by Willa Blair
Her voice stroked him like a lover’s hand, warm as brandy flowing through his veins. She promised him power. She promised him women. She promised him the ability to do the darkest of magic. She had one small request of him, assuring him he would find great pleasure in it as well. But he must be patient. The time would be soon. She wasn’t ready for him to prove his loyalty yet. She would call upon him soon.
But until then, there would be other women for him to enjoy. After all, he needed the practice…and she craved to feed upon their fear.
Chapter Eight
Nessa soaked up the vista of the rugged hillside as though it were her last day to walk the earth. The dusky blue crags spanning the horizon framed the rock-strewn meadow stretched out before her. The wind soughed through the nearby pines as it rushed to whisper the Highland’s mysteries against her cheek. Her soul sang as she drank in the crisp, sweet air. She’d arrived home at long last. She belonged here. She’d known it from the beginning. She’d never been this contented before in her life. Peace settled to the marrow of her bones. Satisfaction hummed through her veins.
Even the nightly visits from her silent Highlander had changed since her arrival in Scotland. They were more vivid, more realistic, and more sensual than they’d ever been since he’d first made his presence known.
A smile tickled at the corner of her mouth. A shiver of lust stirred in her belly as she remembered the latest dream. His hands, his mouth, the way the man knew every delicious pleasure spot and every nerve ending set her body thrumming.
Nessa inhaled a deep breath. She mentally shook herself and forced herself to put the dream to the back of her mind. When she opened her eyes each morning, every detail remained vivid. Her soul-shattering orgasms branded themselves in her mind. His visits were becoming almost sensual torture. There wasn’t the tiniest part of her body he hadn’t kissed, tasted, or caressed.
Nessa picked her way over the rocky hillside, unbuttoning her jacket to the cooling air. She had hoped the cold air of the fading day would tamp down her smoldering passion to a bearable level. Her dreams had become so increasingly vibrant it was a constant effort to put them to the back of her mind. She had found it difficult to recover once she awoke the next morning. To her frustration, she remained in a constant state of arousal; her body ached for her dream lover throughout the day.
There was just one detail about all of her dreams that she hadn’t quite been able to understand. Although her masterful Highlander always gifted her with mind-reeling orgasms, not once had he ever consummated the act and joined his body with hers. His hands were blissful tools of delicious pleasure; his mouth drove her insane. But not once had he claimed full possession and consummated the deal.
Was this some kind of Freudian sign? Did she think herself too plain to deserve the full attentions of such a magnificent man? Had her parents’ constant belittling while she was a child managed to damage her psyche so much that she couldn’t even finish out an erotic dream?
Nessa fanned her burning cheeks and swiped her hair out of her eyes. “I have got to get my mind on something else or I’m going to spontaneously combust.”
Topping the last outcropping of grass-covered stones before arriving back at the archeological site, Nessa succeeded in pushing her lusty dreams to the back of her mind.
She smiled proudly as she watched her troupe of devoted grad students brushing soil away from bits and pieces of odd-shaped shards. This was absolute heaven. She’d waited for approval on this grant for years. Studied and catalogued before, the sites weren’t new digs, but Nessa knew there was more to be found. It tingled, like a sixth sense tapping at the base of her brain and her instincts were never wrong. There were several promising corded off areas scattered across the site. The Bronze Age burial cairns and hut circles of Durness were more precious to her then a diamond mine littered with gold.
Trish met Nessa up on the hillside and handed her a mug of coffee. Nessa accepted it with a smile of thanks as she shivered in the chill of the early evening breeze. Trish took good care of her, from best friend to paperwork to the best coffee anywhere in the world. What more could a girl ask for?
Trish motioned toward two of the students and leaned close to Nessa and whispered, “James and Lyla have recommended a pub for us to try. I think they’re hoping for extra credit.”
Her attention turned to the two students Trish had indicated. Nessa studied them through the steam coming off her coffee as she sipped at the dark warming brew. “If they’d pay as much attention to their papers as they pay to each other, they’d both have completed their theses by now. In fact, as bright as those two are, they’d be well on their way to being published in this field as well as a couple of others.”
