by Unknown
“My pleasure.” Callum reached for her stack of clothes, pushing them toward the clerk. The woman reached for the t-shirt from the top of the stack. As she did, the stack tipped, and a tiny piece of red silk peeped out.
Callum reached out, tugging at the fabric. A little more became visible and Aspyn felt her face turning the same color as the silk between Callum’s fingers.
“Looks like you found something a little beyond the basics.”
“It’s all they had…really. I tried to find something …I’ll go look for something less…” She reached for the panties, trying to tug them away from Callum. He watched her, one eyebrow raised, and that same cocky grin she’d seen before on his lips.
“It’s fine, Aspyn. Whatever you want. Really.” He let go of the silk but held her gaze. “If you really need red silk.”
The clerk had been watching this exchanged with a bemused expression. “Ma’am?” She held up the panties, looking between Aspyn and Callum. “Shall I ring these up?”
“Yes, please.” Callum spoke without looking at the clerk. “If we had more time, I’d ask to have them gift wrapped.”
While the clerk finished ringing up their items, Callum turned to Aspyn. “We’ve got enough time for that shower and then we should get back to the gate.”
The clerk handed him the bag of clothes and they left the shop. “We need to get to the other side of the terminal.” Callum led her through the airport, following the signs for the lounge. The finally found it, tucked away in a corner of the terminal. Callum spoke to the woman behind the counter and in a few minutes Aspyn was following Callum down a hallway. She had a small bag with soap, toothpaste and a toothbrush.
“I’ll meet you back out in the lounge. This time you have a full half hour.” Callum stopped by a pair of doors. “Your
“And this time I intend to use every minute.”
Callum smiled and disappeared behind the door. The area was small, if rather plain, but very clean. Aspyn stripped out of her clothes, dropping them on the floor. The water was instantly hot and she stepped gratefully beneath the spray. She couldn’t remember any other shower that had felt so wonderful.
She been given a small bottle of multi-purpose shampoo and body wash, and she squirted some in her palm. It smelled like artificial lemons, not her favorite scent, but at least it made tons of bubbles. She washed her hair twice and then went to work scrubbing away the grime of multiple airports and airplanes, the smell of fear she knew clung to her skin.
Conscious of the time, she finally turned off the water, stepped out of the stall and toweled herself dry. She quickly brushed her teeth, relishing the feel of clean teeth and fresher breath. The room had a hotel-sized hair dryer and she ran her fingers through her hair, pulling out the tangles. It might be messy, but at least it was clean. And that was worth more than perfectly coiffed hair.
The bag with her new clothes was on a chair and she took out the panties and bra, holding them up. They really were beautiful. And she was still looking forward to wearing them.
She yanked off the price tags from the lingerie. She stepped into the panties, and then slid the bra up her arms. The silk was cool and slippery against her skin, and they fit perfectly.
There was a tiny mirror over the bathroom mirror and she looked at herself. The bra did something amazing to her breasts. They were perky. She’d never thought of her breasts as perky before. She smiled at her reflection. I could get used to this.
With a sigh she pulled on her jeans and t-shirt. It was almost a crime to cover up the lingerie, but she wasn’t sure anyone in the airport would want to see her in just her underwear.
Then an image of Callum flashed through her mind. The thought of him seeing her hit her hard and the wave of heart that washed through her was unexpected, but not unwelcomed.
But it was silly. He was on a mission, thinking about things far more important than what she looked like in her underwear.
She got dressed and headed back to the front of the lounge. Callum was standing near the windows, looking out into the crowds passing by the lounge windows. He was wearing clean clothes, his damp hair curling along the back of his neck. A tiny aftershock of the heat she’d felt in the shower room ricocheted through her but she let it go, pushing the feeling away.
Callum turned and for a minute he just looked at her. Something must be wrong, he saw someone, a shifter.
Then he smiled and walked toward her. “You look refreshed.”
“Refreshed?” She wrinkled her nose. “That’s original.” And a little anticlimactic after her thoughts about him in the shower.
He took another step toward her. “Let me say that a better way. Ye look radiant, Aspyn.”
“Oh, well…” She felt her face flush. “Thanks.”
He stood in front of her, smelling of the same lemon soap she’d used. But on Callum, it smelled anything but generic. He smelled wonderful.
“It’s nice to be clean.”
“Aye, it is.”
His eyes traveled over her. “You’re happy with the new clothes?”
“I am.” She let her eyes drift from his chest down over his legs, clad in new jeans. They didn’t hang off his hips like Charlie’s old jeans had, but hugged his long thighs. She could only imagine what he looked like from behind.
She pulled her eyes back to his face. “And you finally have jeans that fit you.” And boy, do they fit.
“I do.” He held her gaze a moment longer. “We need to go. They’re going to start boarding soon.”
“Yeah. Okay.”
But he didn’t move to leave the lounge, and neither did she. Instead he took another step toward her, reaching out to touch her hair.
“Ye really do look good. But then, I’ve thought that from the first time I saw you.”
“Really?” Her mind went blank and all her focus went to his eyes. They were the darkest eyes she’d ever seen. Of course, she’d noticed them in the ER, and later. But now they were almost black. Maybe it was a shifter thing. But she didn’t care.
