by Cali MacKay
She linked her arm with his, moving them towards the door. “I wasn’t asking, love.”
He was happy to play her games-for now. “Does this mean I’m forgiven?”
“Forgiven?” The sideways glance she gave him and her mischievous laugh had a ball of heat and need knotting in his stomach. “And miss out on all the fun of doling out yer punishment while you’re tied to my bed? I don’t think so.”
Bloody hell. He didn’t think they’d even make it home if she kept this up. “If there’s someone here who’ll be tied to a bed, it’s not me, lass.”
“Promises, promises.” When she leaned into him, the warmth of her body, the feel of her on his arm, sent his pulse hammering and his cock growing hard. “So where are ye taking me?”
He did his best to clear his head, to focus on what she was saying instead of what she’d look like splayed naked on his bed. “Ye do realize there aren’t a whole lot of restaurants in town. Ye’ve got yer choice of the pub or the chipper.” Conall tried to think of other alternatives, but food was not what he wanted after their taunts.
Stepping out into the brisk September air coming in off the sea, he steered them towards his car, conveniently parked near her deathtrap of a bike.
She grabbed her helmet, and turned to face him so the sun escaping through the clouds picked up the flecks of gold in her eyes and illuminated the blue. “Well, if ye wanted to get some work done over dinner, then we could grab something at the chipper and take it back to your place or mine.”
“The chipper it is then.” He breathed in the cool damp air in a futile attempt to clear his head and rein in his thoughts. If he kept up on the road he was on-if he gave in to the overwhelming need he had of her-he knew he’d eventually regret it. Women like Maggie broke hearts. Shattered them to smithereens. And his heart was already weary and battle-scarred.
Yet by the time they abandoned her bike, grabbed the food and headed back to his house, he’d had enough time to start second-guessing himself. With her at his side, all thoughts of keeping his distance washed away on a wave of need.
He knew it’d be a mistake, and yet he liked her-a lot. Far more than he should or was wise. Then again, it’d be easy enough to just enjoy the time they had together. It’s not like she’d be around past the New Year. Still…something nagged at the back of his mind and in the pit of his gut, telling him it could all go cursedly wrong. A woman like Maggie? You couldn’t play with fire and not get burned.
Maggie sat by his side, munching on her fish and chips and tossing Piper the occasional treat, while he pulled out the plans and looked them over. Not that he could concentrate on the task at hand when he was distracted by thoughts of impending doom and a primal need to get her naked. Bollocks.
“Leave it for now-your fish is getting cold. Nothing tastes worse once it gets soggy.” Maggie shifted towards him, sitting sideways, with her plate in her lap. “There’s plenty of time for work-and fun-later. Besides, ye’ll want to keep yer energy up.”
“Will I, now? And do I get a say regarding the night’s entertainment?” He shouldn’t be playing this game, and yet…Damn. She was smart, pretty and fun, and in many ways far safer than getting involved with anyone else, since she’d soon be gone.
Her eyes widened and sparkled with mischief as she munched on a chip, a teasing smile on her lips. “Not if yer tied to the bed, ye don’t.”
His skin felt too tight to contain the need and energy that coursed through him. He had to admire such boldness, and it only added to the growing attraction he was desperately trying to ignore. “Are ye always such a flirt?”
She shrugged. “Like I’ve said before-there’s no point in not making the most of the opportunities that come our way. That said, I’m damn picky, if it makes ye feel any better. And you, me dear, make the cut-and then some.”
She set aside her plate and then put his on the end table, out of the dog’s reach, before slipping one long leg over his lap to straddle him, the weight and heat of her supple body having an immediate effect. A surge of need coursed through him as he ached to have her, his pulse pounding and his heart thrashing against his ribs as he fought to take a breath. There was no chance of coherent thought. No chance he could resist her even if he wanted to-not that he did. It felt too right. Too perfect.
