Arching her back, Sadie wiggled until she was well seated all the way to the hilt. “Damn,” she gasped as she closed her eyes. She raked her fingers down his chest, threw her head back, and rocked back and forth. “Now that’s a sword.”
Alec matched her every move, bucking his hips to her rhythm as she rode him faster and harder. Sadie slammed her hands to his chest, panting and gasping as the building orgasm tensed her delicious heat around him, squeezing with an intensity that dared him to plunge even deeper.
Rolling her to lie beneath him, Alec settled himself between her legs. He shuddered with slipping control as he slowly withdrew to the tip, then shoved back in. Three more times he managed the teasing stroke. “God a’mighty, I can take n’more.”
“Good, ’cause I can’t either,” Sadie gasped, arching and bucking beneath him. “Now,” she begged, raking her nails up his thighs and clenching his ass, pulling him in deeper.
“As the lady wishes,” Alec groaned, then pounded into her, moving ever faster with the hammering rhythm both their bodies needed.
The quiet, secluded clearing wasn’t quiet anymore.
Chapter 9
A rumbling gurgle vibrated up between them. Sadie forced her eyes open and barely lifted herself up, propping her cheek on Alec’s bare shoulder. She looked around the peaceful clearing. Another deep gut rumble vibrated against her. Sounds like I’m not the only one starving. Wonder how long we’ve been asleep? Before she could move or wake Alec, her stomach growled in response.
Alec didn’t open his eyes, but his lopsided smile grew exponentially as he shook with silent laughter. “Our bodies are speakin’ to one another. They’re well pleased to finally be together.”
“I think they’re trying to tell us it’s time to refuel.” Sadie patted his arm, then rolled away, scooping up his crumpled plaid from the edge of the pallet to pull it across her chest and hurriedly wrap it around her body. She couldn’t explain the sudden need to cover herself—especially after the epic romp they’d just enjoyed—but something had drastically changed, become lost or messed up while they slept. She just wasn’t comfortable sitting in the clearing wearing nothing but sunshine. Brazen, lusty Sadie was gone. Insecure, I wasn’t going to be Delia’s rented-out whore Sadie had arrived to overdose her with a nauseating hit of guilt and second-guessing and shove a wad of why the hell did you do that down her throat.
Sadie clamped the plaid around her body with her arms while she massaged her suddenly throbbing temples. What the hell is wrong with me? I wanted to sleep with him. I wanted sex. I am not the victim here. And yet somehow…for some reason…she felt like she’d just been played. The stupid fat girl had just taken the bait and fallen for the joke. Hook, line, and sinker. Delia was probably hidden somewhere up the hillside with a set of binoculars, laughing her ass off. Now I’m really being stupid. Delia would never set foot in the woods. She’d send a flunky with a camera.
Alec rolled toward her, hooked a finger in a fold of the material gathered at her chest, and yanked it away. “What did I tell ye about hidin’ yer beauty from me?” His blue eyes flashed dark and stormy as the sea, filled with that libido-stoking fire that had earlier signaled the beginning of round two—or had it been round three—before they’d both passed out in a post-orgasmic coma? What the hell difference does it make now? She’d have to count the condoms to be certain, but then who really gave a rat’s ass how many times she’d been too high on humping to shield her self-respect?
She jerked the plaid back out of Alec’s grasp and cloaked it around her shoulders. “Stop it!” The request came out sharper than she’d intended. She pulled in a deep breath, held it, then slowly blew it out. She needed to calm down and play this cool—not sound like a wounded animal.
Alec frowned, then drew back and folded his hands across his stomach, looking at her as though he was trying to figure out what he’d done wrong.
“And you can stop looking at me like that too.” Dammit. That is not playing it cool. She yanked the plaid tighter around her body and gritted her teeth. I need food and space so I can think this through. I can’t believe I just spent the last few hours rutting in mindless abandon. How could I not see this was one of Delia’s traps? Now what the hell do I do? Chew my arm off to get away? Tell him, “Oops. Sorry. Didn’t mean to do that”? “I can be such a stupid bitch sometimes,” she whispered out in a defeated hiss. “I should know better by now.”
“Sadie?”
