“So, you’re saying Abarath shouldn’t end up with Penelope?”
“I’m saying Leonia is his only true love. Come on, it’s obvious,” I argued.
“I don’t know. He seems to be equally attracted to all of them,” he said, taking another bite and cocking one eyebrow in the process.
I scoffed. “What? You’ve read the book, right?”
He looked offended for a second. “Of course. Many times,” he said with a playful scoff.
“Then how can you say that? Abarath and Leonia belong together.”
“I don’t know. He’s attracted to Penelope just as much.”
“And Faroah,” I added.
“And Faroah.”
“But Leonia is his only true love. I know he’s attracted to all three of them. Penelope is the smartest and Faroah is the most beautiful, but what he feels for Leonia is the purest form of love.” He gave me a funny look as I argued my points, smirking behind the napkin as he cleaned his mouth.
I picked up one of the fries and tossed it in my mouth, then grabbed my soda, and took a drink. I could feel his eyes studying every single one of my movements.
“The purest form of love ye say,” he muttered. His eyes were suddenly dark when I looked up at him, which caused my heart to do somersaults. The ache between my legs became more pronounced, and I wondered how much longer I’d be able to resist before I’d throw myself at him. Dammit. I bit my bottom lip, and that only seemed to make his eyes more intense. Stop looking at me like that, Hugh, or I might jump your bones right here in this diner. The kebab place was almost empty, but the owner had been staring at us since we’d gotten there.
“Leonia is the one he loves.”
“But she’s a princess, and he doesn’t have much. Doesn’t have a title. They can never be together. Their love story is doomed.”
“But doesn’t he save her kingdom from a dragon attack? That ought to count for something!” I explained, lifting my hands in frustration.
“Hold on.” He pointed a finger at me and narrowed his eyes. “You said you only read the first book. How do you know Abarath saves Leonia’s kingdom?”
I looked down, almost embarrassed, and brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. I closed my eyes and let out a deep breath.
“I might have looked online, okay? I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen!”
“Ha! You cheated. You’re supposed to read the books,” he teased.
“Yes, professor, I know that, but have you seen my schedule for the last five weeks? I can hardly keep my eyes open when I get back to the townhouse. How am I supposed to make it through multiple eight-hundred-page volumes?”
“Ha! Have you looked at our schedule for the next five months?”
“My point exactly.” I smiled at him, and he smiled back, relaxing against the leatherette of the booth. I loved being there with him. It was easy; it felt natural. I could have continued teasing him all night. I sighed and looked away.
He cleaned his hands with a napkin. “Are you ready to go back?”
I nodded, pursing my lips.
“What’s wrong?” he asked with a frown.
I shook my head. “It’s nothing.”
“Come on. Tell me.” His voice was low and deep, and although he was not close to me, I could almost feel it on my skin. Being around him was intoxicating. Everything about him drove me crazy. I shivered, imagining us in a more intimate setting, preferably naked…
I dismissed the thought as I took a deep breath.
“I almost don’t want to go back. I’m tired, but I’d like to take a walk around Edinburgh,” I confessed shyly with a shrug of my shoulders.
He stood up, locked eyes with me, and extended his hand. “Let’s go, then.”
Sam
Much to my dismay, he didn’t kiss me that night.
We walked to Edinburgh Castle, and it was a chilly but lovely evening. The sky was clear of clouds, and the moon was out, giving the city an even more alluring glow.
Hugh pointed out his university, which was a couple blocks down the road.
“That’s the Royal Scottish Academy where I studied drama. I used to live in an apartment two streets over. It was a hole in the wall, but it had this tiny balcony and you could see the whole city from there. I don’t know how many nights I spent looking at the city, wondering if my dreams would ever come true, if I would ever be able to support myself as an actor.” His voice was low, and his words almost sounded like a confession. He told me about his struggles and how he was glad he hadn’t given up on his dream.
