Angus snorted too. “I visit with him when I can because I want to know what he’s thinking where we’re concerned. I have no doubt he could say one sentence and we’d never know what hit us.”
“Ya don’t trust him even a little, do ya?” Erin guessed.
Angus shrugged. “Nate’s motivated by the same reasoning which brought us here, and his family has been involved in saving New Earth for four generations. So no, I don’t trust him, or Director John either. We’re to meet the mysterious Guardians in a few months. I’m already saving up questions to ask them, though it will no doubt be a waste of breath.”
Erin laid the photo on the table. “Let’s have a look at the aliens in her folder.”
Angus shook his head. Seeing would only make it worse. “No, let’s wait until tomorrow to look at them.”
“Darcone is fecking in there, isn’t he?” Erin asked.
Angus frowned and nodded. “Yes. His was the first one I saw.”
Erin laughed. “I bet he’s in every folder… match or not. Darcone was in Mia’s and in the first woman’s folder I matched. Poor scary looking bastard. They’re desperate, aren’t they?”
Angus grinned. “It might actually work this time. Brianna’s pretty scary herself with all those metal things in her face.”
Erin grinned and nodded. “I was thinking the same, but didn’t want to insult yer kin. I did that before and ya nearly took my head off.”
“Ya get a pass on this one, since she technically did not come from my loins,” Angus teased. “Erin?”
“Yes, Angus?”
“This may be a bit forward, but I’m ready to go to bed with ya again.”
Erin handed the photo back and watched as it got put away. “But what if I’m not sleepy yet?”
“That would be a perfect situation,” Angus said, putting his hand on the table palm up. When Erin laughed and put her hand in his, he smiled widely at her. “I know it’s a little late to be confessing, but I’m falling for ya at long last.”
“Or at least yer cock is,” Erin teased.
Angus thought about and then shrugged. “I guess I’ll know for sure once he and I both get all we want from ya.”
“I need a shower and to wash my hair. Don’t fall asleep until I’m done.”
Angus smiled. “No worries. I’ve decided to stay here with ya and work on being better minded about it. One day we’ll visit the waterfall room in the castle together. We’ll play for hours and have Carleton send the world away from us.”
Erin sighed and closed her eyes. “That sounds like a visit to heaven.”
“Yes, it does.” Angus squeezed her hand until her eyes popped open. “Don’t fall asleep in the shower. I have plans for ya.”
Ducking her head and smiling, Erin pulled her hand from his and stood. She walked to where Angus was seated. “Turn your chair out toward me.”
When he complied without question, she straddled his lap and sat on his thighs, moving her head to his shoulder while she wrapped him in her arms. She heard Angus make some sort of growling sound and then she was being slid closer. His rising cock beneath her woke her up completely.
Angus ran possessive hands up her back and across her hips before lifting her breasts against him. His mouth stayed away from hers, but he traveled her neck, nibbling and sucking as he explored.
Erin used her hands to turn Angus’s face to hers. His eyes were clouded with lust. She imagined hers looked the same. “I always feel this for ya… morning, noon, or night. Sitting in yer lap is yet another dream come true. Thank ya for that.”
Angus rose with Erin wrapped around him. She was no small woman, but then he was no small man. They were equals in a way he’d never been with any other woman—not his dead wife nor the women of his youth that he once thought he’d fancied.
Erin’s long limbs wrapped him snugly and made the need to sink into her worse—a unique talent she alone possessed.
“Ya are going to have to shower later. I’ve decided I can’t wait another minute to be in ya. This isn’t going to be that lovely long time ya want so bad, but we’ll get to that eventually. Right now I just want to have another one of those fast and furious first times. I may even want a couple of those before we sleep.”
“Okay,” Erin said as sadly as possible, sighing in Angus’s ear. “I guess I’ll take my ten seconds and be grateful.” She yelled his name when he smacked her hard on the rear for teasing him. “Ya bastard! I know yer ego can’t be smarting that bad.”