Trish tsk-tsked Nessa with an arched brow as she adopted a chiding school marm tone. “There’s more to life then degrees and titles, my friend. One of these days you’re going to realize that, Dr. Buchanan.”
Grabbing Nessa by the sleeve, Trish urged her toward the large weather-stained tent serving as their central office. “Come on. It’s time to call it a day. It’s Friday and high time we found a little nightlife around here.”
Holding her mug to keep it from sloshing, Nessa hurried along beside Trish. “So, I take it we’re going to try this highly recommended pub? Did you happen to get them to write down the directions?” If Trish was going to drag her out on the town, then Nessa had to give her a little grief about always getting lost.
Trish shut down the computers and scooped loose papers into awaiting trays. “Yep, it’s time for a little relaxation. Both of us are way overdue for some down time. Several of your more devoted followers are spending the weekend at the site. So, you and I don’t have a thing to worry about. We can actually enjoy a few days of civilization in real beds at the inn. And they even have running water and flush toilets!”
Grabbing her backpack, Nessa’s mood lightened the more she thought about Trish’s plan. The tension eased out of her shoulders as she thought about soaking in a nice hot tub. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea. Shooting Trish a wicked look, she tossed her the keys to the jeep. “As much as I hate to agree with you, you’re absolutely right. I’m in the mood for a little relaxation myself.” But she couldn’t resist repeating her earlier question. Nessa was determined to get a rise out of Trish. “Did you say you got them to write down the directions or are we taking the scenic route again?”
Trish jangled the car keys behind Nessa’s back. “You always said you wanted to see the Highlands. I’m just helping to fulfill your dreams.”
Nessa laughed as she climbed into the car. She wadded up the map spread across the seat and tossed it over her shoulder into the back full of gear. “I tell you what. You get us there as best you can and I’ll just enjoy the ride.”
Starting the car, Trish teased with an evil grin. “Speaking of dreams, have you had any more shrieking orgasms like the one that had you moaning on the way over on the plane?”
Nessa’s cheeks as well as regions much lower flushed hot with the memory of the other passenger’s knowing smiles. “Actually, my Highlander has become increasingly…umm…active since our arrival in Durness.” Nessa squirmed in her seat and bit her lip. So much for tamping down her residual passions. A slow, moist burn flared between her thighs just from mentioning the man of her dreams. Trish would have to stir that up.
With a shrug, Trish glanced at Nessa before turning to scowl at a faded signpost. “Maybe that’s a sign you’re about to find the man in the real world that’s able to make you moan. Maybe now that you’re in Scotland things will turn around. It’s about time your luck with the weaker sex changed and you found somebody who could ring your bell.”
She pulled into the well-lit parking lot of a squat brick building, and leaned over the steering wheel to peer up at the brightly painted sign. “I think this is it. See? It wasn’t even a twenty-minute drive. I told you I was getting better at finding my way around the Highlands!”
Nessa sniffed a sati
sfied breath as they walked into the welcoming pub. Glancing about the bar with interest, she soaked up the comfortable hominess of the room like an orphan who’d just found a home. From the dark, heavy wood of the tables to the high-backed benches built into comfortable booths, the pub was everything she had thought a bar in Scotland would be. Her mouth watered at the inviting aromas wafting out of the kitchen. The yeasty temptation of warm, buttery breads mixed with the smoky roasted meats and deep-fried vegetables. Layered among the aroma of all the tempting foods was the hearty smell of ale. Nessa shivered with anticipation. It had been forever since she’d had a chance to eat like this. This was heaven. The blood in her arteries was already starting to clog. What a way to go.
They found a table beside a wall of windows. Nessa nodded toward the smiling face of the buxom waitress already ambling their way. “Maybe James and Lyla do deserve extra credit. If the food and drink are as good as the atmosphere and the smells coming from the kitchen, I’ll even write them a letter of recommendation.”
Trish nodded toward a dark-haired man towering behind the bar. Keeping her eyes fixed on her latest discovery, she wet her lips and tapped a finger to get Nessa’s attention. “Forget about the food. Check out the barkeep. I wonder if he comes highly recommended.”
