Headed for Trouble (The McKay Family #1) (2 page)

A faint smile flirted around her lips, and a hot ball of lust twisted inside, settling down low in his balls. Mad. He’d gone mad—that’s all there was to it.

She nodded toward the Guinness he’d just finished and said, “I’ll have one of those.”

He nodded. Self-preservation told him to move his arse and get to work.

He told self-preservation to get fucked as he got to work on her Guinness. As he did, four more orders came in, and he filled three of them before her Guinness was ready. By the time he had another minute to breathe, she had folded her hands around her glass and was studying everything around her, almost mesmerized.

“Visiting?”

She blinked, a startled look in her eyes. Her gaze slid away. “Depends on your point of view.” Then she flashed him a wide smile.

It was disarming, that smile, bright and wicked, the kind of smile a temptress would give a saint to lure him into all manner of sins.

Ian was many things—a saint had never been one of them. As she propped her elbows on the bar, he found himself easing closer. “I’m here for … personal things, but that’s for later,” she said, lifting her shoulder in a shrug. “Tonight…? Tonight I’m just trying to not think.”

I can help you with that
.

The words popped into his brain and they almost escaped his lips.

He managed to keep them trapped inside, but one thing he couldn’t do was keep his eyes off that mouth.

She noticed, too. He could tell by the hitch in her breathing, the way her pulse slammed against the fragile wall of her throat. Curious, he reached out and pressed a finger against it.

He could very well be doing the stupidest thing he’d ever done.

Her lids drooped and her head slumped, angling slightly to the side. He skimmed his finger down lower, tracing the elegant line of her collarbone. “I’ve had days like that,” he said softly. “Days where the last place I want to be is inside my own head.”

He lowered his hand.

She lifted her head and met his gaze dead-on.

He started to turn away.

“How late do you work?”

*   *   *

Neve couldn’t have been more appalled with herself if she’d climbed up on the bar and stripped herself naked.

Blood rushed up to scald her cheeks, and she was already trying to mentally calculate how much her drink would be. She had a twenty dollar bill tucked inside her pocket. She’d just leave the whole thing—

His hand closed over hers, and then he bent over the bar.

He was big.

She’d already noticed that.

Big and almost brutally beautiful. If she had guessed right, he was close to six five, and his shoulders strained the snug fit of his T-shirt. His hair was dark, possibly black, but it was hard to tell in the dim light of the pub. His eyes were arresting—a pale, lovely gray that reminded her of the mists that slid around the ground, winding through trees, clinging to the river of a morning.

They gleamed against the warm gold of his skin and seemed to glow now. Then there was the beard.

Neve had never been attracted to a man with a beard. At least not until that very moment.

But this man with his short beard and that beautiful mouth—she suspected he could make her go for just about anything.

That beautiful mouth, framed by his dark beard, parted on his harsh intake of breath.

Her heart knocked hard against her ribs.

She had to drag her gaze away, but as she went to fumble the cash out of her pocket, his hand slid up her arm, leaving a hot, burning trail. “Another thirty minutes … if you’re up to waiting for me.”

Say no.

Get up.

Walk away.

Do something!

The logical part of her mind screamed at her.

Instead, she found herself meeting his gaze once more. As he turned away, she reached for her drink and downed a healthy swallow. Maybe it was for courage.

Or maybe it was to cool the suddenly blistering heat that had washed over her.

She’d done gone and lost her mind, Neve was sure of it.

*   *   *

Ian had been propositioned before.

It had even happened here.

But what had happened between him and the sleek, sexy redhead was something that defied definition. The final thirty minutes passed by in a crawl, and when he was done, he had to make himself
walk
with her through the pub, not drag her. Leading her through the crowd, he paused by the office to collect his keys.

A few people slid her curious glances, but her gaze moved away. Her sleek hair fell to shield her face. That just made him think about fisting his hands in it, then covering her mouth with hot, hungry kisses until she moaned and opened for him—opened for him in every way imaginable.

