She saw both exasperation and resignation written across his riveting features. She hurried past him to open the door, unable to deny her own frustration that Moira should choose that exact moment to check if she was all right.
The incredible realisation that she’d wanted Keir to kiss her flooded through her. How much had she craved the touch of his mouth on hers when the opportunity— had presented itself? Even now her body still had tremors flooding through it because he had touched his palm to her cheek.
‘Moira…hello,’ she said, smiling awkwardly at the housekeeper, who was standing there in her long plaid dressing gown with her silver hair in curlers.
Georgia caught hold of the edge of the door and pulled it closed behind her as she joined Moira in the corridor. Apart from the occasional flash of lightning reflected in the casement windows, the area was plunged into near darkness. What on earth would Moira think if Keir should come out of her room right now? She prayed he wouldn’t expose her like that and make the housekeeper suspect the worst. Over the past few days Georgia had come to set a lot of store by the other woman’s friendship and respect. Alienating her because she thought something might be going on between her and Keir would not be good at all…
‘I’m perfectly all right, thanks. I thought I heard a noise too, and I went out into the corridor to investigate,— that’s all.’ Shrugging her slim shoulders guiltily, Georgia started to explain what had happened. She despised the need for subterfuge of any kind. It wasn’t in her nature to be dishonest, and this didn’t sit well with her.
‘And when I came back in, the wind must have made the door slam. Maybe that was the sound you heard?’
‘Aye…that must be it, then. Well, as long as you’re all right. This storm is enough to put the fear of God into anybody!’ Moira replied.
‘They’ve always made me a little jumpy,’ Georgia agreed.
Her back was sticky with perspiration and prickly heat at the knowledge that Keir was waiting in her room, and she worked hard at containing her anxiety and not arousing any suspicion from the other woman that something else might be bothering her aside from the weather.
‘Please, Moira…go back to bed. Thank you for your concern, but I’m honestly fine. I’ll see you in the morning.’
‘Goodnight then, my dear.’
As the housekeeper turned away to return down the darkened corridor to the grand curving staircase at the bottom, Georgia touched her hand to her forehead and was not surprised when it came away moist. Biting her lip, she turned the catch on the door and went back inside the room.
Keir was standing with his back to her at the window, seemingly engrossed in watching the torrential— downpour that was sheeting the glass and everything— else in sight. Hearing her come in, he immediately sought her out, his blue eyes as piercing as any bright searchlight.
‘She’s gone,’ he remarked soberly.
‘Yes.’ Georgia stared at him, her brow furrowing. ‘You don’t think she heard us talking, do you?’
CHAPTER FIVE
‘AND DISCOVERED THAT the Laird was home again and up to no good in his secretary’s bedroom?’ His smile was taunting. ‘No, Georgia…I don’t think she heard us. And even if she did…Moira Guthrie is the soul of discretion and wouldn’t bat an eyelid.’
He’d been kind before, when he’d thought she was afraid of the storm, and he’d been going to kiss her, Georgia thought a little forlornly. But now his mood seemed to be altering…almost as if he blamed her for Moira knocking at the door!
‘How was it that you arrived home so late?’ she asked, needing to say something to ease the palpable tension between them.
‘I got a flight out of Newark at the last minute. I’d concluded my business earlier in the day and simply decided to come home.’
He walked towards her, his expression as impenetrable— as the rugged stone that made up the impressive walls of his ancestral home. ‘For the first time in my life I actually looked forward to coming back here…did you know that?’
‘Really?’
She dropped her chin and stared at the floor. A wave of heat swept upwards through her body in a dizzying rush. What was he saying?
‘Why have you never looked forward to coming home before?’ she asked quietly, hardly daring to move in case he denied her the answer. An answer she found she very much longed to know.
‘There was nobody here that I wanted to see before.’ He shrugged, his mouth twisting wryly at one corner.
‘Not even your brother?’ Georgia asked the question even while all her senses were in uproar at what he’d just confessed.
