Eliza was ensconced in her favorite armchair like royalty holding court. Her ring-laden fingers fluttered with a slow bored rhythm atop the plump arms of the red sateen chair. She wrinkled her well-powdered nose as she slowly removed her rhinestone-encrusted reading glasses, folded them closed, and set them in their crystal dish on the mahogany table beside her. She didn’t speak—just folded her hands atop her rounded middle and studied Mairi with an imperious expression that shifted Mairi’s irritation into a higher gear.
“What the hell did you do with my dog?”
Eliza didn’t respond. Her lips pressed into a more pronounced line of disapproval. Without batting an overly long false eyelash, she arched a brow and inclined her head toward the other side of the room.
“What?” An annoyed huff escaped Mairi. “I’ve had just about all the bullshit I can take for one…” The rant she was about to unleash disappeared, evaporating like a mist hit full-on with the heat of the rising sun. Her mouth slightly ajar, Mairi caught her breath and swallowed the rest of her tirade as her attention locked on the target of Eliza’s gaze.
The silent man dominated the far corner of the parlor, miniaturizing all else in the room. Standing with booted legs widespread and hands clasped to the small of his back, he appeared as focused as a predator—a powerful mesmerizing hunter exuding an air of strength and primal sexuality.
Although his close-cropped hair was so blond it appeared almost white, his attire as well as his stance projected an air of darkness and mystery. Layers of muscle rippled beneath the sheen of the black shirt stretched taut across the endless expanse of the man’s chest.
And those legs…nicely accentuated by an impressive bulge below his low-slung belt—Mairi swallowed hard and rubbed her suddenly clammy palms against the sides of her own denim-clad thighs. Dammit. Where has Edinburgh been hiding you?
Eliza softly coughed. “Please forgive my dear sweet Mairi. Her manners are usually much better than the slack-jawed mute ye see standin’ before ye.”
A warm flush of oh shit swept across her. Mairi had forgotten Eliza had a guest and here she was staring at the man as though she were about to trip him and beat him to the ground. “Uhm. Sorry to interrupt. Please forgive me.” Was this how Eliza selected her benefactors? If it is…damnation, sign me up for this one.
The man barely smiled. His chin dipped with a polite nod. “ ’Tis my utmost pleasure to meet ye. I am Chieftain Ronan Sutherland.”
He extended an open hand to her, moving across the room with such strength and grace that Mairi lost the ability to connect with the world around her. Damn. Damn. Damn. The words echoed the man’s every step and the seductive play of his muscles that made her hands itch to touch him.
With a loud impatient huff, Eliza floundered free from the depths of her overstuffed chair and hurried to Mairi’s side. She pinched the tender skin beneath Mairi’s arm and whispered, “Get on with it, gal. Do ye wish the man t’think yer impaired?”
The sting of the pinch effectively snapped Mairi free of her trance. “Sorry.” She scrubbed the still-stinging flesh of her arm as she smiled and reached for Ronan’s hand. “I’m Mairi Sinclair. Sorry if I seem a bit off. It’s been a very stressful day.”
As soon as her fingers connected with Ronan’s calloused palm, a delicious surge of erotically charged energy greeted her. The powerful sensation raced through every nerve ending, imploring her to never leave. Mairi’s senses shifted to high alert. Every instinct urged her closer. Her soul sighed in relief. Finally. Claim this one. Now.
Time slowed. Mairi grew more entranced as every sense sharpened. Ronan lifted her hand to his mouth and paused one long, breathtaking moment with his warm lips pressed against her skin. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear she felt the hot moist tip of the man’s tongue flick against the top of her hand as though he tasted her. She was left with the distinct impression he was promising even better tastings to come.
And his eyes. Mairi struggled to breathe between the ever-increasing thumps of her pounding heart. His eyes shimmered like bottomless pools of mercury. Unabashed hunger and I will have you shone in the depths of his liquid silver gaze. Mairi blinked hard and pulled her hand back, pressing it tight against her middle.
Mairi shook herself free of the heated spell and edged a step back. Thank goodness Eliza was in the room. If Mairi had met the man without Eliza looking on…Mairi blinked hard against the sudden image of them sprawled in an erotic knot across the pillows of the love seat. What the hell is wrong with me? Had Eliza accidently slipped one of her benefactors’ aphrodisiacs into the wrong box of tea? Mairi made a mental note to interrogate Eliza about that possibility later. She had been getting pretty absentminded of late.
