Playboy's Challenge (Highlander's Series)

by Jo Barrett

  She’d been upset when he’d quit working for the old man. But no matter how he tried to explain it, she couldn’t understand how he could give up his shot at running his grandfather’s company. He’d known that was what the old man was really grooming him for, but it just wasn’t what he wanted.

  But not Trudy, she wanted the money, the power, and all the social crap that went along with it. It hadn’t taken long for her to walk out on him once she realized he’d made up his mind. He’d failed her and his grandfather.

  Shaking off the memory, he looked at his aunt and uncle, now sitting before the fire. What if he screwed this up too? What if he let them down, like he’d let everyone else in his life down?

  Then again, they were delusional, so whatever he managed to accomplish would probably be enough in their eyes. Not to mention it would be nice to actually enjoy his work for a change. He just needed to table his personal crap for now.

  With a new sense of determination, he smiled at his godparents. “I take it that all the work is to be done without modern tools.”

  Tuck shot him a smirk, and with a chuckle he turned back to the drawings. He needed to lose himself in the details of the castle, and not his past, nor the enticing female brooding in the corner by the window with hair the color of midnight.

  The family went about their normal evening routine, or so he assumed as he fell further under the spell of the work before him and not his interesting surroundings. Before he realized it, the hour had grown late, and he’d been left alone.

  Stretching, he glanced at his drawings and felt good inside for the first time in a long while. It was still rough, his ideas hadn’t completely gelled, but it was a start. In the morning, perhaps before the castle was alive with activity, before he found himself being pummeled in the lists, he’d make a new clean sketch of his own of the existing gate. He didn’t want to miss anything important, because his biggest hurdle would be in not using machinery to get the heavy work done. So any mistakes would take weeks or months to change after the labor began.

  He moved to the window and looked out to the quiet island cloaked by night. Not a flicker of light was to be seen. Even he had to admit it was peaceful, this crazy life the MacLeans had chosen. He admired their steadfastness in it all. They’d never even visited his parents, obviously unwilling to remove themselves for even the shortest amount of time from the historical world they’d created.

  But how did someone keep to the traditions of the past when there was so much going on in the world? What about medicines and farm equipment? They could do so much more if they let in just a little bit of the modern world.

  With a shrug, he turned and walked down the hall to bed, doing all he could to ignore the distinct chilliness of the air. He sure missed central heating, but if his friends could deal, then so could he.

  He entered his room to find it ice cold, and quickly stoked the fire before getting undressed. His tux felt dry, he noticed, although a tad rumpled, but it didn’t really matter. It wasn’t like he had a formal to go to any time soon, he thought with a laugh.

  That he wouldn’t miss. All those boring parties, even the not so boring ones, were events he could do without. He just never had the heart to disappoint his mother when she wanted him there. Maybe he hadn’t made her as unhappy as he thought. Maybe.

  Sliding beneath the covers, the ropes of the bed creaking beneath his weight, he smiled as sleep cleared his thoughts of the past—or was that future?

  Chapter Five

  Deidra watched Adam sketch, silhouetted against the early morning sky. He looked as if he belonged there, as if he had always been a part of the clan, as if—for just one single instance—he wanted the same things she did. To be here, in this time, to care for these people in this place.

  She turned away from the sight, knowing it was just her fickle heart, yearning for a man to want her as she was. And it wouldn’t hurt for him to be just a wee bit handsome, perhaps even in possession of a tempting smile and witty charm. Perhaps a little bit like Adam.

  “Ridiculous.”

  He was the worst sort of rogue and nothing like the man she wanted in her life. He’d probably slid into her thoughts because the servants, Eileen and the others, could not stop their prattling about him. And there was that almost kiss, she thought with a scowl.

  She turned and met her mother at the top of the stairs to the roof. She’d learned long ago it was a good place to see the world around her, and take in the sounds and smells of the sea, but it was also her mother’s favorite spot.

  “He’s up early. Bet he didn’t sleep a wink,” Tuck said with a chortle as she stood beside Deidra.