‘I told you we weren’t close.’
A dark look had crept into his eyes.
‘Why weren’t you close?’ Her voice was barely above a whisper. ‘Did you have a fight or something?’ —
A muscle visibly showed itself contracting in the dark shadow of his sculpted cheekbone. ‘No…we didn’t have a fight. The tension between me and Robbie was an unspoken thing.’
‘And you weren’t able to heal that tension before he died? Is that it? Is that why you seem so troubled?’
‘It might be late, Georgia, but trust me—this isn’t the time for night-time confessions! Especially the kind that are apt to make me want to leave this cursed place again.’
‘I don’t want you to leave.’
‘What did you say?’ Appearing startled, Keir stared and Georgia could have bitten out her tongue. Why on earth had she come out with that? But she really didn’t want him to leave again…She just didn’t want him to get the wrong impression about what she’d said and why she’d said it.
‘What a night you chose to return!’ she declared, deliberately— trying to lighten the atmosphere.
‘I know…and I’m sorry if I gave you a fright.’
Surprising her, Keir reached out to touch her, and as his hard, warm fingers curled round her chin to raise it she was seized by such trembling that she could barely conceal it from him.
‘Next time I’ll be sure and ring you to let you know that I’m coming home,’ he promised, his voice threaded with a hushed and sensual undertone that riveted her.
‘Maybe next time you go away I’ll be back in London because I won’t be working here any more.’
‘Are you in such a hurry to leave me, Georgia?’ His tone was slightly mocking and his grip tightened a little around her chin.
‘It’s not that…It’s just that Valerie will be back sooner or later, and I—’
‘You have a life in London, waiting for you…I know.’ His voice threaded with apparent dissatisfaction,— he dropped his hands down to his sides. Immediately Georgia felt bereft of his touch, as if some integral part of her had suddenly been ripped away.
‘Does that include a man, perhaps?’ he demanded.
Shadows seemed to shift in his penetrating glare, and Georgia wished she could look away—but— she couldn’t.
His question threw her into a state of near panic. If he knew…if he even guessed how little experience she’d had of intimate relationships he probably wouldn’t be able to believe it. He might mock her, or— simply conclude she must be lying.
Fiddling with the neckline of her skimpy cotton robe, she was certain her lack of experience must show. Because it was so hard to contain her reaction to him and keep it hidden neatly away, like a secret letter stowed amongst her personal things in a bedroom drawer. His nearness was making her feel as if she stood too close to a scorching fire, yet at the same time she desired it above all else…
‘You’re right. This isn’t the moment for night-time— confessions, and I really think you should go now. We both need to go to bed…I mean to go to sleep…In our—in our own beds is what I mean!’ Her face went beetroot red at the hash she was making of what should have been a simple statement.
In response, Keir looked grim. There was certainly— no amusement evident at her clumsy phrasing.
‘I had better go, then,’ he announced clearly. ‘Bef
ore I finish what I started to do before my loyal housekeeper knocked on the door and ruined everything. An event that with hindsight you will probably no doubt welcome!’
He left her then, shutting the door with deliberately— firm emphasis behind him, and Georgia stood frozen for a full minute, locked in the myriad emotions that welled up inside her. She no longer felt afraid of the storm that vented its fury outside because her head was too full of wild, heated thoughts to be fully aware of much else but her own disquiet.
Keir was wrong about her welcoming the interruption— from his housekeeper…so wrong.
‘Good morning, Moira.’
‘Georgia, my dear!’
The friendly housekeeper glanced up from the cooking range as the younger woman entered the large bright kitchen. Immediately she observed the telling signs of a sleepless night on Georgia’s slightly paler than usual face.
‘You look like you had as restless a night as I had, love. Goodness gracious, but that was some hullabaloo last night, wasn’t it? Come and sit down, lassie, and— I’ll make you a nice rejuvenating cup of tea.’
‘Thanks, I’d really appreciate that…And I’m sorry if I added to your sleepless night with that slamming door.’