“Not as much as yer arse will be if ya keep playing with my emotions instead of my cock.”
Giggling at his dramatic statement, Erin hugged Angus tight as he carried her to the bed. Little did the man know that him ripping the clothes from her with needy, trembling hands exceeded any dream she’d managed to have before that moment.
Hands on both breasts, Angus hungrily meshed his mouth with hers as he moved over her. Their delight in each other was total and she couldn’t imagine not being under this man as often as she could.
“If yer cock was made of solid gold, I couldn’t like it any better. It properly fills up all the places inside me that need filling in the most delightful way a man could ever do. Goddess knows, I want to take care of yer talented member as well as yer hard-headed self,” she whispered, trying hard not to laugh.
When Angus finally slid inside her, he called her name over and over with every stroke.
It was the most perfect first time a woman could ever wish for in any life she might live.
Chapter Nineteen
Erin was frowning at the face staring up at her from the folder. Angus had gone to visit the aliens. He wanted to talk with those that spoke good English. His idea about getting a whole bunch of them in front of the women all at once was a good one. But the airship had no way to safely support such an event.
Bringing her mind back to her own problems, she stared hard at the girl in the photo. “I can’t wait to hear yer story, lass. Do ya even know its yer kin looking out for ya?”
There was a cursory knock on her door and Nate stuck his head in. Instinct had her closing the folder and shoving it aside.
“Morning, Nate. I’m glad ya came by. Angus and I were going to get in touch and see if we could visit with ya.”
Nate nodded as he approached. “I see Angus isn’t here.”
Erin’s eyebrow raised as she stared at him. “Are ya asking to be polite or subtly letting me know ya know?”
Frowning, Nate dropped in a chair. “You’re right. I know where he is. And I know what he’s planning. That’s why I came to see you when he wasn’t here. I wanted to talk to you alone.”
Erin leaned back in her seat and narrowed her eyes. “The little hairs on the back of my neck just all stood up. That’s what happened the day Agent Black abducted us.”
“It wasn’t an abduction,” Nate protested.
Erin rolled her eyes. “Would you rather I called it a kidnapping?”
Nate glared. “Can’t you come up with a more neutral way of talking about your arrival here?”
Erin snorted. “No. I’m a realist. I like ya, and I mostly like it here, but the reality is that ya didn’t give me the chance to choose this on my own. Angus calls us birds in a gilded cage. I think it’s a good analogy.”
“Can you imagine how much time it would have taken to talk a Universe 6 person into just believing multi-verses exist? Not to mention getting one to agree with the rest.”
“I didn’t say abducting wasn’t expedient for yer needs. I just want there to be honesty between us in our dealings. I’m always going to be a little pissed that ya took my freedom of choice from me. Ya best be accepting my view of the matter.”
Nate rolled his eyes to the ceiling as he swore under his breath.
“Praying won’t change my mind or my ethics. Ask Angus… he’s always trying to twist me to his thinking. I’m a hard woman about certain things.”
Nate lowered his gaze to Erin’s and lifted the folder from his lap. He slid i
t onto her desk. “Maybe this might give you something else to think about then. I have a solution to both our dilemmas with your current version of Angus.”
Erin put two fingers on it and pulled it toward her. “I’m starting to hate these things. My stomach drops each time my gaze lands on one now. Never thought I’d see the day I’d be afraid of a few pieces of paper.”
She opened the flap and lifted out a photo of a familiar face. Below it was another. And yet another under that. “What is this?”
“Three more versions of Angus,” Nate said. “Their bios are on the back of the sheet. I’m going to let you make the choice of which one you want. Agent Black will pick him up.”
The photo in her fingers drifted to the desk as she stared at Nate in shock. “Just what the feck are you saying?”
Nate drew in a breath. “The Angus from Universe 6 isn’t working out like we’d hoped. He’s too rebellious… which makes him dangerous to all of us. I like him… in many ways… but I can’t babysit him all the time to keep him out of trouble.”
