by Kira Archer
“Excuse me, sir,” Austin said, coming in and giving them a small bow.
“Yes, Austin?” Harrison said.
“Your grandmother is in the garden again, sir.”
Harrison sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. “All right, thank you. I’ll be right there.”
“Very good, sir,” Austin said, turning to hobble out.
“What’s going on?” Nikki asked.
Harrison pushed back from the table. “Something I need to take care of real quick.”
“Can I help?”
“I doubt it, but you might as well come since I probably can’t stop you anyway.”
“You know me so well,” she said with a grin.
He gave her a tight smile but hurried out the door, not pausing to wait for her.
She hustled after him, curiosity coursing through her. Harrison seemed more agitated than usual, which she didn’t like, though she couldn’t really blame him. The last time there’d been an issue with his grandmother she’d been running around naked on the castle battlements. And this time, there was a house full of paying customers who’d be an audience to whatever was going on.
When they arrived in the garden nothing looked too strange. Everything seemed to be in its place. There was no one screaming or running naked through the shrubbery, and there were no scandalized neighbors with pitchforks and torches trying to hunt down an errant old lady. There was, however, someone singing a strange song while random clods of dirt flew through the air. Harrison went right for the flying dirt clods with Nikki fast on his heels and Austin bringing up the rear.
Heaven help them, what now?
Chapter Sixteen
Harrison stopped to watch his grandmother for a minute before he said anything. Nikki pulled up next to him, her lips pursed in an expression that suggested she wasn’t sure if she should laugh or help the poor woman out of the mud.
Granny was on her knees, in her nightgown, gleefully shoveling trowels full of dirt over her shoulder.
“What is she doing?” Nikki asked Harrison.
“I’m digging for treasure, dearie,” Granny said.
Nikki looked at Harrison and mouthed the word treasure?
He just shrugged. There really were no words to describe Granny. She was what she was.
He took a few steps forward. “Why don’t we get you in out of the cold?” he said to her.
“Can’t, laddie. I haven’t found the treasure yet.”
She went back to singing the old Gaelic song that she used to sing to him when he was little.
“Shouldn’t we get her out of here?” Nikki said, looking around for wandering guests.
The same thought was uppermost in his mind as well, but he shook his head slowly. “It might upset her too much to pull her out. When she gets an idea in her head, sometimes there’s no talking her out of it.”
“However, sir,” Austin said, “she is destroying the begonias. And we are in the front gardens…”
Right. Where anyone who happened along would get a full view of the show. Harrison sighed. “I’m not sure what to do.”
Though he meant to mutter it more to himself, Nikki obviously heard. “If these episodes are getting worse, maybe…well, have you considered…”
He shook his head again. “I’m not putting my grandmother in a home. She’s not hurting anyone. But…” He looked around them again.
Nikki patted his arm, understanding what he wasn’t saying. His grandmother’s episodes were getting more frequent and at times more disturbing. For the moment, digging in the garden wasn’t the worst thing he’d seen her do.
“Why is she digging for treasure?” she asked.
Nikki glanced up at him, and he opened his mouth to answer but instead blew out a breath and waved it off. It would take far too long to explain one of Granny’s longest running delusions.
“My Bertram left me a fortune in gold somewhere in these gardens,” Granny said, leaning toward Nikki like she was telling a secret. Except she was talking loud enough everyone could hear her.
And by everyone, he meant the crowd of people who had just exited the house after their authentic Outlander breakfast of parritch and oatcakes.
“Mom,” one of the younger guests said, pulling on his mother’s arm, “what is that old lady doing?”
“Austin?” Harrison said, looking at the butler who looked back at him with a gaze that was just as horrified as his own probably was.
“I’ll get them back inside, sir.”
Austin hustled off as fast as Harrison had ever seen him go in order to intercept their first crop of guests. A few excited travelers moved a tad quicker, though, and had made it to them.
“Did I hear something about a treasure?” asked one woman. “Is this part of the package? Is it like one of those murder mystery experiences? Only we get to look for treasure? What is the treasure? Do we get to keep it?”
“O’ course you can’t keep it,” Granny said, tossing another clod of dirt over her shoulder. “The treasure is mine. My husband buried it for me. Could use the help, though. Might negotiate a finder’s fee, I suppose.”
There was some excited murmuring from the guests, none of whom Austin had been able to get back inside.
“Well,” Nikki said, leaning closer so only Harrison could hear, “it’ll keep them busy and out of trouble for the rest of the afternoon,” she said.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” she said, raising her voice, “just as the Frenchman’s Gold had been lost in…” Her gaze flicked to him and then she looked back at her now captive audience with a smile, “in the book we all love so much, we also have our own treasure to find! If you’ll meet us back in the library in exactly one hour, you’ll be given your clues.”
There was more exciting chatter, but the guests did, at least, start dispersing, heading back into the house to await details on a treasure hunt that didn’t exist.
“What’s going to happen in an hour when they realize there isn’t a treasure hunt?” he asked her, trying to keep a rein on his temper. And panic.
“Who said there won’t be one?” she asked before turning to Austin.
“Austin, is there an office inside with a printer and copy machine?”