I was standing against a short wall on the bridge that led to the main entrance. I was listening, drinking him in. I couldn’t stop staring, marveling at every detail of his beautiful face, and I was itching for his lips to touch mine.
It was the perfect setting. As if he could read my eager eyes, he suddenly stopped speaking. His eyes grew darker, and he took a step toward me, leaning his head down.
Lights. Camera. Action.
“Samhain,” he said, cradling my face with his hand. He didn’t need to say any more, because I knew that from there on out he was going to let his lips do the talking. I arched my body against him, parted my lips, and closed my eyes. I felt his breath on my face, his lips kissing my cheek—but just as he was about to close the distance between our lips, his phone rang. We both opened our eyes, startled by the sound, and he grabbed the cellphone from the pocket of his jeans.
“It’s Nora,” he said. He pressed the green icon to accept the call. “Hello? Yes. No, we’re still in Edinburgh. Yes. Yes, I know.” I could hear through his phone what she was telling him.
Have you guys left Edinburgh yet? You need to get home. We have another early day tomorrow. You know I didn’t agree about you driving over there to pick her up. Hugh let out a deep breath as he ended the call. His jaw was taut, and he had lost the seductive look he’d had just a moment before. I sighed.
“I’m sorry, Sam.”
“Don't be. I guess we need to get back now?” I asked, looking up at him.
He gave me a silent nod and then tipped his head to the side. “Come on, let’s go.”
I started walking after him, my feet moving unwillingly. I wasn’t ready to let go. I wasn’t ready to go back.
Who knew when we’d get another chance?
I decided to seize the day.
“Hey, Hugh,” I said, stopping in my tracks.
He turned around, his eyes soft. “What is it, Sam?” His voice was sweet, and there was a hint of a smile on his face. I stepped in closer and embraced him, running my right hand up the back of his neck, my fingers combing through his curls. We stared at each other for a second; I wanted to make sure I wasn’t making a mistake. His eyes widened in surprise, and his lips parted just slightly. I closed the distance and pressed my lips against his.
My kiss was shy at first, wanting to make sure it was what he’d had in mind. My lips were still for a couple seconds, just relishing the feeling of his warm, soft mouth under mine. Then, his arms enveloped me, holding me tight against his body. His teeth bit my bottom lip before searching for my tongue, and my heartbeat quickened as warmth spread through my chest all the way to my fingertips, a pleasant contrast to the chilly air I breathed in. His tongue skillfully danced around mine, releasing all the tension and pent-up sexual frustration of the last few weeks.
“Sam, I’ve wanted to do this for so long,” he said breathlessly as he leaned his forehead against mine.
I hummed happily.
He kissed me again, slow, deep, and all-consuming. His scruff was tickling my skin, heightening all my senses, but then he stopped.
“Don’t stop.” My voice was heavy with need, and that caused a smirk to appear on his face. I looked up into his eyes, which were charged with lust, yet playful, and wetness pooled between my legs.
“If we don’t stop now, I might not be able to control myself. We could get arrested for public indecency.”
I licked my li
ps and gave him a flirty look. His eyes grew a darker shade of blue.
“Don’t they say you should try everything at least once?” My tone was serious, and he raised one eyebrow. I dropped the façade. “I’m kidding.”
“That’s too bad,” he replied with a low growl, and when my jaw dropped at his statement, he tipped my chin up, closing my mouth. “If I weren’t attached to a multimillion-dollar project, I would totally make love to you in front of Edinburgh Castle, public indecency be damned.”
I inhaled sharply, still feeling heady, still turned on, needing more of his kisses.
As if he could read my mind, he kissed me again, soft and sweet this time, and when he broke the kiss, he laced his fingers with mine.
“Let’s go.”
When we got to the car, I sent Margaret a text.
He didn’t kiss me tonight. I kissed him.
Hugh
I enjoyed being reckless when it came to sports, but I liked being safe with everything else. When it came to Sam, however, I felt like throwing caution to the wind. I was trying to keep my focus on the road, yet I couldn’t stop fantasizing about taking her in the backseat of the car I had gotten from production. I couldn’t stop imagining her naked against the supple leather of the luxury sedan.