“Aye, really.” He held a strand of her hair, running it between his fingers. “And ye smell like a sunny day.”
“It’s the lemon shampoo.”
“Aye. Lemon shampoo.” His voice had gone soft. “Then I’ll buy you a quart.”
His lips brushed against hers, soft but insistent. She closed her eyes. It was the only point of contact between them, but every part of her body responded, from her lips down to her toes. No kiss had never done this to her, ever. She wanted it to go on forever.
When he pulled away she almost fell over, leaning toward him, aching for the kiss to continue. She blinked her eyes open. Callum was smiling at her.
“We have to go, Aspyn.”
“Oh. Yeah. The flight.”
His smile went a little lopsided, and a little sad. “Aye. The flight.” He took her hand. “They’re going to start boarding soon.”
“Then I guess we better go board the plane.” She squeezed his hand. “You have a dynasty to reclaim.”
“That I do.”
* * *
Aspyn stood by the terminal window, looking out at the plane that was going to take them to Inverness. Just looking at the plane made his stomach lurch. Callum turned away from the window.
“This is a whole lot smaller than I thought it would be.” She turned, following him to boarding gate. “You going to be okay?”
“It’s a short flight, less time than from Chicago to Newark.” He swallowed hard. “I’ll be fine.”
“Will they have something to drink? Ginger ale or something fizzy?” They took their place in line. There was a couple with a toddler ahead of them, and a moment of chaos erupted around them as the child burst into tears, crying that he didn’t want to get on the plane. Callum was distracted but he could sympathize with the boy.
“Callum?”
“What? Sorry. Not sure.” He glanced at her. “Really, I’ll be fine. Thank ye for your concern though, Aspyn. I do appre
ciate it.”
There was a beat of silence from Aspyn. “Well, it’s not just you I’m worried about.” The toddler was briefly subdued, and then bundled onto the plane. They took another step toward the gate. Another step closer to being on that tiny plane.
He cocked an eyebrow at her. “And who is it you’d be worried about?”
“If you’re out of it, who’s going to take care of me?”
He looked down at her, almost surprised by her words. She had to be one of the most capable women he’d ever met. But she did have a point. “I think you’d be able to take care of yourself. But you’re right, I wouldn’t want you to have to deal with a shifter, or anyone else, alone.”
The boarding went quickly, far more quickly than Callum would have liked. The minute his feet left the tarmac, his stomach started rolling. As much as wanted to be home—needed to be home—soon, driving didn’t seem like such a bad idea.
Not long after takeoff the plane began bouncing around, and the more he tried to ignore it, the worse it became. Callum closed his eyes, trying to wish away the nausea.
“Here…give me your hand.”
He looked at Aspyn, held out his hand. They’d discovered there was no ginger ale on the flight and he’d had a minor panic attack.
She took his hand, turning it palm up. “Just relax.” Her fingers slid up his wrist. They were cool and soft
“Are you taking my pulse again?”
“No. Not this time. It’s acupressure.” She rubbed on a spot on his wrist, pressing her thumb into him.
“Does it work?” He frowned, watching whatever she was doing.
“Give it a minute. Just do your breathing.”
“You make me sound like I’m having a baby.” But he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, letting it out. He didn’t really care if what she was doing worked or not. But he found he did care that she cared enough about him to make him feel better.
“Twenty questions?” She continued to massage his wrist. “Distraction?”
“Okay.” He tipped his head back, eyes still closed. His stomach had stopped lurching and he realized he did feel better.
“What do we do when we get to Scotland?” The pressure on his wrist stopped, but she still held his hand, winding her fingers through his.
“We rent a car. Find a place to stay, you get some rest and food. And then…” He opened his eyes and turned to Aspyn. “Truthfully, I have no idea.”
“No storming the castle?”
“It’s not really the kind of castle ye can storm. And there would be only me storming it.”
“Hey. I’m here.” She squeezed his hand. “I want to help you deal with Malcolm.”
“Aspyn. I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You’re not asking. I’m offering. I want to. I’m sort of invested here, you know?” Her eyes were soft and he thought he saw tears. He returned the pressure, rubbing this thumb across her knuckles.
“But I can’t put you in any more danger. Whatever I do, I do alone.”
Aspyn held his gaze for a moment and then turned toward the window. He could feel the conflicting emotions roiling inside her, saw them flash in her eyes before she looked away. She was angry at him, obviously. It was pretty clear she didn’t like being told what to do, or to hear no for an answer.
There was fear in her as well, fear for herself. He could smell the sharp tang of it on her skin. She’d been terrified since he’d come to her apartment, first of him, then by Malcolm’s assassins. He’d turned her life upside down. He couldn’t blame her for being afraid.
But there was something else in all those emotions, in her words, the way she looked at him. He almost didn’t want to admit it, was afraid if he put a name to it, that it would diminish it somehow, or it would disappear. Or it would turn out to be just his imagination. But he thought that she cared about him, about his safety…about his future. It brought him up short to think she could feel that way.