“Seems to me my Angus stops trouble, rather than starting any,” Erin said sharply.
“He’s getting the aliens all churned up about some ridiculous idea about enticing the women by competing in strength games they play in their area. It will never work.”
“Okay. That’s it. Stop yer tirade right now.”
Erin pounded a hand on her desk. She was pleased when Nate looked startled.
“Ya are wrong. Two poor, lonely aliens fought over Mia because they had a fecking wrong idea in their heads that was caused by the fecking process. Angus and I worked that all out for Mia and Kor-el, but it was hard to keep her in a positive frame of mind about things. If we could let the women pick from the beginning, it would likely go a lot better. Men and women picking each other is how nature intended mating to be. And the aliens need more to do than sit around and be lonely. It’s no wonder ya have problems with them. A body gets bored on this flying metal can.”
“This is not a metal can. It’s a top of the line airship…”
“That we’re all fecking prisoners on,” Erin finished for him, raising her voice to counter Nate’s too comfortable logic. She held up a hand when Nate would have argued. “I’m sure this is the finest flying machine of yer time. But I’ll tell ya true, it’s no fun watching birds flying free outside its windows and wondering when ya are going to get a chance to be that free yerself. If ya don’t think every creature on this airship feels that way, ya are the one who needs a reality check, Admiral. And yes, I know about that too.”
Nate rose to pace. “Universe 1 has been matchmaking for hundreds of years. The process works.”
“Really?” Erin challenged. “Do ya ever check in with the ones leaving here to make sure? Ya don’t have to answer because I already know ya don’t. So ya can’t be sure if it really works or not. For all ya know, ya have sent those Earth women into the kind of horrible situation that got Universe 1 involved with the aliens to begin with.”
Nate looked at the floor. “You don’t understand things here. And I’ve made up my mind, Erin. I’ve spoken with the Guardians. We’re going to take your Angus somewhere else and get you another version. All three of those men in that folder would be better choices for you. None have ever been married. Just imagine it. All those versions of Angus want is a woman in their life they can adore. If ya have to have some version of Angus MacNamara, then pick one of those.”
Erin was so surprised at Nate’s callousness she was speechless. She wanted to scream at the eegit, but Nate would have run like the emotional coward he was, because she’d seen him do it before. No, she needed to be calm. She needed to meet and match his thinking so she never had to do this fecking horse shit again.
“Was it easy for you to trade in each of yer wives for the next one? Did ya just pick some woman from a list and think she would just do for yer needs?”
Nate frowned. “No. Of course not. There was an extended period of courtship and later some serious adjustment for both of us.”
“Of course there was,” Erin agreed, spreading her hands. “Because people ya love aren’t replaceable… not really. That was true of yer wives. That’s true of my Angus. It’s also true about the original matchmakers—Goddess rest their souls. Yer all powerful Guardians can fool the majority of the people on this planet with our similar appearances to the originals, but we aren’t them, Nate. In time, yer world will eventually either think we’re either lovely on our own or think we’ve gone daft. We can only be ourselves.”
“What does any of that have to do with my plans to replace Angus?”
She lifted her hands and glared.
“Angus Ian MacNamara and I are who we fecking are because of all the life experiences we’ve had. Do I wish Angus and I might have had the relationship yer original MacNamaras had? Sure, but only for a couple of minutes. Wishing things were different doesn’t mean I truly want another version, no matter how much I joked about it. That was me working it out in my mind… as love so often does to make of ya what it wants.”
Erin saw Nate was tuning her out. She straightened her spine.
“Let me make this as fecking clear as I can. Ya could bring me a dozen replacements and I would still always miss the one I know best. Part of what my Angus is to me has to do with how I see him in my heart. He’s the one I love and the only fecking version of him I want. Ya will never hear me say differently again. And I will not let you turn my love for him into nothing.”
Nate swung a glare in her direction so Erin lifted her chin to hear his response.