She tried to stay awake for most of the ride, making small talk, telling me about helping Margaret through labor. She curled up on the seat, using her puffer jacket as a blanket as she told me stories about her sister and brother, and I told her about growing up with Declan, Tamhas, Fergus, and Ewan.
She fell asleep after a while, and although I was keeping my eyes on the road, I couldn’t help but steal glances her way every so often to marvel at her beautiful features. Her face was a perfect oval, with thick eyebrows and high cheekbones. Her nose was a straight line pointing at her full, soft lips, which were pressed together in a slight pout as she slept. Her hair was as dark as the sky out on the Scottish Highlands, as dark as the night of Samhain. On top of her stunning features, her caramel skin drove me mad.
I wanted to take it slow, wanted to be a gentleman, but I’d have been lying if I’d said I didn’t want to undress her and explore every inch of her skin.
She was poised most of the time, but I sensed a deep-rooted electricity buried in her that kept calling my name. I wanted to see her wild beauty come undone.
I just hoped I could manage to keep an appearance of self-control around her from now on. I knew things were going to be difficult for both of us if I let myself slip.
The boys and I had been out on a bike ride and came over to the pub for a beer and a bite to eat. It was one of those Scotland days when you’d have three types of seasons at once. It had started chilly in the morning, the wind blowing strong. Biking in Scotland was already not an easy feat, but with the wind it was twice as hard. Sometime around nine in the morning, the clouds had parted and we’d been able to enjoy a few hours of sunshine, but we’d had to cut our ride short because the weather started changing again, and soon it started pouring. We were already on our way back, but it was hard to ride with the rain impairing our vision.
We ordered some food at the bar, and I headed for the restroom to clean up. On my way back, I noticed Sam sitting in an armchair in a secluded corner of the pub, her eyes fixed on a tablet. She looked like she was reading. She was fiddling with her long black hair, which was tied in a low ponytail at the nape of her neck. The middle part highlighted the perfect oval of her face even more, and I remembered the way she looked when she was asleep next to me in the car. She was wearing a black turtleneck, yoga pants, and sneakers, the clothes hugging her body in all the right places.
It had been a torturous week. I had been hoping we would have time to talk about what had happened in Edinburgh, but we never seemed to be alone or have the time to meet up after hours. Every night, I hoped I would have a few minutes to call her and ask her to meet me at my place, but the writers had been rewriting the episode we had been working on, and I had a bunch of lines to learn. On the nights I wasn’t busy with work, it seemed I couldn’t get rid of my costars.
I longed for some time alone, and I was still hoping Sam and I could talk about what had happened at some point. My attraction for her hadn’t changed—if anything, it had gotten stronger.
A lot of times, I had to keep my eyes shut when I was around her, not just because she had to work on my face, but because I had to concentrate on not getting a hard-on. Not only did she have a beautiful face and killer curves, she rendered me powerless with her sweet smile. Her voice was like velvet, soft as a caress, and one morning I woke up from wet dreams I’d had about her. On top of everything else, I couldn’t get her smell out of my head. I had come to find out she wore freesia essential oil on her wrists, and it had become one of my favorite smells.
I realized it was as good a time as any to tell her I needed to talk to her. I knew she was probably confused by my behavior throughout the week, but she didn’t let it show. When she looked at me, I saw the same desire in her eyes that was consuming me.
She hadn’t noticed me yet, still immersed in her book. I didn’t know why, but it made me smile. Her eyebrows furrowed, and then a smile stretched across her face. She laughed, covering her mouth with her hand.
God, she was beautiful. I had a last-minute impulse to turn around and go back to my friends, but it was too late, because just then, she looked up and her eyes met mine.
“Reading something good?” I asked.
Her eyes widened, and she looked embarrassed for a second, but then a wide smile illuminated her face.
“Very. Actually, it’s verra good.” She grinned.