The waitress giggled as she pulled her notepad from the apron tied around her slightly plump waist. “That’s no the barkeep, miss. That’s the owner, Gabriel Burns.”
Trish sat even taller in her seat, arching her back in her best vixen’s pose. As she smoothed a finger over her lips again, she leaned closer to Nessa, nearly purring as she preened in Gabriel’s direction. “The owner? Hmm, that’s even better. I’ve got dibs on that one, my friend.”
This should be good. Trish was always on the hunt. Nessa snickered as she turned in her seat. She couldn’t wait to see this latest specimen of Trish’s interest. Nessa’s gaze locked with a pair of laughing dark eyes. The light in those eyes dared her to be the first to look away. But there was something else Nessa caught in that glance. Something dark. Something predatory and dangerous that made her recoil.
Long-legged and powerful, Gabriel crossed his arms, reclining against the wall behind the counter. Coal black hair framed his smirking face as he rubbed at the evening stubble shadowing his jaw. He nodded ever so slightly into Nessa’s wide-eyed gaze. He laughed out loud as a rush of heat burned her cheeks.
The tips of her ears scorched with fire as she whirled back around in her chair. “Why didn’t you tell me he was looking this way?” she hissed as she hunkered down in her seat. Nessa cringed at the uneasiness churning in her stomach. What was wrong with her? You’d think she was some tween with a bad case of zits.
Nessa scowled at Trish and the giggling waitress as she kept her head ducked behind the high-backed bench. And here she thought she was going to be able to enjoy a night of no pressure and if she was lucky, enjoy eating enough rich foods so she’d have a grease hangover the next morning.
Trish gave Nessa a look like she’d lost her mind. “You didn’t ask. Besides, I already called dibs, so what are you worried about? You have to lighten up, Nessa, and quit taking yourself so seriously. How are you ever going to meet an exciting man if you can’t even look one in the eye?”
Nessa gritted her teeth and sat fuming in her chair. Damn Trish and her ability to roll with any situation. She had the self-confidence of the Queen of England. Why couldn’t Nessa figure out how Trish did it? Trish must’ve spent a ton on shrinks and self-help lessons. That had to be the answer to such ironclad self-esteem.
With a curt nod to the snorting waitress who waited to take their order, Nessa forced herself to sit up taller and folded her hands on the table in front of her. “We will both take an order of the shepherd’s pie and a pint of your darkest ale.”
After one last giggle, the waitress shoved her pad into the waist of her apron and skirted her way back toward the bar.
Nessa decided Trish might as well go ahead, vault over the bar and jump on Gabriel’s body the way she was ogling him and waving every five minutes. She wondered if the waitress would be willing to find her a bucket of ice water to dump on Trish’s head.
“It’s a long walk back to the inn,” Nessa warned as she drummed her fingers on the table.
“Oh lighten up, Nessa,” Trish chided with a grin as she raised her glass to her lips. Sitting taller in her chair as though she were a cat about to pounce upon a mouse, Trish pointed across the room at a couple just arriving. “Isn’t that the couple from Balnakiel who gave us directions our first day here?”
Swiveling in her seat, Nessa studied their faces, then nodded in agreement. “That’s them. I wonder if they’ve gotten their shop open for business yet. The purple globe they had was fascinating. Remember? The one that nearly vibrated off the shelf and was full of the laser lights?”
Nessa caught their eye and waved hello. There was just something about those two she had liked. The couple smiled and returned waves of their own. They put their heads together for just a moment and then scooted from their seats. They made their way over to Trish and Nessa’s table, smiling as they wove their way between the surrounding chairs.
“I see ye found your way back to Durness. How have ye been enjoying your stay?” With a polite bow toward Trish and Nessa as he spoke, Brodie unconsciously pulled Fiona closer to his side. His arm rested protectively around her waist as he shot a narrow-eyed glance in the direction of the bar.
