A Highland Home A Contemporary Highland Romance Book Two (11 page)

When she looked up at him, her stomach fluttered and her pulse skipped a beat, so she felt like a teenager with a schoolgirl crush. Going up onto her tippy toes, she kissed his cheek. “You’re the sweetest guy I know, Angus. No one even comes close.”

There was a delicious tension between them and he looked at her with such intensity, she nearly gasped, their kiss in his mother’s kitchen still fresh on her mind. His hands trailed up her back, cupping her face as his gaze fell to her lips for a moment before returning to her eyes.

And then he kissed her, slow and sweet, yet with an intensity and passion held in check, coiled tight just below the surface. She lost herself in him as he deepened their kiss, her head spinning as she wished it’d never end. Oblivious to the crowded bar around them, she held onto him, trying to pull him even closer. She couldn’t ever remember wanting anyone more.

He pulled away, the air between them charged like a thunderstorm on a scorching summer night. He bit her lip, once, twice and then nuzzled her as he held her to him. His words were but a whisper in her ear, laced with humor and need. “Sweet, huh? Who knew?”

***

Rowan sat cross-legged in the middle of Angus’s bed, the adjoining door to her hotel room open.  With her laptop on the bed and Angus sitting behind her, she tapped away, looking for any information on her mom’s roommate. “I’m not even sure that’s her. There’s so little to start with, and it’s all unlisted.”

“There’s also a good chance she got married, and we’re looking for her under her maiden name.”

He was right. Damn it. “This is impossible.” They’d been at it for hours.

“Take a break, love. Ye’re getting frustrated.” He put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Bloody hell. Yer shoulders are in knots.”

He sat up, and with both hands on her shoulders, started to massage her stiffened muscles, working his way down her back. And damn if the man didn’t leave her melting into a puddle of mind blowing amazement. “Oh, god. Don’t stop. And how the hell are you still single? Seriously?”

“I don’t know, love. You tell me.” He laughed, his breath warm against her ear, sending a shiver of want through to her core. “Somehow, ye’ve managed to resist my charms with little difficulty.”

“Yeah, right. Little difficulty.” She thought of how he made her knees go weak with each kiss, and if it hadn’t been for the lack of privacy in the pub, she’d have jumped him then and there without a second thought. “Your hands are like magic.”

“Is that so?” He continued to work the knots out of her shoulders, his fingers strong as they pressed and kneaded, leaving her like jelly. “I’ll admit, I don’t often do this-at least not on humans.”

She looked over her shoulder at him. “What do you mean?”

“I took a course on therapeutic veterinary massage. Usually, I work on horses, but the same principles apply.”

“
Horses?
” A smile sprung to her lips, finding it all too funny. “Either way, you’re damn good.” With a sigh of contentment, she leaned back against him, needing to feel more than just his touch. He wrapped an arm across her chest and snuggled her close.

“It’s one of my many hidden talents. Just don’t tell anyone, or I’ll have all the old biddy’s lining up outside my surgery, looking to have their trotters rubbed.”

She burst out laughing. “You’re so bad, Angus. So very, very bad.”

“Aye. Rotten to the core.”  He nipped at her ear.

Though her body thrummed with need, she couldn’t fully enjoy herself when her mind kept straying back to finding her mom’s roommate. Hopefully, Angus wouldn’t hate her for what she was about to ask.

“Angus… you said Conall was good with computers. Do you think he could help me track down Imogen?”

He let out a deep sigh, and loosened his hold on her as she turned to face him. “I don’t know, love. It’d depend on whether or not there’s information out there to be found, and more importantly, if he’s willing to help ye. He’s a cantankerous sort-and that’s when he’s in a good mood.”

“But if the information did exist, he’d be able to find it, right?”

Angus ran a brisk hand through his hair with another weary sigh, as he clearly mulled things over in his head. “Aye. He’d be able to help. Truth is he’s more of a legal hacker-testing the security of corporations. If there’s something out there, then he’d be capable of finding it-
if
he wanted to help ye.”