The noise of the pub muted as he shut the back door, and he looked down at her, half expecting her to take off, to disappear into the night like the fantasy he thought she must be.

Her gaze came back to his, and a groan started deep inside his chest as she licked her lips.

He couldn’t stop himself from reaching for her, and she didn’t seem inclined to stop him, either. No, she actually reached for him, and he half turned, putting her back against the wall as he reached up to frame her face. It wasn’t a good fit, and he caught the straps of her backpack and tried to push it off her shoulders. She let him take it off, but kept it hanging from the other arm.

Good enough for him.

Now, staring down at her, it hit him—the punch of lust unlike anything he’d felt in a long while. Maybe ever.

The first brush of their mouths created a connection that hit straight through him.

Ian shuddered and lifted his head, stared down at her.

She blinked, a dazed look in her eyes.

He had to do that again.

Reaching up, he cupped her cheek in his hand and angled her head back, lowering his mouth back to hers.

Slower this time, because he wasn’t quite sure he’d felt what he’d felt.

Wasn’t quite sure it was possible for such a brief kiss to ripple all the way through him, like a rock thrown into a pond.

Her mouth parted and he groaned against her lips, wrapping his forearm around her waist, pulling her closer. The bloody bag got in the way again, bumping against him. She curled one arm around his neck and pressed even closer, until he felt every last delicate curve, the slight swells of her breasts, the long lines of her torso, her thighs—

A burst of laughter echoed close by—too close.

Snarling, he tore his mouth away, heart pounding.

Staring into wide, hazy green eyes, he sucked in a desperate breath of air.

She licked her lips again, a soft hum in her throat, and he swore. “Don’t,” he warned, dipping his head and biting her lower lip. “Don’t go doin’ that or I’m going to lose it right here.”

The laughter came again, even closer, and he looked around. Grabbing her hand, he started to walk.

It wasn’t thirty seconds before he had the wooden gate shut behind him. The small garden was something he’d snorted at when he’d been given the apartment, but he’d come to appreciate it, and never more than in that moment.

Flipping the latch, he turned and pushed her gently back against the gate. He caught the bag she still carried and tugged it free. “My flat. You can let this go for a bit, love.”

She still held on, then reluctantly uncurled her fingers from it.

He put the backpack on the stones next to them and then reached up, hooking his hands over the top of the gate, caging her in. “If I was one to believe in such things, I’d swear you’d gone and bewitched me.”

She laughed, the sound shaky. “Ain’t that just like a man … blaming the woman?”

“Oh…” He moved a hand from the fence, trailing it down the sensitive inner skin of her arm, watching as she shivered. “I’m not blaming you, love. I’m
thanking
you. You’re already turning my brain into jelly, and I haven’t done much more than kiss you.”

He touched his lips to her neck. “I want to do much, much more—wanted it even when I saw you standing in the door of me pub.”

*   *   *

That accent of his was going to do her in. Neve had always had a thing for Scots—with a name like McKay and the history her family had, who could blame her? His brogue, though, was pure sin.

She reached out, skimming her hands down the snug cotton of his shirt.

It fit like a second skin, right down to the waistband of the kilt he wore. It wasn’t the same style as the ones everybody else had worn—it was a simple, utilitarian khaki. But the T-shirt had the logo of the pub on it, including the tartan that matched the kilts the servers had worn.

“I’ve been to Scotland,” she murmured, turning her head to meet his eyes. “Do you know … I can count on one hand how many times I saw a man wearing a kilt while I was there.”

A grin split his face. “Is that a fact?” He leaned in and nuzzled her neck.

It sent shivers of sensation running through her. She angled her head, whimpering in satisfaction when he followed her cue and raked his teeth down her skin.

“It’s a fact,” she agreed. Her breaths sounded ragged even to her own ears. “Since none of them looked as good in one as you do, I’ve decided not to smirk over the fact that you’re wearing one in a pub called Treasure Island.”

He laughed, the sound low and husky. “It’s a terrible name for a pub, Scottish or no. And I’ll thank you for not laughing.” He caught her earlobe, bit lightly. “I don’t think my pride could handle it.”

