He sucked in a breath through clenched teeth and immediately leapt to his feet, his expression stricken as he moved to face her. “I am so sorry.” He looked completely upset.
“It’s okay. I’m fine, really.”
Frowning, he shook his head.
“I’m not saying I want to ride a bicycle or a horse anytime soon, but I’m perfectly fine.”
“You’re bruised all to fuck.”
“I’m fish belly-pale, Angus. I bruise easily.”
If possible, he appeared even less convinced. “Have you seen it?” he demanded. “Have you seen what I did?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t look.” She hiked up her skirt and craned her head around, trying to get a peek.
“C’mon.” He grabbed her hand and led her to the stairs, gesturing for her to go down in front of him. “Does it hurt to walk?”
She was glad she was in front of him, and he couldn’t see her smile. “Am I aware of a little discomfort? Yes. Is it painful to function normally? No.”
When they reached the main floor, he led her into his room, bringing her to a halt in front the mirror on his dresser before turning her back to it. She wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled the strong column of his throat as he gathered the fabric covering her ass in his hands.
“Look.”
She ignored the directive and continued kissing him.
“Eliza.”
His sharp tone sent need spiking through her pussy, but she peered over her shoulder at her reflection. There were definitely bruises, and they were bright against her stupidly pale skin like clusters of small violets peeking through melting snow.
He buried his face in her neck and took a deep breath then let it out slowly. “I’m so sorry, Eliza. I’ll—”
She tangled her fingers in his hair and tugged his head up so he was looking at her. “You’ll hush is what you’ll do.”
His brows climbed up as he studied her.
“And you’ll listen,” she continued. “I’ve had bruising far worse than this.” He opened his mouth, but she cut him off. “As I was saying, I’ve had bruising far worse than this, but more importantly than that, I like them. I like these achy little reminders of your hands on my body. I like these achy little reminders of how insanely hot last night was.”
She studied him for a moment, uncertainty swirling unpleasantly in her gut. “Unless I was alone in that. And you didn’t enjoy it...”
“God, no. I did.”
She nipped at his lower lip. “Good.”
He watched her intently, but his eyes kept straying to the mirror—specifically to her ass.
She lowered her arms and reached behind her to gently cup her cheeks. When she was sure he was watching, she dug her fingertips into her flesh. She gasped at the resulting pain that sent her hips flying forward into his, and his rapidly hardening cock. She opened her eyes to find his gaze on her face, hot and full of something that looked a lot like wonder.
“I love these achy little reminders of you.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Angus stilled and stifled a groan as he stared at Eliza. Awestruck was the only way to describe how he felt about this woman. Well, awestruck and lucky as fuck, and he was inching increasingly closer to head-over-heels territory. Hell, he might already be there.
He slid both hands down her body until they covered where hers still rested on her bottom, and squeezed. With a gasping little wriggle, she pressed up against him and whispered, “More.”
He kissed along the side of her neck, trailing his mouth over her chest and tugging her shoulder strap down with his teeth. He pulled until he bared her gorgeous pink-tipped breast. He whispered, “I’ll give you everything you need,” just before he closed his mouth around her taut nipple.
The creak of his front door opening and the jingle of keys caught his attention. “Goddamn it, Tansy,” he muttered.
“Angus?”
Oh, fuck all. It wasn’t Tansy, it was his mam. Sighing, he rested his forehead against Eliza’s, and she stared up at him, confusion evident. “You’re going to want to put some clothes on. It seems my mother’s just invited herself over.”
Eliza’s eyes widened almost comically, and she pulled from his arms and darted toward her open suitcase.
“Angus?” his mam called again. “I would have called, but Tansy said you had company.”
With one last glance at Eliza, he rolled his eyes and ducked into the hallway, quietly pulling the door shut behind him. He scrubbed a hand over his face and wiggled his jaw from side to side, trying to get it to unclench. “So, you thought you’d just pop round and interrupt in person, then?”
“Tansy said it was an American lass, and I thought it might be one of the book people from New York, so I brought some raspberry jam and shortbread.”
“Because...?”
“Because if this book lass is helping you with your story, the least I can do is bring by a treat or two.”
He snorted as he reined in his annoyance. Under normal circumstances, he might be more frustrated than he was, but she’d been at loose ends ever since Ewan died. Sure, she’d been helping him plan the dedication of the library and media room he’d funded at the cancer center in Glasgow where Ewan had received the majority of his treatments. But he knew that planning an event honoring her dead son wasn’t the same as interacting with the living. And god knew, he’d been a poor excuse for the living lately. If it made her happy to have someone new to cook for, he couldn’t really begrudge her that. And he knew that, if he explained it to Eliza, she’d understand. But he and his mother were going to have to have a discussion about appropriate boundaries. And calling first.
“Did I hear someone mention shortbread?”
And that conversation would have to wait until later.
Angus turned to find Eliza entering the kitchen, smiling brightly at him and his mam. She’d brushed out the braid he’d put in last night, and her hair fell in soft waves around her face. She was wearing a long knit skirt with an oversized jumper thing. He’d bet anything she was completely naked beneath. And he planned to find out as soon as they were alone again, but he resisted the urge to move closer—to touch her.