Alec sounded wary, extremely concerned, definitely confused, and maybe a little hurt. Wasn’t it amazing how many emotions one could read in a tone of voice? The part of his tone that bothered her the most was that he sounded like he actually cared.
Sadie closed her eyes. He’d seemed so—there wasn’t a word in any language she knew that could describe how he’d made her feel. And it wasn’t just the physically satisfying part of the sex. He’d made her feel there was…more.
Damn him. Sadie opened her eyes and swallowed hard. Damn Delia straight to hell too. Avoiding Alec’s gaze, Sadie tightened the tartan around her body and fumbled her way to her feet. The wool cloth itched and set her skin on fire, but she’d be damned if she gave the plaid back to him now. The word of the day was definitely damn.
She mentally shook herself by what was left of her self-respect and straightened her shoulders. Time to fix this. “Sorry, Alec. I didn’t mean to sound so bitchy. Low blood sugar, I guess. We need to eat. Then I’ll be easier to get along with—promise.” Sort of.
Alec slowly rose to sit with his muscular arms wrapped loosely around his bent knees. He remained silent, studying her with a narrow-eyed look and an entirely too thoughtful stare.
Sadie turned away, snatching the folds of the plaid tighter about her body while at the same time running one hand up underneath the cloth to scratch her shoulders and the back of her neck. Damn wool. “Where the hell did my shirt get to? How can you stand wearing this? It’s eating me alive.”
Slowly rising from the pallet, Alec scooped up his linen tunic and held it out to her. “Here. If ye insist on covering yerself, ye can wear my léine.” He took the plaid from her, wrapping and snugging it low around his hips. All playfulness and amusement had left his tone. His jaw was set, his expression stern and unsmiling He took a step toward her and pointed a finger at the center of her chest. “But there will be no donnin’ of yer own clothes.” He spared a glance at her scattered clothing about the clearing, then turned back to her with a dark, smoldering look that shot a thrilling surge of both dread and excitement through her. “Ye will tell me what has set ye so ill at ease. If ye need t’eat first, then have ye a bit of bread. I can wait. But we’re no’ done here, ye ken? ’Tis barely past noon and I fully intend for us to enjoy all this day has to offer, so ye best get on with the tellin’ of what’s troublin’ ye so we can return to much more enjoyable ways of passing the time here on the mountain.”
Sadie backed up a step, pulled the linen tunic over her head, then shook it down in place. The soft cream-colored garment hit her just below her knees and the full sleeves hung well past her fingertips. She rolled the sleeves up to her elbows and fluffed out the cuddly folds around her body.
The shirt smelled of Alec—all masculine spice and a damn I need to be under him again kind of smell. Bullshit. No more of that until I get this figured out. Sadie cleared her throat and shook out the folds of the soft shirt again. “What did you call this? Your léine?” Maybe if she avoided the real issue and kept the conversation on the light side a while, she could figure out how to handle this mess.
“Aye.” Alec retrieved the bulging picnic basket from its shady spot beneath the trees and placed it in the center of the freshly straightened pallet of blankets. “ ’Tis the old word for tunic…or perhaps shirt.”
“Léine,” Sadie repeated as she knelt on the other side of the plaid cooler, which had a woven frame to look like a traditional picnic basket. “Good word. Sounds…romance-novelish.”
“I suppose,” Alec
said with a dismissive shrug. “I wouldna ken, but I’m sure Esme or Mistress Lydia would. They read such books all the time.”
Alec’s dark, determined scowl effectively staunched all other small talk. He unzipped the insulated top of the vinyl cooler, which was decorated with the same tartan pattern and colors Sadie had seen all over the theme park and inside the family’s private quarters. “Time for food and explanations.” He handed her a clear plastic container holding a pair of sliced hard rolls generously stuffed with what looked like yesterday’s leftover brisket. “Ye will now explain what I’ve done t’stir yer ill will against me?”
Sadie ignored the question. Instead, she leaned forward and pulled out a stack of folded cloth napkins that matched the pattern on the vinyl cooler. She placed them on the pallet, shook one out, and daintily spread it across her lap. “Is this the MacDara plaid?”
