Callum (11 page)

“Oh, give over.”

Smiling she said, “All right. First, your cousin is correct. It’s from a family of witches. There are a few things mentioned, several families in the area—you know it’s from Inverness?” She waited for his nod. “It deals with various…ah…work they did.”

“Work? Spells?”

“Spells, curses, along with the regular medicinal remedies. There are a few different recipes. I’ve gotten some of the passages translated, but they are missing words I can’t translate, so I need to do some more research.”

Angus laughed and joined her at the table, stuffing yet another cookie in his mouth before he offered her one. “And isn’t that the best feeling in the world?”

She accepted one, but didn’t eat it right away. Feeling a kinship she hadn’t felt since she’d discovered her husband’s duplicity, she sighed. It had been a long time since she could share her love of research.

“It is. I realize that this may not be that important to the world at large, but to think I’m reading the words of someone from centuries ago…” She shivered. “It’s almost better than sex.”

Angus’s eyes twinkled, but before he could respond, Callum’s cold voice lashed out at the two of them. “Isn’t this cozy?”

Callum flexed his fingers, fury burning in his blood, urging him to tear every limb from Angus’s body. Never in his life had he felt the need to hurt one of his own. It had been his job to protect them, to build a safe world in which they could survive. But seeing Angus sitting in a darkened kitchen so close to Phoebe ignited a blood lust Callum hadn’t felt in years…if ever.

Angus smiled at him. “Phoebe and I were just commiserating over our love of research.”

“Really?”

He hadn’t heard that. What he did hear was his cousin and Phoebe blithely discussing sex. He spared the woman in question a glance, and from her wide-eyed look, he knew she’d picked up on his anger. When he looked at his cousin, Callum realized that if Angus did, he didn’t give a damn. The sod was smiling.

“Angus, if you would give me a moment alone with Dr. Chilton, I would appreciate it,” he said between clenched teeth.

Angus’s eyebrows rose and then lowered as his eyes became dark with anger and promised retribution. When Angus turned to Phoebe, his expression was placid once again.

“It was nice chatting,” Angus said to Phoebe. Then he tossed a warning glance in Callum’s direction before picking up his tin and leaving them alone.

A silence enveloped the kitchen, but he didn’t move to fill it. He was too busy trying to control his temper and ignore his lust. He needed to think of the right words to say, to make sure she understood he needed her away from his family. He was still uneasy about seeing McWalton in Edinburgh. Still, he didn’t want to push her too far away. If he did that, she might not talk to him.

And just when did he start sounding like a lad barely out of short pants? The answer was easy. The day Phoebe Chilton walked into his office. Being in her presence was horrible, painful. But the thought of not seeing her had him in a near panic.

“I assure you nothing untoward was going on,” Phoebe said.

When he didn’t respond, she sighed and stood. He watched her move to the sink. It wasn’t until that moment that his head cleared enough to notice she wasn’t wearing one of her ugly suits. Even in the darkened kitchen, he could tell the long-sleeved t-shirt was the color of her eyes. The smooth fabric draped over her generous breasts. Her hair fell in soft waves over her shoulders. She no longer looked like the ball breaker. Soft, round, and entirely too enticing.

He curled his fingers into his palms, trying to quell the urge to touch, caress.

With economical movements, she cleaned up her dish, leaving it in the sink. He watched, his blood humming. It was making him bloody mental. He wanted her in his bed, but he also knew he needed to keep her separate from his family. There had to be a way to keep her from his cousins, especially Angus. She could be dangerous, in more ways than one. He didn’t trust her, probably never would, although, until today, she hadn’t behaved the least bit suspicious. She had been working quietly, showing up early each morning, never once complaining that he kept everything under lock and key. But every now and then he would catch her with one of the cousins, chatting as if they were the best of friends.

“I want you to stay away from Angus. He doesn’t need you leading him on.”

She blinked. “You think I was trying to seduce your cousin?”

He said nothing, letting the silence speak for him.

“I assure you, I wasn’t trying to seduce Angus. I wouldn’t even know how to begin.” She was turning to leave when she said, “I know that you dislike me.”

“It isn’t that I don’t like you. I don’t trust you.”

She paused and turned to face him. “Don’t worry. I get that—loud and clear. You made sure I knew that the first day I met you.”

“I have no reason to trust you.”

She leaned against the counter and crossed her arms. “There’s something more.”

“Does the name Kenneth McWalton mean anything to you?” The moment he said the words, he wanted to call them back, afraid of her answer.

She didn’t so much as twitch. “No.”

“Are you sure?”

“I think I would know if I met someone.” She cocked her head to the side and studied him as if he were a bug. “Can you tell me exactly what you think I can or cannot do to your family?”

“I don’t like coincidences.”

“And that’s an explanation?” She raised her hand to prevent his answer. Truly, he didn’t have an answer. The questions she asked made him feel uncomfortable. “You’re suspicious by nature. Most businessmen I know have a touch of it. You are over the top, especially when it comes to your cousins.”

“I protect what is mine. I’ll not allow you to use Angus.”

She moved away from the counter, her body tense with anger. “I have never used another person, especially never in that way. You’ve convinced yourself that I decided to somehow use my considerable wiles on your cousin to somehow gain who knows what.”

When she said it like that, he felt juvenile and petty.

“Don’t worry,
Mr. Lennon
. I’ll avoid your cousins from now on.”