She offered her hand to his mother. “Hi, I’m Eliza Burrows, and I’m assisting your son on the final book in his series.”
“I’m so pleased to meet you. I’m Lainie. I heard you two were busy working, so I thought I’d whip up a snack for you both.”
“That’s so kind of you.”
His mother glanced at him and frowned. “Sometimes, he forgets to eat.”
Eliza patted her stomach. “I almost never forget, so I’ll be sure to remind him.”
His mother laughed. “You’re a dear.”
“I think Angus was going back upstairs to write, but would you like a cup of tea or coffee?”
He stepped closer to Eliza. “Getting rid of me?”
She shrugged. “I don’t like most sweets. But homemade shortbread isn’t most sweets. And besides, you were writing before I stepped on Agnes.”
Moving behind her, he cupped her bottom, squeezing just slightly. “Make sure you save me some shortbread.”
Her breath caught slightly, but he didn’t think his mother noticed. She was already putting the kettle on.
“I’ll bring some up with your coffee,” Eliza said, her eyes dancing as she looked back at him.
He shook his head, but he wasn’t sure if it was at her or himself. He was so fucked. Heading upstairs, he tried to work, but the words that had been flowing so easily, earlier, had dried up. Part of it was the low murmur of voices and laughter drifting up from the kitchen, and part of it was the persistent wood that plagued him whenever he thought of Eliza.
He was dragging his hands through his hair and rereading the same paragraph for the twenty-seventh time when Eliza came upstairs forty-five minutes later with a folder, a cup of black coffee and a couple pieces of shortbread. She carefully set the cup and plate on his desk th
en pressed a kiss to his forehead.
“Is she gone?” he asked.
She nodded. “She said that she needed to run to the store but that she’d call you later. Oh, and she asked me to give you this.”
He glanced down at the folder and flipped it open. Inside was the schedule for the library dedication in three weeks along with a handwritten note reminding him that he needed to be there early and wear a suit. He snorted and rolled his eyes.
“Christ...that woman. Does yours do that, too? Show up without calling to interrogate your guests?”
Eliza’s smile froze in place for a moment. “No. Well, my parents used to just stop by unannounced, but they don’t, anymore.” It was only then that he remembered her earlier comment about her family not calling her anything anymore, and he felt like a complete fuck-up. Before he could apologize, her smile was back in place. “Anyway, I like your mom—she’s really sweet.”
He wanted to know more about her family, but it was clear that was off the table. At least, for now. “She likes you, too—I can tell.”
Eliza grinned at him, and it was more genuine, this time. “Some people find me charming.”
He reached out and grabbed her around the waist and tugged her onto his lap, loving the way she winced and squirmed against him. “And some people find you charming and completely fuckable.”
She laughed as he pulled her close, skimming his hand over her arse.
“I knew it.”
“What?”
He slid his palm over her hip. “No knickers.”
“Maybe I’ll put some on in another day or two.”
The thought of Eliza wandering around his house for two days without panties made him groan. It would have made him hard, but he’d already been there for what felt like ages.
“Or maybe I...won’t.” His screen must have caught her eye because she turned to face it. “Oooh...there’s new stuff. Can I read?”
He chuckled. “I’m not sure I should be offended that I’m so easily dismissed or pleased that you’re that invested in my work.”
She looked over her shoulder at him. “Trust me, there’s not a single thing about you that’s easily dismissed.”
As she stared at him, the amusement in her eyes dulled a bit and her teeth sank into her lower lips. His gut tightened at her expression. She seemed caught between earnestness and embarrassed anticipation.
A million different things jumped into his head and collided in a verbal traffic jam in his mouth. And instead of telling her how much he was coming to care for her, or how much he enjoyed spending time with her, or how amazing she was, what came out of his mouth was, “Do you want to wait until I’m done for the day, or do you want me to send this section now and the rest later?”
Her gaze left his, and she he glanced past his shoulder. “I’ll start reading and making notes now.”
Leaning forward, he kissed her behind the ear, and his arms tightened reflexively around her. She smiled down at him, meeting his gaze again, but there was something about it—as if it didn’t seem quite as bright as it had earlier. That thought vanished as soon as she pressed a kiss to the curve of his shoulder where it met his neck.
“I have it on good authority we’ll both be busy later.”
He skimmed his hand over her hip and dug his fingertips into her arse, loving the way she bit back a moan. “Oh? Whose authority is that?”
Pressing nipping kisses along his jawline, she moved toward his chin then up to hover the barest breath above his lips. His cock surged against his zip, almost as desperate as he was to be buried inside her again.
“Mine,” she whispered, her lips caressing his in the slightest of kisses, before sliding off his lap and smiling at him as he reached for her. She sauntered to the door. “Oh, I need your wi-fi info so I can log in and get my mail.”
“The network is Nostromo and the password is Ripley1979—with a capital R.”