“Yes, miss.”
“Great! Okay, before we got here I looked this place up online, and there are a few pictures of simple blueprints of the place. Can you print one of those out and make enough copies for everyone?”
“Of course.”
“Then you need to find some bricks or something that could pass as gold bars, get them painted, hide them somewhere on the grounds, and then mark it on the map. Is that possible?”
“Certainly. I have something that will do nicely, and we have gold paint in the cellar from the renovations on the property when the fixtures were touched up.”
“Oh, wonderful. This is perfect. Okay. Get on that then. And don’t make it too hard. We want it to keep them busy, but if they can find it by nightfall, that would be best.”
“Excellent, miss. I’ll get it taken care of without delay.”
Harrison just stood watching her, almost overcome with awe. He wasn’t cut out for this business. He did better with science, math, cold-hard facts. Not people. He didn’t know the first thing about dealing with people.
“I can’t find it,” Granny started muttering. “He promised me he’d leave it here, but I can’t find it.”
Her digging got more frenzied.
“Gran,” he said, crouching down beside her. “Maybe there isn’t anything here to find.”
“Of course there is,” she said, scowling at him. “Bertram said it would be here. I just have to find it.”
“Gran,” he tried again, but she waved him off.
He wasn’t sure what to do. Short of picking her up and carrying her off, he didn’t think she’d budge. And while he had no doubt he could do that, it would upset her. Which would upset his parents. All of which would probably scare off their guests into one-star Yel
p reviews and never coming back.
Nikki stood there beside him for a second and then shrugged her shoulders and dropped to her knees in the dirt beside Granny. He looked at her in astonishment.
“Need some help?” she asked Granny.
“Sure, lassie,” she said, handing her another trowel.
Nicole shoved it in the dirt and began flinging dirt over her shoulder just as vigorously as Granny.
Harrison stared down at her, kneeling beside his Gran like two peas in a crazy pod. And he’d never wanted to kiss someone so badly in his life.
Nicole talked to her as they dug, asking her questions, most of which he couldn’t even hear, but it didn’t matter what she said. Whatever it was, it worked. Gran grew calmer. She still dug, still sung, but the movements were less frantic. After a few more moments, Nicole sat back and wiped at her brow.
“Whew! Treasure hunting is hard work.”
“Not for the faint-hearted, lass, that’s for sure,” Granny said.
Nicole looked at her watch. “It looks like it is almost time for tea. Should we go tidy up? We can come back later for more digging.”
Granny hesitated for a moment and finally nodded. “I could do with a bite of something. And maybe a nice dram of whisky. You can’t get it anywhere like you do here. Fresh from the cask. You’ve never had anything like it, I’ll wager you that.”
“Now that is a wager I’ll be happy to lose. It sounds wonderful.”
Nicole stood and reached out a hand to help Granny up. She wrapped an arm around the old woman’s waist and helped her walk back to the house, not letting her go until she delivered her to his mother outside her bedroom.
His mother nodded her thanks, smiling at them both. “How did you get her to stop?” she asked Harrison.
“It was all Nicole,” he said, staring at her.
She blushed. “It was nothing.”
“Oh, yes it was,” his mother said, pulling her into a hug.
Harrison stared in amazement. He didn’t remember ever seeing his mother voluntarily hugging a non-family member. Certainly never a woman connected to him. His mother patted her cheek and turned to help his granny.
Nicole looked up at him and shrugged with a sweet smile.
He nodded. “Right. Okay.”
He took her hand and pulled her down the hallway after him. This was a bad idea. He knew it. And didn’t care. They’d been dancing around each other for weeks. He was done dancing.
He led her into his room—their room—and closed the door, spinning so she was up against it and in his arms before either of them could think too much about it and screw it up.
She didn’t hesitate. Her arms went around him. Her lips met his, moving and tasting until his body burned for her.
She pulled away briefly. “This is crazy.”
He nodded. “I know.” Then he recaptured her lips.
“This is just for tonight,” she said, throwing her head back to give him better access to her neck.
“Obviously. One night only. Then business as usual.” He worked his way down her throat to her collarbone.
“Agreed,” she said, her voice hitching in a gasp.
He turned, keeping her in his arms as he walked her backward to the bed.
“It doesn’t mean anything,” she said, tugging at the buttons on his shirt in her haste to get it off him.
“Nothing at all.” He yanked her shirt up and over her head.
“Good. As long as we are both clear on where we stand.”
He took over for her, whipping his own shirt off. “Crystal.”
She divested herself of the rest of her clothes, and his brain almost shorted out. “Good God. You take my breath away.”
He reached out a hand, drawing it lightly across her skin.
She sucked in a breath and stepped back a little, her eyes roving over him from head to toe. She swallowed and tilted her head. “I’m not going to lie. I’ve watched The Series That Must Not Be Named on repeat just to see Jamie in all his bare-chested, kilted Highlander glory.” She gave him a smile that hit him like a sucker punch to the gut. “He’s got nothing on you.”
Harrison had seen the show, though he’d never admit that to a soul, but he knew exactly how awesome a compliment that was. He gave her a slow smile and took her hands, putting them on his chest.
