by Tamara Gill
Two and a half hours later they arrived at the little holiday cottage they had hired for their stay. Chloe stepped out of the car and looked out over the ocean. She turned and gazed up at the highland peaks further in the distance. Some still covered in winter’s snow glistened white in the afternoon sun. She sighed in awe at the magnificent sight they made and her heart thumped hard in her chest seeing Castle Cree overlooking it all. She stared at the medieval structure hundreds of years older than her own country. How amazing were the grand buildings that stood the test of time. Hearing Eddy swear she looked over to him and watched as he tried to find a satellite signal for his phone.
“Can’t you put it away for once? It’s not like we’ve ever holidayed here. You could at least take some interest in this vacation.”
“Got it,” Eddy yelled, smiling over to Chloe. “What did you say, beautiful?”
Chloe pulled her suitcase out of the trunk. “Nothing. Nothing at all.” Entering the cabin, she was happily surprised to see a king size bed made up with crisp clean linens. The kitchen fridge had a welcoming pack of wine and different cheeses. Searching through the cupboards, she discovered the necessities were there but not much else.
“I think I’m going to have to find the local food store. Do you want to come?” Hearing no answer, she looked into the lounge area and sighed at her other half nicely settled before the TV, watching a Manchester United match. “I’ll be back in a minute,” she said, not bothering to hide the sarcastic tone.
Driving through the village, Chloe frowned when she pulled up in front of their local grocery store. She shook away the strange sensation of familiarity that had settled upon her ever since she’d arrived here in Scotland a feeling of recognition. Getting out of the car, she smiled to a couple of local lads who were staring, before walking into the shop. She looked through magazines and books and picked up some local maps while trying to ignore the elderly lady behind the counter who kept watch. She walked about the shop for a few minutes before taking her purchases to the checkout. She pasted on a smile.
“Just these please,” she said.
The lady started to scan the items and place them in a bag, a slight frown upon her brow. “Do I know you, love?”
Chloe looked at the lady wondering if she knew her from somewhere. “No I’m here on holiday. I’m from Australia, but now I live in London. I’m Chloe.”
“I’m Mairead. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Chloe tried to interpret the woman’s words thick with a Scottish lilt. “Thanks, you too.” I think.
“Just up on holidays then?”
“Yes just arrived today in fact. It’s so beautiful here I don’t think I’ve allowed enough time to take it all in. You’re so lucky to live here.” Chloe paused. “Is there a good pub around where we can get a meal?”
The Highland Pub is your best bet. They do meals nightly.”
Handing over her food, Chloe smiled, thanking the lady for her help. “It was lovely meeting you.”
“You too lass.” She frowned. “Now are you sure I don’t know you, love? You look strangely familiar. Are you a model, perhaps I’ve seen you in a magazine?”
She laughed. “No I’m no model—sorry. Thanks again,” Chloe said, and left.
“Are you going to come or not? I’ve rung the pub and booked us a table.”
“I’m too tired to go out. You go, just bring me back some takeout.”
“Eddy we’re supposed to be on this holiday together. Not me out and you at home watching endless soccer games. If I thought you were just going to sit in front of the TV the whole time, I would’ve left you home.” Chloe stood at the lounge room door and inwardly cursed her useless fiancé. He turned up the TV and settled further into the couch.
“Seeya love.”
Stomping her foot, Chloe swore and stormed from the cottage. While driving into town earlier today she had spotted a walking trail to the village. The night not being overly cold, she decided to walk. She could have a couple of beers then and perhaps may have calmed down by the time she found the pub. Tonight she dressed in boots, jeans and a woolen jumper with a full length jacket over the ensemble. It was Scotland’s summer after all.
Walking into the pub, Chloe threw back the hood of her coat and unbuttoned her jacket. The sudden lull in the room caused her to glance around. The bar was full of men, all looking at her and none of them moving or making a sound. She wondered what they were thinking, before smiling at the bartender who thankfully was a woman. “Hi, I have a dinner reservation for Chloe Smith. I did book it for two, but it will only be me now.”