‘Think nothing of it. The truth is it gets harder to get a decent night’s rest as a body gets older so I’m not blaming you. Now, sit yourself down and I’ll get you that cup of tea.’
Pulling out a shaker-style chair from the large pine table, Georgia picked up a pot of marmalade standing with the rest of the jams on the square placemat which had a picture of the Scottish Highlands imprinted on it, and absently read the contents label—her mind preoccupied with the fact that her boss could walk through the door at any minute.
During the night, after he’d left, she’d been kept awake far more by thoughts of him than the thunderous— storm. Her lips had ached without cease for the touch of his mouth against hers, for his inviting, addictive— taste, and she wondered what would have happened if Moira hadn’t knocked at the door when she had. What perturbed Georgia even more was that she would have welcomed Keir’s kiss instead of repelling— it. What did that mean?
She’d always avoided becoming involved with men she worked for and for very good reason. She was responsible for her brother, and that responsibility took precedence over everything else. She had to give Noah the sense of security that had been so devastatingly snatched away from him by the deaths of their parents. And trying to make a living and keep a roof over their heads and not get into debt was hard enough, without making things even harder by getting romantically involved with her boss!
But now it seemed as though all her previous common sense was suddenly coming under serious fire. It must have been the storm, Georgia told herself…That was why she’d acted so uncharacteristically. Storms were her Achilles’ Heel. Plus the fact that she had truly believed someone had broken into the house. If she hadn’t been so jumpy and on edge about those two factors she would never have allowed Keir to even enter her room…let alone comfort her and then try to kiss her!
But even as her mind tried desperately to defend her actions, she knew she was only kidding herself. The fact was that she had seriously missed him when he’d been away in New York, and she hadn’t been able to wait for him to return. Even though she knew her feelings weren’t at all sensible, or even welcome, Georgia couldn’t help them. She just hoped that in the cold light of day what had happened wouldn’t make things too awkward between them for them to continue to work together. The bottom seemed to drop out of her whole world even at the thought that she might have to leave Glenteign sooner than she’d planned…
‘Oh, by the way…the Chief is back from New York, dear. He returned late last night in the middle of that terrible storm! What a homecoming! Come to think of it…it was probably him coming home that woke me up! I don’t suppose there’s much chance of you having a quiet day today with him back, though,— dear. He had his breakfast and then went straight out to see if there was any damage to the gardens. That wind was fierce! No doubt there’ll be a few branches thrown about the place—and he was concerned about some rare plants and shrubs that your brother planted too. Anyway, he came back a little while ago, and he’s in his study now.’
Swallowing hard, Georgia contemplated the news that Keir was already in his study with mounting trepidation. ‘Well, then, I’ll have my tea, give Hamish a quick walk, and then join him. By the way, where— is Hamish?’
Glancing around her, Georgia guiltily realised that she’d forgotten all about the Labrador. That was how distracted Keir’s appearance last night had made her!
Moira was quick to reassure her. ‘Young Lucy came in early, to help me prepare a few meals I’ve got planned for the next few days. She asked if she might walk Hamish, and I’m afraid I told her yes. Was that all right, dear?’
Georgia rose to her feet again wanting to delay facing Keir until she’d got herself properly together, and— saw her last excuse emphatically disappear now that Lucy was walking Hamish.
‘Of course it was all right. Be sure and thank her for me when she gets back. Don’t worry about the tea, Moira. I’ll get one later. I’d better just go and see if the Chief needs anything.’
Keir was surprised to see Georgia enter the room when she did. He hadn’t expected her to make such an early-morning appearance—especially when he knew intimately what sort of a disrupted night she’d had. God knew she’d ‘disrupted’ his night too…in more ways than one.
But now, as she carefully closed the heavy oak study door behind her, Keir’s examination of her eye-catching— figure, and her slim, tanned legs in the knee-length— red linen dress, was swift and hungry. Because of that, and because his desire had been frustratingly thwarted last night, his tone was brusque.