She smiled. “Leave that to me.”

He groaned in mock protest, as a crooked smile crept to his lips. “That’s what I’m afraid of, love.”

Yet he had nothing to worry about. Not the way he looked at her, the way he made her feel… it was as if she was the only one who mattered, as if anything was possible. “You’re amazing, Angus. You know that, right?”

She could resist him no longer. Slipping her hands around his neck, she leaned forward and kissed him, her breath mingling with his, their pulses beating as one. She lost herself in him as their kiss deepened, his hands slipping to her waist to pull her close, his muscles hard against the curves of her body. Her breath hitched as she lost herself in him, her body thrumming with the want of him.

When he slowed their kiss and pulled away, the look on his face sent her stomach plummeting.

“Rowan…” He brushed her cheek with his thumb, her face cupped in his hand. “What are we doing, love? Not that I’m complaining, mind ye. But…”

The way they were going, she knew it’d only be a matter of time before they’d be having this discussion. “I don’t know. But do we have to analyze it and put a name on it? I
really
like you, Angus. Isn’t that enough?”

“Is it?” He brushed a curl from her face, his touch hot against her skin. “I don’t know what ye’re looking for, love, but ye’ve said ye don’t want anything serious, and I’m afraid I’ve ne’er been the kind for a one-night stand.”

Damn it. She liked him-a lot. “I wish I was ready for something more, because you’re as perfect as they come. But I don’t think I can manage anything serious right now.” She cupped his cheek and gave him a lingering kiss. “Couldn’t we just take it a day at a time? It’s just that I need to find my father, I’ve got the gallery to open, and to be honest, I’m still feeling burned after Stephen.”

“Aye, love, I know ye have a lot going on, but truth is I don’t tend to be very laid back with this sort of thing.” He gave her a shy smile. “I’m sure ye know by now how I feel about ye.”

A smile sprung to her lips as she thought of those kisses, his flirting, how protective he was of her, and how he did everything he could to help her. None of it was done lackadaisically or halfhearted, but rather with his full enthusiasm and attention. “Yeah, I sort of noticed, and to be honest, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Except…”

“I know, lass. It’s just a bit too much for ye at the moment.”

“Angus… I don’t want to give up what we have between us.” She thought of his kisses, how he touched her, and how much she wanted him, thought of what it would be like to have that sort of intensity and dedication when sharing someone’s bed. “Are you sure you can’t do casual?”

“I’ve ne’er tried.” He looked lost in thought, as if thinking things through. “Honestly? I think we could call it casual, but in the end I’d still fall head over heels for ye. And what then, love?”

She was tempted to take a chance, but the thought of hurting Angus if the relationship got to be too much for her, had her taking a step back. “Forget I said anything. It was a bad idea. Probably best if I go.”

When she got to her feet, he took her hand. “Och, love, will ye not stay a bit longer? It’s still relatively early, and I could do with the company. Maybe we could just take things slow. Ye ne’er know-we might find yer father and get yer gallery done in no time at all, and then we’d have no reason to stay apart-unless ye found ye wanted to. But this way, it’d give me time to court ye as ye make up yer mind, without things going too far.”

“Slow? Not casual?” She supposed there was a difference.

“Aye, love. Slow.” Angus brushed his thumb across her lips, his eyes locked on hers. “We’d take our time-get to know each other better. ‘Cause I can’t do casual. I can’t fall into bed with ye and then pretend it was no more important than having a pint at the pub.”

She pursed her lips to keep from laughing, while mulling things over. It might work. That way, things wouldn’t get very far and if they fell apart, there’d be a better chance of their friendship surviving. “I’m willing to give it a try, though you might need to take the lead on this one. I’m afraid I’ve never really done
slow
before.”

“I like taking the lead.” He twined his fingers with hers and brought her hand to his lips.

There was just one thing she needed to know-and she always felt awkward asking. “Just so we’re both clear, what does this mean with regards to dating other people? I’m fine either way, but nothing ruins things faster than that sort of misunderstanding, and after Stephen, I don’t want any surprises.”