“No problem love.” The woman called a young barman nearby to escort Chloe to the dining room.
“Come this way,” he said, picking up a wine list and menu before escorting her to her chair.
Chloe followed the lad who appeared to be in her early twenties, to a table beside a roaring fire set in an adjacent room to the bar. Tables were set out with lovely colored linen in a plaid design of dark blue and green. Chloe sighed with relief at seeing other couples dining out in this part of the pub. At least the pub wasn’t completely full of men. Thanking the lad, she picked up menu and looked over what was available.
“Can I get you a drink before you order?” a waitress Chloe hadn’t seen before said, once she’d taken a moment to read the menu.
“Um, yes thank you. I’ll have a beer please, any sort will be fine.”
“Right you are lass,” she replied before strolling toward the kitchen.
Chloe looked around the room and smiled at some other couples seated within the eating area. The pub made from local stone had large wooden beams that ran the length of its ceiling. Paintings of the majestic castle adorned the walls along with photos of the township over the many years of its history. Twisting her engagement ring, she studied the menu. Chicken was probably safer than haggis so, with the decision made, she waited for her drink to arrive.
“There you are,” a waitress said, handing her a glass. “Now, have you decided what you would like?”
Chloe ordered, handing the menu back to the waitress. “Can I order haggis for takeout? My fiancé has a liking for it.”
“Of course. The chef has made some fresh this morning. I’ll bring it out after you finish your meal.”
“Thank you.” Chloe took a sip of beer, smiling at the image of Eddy enduring the meal, when a man entered the pub. Chloe chocked on her drink and noted every woman seated in the restaurant part of the pub, snapped their attention to the doorway.
The men dining with their wives and girlfriends glared as if pissed at his presence.
She took another sip and inwardly smiled, knowing Eddy would have been one of them had he come.
Unable to deny herself, she took in his perfect form. Oblivious to her query, the man stood at the bar, amiably talking to friends. So, that was what highland men looked like: tall and unbelievably broad-shouldered, with defiant jaws and sinful lips.
Wow!
Her mouth dried when he turned, giving her full view of his back. The woolen jumper he wore enabled everyone to glimpse the hard planes of muscle beneath the material. Bloody hell he was gorgeous. He laughed at something the man beside him said and his deep baritone made her body sizzle to life. Her breathing hitched and for the first time in Chloe’s life she wanted to jump a man’s bones.
What the hell!
Chloe looked around and realized she wasn’t the only one ogling the guy or being affected by him and his wickedly sinful voice. She licked her lips as her attention moved and stopped on the nice firm arse covered in denim jeans. He wore sneakers, which gave him a look of casual ease, and her heart thumped hard and fast in her chest.
“Here you are, lass.”
Chloe jumped as the waitress startled her from her gawking. Heat stole up her neck and she looked down at the meal to hide her embarrassment. “Thank you, it looks great.”
“Would you like another beer?”
“Ah yeah thanks, that’d be great.” She
needed all the alcohol fortification she could get. Picking up her fork and knife, she started to eat. The chicken melted in her mouth and for a moment she forgot all about the gorgeous highlander taking up all the space at the bar.
The chime on the bar door sounded but she didn’t look up.
“Chloe, there you are. I wasn’t sure what pub you were in. I tried the other one first but you weren’t there.”
Chloe snapped her attention to Eddy and watched him shake out his coat, taking no heed as to who he wet while doing so. Her gaze moved beyond his shoulder and locked with the man now staring at her from the bar. A shiver raked her body as his gaze bored into her. His features registered utter shock, as if he was surprised people ate meals in the establishment.
She picked up her beer and sipped it in the hope it might settle her fluttering stomach. Why was this stranger making her nervous? Standing, she smiled at Eddy and allowed him to kiss her before sitting down across from him. Then wished she had swapped places, because every time she looked up, she had a full on view of the highlander in the background. She relaxed as his attention moved to Eddy before he turned his back to them and continued his conversation with his friends. She frowned, and wondered what his problem was.