Her eyes sparkled with sudden amusement. “Of course, it is.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
She shrugged. “You may have had me pegged as an Austen reader, but I had you pegged as an Alien fan.”
“You didn’t.”
She laughed, and the sound made him smile.
“Did,” she insisted as she left the room.
He truly couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this happy. “Are you sure you don’t want to get busy now and work later?” he called after her.
She stuck her head back around the corner. “You’ve only got me for two weeks, we need to make the best use of that. Work now. Blowjob of your dreams later.”
Torn between laughing and groaning, he thunked his head against the back of his chair. How was he supposed to get any work done with her here, promising the blowjob of his dreams? On the heels of that thought came a far more depressing one. How would he be able to work—or breathe—when she left? He couldn’t imagine going from lovers back to simply colleagues. Not with her.
He stared at the blinking cursor. He couldn’t think about that now. All he could do was write as much as he could as fast as he could so he could spend the rest of his time with her. It was the only thing for it.
Attaching his document to an email, he sent it to Eliza then glanced at the dialogue notes he’d written the day before. The conversations were by no means finished, but he knew he needed to get them in the manuscript because he was likely to lose the little notebook he’d written them in. It had happened more times than he cared to count, and he couldn’t afford to fall any farther behind on this project. Not with so much riding on it.
He scrolled back to where he’d been before he’d been distracted by Eliza—again—then opened a new document and quickly typed up his notes. Normally, he would have just added them below where he was currently writing, but he didn’t want her to have any forewarning of upcoming plot points if she scrolled down that far the next time he sent her the updated story. He’d rather have her raw unvarnished reaction as she read, as opposed to running the risk of her anticipating specifics.
In a very short time, he’d come to trust her judgment almost as much as he’d trusted Ewan’s. He glanced at the framed picture of them sitting on his bookshelf—both of them toasting with their beer bottles and both more than a little sottered. It had been taken at the party Tansy had thrown the day Angus’ first book had been released.
Fuck, he missed Ewan. He knew if his brother was still around, he’d adore Eliza. He’d always had a weakness for intelligent women who could make him laugh. Which was just one of the reasons it had never made sense to Angus that Ewan and Tansy hadn’t gotten together.
As if his thought had summoned her, Tansy’s text rolled across his screen.
—Are we still on for tonight?
—Tonight?
He wracked his brain. He couldn’t remember making plans with Tansy.
—We’re getting together at The Still—you, me, Charlie, Ross, Donal, and Petra. Bring your girl.
Your girl.
He liked the sound of that far more than he should—especially when she’d be gone in two weeks. He glanced at the photo of Ewan again. He could practically hear his brother’s voice in his head. Don’t be such a scabby bawbag. Convince her that two weeks together isn’t enough.
His mobile chimed again, and he glanced down at it. As he expected, it was Tansy.
—Come have supper with us. Meeting there at 7.
He jiggled his knee while he tried to decide. On the one hand, he didn’t want to share Eliza with anyone. He wanted to hoard his time with her like every minute was made of gold and he was the most selfish fucking dragon in all the land. Guilt turned his stomach to acid. And she was spending what was probably going to be as much of a vacation as she’d get. Publishing houses were known for working their junior staff as close to death as they legally could. He needed to make sure she had fun while she was here.
—Well?
He quickly checked the time then texted back.
—I’ll see if she’s up for it. Unless you hear back from me, we’ll see you there.
He had a couple hours yet. He set a timer and went back to the manuscript. He’d feel a lot better about going out if he could finish this chapter.
An hour and fifteen minutes later, his timer went off. He hit save then stretched.
“I hope that means you have more for me.” Eliza was leaning against the doorframe, watching him with a sweet smile curving her lips.
He stood and walked over to her, pulling her into his arms. “How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough to see you were in the zone. I didn’t want to interrupt. Actually...that’s a lie. I totally did.” She playfully slapped his chest. “I can’t believe you left me hanging like that!”
He shrugged. “Gotta end a chapter on a hook.”
“When do I get to read the new stuff?”
He tucked her hair behind her ear. “First thing tomorrow morning.”
“How about first thing, right now?”
He shook his head then caught her hand with a grin before she could smack him again. He brought it to his mouth and kissed the inside of her wrist, feeling her rapidly beating pulse against his lips.
“Tansy and some other friends invited us out for supper. And since both of us forgot to eat today...”
Her cheeks pinkened slightly. “And here I promised your mom I’d make sure you ate.”
“Speaking of promises, I recall someone promising me the blowjob of my dreams.”
She cupped his cock. “Fine, let’s go eat. Then I’ll be able to say I kept both my promises.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Angus drove toward wherever it was they were going. Eliza tried to pay attention to what he was saying about the landmarks, but she was too busy trying not to give in to the mouth-watering, bile-churning urge to puke in his car. She discreetly wiped her clammy hands on her skirt. Why had she agreed to supper plans with his friends? She’d been so distracted by him, she hadn’t even considered the ramifications. She’d forgotten to take the precautions she normally used to protect herself. Like not going anywhere she could avoid.
Rewritten (The Bound Series Book 7) Page 17