“Uhm.” Mairi raced the tip of her tongue across her lips. Lord have mercy, her mouth had gone dry and her nether regions had gone so wet they ached. “Uhm.” Mairi took another deep breath. He was going to think she was an idiot incapable of stringing together a multisyllablic set of words. Mairi mentally shook herself. “I’m very sorry. It really is nice to meet you, but like I said…”
Mairi glanced over at Eliza’s smug expression. The woman looked as though she’d just gotten away with stealing the crown jewels. The victorious gleam in her eyes worked wonders toward calming the confusion currently holding her ability to speak for ransom. Eliza’s self-satisfied expression was just the libido dousing of ice water she needed. Mairi took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and turned her full attention back to Chieftain Sutherland. “As I said earlier, it’s been a very eventful day.”
Ronan nodded politely. “Rest easy, m’lady. There is nothing to forgive.”
What an odd way with words. Very proper. Very…different. This was not one of Eliza’s perspective benefactors. This man was…something else.
The chieftain’s eyes seemed so familiar. But how could they? Mairi was certain she’d never met this man. No way would I forget meeting you. So how could she feel so certain she’d looked into those eyes before? Mairi shook herself free of the inner turmoil and backed another step toward the door. I’ll figure it out later.
She forced her attention away from the enigmatic man and turned to Eliza. “I’m sorry I interrupted your visit. Could you step out in the hall for just a minute? I need to ask you a question.”
Eliza made the irritating clucking noise she always emitted whenever she had been pushed too far. “Absolutely not.” Latching onto Mairi’s arm, she turned her back toward the chieftain and held her firmly in place. “Chieftain Sutherland is no’ just my visitor.” Eliza tightened her grip on Mairi’s upper arm. “He’s my…distant relative.” Eliza bobbed her head up and down. “Yes. He’s one of m’few relatives. He’s traveled quite far to have a fine visit with us both.”
“How distant?” Mairi’s rooted seed of suspicion fully matured, sprouted accusing leaves, and threatened to bloom with full-blown distrust. What was up? Why was Eliza trying so hard? And what the hell did she mean by distant relative? Did she mean distant as in a distant time?
“A nephew.” Eliza fluffed the hot pink layers of taffeta zigzagging diagonally down the front of her tunic. “Of sorts.” She smoothed her hands down her ample hips and drummed her sparkling nail tips against her black sateen leggings. “The two of ye sit and chat while I prepare a fine tea for us to enjoy while we have our lovely visit.” Without waiting for Mairi’s acquiescence, Eliza’s four-inch wedge heels thumped out happy quick steps as she turned and hummed her way down the hall to the kitchen.
I am going to wring her neck. Mairi turned back to Chieftain Sutherland just in time to catch the man trembling with silent laughter. So, he thought this situation was funny? Fine. Time to interrogate him and unravel Eliza’s obvious plot. Mairi waved him toward the monstrous wingback leather chair angled beside the bookcase, while she settled on the armrest of the love seat. “So, Eliza’s your aunt?”
Ronan sank down into the chair as though he owned it. His large hands draped comfortably over t
he ends of the rolled arms as he settled back and crossed his boots at the ankle. The man looked every bit the chieftain of a powerful clan. “I believe Mistress Eliza might ha’ stretched the truth a wee bit when she called us distant relatives. We have no shared bloodline, but she was quite correct when she said I had traveled quite a ways t’meet wi’ ye.”
“Why?” Mairi wasn’t in the mood for polite conversation no matter how deliciously lickable the man looked. She needed to be out in the streets of Edinburgh locating her lost dog. She felt sure Eliza had ousted the poor stray. It didn’t matter if she confessed it or not.
“Why?” Ronan repeated. He uncrossed his boots and leaned forward as though ready to spring from the chair. Did the man sense she was about to make a quick getaway?
“Yes. Why did you want to meet with us?” Damn, the man was sexy as hell, but she didn’t have time for sexy as hell—especially without any pertinent details, like who the devil he really was. She struggled against the strange pull of the chieftain. She had to find her dog before the authorities picked him up and sealed his fate with an ending she’d rather not think about.