He sat forward so she was but a breath away, her breasts pressed against him as he slipped his hands down the length of her back, settling on her waist to pull her even closer. With a teasing smile, she shifted her hips against his hard length, so he could think of nothing but ravaging her. It had been months since he’d last been with anyone, and now no one but Maggie would do. He was going to have her in a most thorough manner and wouldn’t let up until he’d explored every inch of her, until she was laying there spent and utterly satisfied, until she could utter no one’s name but his.
Her hair fell forward as she leaned over and kissed him, the scent of coconut and lime filling his head, their kiss deepening. By the gods, he wanted her, and with the heat of her pressed against him and her lips tasting like honey fresh from the comb, there was no possible way he could take this slow. Not that it mattered. Maggie didn’t seem to have much patience either, her hands already running down his chest and pulling his shirt up over his head.
He followed suit, quickly ridding her of her top, his thumbs brushing against her hard nipples through her red lacy bra, eliciting a moan from her sweet lips. A flick of the clasp, and he set her glorious breasts free-when a buzzing vibration sounded.
She pulled away and dug out her phone as he continued to trail kisses down her neck. “Fuck.”
“Ignore it.” He held her close, his words coming out in a murmur against her soft skin.
With a hand on his chest, she pushed him away. “I can’t. Sorry. It’s my bus with all the tech in it. There’s been some sort of disturbance.”
She was already sliding off his lap with a string of curses that alternated between English and Irish as she pulled on her bra, and he caught one last glimpse of her perfectly pert breasts. He groaned, desperately trying to ignore the pulsing ache between his legs that threatened to overtake him. “I’m coming with ye.”
“Ye don’t have to. I can come back once I get it sorted.” She turned her shirt the right way out, and pulled it on while he grabbed his own and got dressed.
His temper sparked to think she’d just leave him behind when the security of their project might be in jeopardy-and that she’d run into a potentially dangerous situation on her own without giving it a second thought. As if he’d just sit there on the sofa with a hard on, casually waiting for her return while she dealt with who the hell knows what.
“I’m coming with ye, Maggie. Does your phone tell ye what sort of disturbance it is?” Conall was sure she had all sorts of information being sent through to her smartphone.
“From the readings it’s giving me, there hasn’t been a breach, but there was an attempt at the door. It sounds an alarm if it’s been tampered with, so it may have scared off whoever was snooping.” She threw on her jacket, and was already heading for the door, leaving him to catch up. “I’ve got surveillance cameras there, but I’m not seeing anything over the feed that’s being sent to my phone. Once I’ve got the actual footage, we should be able to zoom in and see what happened.”
That was something, at least. They could figure out exactly what happened rather than guessing.
He found himself admiring how thorough she was with her work, and damn if it didn’t make him like her all the more-beyond the lust and want. That fact that she could be both serious about some things and yet still have a playful side made her all the more intriguing.
With her bike still at the cottage, he drove, though it left her antsy and on edge, her entire body taut. She glared at him. “Could ye not drive just a wee bit faster?”
“Ye need to calm yerself, love. We’re nearly there, aye?” Under normal circumstances he’d be annoyed, but humor tugged at his lips. “Are ye always this imp
atient?”
“What if I am? No point in wasting time when it could be better spent doing other things. This wasn’t in my plans for the evening.” She looked over at him through her thick lashes, the corners of her mouth teasing into a smile. “So don’t hold it against me if I’d like to wrap things up and get back to what we were doing.”
“Ye’ll hear no complaints from me, lass.” He looked over at her with a grin tugging at his lips while his gaze drank her in, and left him wondering if he’d ever get his fill. Bloody hell, she was something. An athletic build with just enough curves, thick gorgeous hair, lips that made you want to bite them and those eyes-eyes that reached his very soul and left him unable to look away.
“Ye’ve got a great smile, Conall. It’s a pity it doesn’t come out to play more often.”
Another smile sprung to his lips. “Maybe you can change that for me.”
Chapter Seven
Maggie walked towards Andrew, who was standing by her bus, the tension between him and Conall palpable. “What happened? Did ye see?”