Callum wondered about this woman sitting beside him, dragged halfway around the world against her will, who now was willing to take on his fight as if it was her own. He settled back in his seat. She was amazing. But he was still responsible for her, responsible for keeping her safe.
But there was no way in the world he’d let Malcolm Cameron get anywhere near her.
* * *
“We’ll hire a car here.”
Aspyn looked up at Callum. He pointed across the terminal. There was a car rental agency desk in one corner, across from baggage.
They’d finally landed in Inverness. She’d held his hand during the landing, Callum suffering in silence as the plane bumped down onto the runway. Now he led her through the airport to the car rental desk. Exhaustion was creeping up on her fast and right now, all she wanted was a shower and sleep.
“Do you have a license to drive here?” Aspyn trailed after Callum to the rental car lot.
“I have an international license. Ye saw it in my wallet.”
They threaded their way through the rows of parked cars, Callum searching for their car. He finally found it, stopping to open the passenger door for Aspyn. She climbed in and he closed the door.
He got behind the wheel and then turned to her with a smile. “It’s been a long time since I’ve driven on the wrong side of the road.”
The sky was full of gray clouds, the air heavy with mist. She wasn’t surprised that it was raining again. But here even though the clouds hung low, they were somehow luminous and they only seemed to make the colors of the buildings they passed, the fields they drove by, somehow deeper, richer.
“We’ll be in Inverness proper in a little while.”
“It’s beautiful here.” Aspyn looked out the window, watching the countryside flash by. The fields were a patchwork of soft greens and grays, finally giving way to parking lots and business. Callum drove them further into the city, down narrow streets and over a bridge.
“The River Ness.”
“As in Loch Ness?”
“Aye, tis the same.”
“I’m really bad at geography. I feel like I should have known that.”
Callum glanced at her. “It’s not your home, so I wouldn’t expect you to know much about it.”
“But it’s your home…”
She caught his smile. “Aye, and I know what it is. But I know what you mean. And I appreciate the sentiment.”
“Where are we going?”
“I know a place. We need sleep and I need to come up with a way to get to Malcolm.”
“Are we back to the argument of you going there without me?”
“We’re not arguing…”
There was a sound to Aspyn’s left. For a moment she thought it was fireworks and looked up into the sky. But it was daylight; why would there be fireworks in the daylight.
Callum made an inarticulate noise beside her, a growl crossed with a curse. The car shot forward, weaving through traffic.
“Get down.”
“What? Why?”
There was another popping sound and suddenly there was glass flying through the car. Something grazed her face and then her lap was full of shards.
“Someone’s shoot at us. Will you get down?”
Callum slammed on the brakes, yanking the wheel hard to the right. The car shot down an alley, flying between tall brick buildings, banging into metal cans. The side mirror snapped off. Aspyn starred with detachment at the broken glass in her lap.
She was flung against the door as Callum flung the car around another turn, and then another.
“Do you know where you’re going?” She braced one hand on the dash, jerking her head to look at Callum.
“I’m trying…”
They tore out onto a street crowded with cars. Cars were stopped ahead of them and Callum slammed on the brakes. They skidded on the wet pavement among the sound of honking horns. Aspyn looked behind them through the ruined back window. A huge truck screeched to a halt inches from their rear bumper.
Aspyn cringed
, looking up at the truck driver, expecting to see a gun. But all she saw was an angry man giving them the finger, his mouth moving in unheard curses. Aspyn burst out laughing, then slapped her hand over her mouth. Callum threw her a scowl.
“Sorry. It’s just that it’s not him…not the guy with the gun. He’s not behind us. It’s just a pissed off truck driver.”
They inched forward a few car lengths. “You do know where you’re going?”
“I’m trying to get to a place I know we’ll be safe.” Callum craned his neck, peering ahead in traffic. “I think we’re almost there.”
“I sure the hell hope so. I’m suddenly not so charmed by your home country, now that someone here is trying to kill me.”
* * *
Aspyn bolted up the stairs and ran through the door of their room. Callum was right behind her and she heard the latch click shut and the sound of the lock being turned.
“We’ll be safe, Aspyn. The owner’s a shifter. Not one of my Clan, but a man I’d trust with my life. No one will be able to get at us here.”
She spun around, frowning at Callum. Something wasn’t right, something he’d told her in her apartment.
“You’re shaking.” He reached for her but she took a step back.
“How do you know someone in Scotland, if you haven’t been here since you were little?”
“Brigit…the girl I knew in Canada. Her father owns this place. I met him once when he came to visit us… visit Brigit. He told me if I ever managed to come home…I’d have a place to stay.”
“You know, sometimes you leave a whole lot of details out of your stories.”
“Aspyn, I had no idea we’d be followed. My life is complicated, ye know that. I canna tell you everything about me, on the off chance it will come up later.” He rubbed a hand across his face. “But we are safe here. Trust me.”
Aspyn looked around. It was a low-ceilinged room, with a deep-set window with a padded seat. It was quaint and cozy. And totally out of character for where she thought they should be hiding from killer werewolves.
“This doesn’t look like a safe house. It looks like an old Scottish inn.” She paced across the room to the window, staring down into the cobblestone street.