“Look. I’m really sorry to cut this short, but I just don’t have time for polite chitchat right now.” Mairi jumped to her feet and hurried to the door. “Enjoy your tea with Eliza. I’m sorry. But I really have to go. If you’re still here when I get back, maybe we can visit then.”
Without looking back, Mairi bolted down the hallway, grabbed her jacket, and headed outside. Eliza was going to be pissed, but she’d have to get over it. Mairi had to find that poor dog before he met a terrible end.
Chapter 6
She was gone? Just like that she was gone?
Ronan stared at the open doorway of the parlor, dazed and perplexed. What the blazes had happened? The quiet thud of the front door closing promptly ended his paralysis of disbelief.
“By the verra gods themselves!” He launched out of the chair and stormed down the hallway. Throwing the door open wide, Ronan bolted down the steps, stopped in the center of the smooth stone path running in front of the house, and searched up and down the busy street. How the hell could she have disappeared so quickly? The urge to shift into the wolf was strong. He could cover so much more ground in that form.
“Dinna be rash,” Eliza warned from the top step. “Ye best find her as a man and deal with her as a man would. ’Tis the only way and ye know it. She must love ye as a man before she knows the truth of yer history. Look what trouble the curse has already laid at yer feet by having her love yer wolf first.”
Damn, but the woman was right. Ronan sucked in a deep breath and lifted his face to the icy sleet raining down from the muddy sky. The stinging chill helped cool his need to release his beast. “I will find her. I dinna ken how t’make her forget the wolf. But somehow, I will bring her home.”
“Animals have always been dearer to Mairi than people ever could be. She trusts animals. She never trusts people anymore. Lies and cruelties have scarred her and she’s incapable of moving past them. Bear that in mind when ye find the wee gal.” Eliza backed into the house, closing the odd bright purple canvas shielding her from the rain and propping it beneath the shelter of the eaves. “Off wi’ ye now. Find our Mairi and make it right.”
“Aye.” Ronan accepted the quest with a nod. Icy rain streamed down the sides of his face and trickled down the back of his neck. He shook free the dark folded plaid tucked over one shoulder and hooded it over his head.
Once more he glanced first to the right then to the left. Men and women clutching the round cloth shields over their heads splashed about, backs bent against the weather as they went along their way. Ronan squinted against the rising wind and rain, weaving in and out among the crowd bustling down the walkway. How the devil was he to find the woman? Was he even going in the right direction? He edged his way to the side of the path, imperceptibly lifted his chin, and snuffed in several deep breaths. Damn this blasted weather. He’d play hell picking up her scent in all this rain.
A waist-high wall made of the smoothest stone Ronan had ever seen caught his eye. Higher ground. Aye. He stood a better chance of spotting Mairi from higher ground. Slinging the wet plaid back over one shoulder, Ronan hoisted himself to the top of the wall. Much better. Now he could see well over the throng of busy people. Och and be damned. Why the hell were there so many milling about? He nay remembered so many people bein’ in the streets the previous night.
Ronan slowly edged along the top of the wall while scanning the area. Mairi was searching for her lost wolf. Ronan shook with a bitter chuckle. Little did the woman know, her lost wolf searched for her as well. Shrubbery. A thicket of trees. A bit of meadow. If Mairi kept her search focused on where an animal might hide, she’d seek those places first. Ronan stretched taller and looked for just such places.
Aye. There she is. A dark blue behind and the bottoms of a pair of muddy shoes protruded out from under a canopy of glossy dripping leaves. Ronan squinted through the rain. Aye and for sure. He was certain of it. He’d know that sweet arse from any distance.
Ronan hopped down from the wall. Uncertainty stopped his steps. How could he convince her to come home? He slicked the rain from his eyes and looked up and down the street again. Eliza said Mairi didna trust people nor allow them too close. What would make her trust him?
A cacophony of high-pitched yapping interrupted Ronan’s plotting. The insistent yap-yap-yap hammered a simple plan of attack into place. What better way to win Mairi over and make her forget the wolf than by giving her another dog? Ronan pushed through the ornate black metal gate to the tiny enclosed yard and strode up the path. A trio of hopping fuzz balls, ridiculous puffs of gray black fur dotted with beady eyes, glistening noses, and pink tongues pawed and bit at the glass separating them from Ronan.