“Unfortunately not. The alarm sounded as I was wrapping up my own work, so I came out to investigate. Didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, though.” He stuffed his hands in his jean pockets and shrugged. “Wish I could be of more help. Anything I can do?”
“I can manage, but appreciate the offer.” She gave him a small smile and then moved to the door of her bus to take a closer look.
At first glance all seemed normal, except for the red light blinking above the lock, keypad, and biometric scanner. Needing to make sure there wasn’t any other area breached, she slowly wandered around the vehicle, checking the windows and the lower compartments before circling to the front. “Someone tried to get in here at the door-the light would be green otherwise-but I don’t think they disturbed any other area. I’ll need to check the surveillance feed, though.”
She pulled out her keys, found the one she needed, inserted and turned it, before putting her hand on the scanner. A beam of white light ran the length of her hand and then turned green. Lastly, she put in the override code that was needed due to the tripped alarm, though she took care to block the numbers from view. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Conall, but one could never be too safe, and more so, Andrew had yet to leave.
With the alarm off, she opened the door and climbed onto the first step. Conall followed behind her, but she didn’t want Andrew joining them. “Thanks, Andrew. We can take care of it from here.”
He nodded. “Let me know if there’s an issue. If someone’s snooping around, I need to know.”
“Will do.” Maggie waited for him to go, let Conall pass, and then locked the door behind them.
Space was tight with her equipment and tools stacked floor to ceiling within their customized compartments. A desk with her computer systems was nestled in one of the corners; four touch screen monitors splayed out in front of her. She wheeled a chair over to Conall, and grabbed the one already tucked in at the desk. With a few taps of the keys, she had the video surveillance files pulled up.
She plugged in the approximate time of the disturbance and focused on the view surrounding her bus, taken from multiple angles with enough overlap to avoid blind spots. There was no one around, so she slowly sped through the recording. Once they got close to the time they were looking for, she slowed the speed. Not long after, the screens turned to snow, the image on each of the multiple cameras gone.
She cursed. Repeatedly. And every way she knew how. “This was no accident. Someone sent an electrical pulse through to the cameras. I don’t know how they managed it, but they did.”
He ran a hand across his heavily stubbled jaw. “Or it could be a surge, and that’s what triggered the alarm. No?”
“Maybe, though there are safeguards in place to keep that from happening-surge protectors, back-up batteries and generators.” Yet she knew nothing was foolproof, and power could easily surge this far out in the woods, especially when the wiring that’d been run in from the road was still new. “I guess there could be glitches in the new wiring that still need to be worked out, but I don’t like it.”
They continued to watch as the images came back, an alarm now sounding. Before long, Andrew showed up on the screen and checked on the disturbance. There was nothing else. “We should probably call Iain.”
“Aye. He should know. It could be nothing, but I like to keep him informed.” Conall pulled out his phone and left Iain a message. “What would ye like to do?”
That was a good question. The alarm going off left her uneasy enough to not want to leave things unguarded. “Would ye hate me if I told ye I’d need to cancel our date for the evening? I think I’m going to spend the night here. I don’t want to leave this place unattended.”
“Or we could just drive it to my house. It’s got wheels, aye?” The corners of his mouth turned up in another one of those once-thought-elusive smiles.
“Ye know, I like ye more and more with each passing moment.” Though she’d only been looking for a way to keep herself from getting bored while working the job, Conall had turned out to be a pleasant surprise.
“If ye like me now, just wait until I’m through with ye later tonight.” His eyes sparkled, alight as if they were a glass of whisky caught in the glow of a fire.
She ran a hand over his thick stubble, loving his scruffy good looks and his intensity-from his sharp gaze to his stern demeanor even. She leaned in and kissed him. “Ye know…ye look more like a fisherman-or even a highwayman of old-rather than a computer genius.”
“Do I, now?” He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear as his touch lingered and his eyes met hers, making her want to kiss him again.