“What is it?”
“Voyager, the third book in the Outlander series.”
“Ah! I’m afraid Abarath can’t hold a candle to that Jamie Fraser guy.”
“Yeah, unfortunately, he can’t. It’s not Abarath’s fault, though. Jamie Fraser is just a rare type of fictional hero. They are both charming, though.”
“What is it about Scottish men, huh?” I teased.
“What is it about fictional Scottish heroes?” she corrected.
“Are you insinuating that real-life Scottish men are not as interesting as fictional Scottish heroes?” She looked down and smiled, shaking her head ever so slightly.
“I’m not saying that.” Her eyes met mine for a brief second and then looked away. Mine fell to her pink lips, the curve of her neck, and her breasts, which were hugged so perfectly by the snug wool turtleneck.
“Well…we are talking about fictional characters. If you do know anyone who’s a little less Casanova than our Abarath and more of a one-woman man like Jamie Fraser, kindly point me in his direction.” There was a gleam of amusement in her eyes, but then it changed into something else, something darker, sadder. Who had hurt her? It had to be that fucker who’d cheated on her.
“Sounds like you ran into your own Abarath.”
She shrugged. “Well, Abarath is not such a bad guy. He’s not tied to any one of his love interests, and so far, I haven’t seen him making promises he didn’t keep—unlike some men. Also, I’m pretty sure fictional Scottish heroes don’t send mixed messages to their love interests,” she said, giving me a pointed look.
“I am sorry. It’s been a lousy week. I have been slammed with rewrites every night. They have changed their mind so many times this week, they are driving me mad.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you text me?” she asked, her voice low.
“I wanted to, believe me. Have ye noticed we were never alone the entire week? Trust me, I did. I wanted to talk to ye so many times, Sam.” She closed her eyes, as if she didn’t want to listen to my reasons. “I’m not trying to make excuses for myself, but I probably should have texted ye.”
“You should have.” The tone of her voice was hard, and her eyes looked as if she wanted to shoot daggers at me.
“You don’t understand,” I tried to reason.
“Oh, I don’t? Enlig
hten me then,” she challenged, waggling her eyebrows.
I leaned in closer and lowered my voice, afraid someone might overhear. “Sam, trying not to think about you is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. You have no idea how hard it is for me not to get turned on when you’re around. I knew that if I started texting you at night, I would have gotten nothing done. When I have ye in my arms again, I’m not going to be able to let you go.”
I saw her swallow, her eyes fixed on mine. I grabbed her wrist and felt her pulse quicken as her lips parted slightly. I almost forgot where we were when she licked her bottom lip. I wanted to kiss her, grab her, drag her on top of me. I wanted to feel her skin on mine. I wanted to undo her ponytail and have her hair falling on my face.
But this was not the time or place. I had to think of something else.
“By the way, what are you doing here? Wouldn’t you be more comfortable reading at home? People’s voices don’t bother you?”
“Luckily, I can tune them out.” She laughed. “What I can’t seem to tune out or escape—even with the use of headphones—are my roommate’s loud moans.”
I thought I’d heard wrong, but the embarrassed look on her face told me otherwise.
I laughed. “What? Did I hear you right?”
She nodded. “Cecilia…she finally got together with Oliver, the guy from the lighting department. She’s been lusting over him ever since we got here. You would not believe the things I have heard in the last ten hours,” she said, shutting her eyes and making a face.
“Ten hours? Who is this guy?”
“Well, thankfully they went to sleep at some point, but they started all over again, hence my hanging out here. Some of the other girls went out of town, and I have nowhere else to go.”
“I’m sorry, Sam, but you really shouldn’t be eavesdropping,” I said with a stern look.
“Eavesdr—” she said in an accusatory tone, but when she saw me laughing, she smiled and shook her head.
“Forget about Cecilia and her lover boy. Why don’t you join us? It’s me, Mick, Frank, and Marcus.” I pointed at the guys on the other side of the bar.
Lost in Scotland Page 11