Alec seemed to sit a bit taller and lift his chin as he reverently smoothed a hand over the blue, red, and black bands of the plaid draped across his lap and then lightly touched the matching pattern on the cooler. “Aye. Ye’ll find we Scots take great pride in our colors—and can be quite stubborn about them, as well as other things. Now. Tell me, Sadie. What troubles ye?”
How could she explain it to him without sounding pathetic? And if he was in on the joke, what would she do if he laughed in her face? Sadie stared at him, looking deep into his eyes and searching for a hint of the shallow meanness and bullying she’d battled all her life.
Her heart lightened the tiniest bit and the center of her chest hurt. She scrubbed her knuckles hard against her breastbone, wishing she hadn’t seen so many emotions in Alec’s face. No. Alec MacDara was no self-serving bully. She’d bet Delia’s favorite Prada bag on it. Poor guy. Apparently, he was just one of Delia’s pawns too.
Alec pointed at the box of sandwiches he’d handed her. “I’m waiting, Sadie. Eat and explain. Ye’ll find I’m no’ a patient man when it comes to findin’ out what’s troublin’ those I care about.”
He would say something like that. Sadie rubbed her knuckles between her boobs again, trying to make her heart stop thumping so hard. How could she tell him that she was ready to kick her own ass because she’d gone belly up and become Delia’s obedient little sex pawn when she hadn’t even been his so-called assistant for a freaking week?
She opened the container of sandwiches, took one, and held it out to Alec. “Here. Your stomach was growling too.”
He took it from her, wrapped it in the napkin she handed him, and sat it on the lid of the cooler. “I’ll eat after we’ve talked.”
He wants to talk. Okay. I’ll talk. Sadie folded her arms across her chest and settled her ass more squarely on her heels. Kneeling while naked under the shirt of the man you’d just had amazing sex with wasn’t exactly an ego-boosting position for what she was about to say, but then again, what position would be? She blew out a heavy sigh and sadly shook her head. “I’m pissed at myself because I played right into Delia’s little plan—and maybe yours too.” She raked a stray curl behind one ear and looked him in the eye. “That remains to be seen, depending on how this little chat goes.”
Alec frowned, eyes narrowing as he slowly tilted his head. “What little plan?”
And he’s already pissed. One thing about Alec’s tone and that Scottish brogue—it was like a window into his heart and soul.
“Sex.” Sadie waited. She could already tell that this conversation was going to go straight to hell in a handbasket.
“Sex?” His voice was deeper now, filled with suspicion and just a pinch of I’m gonna kick somebody’s ass.
“Delia said that the only reason you wanted me to assist you for the six weeks of filming was because you had a fetish for fat girls. She told me to put out. ‘Sex is a transaction’ were her exact words. I told her I wasn’t like that, didn’t believe in that, and wasn’t about to play that game. You know that. You saw the email I sent to Dwyn.” Sadie threw both hands up in the air and shimmied in place. “And by God, look at me now. Delia’s cheap little whore on the mountain.”
Alec’s eyes flared wide and his face flashed red. His hands knotted into fists and he slowly leaned forward. “That’s what ye think this was? That is what you think of me?”
Wow. Even when he lowers his voice to a whisper it sounds deadly when he’s pissed. Sadie dropped her arms and slid from her knees to a cross-legged position on the blanket, tucking the long tail of Alec’s shirt down around her and well into her lap. Delia’s slut or not, she wasn’t about to sit with her kitty smiling at Alec.
She shrugged and flicked one hand in the air as though she didn’t give two shits anymore—even though that was the furthest thing from the truth. If it were possible, her give-a-damn had shifted into overdrive. “I don’t know what to think, Alec. I’d promised myself I wasn’t going to play Delia’s game, but then…” A sense of defeat crept into her voice. Oh hell no. Stop it. Get control. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “I’d sworn this gig was going to be all business—real business. But then I couldn’t…didn’t want to resist you. And now I feel like I’ve been played by Delia…and maybe by you too.” There. She’d said it. Let the games begin.
She could see the muscles rippling in his jaw as he ground his teeth, and she could swear she heard what resembled a growl so low and deep it sounded like thunder. It wasn’t possible for his face to get any redder, but Sadie was concerned that the vein running up the side of his muscular throat was in danger of exploding. “Alec?”