His thumb ran lazy circles on the back of her hand. “I’m not terribly good with sharing, but I also want ye to be happy. So we’ll keep it to just the two us, but if ye find that ye’d like to date another, I’d appreciate ye telling me in advance-and I’ll do the same.”

What was good for the goose… “I can live with that.”

“Then we should seal it with a kiss, aye?” Cupping her cheek, his eyes softened and he leaned in to kiss her in a slow and most thorough manner. Just as she deepened their kiss, he pulled back, his fingers knotted in her hair and his breath heavy. “We’re taking it slow, love. That’s what we agreed on, no?”

That kiss left her with a pulsing need that had quickly moved south. Taking things slow would all but kill her. “We did, it’s just that I don’t know how good I’m going to be at this. I’m not terribly patient.”

         “Then I’ll need to be patient enough for the two of us.”

Chapter Ten

Back in Dunmuir, Angus drove through the village with Rowan at his side, mulling over the most recent turn in their relationship. He knew it’d be hard to keep things moving slowly between them, but it was a challenge he was happy to tackle, and maybe it’d make it easier to keep her out of trouble.

As for taking things slow, it could be fun to leave things teetering on the edge with a controlled passion. By the time she decided whether or not to pursue their relationship on a more serious level, the delicious tension between them would have built to a crescendo.

“I’m glad Conall agreed to help us.” Rowan shifted in her seat to face him. “I really appreciate you doing this for me. I know you guys don’t exactly get along.”

“I’d do anything for ye, love.” He just hoped she’d understand if it all went to hell and she found out he was keeping things from her.

“I know. It’s why you’re such a sweet guy.” She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, making his heart skip out of control as he ignored the growing tightness of his jeans.

“Och, don’t go letting that get around now. I’ve got my reputation to consider.” Angus gave her a teasing smile, and then pulled his car down Conall’s drive, his worries returning. With luck, Conall wouldn’t be able to find Imogen-and he hated himself for thinking it, when Rowan was absolutely desperate. What a bloody mess.

Parking next to Conall’s silver Audi, Angus pushed his worries aside and steeled himself to be civil. “Are ye ready?”

She beamed at him, making him feel even more guilty that he was being dishonest with her. “Never been more ready in all my life. We’re one step closer.”

She leaned over and kissed him quickly before they stepped out into the brisk air coming in off the sea. With his hand at the small of her back, they walked to Conall’s front door and the high-pitched howling yip of a dog. They knocked, but the dog’s barking must have alerted Conall to their arrival, since he pulled the door open mere seconds later.

“Come in, then.” Conall stepped to the side, holding onto a hyper dog by the collar so it wouldn’t escape. As soon as the door was closed behind them, he let go of the wiggling ball of fur. “That’s Piper.”

Angus reached down to pet the dog, his vet’s mind immediately taking in all the details as his hands ran over her body, the dog calming under his touch. Healthy coat and weight. Young-not more than a year and a half. When he stood and the hyperness returned, Angus shushed her with a sharp sound and quick motion of his hand, happy to see her calm down.

“Bloody hell. I’ve been trying to mellow that mutt for months now. Won’t ask how ye did it, but know that I’m damned impressed-and that doesn’t happen often.” Conall shook his head and continued towards the sitting room.

Rowan smiled up at Angus, but didn’t say anything as they followed along. To Conall, she said, “I appreciate the help.”

“No worries. Happy to do it.” Conall sat down on the sofa and grabbed his laptop off the end table while giving her a lingering smile which had Angus pursing his lips in annoyance. “Who are we looking for?”

“It’s my mother’s college roommate.” Rowan handed him a paper, her neat graphic print detailing the little she knew about Imogen Murray. “It’s not much info to go on, but I’m hoping you can still find her.”

“Aye. We’ll see.” Already, his fingers were flying over the keys. His brow furrowed as he continued tapping away, and when he spoke, he didn’t bother looking up. “Spirits are there in the cabinet, and ye can help yerselves to whatever’s in the kitchen.”