  “Aye, he worries over his time in the lists this morn’, I’d wager,” she said, returning her gaze to where he sat.

  “Probably, but not as much as you might think. Even though he says he and his father don’t see eye to eye, my guess is that he has always done whatever he could to live up to Ian’s expectations.”

  “’Twould seem he has lived up to his father’s youth as well.”

  Her mother shot her a look from the corner of her eye. “Talk is pretty hot below stairs. And I’ve no doubt he could sweet talk a girl right out of her kilt, if he wanted to.”

  “Ha! It willna be difficult with the likes of those silly chits following him around.”

  “No,” she said with a chuckle. “But I wouldn’t let that bother you.”

  Deidra straightened her spine. “What he does or does no’ do, is of no interest to me.”

  Her mother stood beside her and crossed her arms as she watched him. “Really?”

  “Aye. ’Tis just the way they jostle for the opportunity to wait on the man that I dislike.”

  “Uh-huh,” her mother replied, not taking her gaze from their unwanted visitor.

  “All he need do is breathe and they stop their work to ogle him. ’Tis disgraceful.”

  “Hmm, terrible.”

  She frowned at her mother. “Are you no’ listening to me? Did you no’ see Eileen’s behavior last eve?”

  She cast Deidra a smile. “I’m listening. But what I’m hearing is something that sounds a bit like jealousy.”

  “Jealous? Me?” She spun around and glared at Adam’s back. “I couldna’ care one bit about him. ’Tis the way they pay more attention to him than to their chores, that is the trouble.”

  Tuck nudged her with her shoulder, a broad smile on her face. “Nope, not buying it. You’ve got a thing for him.”

  “I most certainly do no’.”

  “There’s no crime in it, Dee. He’s handsome, charming, and a good man. And like I said before, he’s not the boy he once was.”

  She refused to bother with a response. What absolute nonsense.

  “You can deny it all you want, but I can see the crack and sizzle between you. It’s damn hard to miss,” her mother said with a snort, as she turned to the stairs. “But you might need to guard more than your heart around that one.”

  “Oh!” She spun around, flummoxed her mother would say such things. “I wouldna’ let him close enough to—to—”

  Tuck chuckled and with a backward wave disappeared down the stairs, leaving Deidra seething.

  Adam Sutherland would be the last man to venture anywhere close to her heart or otherwise. She’d castrate the knave if he tried. He was a rogue, and the last man on earth to tempt her.

  ****

  Adam watched the sun rise, then began a deep study of the castle walls, the main gate in particular. He could see various ways to make improvements, some of which wouldn’t be used for years to come—assuming he believed all that time travel junk. But his hand started to sketch as his ideas filtered from his mind down through his fingers.

  He paused a moment, realizing he was content, more so than he’d been in a long time, and wondered if this was why his parents had sent him here. To build, to dream, to remember what he had wanted to do so long ago. To show him that he did have a talent and wasn’t worthless after all.
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  With a shake of his head, he put the idea back into a corner of his mind where he could think on it later. Right now he wanted to work. A smile spread over his lips as he placed his pencil to paper once again.

  For almost an hour, he studied and sketched, before Colin appeared by his side.

  “A fine job you’re doing, lad.” He motioned to a specific piece of the design where he had drawn a two story gatehouse with an additional portcullis. “I am liking this bit here, but this other, I’m no’ sure that can be done within my lifetime,” he added with a chuckle.

  Adam glanced at the barbican, a walled outwork with machicolated towers, basically duplicating most of the new gatehouse features.

  With a soft laugh, he said, “I suppose not, since we can’t use any modern equipment. But it’s a goal, nevertheless.”

  “Aye, a good one, in my mind,” he replied, slapping Adam hard on the back. “Now, up with you. ’Tis time for some hard work.”

  Colin practically dragged Adam to the lists where they practiced with swords and other weapons, safely away from the center of the courtyard where the day-to-day activities of living in the seventeenth century rambled on. With the sounds of the clan MacLean awakening to a new day, Adam set his papers aside, and pulled his sword from its sheath.