He rocked against her as he said it, and a wave of want swamped her.

His
pride
throbbed against her. She had to wonder if
she
could handle it.

He slid a hand down her side, toyed with the hem of her shirt. “Since we’re in a sharing mood, can I tell that when I first saw you, I thought you had to be the sexiest fucking woman I’ve seen in a long while—maybe ever?” he murmured as he slid his hand under the hem of her shirt.

Neve barely heard him.

The feel of his palm, rough and strong, sent a shiver through her. She dug her nails into his skin and arched against him.

A harsh noise ripped out of him, and he slid his hand lower, caught her hip, tugged her tighter.

When he rocked against her, hard and fast, the hunger stabbed into her. She curled a leg around his hip and he swore, boosted her up. The wood of the gate scraped against her back. She didn’t care.

Everything centered on the fact that he was now rocking against her, and the worn fabric of her jeans, the silk of her panties, and the material of his kilt seemed a terrible annoyance.

Sensation slammed into her.

She gasped as her muscles clenched, the need drawing tighter and tighter—

And then it stopped.

Her feet settled on the ground and she slammed out a hand to steady herself.

He was talking and the words made no sense.

None at all.

*   *   *

Her eyes were blind.

Ian clasped her skull in his hands and sucked in oxygen. He felt like he’d run a bloody race.

His cock pulsed, and what he wanted more than anything was to strip her jeans down and drive into her.

He’d almost done it, too.

“Fuck, do you have a bloody condom?” he asked again, rasping the words out. He was so hard he hurt with it, and if he didn’t get inside her …

She moaned again, rolling her hips against him.

The feverish sound had him kissing her again. That taste—he didn’t think he’d ever have enough. Did addiction happen that fast?

Trailing a hand down the middle of her torso, he freed the button of her snug jeans, slid his hand inside, passed the barrier of panties almost as silky soft as her skin. “Tell me you have a condom,” he demanded against her mouth as he slid his fingers through curls already wet.

He trailed his finger around the firm bud of her clit. She gasped.

“Please…”

The broken moan set his balls to burning and he thought he’d die if he didn’t get inside her, and soon.

But …

Well, the sound of her whimpering under his touch was the sweetest kind of music.

He stroked her again, following the cues of her body until he found the right rhythm.

She rose to meet him, her head turning toward him. He caught her mouth just as he pushed one finger inside her. She jerked—

And he felt his own cock jerk, felt the first few drops of precum seeping through when she climaxed, hard and fast. Just like that.

Snarling, he pumped his fingers faster, his movements constrained by the jeans still snug around her hips, but she whimpered and rocked, riding the climax, riding
him
—

Just not the way he bloody wanted.

“That’s it,” he growled against her mouth. “Ride me … that’s it…”

She whimpered, the sound broken now, almost stunned.

He eased her down, slowly, because when he took her back up the next time, she was going to be wrapped around his dick.

Slowly, he withdrew his hand.

Feeling her eyes on him, he lifted his hand to his lips and licked his fingers.

She blushed, staring at his hand as if mesmerized.

“Ah…” She blinked and looked around.

He cut off the question with a hard kiss. “Tell me you have a condom with you.”

*   *   *

Shit.

Neve blinked up at him. “Um … no?”

He squinted at her, as if the word made no sense.

Then he backed it up.

“What d’ you mean …
no
?” he asked, dumbfounded.

“Just that.
No
.” Her fingers hurt. The reason why became apparent. She was practically trying to imprint them on the ridged track that made up the sexy Scot’s torso. Uncurling them, she looked around. Embarrassment would probably settle in later. But for now, all she wanted was a damn condom.

Blushing furiously, she stared at him. “I don’t typically pick guys up in bars. I never really have a need to carry condoms around so I don’t have them.”

She didn’t carry a purse anymore. She had her cash and credit cards with her, along with her cell phone. There was pepper spray on a quick release hook on her belt, and her passport was tucked in a concealed flap inside her backpack.