“Well, come then, lass,” he said with his best Scottish accent. “Touch me.”
Her mouth dropped open a little, but she didn’t hesitate. Her hands drifted across his chest, touching every inch of skin, traveling down the planes of his stomach until she wrapped her arms around his waist so she could press herself against him. She rose on her toes and kissed his neck, her lips trailing up over his jaw line until they hovered above his lips.
“This is probably a really bad idea,” she said.
He grinned and the movement made his lips brush across hers in a touch so light his mouth tingled with it.
“I know. Horrible idea.” He drew her close, his hands caressing her back as he wrapped her in his arms.
“Terrible,” she murmured, capturing his mouth.
He crushed her to him, their mouths sealing together. A little moan escaped her, and he wrapped his hand in her hair, lightly tugging to expose her throat. “Hall of Fame worst idea ever.”
He nibbled on her earlobe, and she pulled away with a gasp. “So if I begged you to take me to your bed…”
“I should definitely say no,” he finished, sweeping her up in his arms.
She nodded. “Definitely.”
“We shouldn’t be doing this,” Harrison said, carrying her the rest of the way to the bed.
“Definitely shouldn’t be,” she agreed, nipping at his neck. The bolt of sheer lust that shot through him at that nearly stopped him in his tracks.
“What else shouldn’t we do?” she asked.
He smiled down at her. “I shouldn’t lay you down on my bed,” he said, doing just that.
She nodded. “I probably shouldn’t ask you to show me what’s under that kilt. Slowly, so I can enjoy every inch of the reveal.”
His heart hammered in his chest as all the blood in his body rushed where it was most needed. He took off his belt and dropped it to the floor. And since this wasn’t the eighteenth century, his kilt remained in place until he pulled the tab of the zipper slowly down. The material dropped to the ground, and she rolled to her side, her hungry eyes devouring him.
She bit her lip, and he nearly came on the spot. “Would it be a bad idea if I asked you to forgo the foreplay and take me now because I can’t wait another second to feel you inside me?”
It took a second for his brain to make his mouth work. “Terrible idea,” he said.
He leaned down to kiss her again but she put a hand against his chest. “Shit. We can’t yet.”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“The treasure hunt. We do have all those tourists waiting…”
All the air went out of him, and he rested his head against her chest and groaned. “They can all go rot.”
She laughed and wiggled out from under him. “We’ve been working our asses off for weeks. We can’t let it all go to ruin now. Come on.” She climbed out of the bed, but he grabbed her hand and hauled her back to him, kissing her until she sagged against him. But only for a moment. Then she pushed away again.
“Save that thought.”
He opened his mouth, but she put a finger against his lips. “Believe me, the last thing in the world I want to do is leave this bed. But we’ve got a drawing room full of guests down there.”
“I don’t care.” He tried to grab for her again, but she evaded him, grabbing her clothes and backing slowly toward the door, a sexy, lopsided grin on her lips.
“One hour. We get them started on their little treasure hunt. And then you and I can give them the slip…”
“And not leave this room until morning.”
“Deal.”
He looked at his watched. “Si
xty minutes, exactly.”
They were back in forty-five.
And this time, they were going to finish what they started.
He grabbed a condom from the nightstand drawer beside the bed and rolled it on slowly, letting her watch, though it was probably the most painful thing he’d ever done in his life. Totally worth it though when she grabbed him the second he was in reach and pulled him to her.
“This is still a bad idea, you know,” he said.
“I know. But I don’t care.” She kissed him. “I need you.”
Those three little words erased all playfulness from him. No woman had ever said that to him before, in any context. And he’d never wanted to say it back.
But he did right then. He needed her. And not just the lovely body he slowly sank into. Or the sweet, soft mouth he kissed as though the oxygen from her lungs was his life’s breath. He needed that sharp wit of hers. The intelligent mind that came up with solutions he’d never dreamed of. Her kind compassion. Her humor. Even the crazy that allowed her to fit in seamlessly with the family that drove him nuts but that he loved more than anything.
He needed her. All of her.
They moved together, their breath mingling, his heart pounding along with hers. She was everything he never wanted. And everything he always needed.
She clutched at him as he drove into her, her climax triggering his own. He stared into her eyes and kissed her, deeply, searing her onto his soul. He was wrecked. She had no idea what she’d just done to him.
Bad idea or not, she owned him now.
Chapter Seventeen
Nikki opened her eyes, blinking them against the sun. She rolled back a little, right into the rock-solid chest of Harrison who was spooned up behind her. His arm tightened around her, and he nuzzled her neck.
“Good morning,” he said, his sleep-rough voice sending shivers through her.
Two little harmless words and she was ready to toss him on his back so they could repeat a few of the previous night’s moves. In fact, she’d be perfectly happy doing nothing but repeating those moves for the rest of her life.
And that terrified her.
This wasn’t supposed to be real. It was a job. Friendship, maybe. And sex. But she had no business having real feelings for him. And even if some miracle had occurred and he returned those feelings, it wasn’t good. She was falling back into the same pattern. Jumping into one relationship after another.