  “Now, let’s see what you can remember,” Colin said, an almost imperceptible grin upon his face.

  Adam noticed Erin and Michael, as well as a few others, appearing off to the side to watch, but didn’t allow his attention to linger there for long, as Colin swung his hefty blade down—straight for Adam’s head.

  Deidra watched from the side, listening to her brother and the others comment on Adam’s skill. She was surprised as well by his aptitude, but refused to let the fact that he could defend himself add to his charm. Charm he used often on unsuspecting women, she reminded herself.

  “’Twould seem he has no’ lost his lessons and mayhap improved upon them,” her brother said. “No’ many can keep Da at such a pace and distance.”

  “’Tis of no consequence. He doesna believe where he is, and when he returns he has no need of such a skill.”

  “True, but I wouldna wager that he doesna use it for something else.” He motioned with his head toward the women gathering to watch, their eyes wide, their smiles beckoning. “And if I were to make a wager, I would say that you’re a wee might jealous, dear sister,” he said.

  “And I’d say you are a fool, Erin MacLean.” She spun on her heels and stormed back into the castle. She had work to do, and little time to stand around wasting the day.

  “And what has you in such a snit?” her mother asked, stepping from the castle, meeting her on the steps.

  “Nothing but a nuisance,” she said, glaring toward the women, then turned to go inside.

  Her mother caught her arm before she could escape.

  “Hold up there, Dee.” She glanced at the commotion in the lists and the gathering crowd, then grinned. “Let’s show these guys a thing or two, shall we?”

  Tuck pulled Deidra along with her, ignoring her sputtered pleas.

  “But, Mum—”

  “You want to win this thing, don’t you?”

  “Win what thing?”

  “Baby, you’re green to the gills. Might as well work out and let off some steam while showing them up at the same time,” she said, nodding toward Adam’s adoring masses.

  “I am no’ green,” she stoutly denied—again. Although she had to admit, there was an odd sort of sourness in the bottom of her stomach. But it had nothing whatsoever to do with Adam Sutherland. She was not jealous!

  “Come on. Tie that skirt up and let’s have some fun,” Tuck said.

  Deidra cut her eyes toward her father and Adam where they continued to work, then gave in to her mother’s demands. Perhaps a good bit of exercise was what she needed after all. It would take her mind off the odd twisting in her stomach, at any rate.

  A firm scowl on her face, she entered into a serious match with her mother using the many martial arts maneuvers she’d taught her over the years and some of the more aggressive tactics her father had shown her. Within moments they were both filthy, breathing heavily, and having the time of their lives.

  ****

  “Hold there, lad,” Colin said, lowering his sword. “You’ve the skill of your father. Glad I am ta see it, but you’ve a need for some more strenuous work if you’re ta defend yourself in battle.”

  Adam grinned. “Sure. Battle, hadn’t thought much about that, to be honest.”

  “I daresay you have no’. But before we get inta some real training, let’s have a wee bit of rest and enjoy the women. I do love ta watch them work,” he said with a crooked grin.

  Adam turned to discover Deidra and Tuck going at it like some old Kung-Fu movie. But what really caught his attention were Deidra’s legs. Oh sure, they had some mud caked on them here and there, but man were they long and luscious. Perfect for wrapping around his waist as he thrust home.

  He rubbed hard at his eyes, trying to erase the image before the entire keep would see how she affected him. With a deep breath, he turned his concentration on their moves, and how deadly they were. Not many a man could hold up against either woman, and God help him if he had to go against them at the same time.

  A shout from the side of the yard caught his attention, and he realized that he wasn’t the only one watching with a little lust in his eyes. The guard, including several from the previous night that he and Erin had yet to deal with, gathered along the sides of the field. They exchanged mutterings among themselves with lascivious grins on their faces, and Adam didn’t like it one bit.

  “Are ye goin’ ta let your wee babe put you on your arse, wife?”

  Colin’s shout jerked him from the red haze slowly gathering behind his eyes.