“I don’t get this. The man angers you on a daily basis. You and I both know Angus is sneaking ale even though I told him he couldn’t drink. My guess is your Angus will never settle into this work as easily as you have.”
Erin nodded. That was more fair than Nate even knew. “Ya are fecking right, he won’t. Instead, Angus will give it his heart and work out better solutions. He’ll fail miserably and make that right too. But when my Angus puts everything he has into an endeavor, ya will be standing there with yer mouth dropped open in shock because that’s what Angus does best. He beats the fecking odds and makes miracles happen. How do ya think I became the matchmaker I am? I worked alongside the fecking eegit I loved for nine torturous years. It made me the woman ya seeing sitting here who does yer dirty work without complaining… so far. Things can change.”
Erin stood and slid the folder Nate had brought to the edge of the desk. “If ya want me, ya are taking us both. If ya don’t, then fecking take us both back somewhere. I’d rather go back to my own Universe and mourn a dead Angus I loved and admired, than live with some imitation of him who will never walk in his giant shoes. I’m sure the ones in that folder are all fine men, but they’re not for me. And if my Angus makes me angry every day for the rest of our time together, that’s fecking between me and him, and has nothing to do with ya. Real peace comes from working out conflicts… not working yer arse off to avoid them like you seem so keen on doing.”
Nate stood. “We’re not done discussing this, Erin.”
Erin stood too and glared for good measure. “We are if ya think ya can play with my heart. Backwards or forwards in time won’t matter a flip either. I’ve been destined for my Angus MacNamara since I laid eyes on him. I can live out that fate here or there, but if ya replace him, you might as well look for another Erin because I promise ya I will die out as fast as did the other one ya played god with. Love—real love—is more powerful than any portal, and wiser than an entire planet full of Guardians. It gives us exactly the person we need to be most content when we respect its power.”
Erin flinched a little when Nate glared and slid the folder off the desk before he headed to the door. She normally wouldn’t stop a man she’d made that angry from leaving, but she wanted to make doubly sure Nate knew where she stood.
“Nate… I hate to stop yer stomping mad exit, but there’s one more thing I need to ask before ya go off to brood. It
’s a separate matter.”
“What?” Nate barked the question.
Erin slid the folder back in front of her. “Angus and I want to know what the deal is with Brianna MacNamara. Is she related to Angus 1?”
She heard him swear under his breath as his head ducked. To his credit, he turned back and met her gaze.
“I told them she wasn’t ready to be matched. Did you really get her bio?”
Erin said nothing, just raised the folder so it was in his view.
Nate shook his head. “Great. Like I needed more problems to solve.”
“Who is she?” Erin asked.
“Our MacNamaras never had biological children, but after their final regeneration, they sponsored two infant adoptees. They named them Brianna and Sheena. Brianna is the youngest. She’s still as wild at eighty as she was as a teenager. Sheena…”
Nate stopped and brought the picture of the woman to mind.
“Sheena is a renown geneticist. She’s my age. She’s not a fan of regenerating people as frequently as is done these days. However, she still worked to extend her sponsoring family’s lives. Her research into extending life cycles won her world acclaim.”
“I take it the children know the truth about us then,” Erin said, watching Nate blankly stare at the wall. It was nearly a full minute before he spoke.
“Both disapproved of the matchmaking work their parents did for the aliens, even though our entire world benefits from the advances we gain from every new civilization we align with. They weren’t close to their parents at the end.”
“That’s not an answer to my question. Do they know the original MacNamaras are gone from this world or not?”
Nate blew out a frustrated breath. “We figured on keeping them away from both you and Angus because they were estranged from their parents anyway. Unfortunately, Brianna got into the kind of trouble we couldn’t solve with money or rewards. Now there is only one way to save her. Out of respect for the sacrifices of the original MacNamaras, the Guardians refuse to let her die. So she’s in the abduction program.”
Matchmaker Abduction: Aliens In Kilts, Abduction 1 Page 15
