”
“Beauty benefits,” he teased. “Like a glowing complexion.”
She snorted. “You sure have an enormous ego.”
“Among other things,” he said, continuing to tease her and enjoy her little gasp of outrage.
“I have no intention of finding out, you egomaniac.”
“We’ll see.” He chuckled, relishing an enticing image of her spread out on the gleaming hood of the Bentley, her delicate skin tinged pink in all the places he’d kissed and nibbled on to his heart’s content.
“Haven’t you heard a thing I’ve said?” Her sharp tone interrupted his hot fantasy.
“Aye, every word. But I don’t buy it, Angel. You’re holding back from life because you’re afraid of getting hurt. Live a little.”
Her chin lifted. “I live well enough. The only one who’d benefit from your plan is you. I’m looking for more.” Her eyes turned dusky blue. “Not a one night stand or a two-week fling with no…no tenderness.”
“Who said there wouldn’t be tenderness?”
“After the excitement wore off, I would feel cheap and lonely.”
Evie’s honesty cut him to the quick. He couldn’t disagree with her because sometimes he felt the same. Not cheap, but lonely. It was amazing how one could feel lonely with the wrong woman. He could pretty much get any girl into bed. But Evangeline Parker wasn’t just any girl. She was a woman who knew what she wanted and had no qualms stating it. She presented a formidable challenge—one he planned on winning.
“You wouldn’t feel cheap with me,” he assured her as he drove into a parking space near the entrance of the church. “I’m offering you two weeks of erotic pleasure. Nothing more, nothing less.” He heard her sharp intake breath, the only sign he’d rattled her composure. “I’ll have your answer tonight.” He went around the car and helped her out, sorely tempted to kiss and plunder that rosebud mouth until her tight lips opened to receive him.
Heart Hunter: Chapter Three
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