“I suppose I’m too late for a meal.”
“I ordered you takeout, but here finish mine, I couldn’t eat another bite.”
“You’ve hardly touched it,” Eddy said, pulling the plate over to his side of the table.
“Truly I’m no longer hungry. You have it.” Chloe watched Eddy scoff down the chicken before he stood and gestured for her to get up. “What? What are you doing?”
“Come on, let’s go to the bar. They have the Liverpool game on.”
Chloe sighed. She picked up her beer and followed him. Tried and failed to claim a stool as far away as possible from the Scottish highlander whose fixated attention was verging on rudeness. She glared and narrowed her eyes at him then looked away and tried to concentrate on the match.
“Where you from, love?”
Chloe turned to the bar lady. “I’m an Australian, but I now live in London.”
“What would you want to leave such a beautiful country to live in England for lass? Your mind addled or something?”
Chloe laughed, having wondered the same thing a few times, especially as the English summer often resembled an Australian winter. “No I came over on a working holiday and never went home. I’m engaged to an Englishman now so I suppose Australia will only be a future holiday destination from now on.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thanks,” Chloe replied, smiling. She jumped as an empty beer glass slammed down upon the bar. The highlander then stormed from the pub. Chloe looked back to the bar lady.
“He’s our Laird, miss. Lives up in Castle Cree. Can be a bit temperamental at times, but we all love him just the same. Family been local for many, many years. Hundreds in fact.”
“Is he married?” Chloe frowned at her own question. Why did she care if he was?
“No. But hopefully one day he will be.”
Chloe smiled, nodded then watched as the lady moved on to other customers. The crowd cheered a goal and Chloe near jumped out of her skin.
“Eddy, I’m going to get some air.”
Eddy waved her away and yelled as an umpire gave a player a yellow card. Chloe shook her head and walked toward the door; welcomed the cool night air and the smell of rain from the passing shower. She looked up the street devoid of people and started to walk in the direction of the castle. The town was quiet beside the odd yell and laughter coming from the two pubs.
She gasped as she was pulled into a darkened alley, a hand firm around her arm.
“Are you following me?” said a voice that sounded strangely familiar. Chloe looked up and found herself gazing into the unrelenting orbs of the highlander from the pub.
Chloe slapped his hand away. “How dare you grab me?” She stepped back and rubbed her arm, her skin burning from his touch. “Of course I’m not following you. I came for a walk.”
He stared down at her with brooding silence, his eyes dark and suspecting.
“Your name’s Chloe.”
It wasn’t a question. “Yes and yours is … ?” Chloe licked her lips as she watched his own move. She wanted to reach up, clasp his hair and pull him into a kiss. She shook her head to dispel the image. What the hell was wrong with her? He had just physically manhandled her. No one was allowed to do that.
And yet ... The image of him manhandling her in other ways almost made her moan.
“Cian McKay. Laird of Durness.”
Chloe looked toward the road. “Well, now that we’re introduced, perhaps you ought to apologize for turning all William Wallace on me.”
“Sorry,” he said, not a hint of regret in his tone as he folded his arms over his chest.
Chloe looked at his pecs now outlined against a very, tight and very nice chest. She swallowed. “You went all highlander on me. Muscle and brawn and not much else. Do you often pull women into dark alleyways by way of talking to them?”
“No, I do not. I thought you were following me.”
Chloe scoffed. “Is the wee Aussie really a threat to the highlander lord?”
“Are you mocking me and my accent, lass?”
“If the shoe fits,” Chloe said, stepping toward him and raising one eyebrow, “I am.”
The air whooshed from her lungs when he stepped toward her, his body closer than she liked. Or worse, as close as she liked but not close enough as she would like.
“You seem to be breathing quite fast there, lass. Does something have you all riled up? Excited perhaps?”