Ronan eyed the pups. A bit on the small side, but perhaps a wee beastie would melt Mairi’s heart even quicker. Ronan rapped on the glass, shielding his eyes as he strained to see deeper into the house.
A sour-faced woman of advanced years wobbled into view. A pair of bigger mops of yipping fur bounced around the woman’s feet and the base of her cane as she hitched her way to the door. Her eyes narrowed behind a smudged pair of wire-rimmed spectacles cocked at an angle on the bridge of her nose. She glared at Ronan through the glass, her scowl deepening as she eased the door open the barest bit. “Aye?”
Ronan pointed to the smaller dogs still yapping and ricocheting off the glass. “The wee dogs.” Ronan tapped on the glass in front of the darkest, fiercest pup. “Would ye consider partin’ with one o’ them?”
The woman frowned and thumped the handle of her cane against a white square of parchment stuck at the top of the glass. “Is that no’ what the sign says? Can ye no’ read?”
Irritation prickled hot against the cold damp hairs at the base of his neck. Of course he couldna read. He had scribes and monks for such menial tasks. Ronan rapped on the glass in front of the bright-eyed little dog’s face. “How much?” He had no time for the cross old woman. Mairi wouldna stay in one place verra long. He worked open the leather pouch slung against his hip and pulled free the small clutch of gold pieces Granny Sinclair had sent for him through the fire portal.
“The sign says fiddy quid.” The scowling matron rapped her cane against the bit of parchment again. “I’ll no’ take a bit less for one o’ these fine lads. Ye’ll find none nearly as grand in all Scotland.”
Ronan wasna sure how much fiddy quid was but he felt certain a couple of gold pieces would properly take care of the old woman’s troubles. Lore a’mighty—’tisn’t as though I’m buyin’ a horse. He clicked two shining gold pieces against the glass. “For the wee dark one still biting at the door. Aye?”
The elderly woman’s face lit up as she pulled the door open wider and plucked the gold pieces out from between Ronan’s fingers then closed the door again before any of the dogs could escape. She adjusted her spectacles, held the coins up close, and squinted as she slowly rotated
the money in her hand. Her thin lips moved as she stared at the gold, as though muttering a silent curse.
She stole a quick glance through the glass at Ronan then placed one of the coins between the only two teeth she still possessed and bit down hard. She cackled out a happy chortle and stuffed the payment down the neck of her oversize shirt then patted the spot between her sagging breasts. She scooped up the dog, opened the door, and shoved him into Ronan’s arms. “The wee bastard is all yers. All sales final.” She slammed the door shut and yanked down the shade. Her delighted cackle echoing from the other side of the door until it gradually faded away.
Ronan looked down at the alert little dog trembling in his hands. “So yer a wee bastard, are ye?”
The pup promptly rumbled with a ferocious growl and sank its needlelike teeth deep into Ronan’s thumb.
“Son of a bitch!” Ronan passed the snarling buzz saw between his hands as though palming a red-hot coal. He finally pulled his plaid from about his shoulders and immobilized the snapping little demon. “Come, ye vicious wee bastard. Ye have a task at hand far more important than eatin’ me alive.”
Tucking the growling bundle under one arm, Ronan headed for the last place he’d seen Mairi. Just as he’d feared, she was gone. Ronan loped across the stretch of rolling green to higher ground. It hadna been that long. Surely Mairi would keep to this place with trees and greenery, hoping to find the wolf. And he was right. There she was just up ahead.
If he doubted it before, he doubted it no longer. The mere sight of her soothed him to the deepest level of his soul. Mairi was the one he’d needed all these years. She already possessed him. Completely.
Her soaked, bedraggled curls framing her pale face made her eyes seem even larger. His heart hitched as Mairi stumbled, hugging her jacket tighter around her slight waist while chewing on her bottom lip. She’d been crying. The tip of her nose was bright red and the deep green of her eyes was rimmed in red as well. The poor lass. All because of the wolf. Ronan’s heart swelled. He had to win her. He could nay imagine anything less.
My Tempting Highlander (Highland Hearts #3) Page 6