‘Nobody instructed you to make such an early start. Have you had breakfast?’ he demanded.
‘I’ll get something later.’ She frowned as if it was hardly significant. ‘Chief Strachan, I—’
‘Chief Strachan?’ Unable to keep his mockery at bay, Keir twisted his lips grimly. ‘Is this how things are going to proceed between us, then? Are you forgetting— that I was in your bedroom after midnight, drying— your tears because of your terror at the storm, with— you dressed in a robe that barely concealed the fact that you were naked underneath it? Under the circumstances, don’t you think it a little ridiculous to resort to calling me “Chief Strachan”?’
Georgia’s face paled. ‘I wasn’t deliberately wearing— what I was wearing to entice you! And I didn’t ask you to come into my room…you just came in anyway!’
‘For goodness’ sake, don’t look so damn offended! What you wear or don’t wear to bed is your own business, and I wasn’t trying to cast aspersions!— Now, what was it you started to tell me?’
Deliberately dismissing her indignation, Keir exhaled on a heavy sigh and got up from his chair. The instant he did, the scent she was wearing caught him with a slide tackle he hadn’t seen coming, and it all but brought him to his knees. An innocent and light fragrance had no right to be so powerfully alluring…but— on Georgia it clearly was. Not that she needed any artifice to heighten her already immense appeal…
‘About last night…’
‘Are we going to labour the point all day, Georgia?’ he asked with exasperation. ‘Because, strange— as it may seem, we do have work to do!’
There was no point in any further discussion about the matter as far as Keir was concerned—even if he had left not knowing whether she had a man waiting for her back in London or not. If she had he really didn’t want to hear about it, because it would only make this inconvenient attraction he’d developed— for her even worse.
Last night he’d realised he was on very dangerous— ground. Apart from nearly kissing her, he should never have confessed that he’d missed her as he had. Recalling his mood, he would have perhaps said other things too—things that in the cold light of day he might have regretted.
; Whatever mixed-up emotions he was currently feeling, he couldn’t afford to lose a perfectly good secretary because of it. Glancing at his appointments diary earlier, it had seemed a certainty that it was going to be another busy week, after having been away, and the last thing he needed or wanted was to have to hunt for another replacement. Yet even though realistically he knew he would have to curb his ‘extra curricular’ interest in Georgia if he wanted to keep her at Glenteign, he already intuited it would be a near impossible task. There was something about her that kept making him want to let down some of the usual defences he employed around people, and his blood still simmered hotly with the need to make love to her.
In New York he’d had plenty of opportunity to spend time with the beautiful girl he’d promised to get back in touch with when he returned there. Yet each time Keir had deliberately avoided the chances to be more intimate that had been presented. Even his demanding sex drive had not been able to persuade him to take advantage of the situation.
‘Look…if you think this can’t work any more, and— that my being here is causing some kind of problem for you, then I’ll simply pack my case, put my things in the car and get out of your hair for good.’
Her chin had lifted with determination and her hazel eyes were flashing. Keir saw that Georgia was quite capable of carrying out her threat. This wasn’t how he’d envisaged the start of their morning together at all, but now—because of his frustration and general irritation—a scenario was threatening that he definately did not welcome.
‘Oh, no, you don’t! You’ve signed a contract that’s binding, and barring illness and acts of God you’re obligated to stay here and fulfil it!’
‘There’s no need to threaten me! I’m fully aware that I made a written promise when I signed my name, and I have always been a person who has kept her word, but—’
‘No buts! I need a secretary, and I want you to stay, so let’s have no more nonsensical talk about leaving!’
Shaking his head at her as if she was the most irritating— woman on the planet and was driving him to complete distraction, Keir strode back to his desk. Staring at the back of his head, Georgia decided that no matter what she said or did there was just no pleasing this man this morning, so she might as well give up trying. She just couldn’t work him out. One minute he was acting as if her mere presence was like a thorn in his side, and then last night he’d nearly been going to kiss her!
Boss Meets Baby Page 35