His breath so close to her whispered against her cheek. “If you want me to kiss you, lass, it’ll be no chore, I assure you.”
Chloe took a deep breath and clasped his shoulders, ran her hands into his hair and stood on tiptoe to whisper in his ear. “I don’t know how many girls you’ve landed this way by wooing them in an alley, Laird, but this Aussie girl isn’t going to be one of them.” Chloe stepped back and smiled. “Good night.”
A large hand clamped around her arm and dragged her up against his chest. Chloe couldn’t breathe, couldn’t do anything except stare into two demanding, hard eyes that captured her whole attention.
“What would it take for a Scottish lad then to woo the Aussie lass?”
Chloe bit her lip when his hand clasped her jaw and lifted her gaze level with his. “This girl’s already taken, my lord. You’ll have to find another one.”
His smile resembled a snarl. “What, you’re spoken for by the wee, puny Englishman?” He laughed and stepped away. “Perhaps it’s better that I don’t kiss you, you’d probably not be able to handle it.”
Chloe laughed and watched his eyes turn ebony. “You’re right, I wouldn’t be able to handle it. You’re obviously too much man for me.” She turned and walked away, made her feet take each and every step further from the intoxicating highlander behind her. A man who, for whatever reason, drew her in and made her yearn for him to touch her, to look at her, do anything with her in fact.
Heavens! The highland air was making her abnormal.
She sought out Eddy and demanded he take her home. What did it matter what the highlander did, what he said and asked? Just as long as he didn’t pull her into any more alleyways and try and kiss her, they’d get along famously.
Cian McKay stormed from the alley. “Damn you to Hades, Zeus,” he swore, and walked toward his jeep parked up the road. He felt the wind pick up before settling back down. Glad the bastard deity had heard him. Well he would hear a lot more than that and worse by the time he was finished tonight. Chloe was back. His Chloe. His love. The one and only woman he would ever love.
And she was engaged ...
He ripped the car door open and settled behind the wheel while his body fought for control. Cian breathed deeply, then lost the battle with his temper and punched the steering wheel. She was as beautiful
as the last time he saw her in 1830 London. It was by chance he had run in to her that day.
A young woman of twenty-five, she’d been married and carrying a child of six months of age in her arms. He had been strolling in Hyde Park and had spotted her sitting upon a woolen blanket. She had been dressed in the height of fashion. Her gown displayed every curve, every curve he knew intimately.
Selfishly wanting to be with her again, he’d courted her, wooed her to engage in an illicit affair outside the bonds of her marriage. And when her husband had died at an early age of thirty-two, he had married her almost immediately. And when Chloe had died in his arms twenty-two years later, he’d cursed Zeus to Hades. Not that it had made any difference.
He drove home and turned to pass over the original moat. He stopped the car and got out. The cool night air helped to dispel his temper as he breathed in the refreshing sea breeze. He hadn’t seen her last century. The men he had sent to find her had all come back without a whisper as to where she may have been.
And the world grew more populated every day. It was only a matter of time before he would never see her again. That she would become too engrossed in her busy life—whatever it may be—to take note of her inner feelings, needs and wants to find him. To start again the life they would always crave together.
Cian walked up to the battlements and looked over the town. For near a thousand years he had viewed the village from this point. A thousand years and still he could not find a way to break Zeus’s curse. He had to have her. Needed to taste her lips and swim in her love. His sanity depended on it. And other things ...
An image of the man who accompanied her entered his mind. What a wimp! A man he could snap like a twig if he so wished. History had demonstrated Chloe’s taste ventured to tall, masculine men, much like himself. Yet, her fiancé, she called Eddy, was none of those things. And now he was going to have to break up her engagement.
His jaw clenched not liking to have to win her love. He already had it, she just didn’t know it. It was pathetic that her father would settle such a harsh punishment on his daughter because of her love for a mortal being had made him immortal for a time. Cian harrumphed as lightning belted across the sky. “Bring it on, old man,” he said. “Your day of reckoning is coming.”