“Yeah…Far too rugged and fit for that sort of thing. So, how the hell is it that ye’re single?” Good looking, smart, well off, and successful-granted he lived out in the middle of nowhere, but still.
“I like it that way, lass.” He let out a weary sigh, his smile fading like a dream vanishing upon awaking.
There was more he wasn’t telling her. The slump in his shoulders, the way his eyes clouded over…he might be single, but there was a reason for it. He’d been burned-bad enough to have him rethinking relationships altogether. She could certainly relate. There was a reason she refused to let life pass her by, and that was because she’d done just that for far too long.
She’d given her all to Oliver, only to find she was the only one trying, the only one giving her love fully. It’d left her hurt, heartbroken, depressed and cynical-until she woke up one morning and decided she’d wasted enough of her life in a bad relationship and pining over a man who wasn’t worthy of her. From that day forward, she decided she wouldn’t squander a single moment. She was happy to have fun until she found someone worthy of her love, but once she found that person, she needed to know they wouldn’t be loving her in half-measures. She deserved better than that.
Good thing Conall was just a bit of fun. Not that he couldn’t easily be more if circumstances were different. But she’d be gone before long-and that was probably for the best since he clearly didn’t want anything more serious. In a few months, she’d be off to the job she had booked in London.
She managed a smile, pushing her thoughts to the side. “Are ye still ready to pick up where we left off?”
“Aye, lass. I am if you are.”
She was-wasn’t she? A nagging feeling told her she might be playing a dangerous game. Conall was rugged, brilliant, and gilded as if touched by the gods. With his amber eyes and honey hair, she could easily fall for him-hard.
“Yeah, I think I am. I won’t be too far behind ye with the bus. Just need to switch over to the generator and disconnect my power supply.” She stood and pushed aside her doubts. She needed fun and distraction in the form of sex. It was nothing more than that.
“I can wait for ye.” He got to his feet but his brow furrowed as he pursed his lips. Brushing her cheek, his hand warm and just a little rough, his eyes locked on hers. �
��Listen, love, if ye’re not up for tonight, we can leave it for another time, aye? There’s no point in doing this if ye’re distracted with work. It can wait. I’m patient enough.”
She reached up and linked her hand around his arm as he cupped the back of her neck. Her cursed thoughts were still nagging at her. Between worrying about the alarm and whether or not she was falling for Conall too hard and too fast, going home with him might not be the smartest move.
“I’m sorry. My head’s just in a weird place. Doubt I’d be much fun.” When he brushed a thumb across her cheek, she leaned against his hand, her eyes closing for a moment.
He frowned, his eyes searching her face. “Let me stay with ye. Here. Just as a friend-a coworker. Can’t say why, but ye have me worried, love.”
She wanted to tell him to stay, especially when her mind had already drifted to thoughts of what it would be like to have him wrapped around her body, holding her tightly. But she knew it would do nothing but leave her wanting him even more-and not just for a bit of a fling. It may have started that way-hell, just a few hours ago, she’d have said that was all she wanted-but she had realized somewhere along the way that she was starting to fall for him, and it would be one hell of a slippery slope, her demise quick, especially when he’d made it clear he was interested in nothing serious.
“I really appreciate it, Conall. I do. But…” Was she being stupid? Paranoid? It’d be so damn easy to just lean forward and kiss him. Long. Hard. And even easier to drag him to the back of the bus and the bed. Damn. She bit her lip to keep from kissing him.
“But…ye’ll see me in the morning.” He leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose. “No worries, aye? Just keep my number handy. If the alarm trips again, I don’t want ye heading to check it out on yer own. Ye call me, and I’ll be over in a matter of minutes.”
“I promise.”
***
After seeing Conall off, Maggie decided to recheck her systems to try to figure out what set off the alarms and why her cameras shorted. It didn’t make sense that a power surge would knock them out when she had two back-up power supplies. Something else must have happened, but what? She started up some scans of the system, and while those were running, got herself a Guinness with a shot of black currant syrup.