A shiver of happiness thrilled its way up her spine. Nessa couldn’t resist a heartfelt sigh. “It’s so beautiful here. I feel like I’ve come home. If it were up to me, I’d stay in Scotland forever.” She struggled to ignore the pang of jealously at the obvious bond the married couple shared. She wished she could find the type of closeness Fiona and Brodie had found. Even though friends and co-workers surrounded her, Nessa always found herself isolated…so alone. It was hard to resign herself to the fact that she’d probably be single all her life. Nessa tried to console herself with the knowledge that at least she’d made it to the land of her dreams.
Fiona smiled and snuggled closer to her husband. “By the way, we didna introduce ourselves the other day. My name is Fiona and this is my husband, Brodie. Would ye mind if we joined ye? Sat with ye for a while?” Fiona turned and looked about the pub. “We came here tonight at the insistence of an artisan we’ve been seeking to join our shop. But it looks like they’ve stood us up again. Ye will probably think we’re quite the country couple, but we love listening to the way ye speak and would love to hear more about the USA.”
“Sure, pull up a chair. Trish and I decided to come here tonight with the hopes of making a few new friends.” Nessa and Trish scooted to make room for the couple at their table.
Trish motioned with her glass in Gabriel’s direction as he stood filling glasses at the bar. “I’ve found my new best friend right over there. I’m just waiting until after dinner tonight to make my introductions.”
Fiona’s face paled. She took a deep breath, then took a sip of her ale. “Aye, Mr. Gabriel Burns is plenty easy on the eyes. But take care, Trish. A beautiful veneer sometimes hides something rotten beneath the surface.”
Brodie brought Fiona’s hand to his lips and gazed into her troubled eyes. “Careful now, lass. Ye had best be remembering ye’re a MacKay now and your eyes should no be traveling anywhere but here.”
Nessa worried with the corner of her napkin as she stared down into her plate. She couldn’t help it. Their closeness was really getting to her tonight. She tried staunching her growing envy at the couple’s bond. She hated herself for not being happy for them and the special closeness they had found. Nessa toyed with the food left on her plate and tried to think of something to say. Wait a minute? Did they say their name was MacKay? Nessa fumbled with her silverware and barely kept it from crashing to the floor. That name kept cropping up.
“MacKay? Did you say your last name is MacKay?”
“Aye.” Fiona nodded, glancing over
at Brodie as she added, “Do ye know the name? Are ye familiar with any of the family’s history? Or any of the clan legends of lost loves or curses, perhaps?”
Nessa frowned with a shake of her head. An unexplainable stab of uneasiness nagged at her chest. “No. The name MacKay seems to be popping up in a lot of my paperwork of late.”
Brodie almost choked as he drained his glass. He fixed his wife with a warning look as he lowered his glass to the table. “Paperwork? If ye don’t mind my asking, what exactly is your business here in Durness?”
With a theatrical groan, Trish shook her head as she moved her plate and pounded her fist on the table. “I’ll sum it all up in a nutshell. Nessa is a professor of archeology and we’re here on a grant to study the Durness sites and the history around Balnakiel. But I’m begging you, please don’t get her started on Scotland’s history or her career or we won’t hear a word about anything but work tonight. It’s the weekend. It’s time to relax!”
“Excuse me.” Their waitress for the night stood by the table with a gloriously sinful chocolate dessert in her hands. “Mr. Burns asked I bring this to the lovely lady. He said she looked to be one who might enjoy a bit of a sweet indulgence.”
With a victorious chortle, Trish cocked a brow at Nessa and reached across the table toward the rich dessert. Her smile faded, when the waitress raised the plate out of her reach and mouthed the words, Not for you.
The waitress nodded toward Nessa and set the plate in front of her. “Not meaning to hurt anyone’s feelings but Mr. Gabriel was verra clear. The dessert is for the wee blue-eyed lass. The one with the rosy cheeks that show everything she’s feeling.”
Her mouth dropped open in surprise as Nessa glanced around the table. One hand fluttered to her throat, as she imagined the decadence of the sweet delight. Glancing from the cake to the waitress’s face, Nessa fixed her with a doubting glare. “Is this some sort of joke? Are you sure he didn’t mean the dessert for my friend, Trish?”