Alec picked up the picnic basket and moved it to the edge of the blanket at their feet. Sadie could tell by his slow, purposeful movements that it was taking every ounce of his control to not throw the basket down the side of the mountain. Then he turned back to her, dark emotions flashing in his eyes, and edged so close to her that she could feel the heat of his rage radiating off his body. Sadie swallowed hard and wondered how far she’d get running down the mountain barefooted. “Alec?”
“Your sister.” Alec stopped, bowed his head for a moment, then fisted a handful of his dark hair out of his eyes and lifted his head and locked his gaze on Sadie. “Your sister is a heartless bitch that kens nothing about me or my family. As a matter of fact, I doubt that woman would ken what honor and decency were if they bit her on both cheeks of her bony arse.”
Sadie caught her lip between her teeth and clamped her mouth shut. Sounded like he had Delia pegged, but he could still be playing the game. After all, they were at the beginning of their six-week stint.
Alec reached out and barely grazed his knuckles under her chin. “I wanted t’know ye better. After reading all those emails, after seein’ ye the first time at the practice ring…” He paused, studying her, looking at her with such an intensity that she felt he was laying open her soul and trying to find the words to mend all the broken pieces back together. “I would ne’er hurt ye, Sadie,” he finally whispered.
“And after the six weeks?” There. She’d said it. Even though she’d sworn she wouldn’t. After all, who wanted a woman who begged for some sort of guarantee or commitment after sex the first time? She sounded pathetic. “I go back to LA and you go back to Scotlandizing North Carolina?”
Alec cupped her chin in his palm and sadly shook his head. “I canna tell ye what the future holds.” His voice had dropped to an even deeper rasping whisper that Sadie would replay in her dreams. “Only the gods know that, Sadie. But I will swear t’ye that I’ll ne’er hurt ye. Not ever. And I always defend those I love.”
“I’m not asking you to swear your love for me—or fight for me.” What an odd thing for him to say. Sadie eased away from Alec’s hand. She couldn’t think when he was touching her. “I just need to know that you’re not a part of Delia’s joke. I need to know that you two haven’t gotten…” She waved a hand to encompass the whole of the clearing. “I need to know that the two of you haven’t worked out some kind of deal for stuff like this.”
“I assure ye,” Alec said as he took hold
of her by the shoulders and pulled her into his arms. “The only deal I’ve worked out with that”—he paused again, obviously struggling to tone down the adjectives he’d like to use to describe Delia—“that sister of yours is the contract for her company to film at the park.” He pulled Sadie so close his nose nearly touched hers. “And I asked that ye be my assistant because ’twas the only way I could think of t’guarantee that yer days would be spent with me so that I might get t’know ye better.” He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, then leaned back, lifted her chin, and looked her in the eye. “Today was a precious gift I’d hoped for…but didna ken if ye’d wish it. And if ye didna wish it, this day would no’ have happened. But when ye did…” Alec squeezed her shoulders and pressed his mouth to her temple. “When ye did, m’heart fair soared,” he whispered against her skin.
An embarrassingly loud stomach growl broke the spell of the moment. Sadie eased away and stretched to pull the picnic cooler back between them. Those words. The meaning she’d felt in his deep, honey-toned Scottish burr. Is he really saying what I think he’s saying or am I just on the wishful-thinking roller-coaster ride straight to hell?
She retrieved his sandwich and handed it to him without making eye contact. “Here. Eat. We’re good now.” And they were. Her heart felt better after their talk and if Delia happened to find out what had happened, she’d handle that later.
The weight of Alec’s hand rested gently on her shoulder. “I’m glad of it. Truly, I am.”
A warm sense of peacefulness she’d rarely felt made Sadie smile. Whether this lasted six weeks or sixty years, she’d take it. Alec MacDara was a rare find. Thank goodness, this day was going to have a happy ending after all.
Sadie leaned forward and pulled out one of the squat, dented thermos jugs tucked in one corner of the basket. “There’s two of these. I hope Miss Lydia filled one with chicken and dumplings.”
Alec chuckled. “Check and see. If she did, I’m sure she packed bowls and spoons as well. The woman could manage the needs of a large clan with a snap of her fingers.”
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