  What the hell was the matter with him? Deidra could obviously take care of herself. And she’d specifically told him last night to stay out of her business.

  He pushed a long, unsteady breath between his clenched teeth and focused on cooling down. It wasn’t his place to play hero, not for Deidra, not for anyone. He’d only let her down anyway, like he let everyone else down.

  For several more minutes the women fought until both winded and smiling, Tuck snagged her daughter’s hand and pulled her to her feet. A round of applause echoed in the lists as they crossed to stand before him and the others.

  She wasn’t only a knockout, she had some serious skills, and he admired her for it. The little girl, all arms and legs that had trailed after him and Erin was no more. She’d grown into a beautiful—deadly woman.

  “Have you had your fun for the day, wife?” Colin asked, with a telling wink.

  “Oh, I can think of some other fun things to do today,” Tuck said, swiping a bit of mud from her cheek.

  Colin snagged her hand and pulled her from the lists into the castle, both of them wearing smiles that spoke volumes.

  “Why the dirty old sod,” Adam muttered.

  “Aye,” Erin said with a laugh. “’Tis their way of wooing each other. Can be a bit nauseating.”

  Adam nodded. “Mine are just as bad, but without the hand-to-hand combat.”

  “Theirs is a great love,” Deidra said, her voice tinted with bittersweet regret.

  He supposed it wasn’t easy for her to see them like that after having been treated so poorly by that Bran guy the day before.

  That was what she meant last night. That he couldn’t give her what she so obviously wanted. Love. The one emotion he refused to get involved with ever again.

  “So, are you ready for more?” Erin asked, slapping him on the back, snapping him from his thoughts.

  Who would want that from him? Not Deidra, that was for sure. “I don’t suppose I get to eat anytime soon,” he said.

  “You eat when you’re finished,” Erin answered with a wide smile.

  “You’ll starve then, because my dear brother has already broken his fast,” Deidra said. “I saw h
im steal inta the kitchens afore the sun rose.”

  Adam chuckled. “Figures,” he said, cutting a look to his friend, then looked back at Deidra. “You know, that was pretty impressive.” He nodded toward the area where she’d worked out. “Guess you didn’t need me to step in between you and Bran after all, huh?”

  Her lips pulled up into a smirk. “Nay, I didna. I can put a man on his belly if I’ve a need to.”

  “Aye, that she can,” Erin agreed with a firm nod.

  Adam, couldn’t resist. “Care to make a bet on that?”

  Her eyes widened, and those tempting lips fell open with a faint squeak.

  “Aye, see if ye can beat our wee lass,” Michael said, ambling up beside them.

  “But—”

  “Have her make one of her meat pies if she loses,” Erin suggested, ignoring Deidra’s sputtering. “They be a feast for the senses.”

  “If?” Adam said, then looked back at Deidra. “Well, what do you say? Are you up to the challenge?”

  A shaft of fear shot straight through Deidra’s heart. She couldn’t fight him. She would be far too distracted by the nearness of him, by the continuous teasing glint in his eye. The odd sensations she’d had when he’d first arrived, how he made her feel desirable, wanted. And that damnable almost kiss last eve.

  No, she could not fight him and win, for although she would like to hand him his head, he made her feel very much like a woman, and reminded her of all the things she would never have.

  “I’ve nothing to prove to you, Adam Sutherland,” she said, her tone firm, although she felt a quivering deep inside. “And I’ve chores to see to. I’ve—”

  He stepped closer, that devilish grin upon his lips. “So you’d rather scrub dishes? Maybe that’s what you’re best at,” he taunted.

  Her eyes narrowed. “I doona do dishes.”

  “Then are we on?”

  She bit her lip then gave a firm nod. “Verra well. And when I win, you will be the one scrubbing dishes.” She looked at Erin and poked him in the chest. “And if you think to be bettin’ against me, you’ll regret it.”

  He held up both hands with a broad grin. “I would ne’er dream of such a thing. ’Twas meself that boasted of your talents, was it no’?”