Which is what he wanted, but at the same time, he felt like the lowest form of scum, even if it was the best choice. The diary could hold their secrets, and the less she connected to them, the better. They just needed it translated and for her to leave. As soon as that happened, he would be free of this affliction, he was sure.

“I’ll do my work and take my meals in my room.”

He heard the hurt in her voice. His need to banish Phoebe was as unexplainable as the need to ease her pain.

She attempted to brush past him, but he stepped in front of her, blocking her one exit. “I didn’t say you needed to avoid my cousins.” It was what he wanted, needed, but here he was contradicting his own thoughts, again.

When she looked at him, there was no humor in her gaze, no studied interest as he’d seen before. Now all he saw was loneliness, and he ached.

“No. I’ll finish my task and leave. I know you must have a very good reason, although I can’t understand what it could be. I will respect your wishes.”

Again, she tried to move past him, but he refused to budge. That same fresh scent of her reached his senses, seducing him. Even as he was reaching for her, his mind was screaming
stop
. He ignored it and every other protective instinct. The only thing roaring through his head was to take, to claim.

“It isna my family that has me worried, lass.” The moment he wrapped his hand around her upper arm, her head shot up, surprise lighting her eyes and her mouth falling open. “It seems being around you isna good for my peace of mind.”

He jerked her against him. She gasped, the sound filled with both fear and excitement. Arousal spiked and his body craved—demanded—more intimate contact. Knowing it was wrong, even knowing it was dangerous, he bent his head and took possession of her luscious mouth.

Phoebe froze. Her breathing hitched and her heart stuttered. Every thought she possessed stalled then fizzled into nothing. She wasn’t accustomed to a brooding Scotsmen grabbing and kissing her. Hell, she wasn’t used to anyone doing that—which was a right shame—so she didn’t know how to respond. She just stood there, immobile, not able to even think of a response.

Callum pulled back. His breath feathered over her face. She shivered and opened her eyes. The harsh lines of his face seemed even more pronounced. His sleepy, bedroom eyes were barely open.

“Let me in, lass. Please.”

Stark need threaded his voice. It shook her to her core, spoke to her soul. Before she could think otherwise, she softened, eager to do as he bid. She opened her mouth, gladly accepting him. He growled, his tongue stealing inside, giving her a taste of him. Wild, possessive, delicious. His heat surrounded her, comforted her. The flavor of him captured her, enticed her. As he pressed against her intimately, she felt his arousal, and her body responded in kind. Her breasts grew heavy. Her mind spun as liquid heat poured through her veins.

He slipped his hands up her body, and she bowed her back, urging him to caress her breasts. She had to bite back her own growl as his knuckles brushed the sides of them before skimming up her throat and cupping her face. His fingers were strong and warm as they slid over her cheeks. Slanting his mouth over hers, he deepened the kiss.

Time suspended, stretched infinitely. She gave in to the craving she’d had since she’d first seen him, cravings that had filled her days and haunted her nights. With a moan, she moved her hands up to his shoulders then around to the nape of his neck, tangling her fingers in his hair. She wanted this, wanted him with a hunger so sharp it actually hurt. Her nipples hardened against his chest as he shifted closer, but she still wasn’t satisfied. Their layers of clothing irritated her. She wanted nothing more than to get him naked and feel his flesh next to hers.

Tension gathered in her stomach, circled then tightened and slid between her legs. Arousal crawled through her, and she knew at this moment she would do anything he asked, give him anything he needed.

As abruptly as it had started, it stopped, with Callum jerking away with a curse.

She protested with a moan and moved closer, but he stepped away, removing his hands from her. She almost lost her balance and fell over.

“Phoebe.”

She opened her eyes and found him studying her as if she were some kind of unknown species. He was breathing as heavily as she, his face flush with embarrassment or excitement, she wasn’t quite sure which. Her gaze traveled down to the obvious bulge in his pants, and then shot back up to his face. It was then that the ramifications of her actions hit her.

Holy Mother of God
.

She knew what she had been thinking. But a man like Callum Lennon didn’t come on to a woman like her without a reason. Every move in his life was calculated, planned. Phoebe knew better than to think he’d been overcome with lust. She eased away from him, needing space. “I—I have no idea what that was about.”

“I—”

“I told you I would stay away from your cousins. There was no need to try to scare me off using these kinds of tactics.”

His eyes widened then narrowed. “That had nothing to do with it.”

She snorted to hide the pain, but her voice cracked when she next spoke, shaming her. “To think you would use sex…” Phoebe couldn’t continue with the thought. She would surely break down if she did. All the warm feelings she’d had from the kiss drained. Cold seeped beneath her skin and chilled her blood. Even so, her voice was harsh from fighting back sobs when she spoke. “I don’t appreciate your tactics. They’re cruel.”

He said nothing, his eyebrows furrowing with confusion…or irritation. After a moment, a calculated look entered his eyes; his lips curled into a snarl. His tone was both sarcastic and condescending. “I will do anything to protect my cousins. I think you comprehend that now.”

Pain splintered her chest, her heart all but breaking and bleeding. Even though she had known it to be true, hearing him say the words was a thousand times worse.

When she spoke, her voice vibrated with anger. “Just stay the bloody hell away from me.”

With what little dignity she had left, she swept past him and through the doorway. She was thankful Angus had made himself scarce as she hurried down the hall and up the stairs to her room. The moment she slipped inside, she shut the door and locked it. With a sob, she ran and landed on her bed.

It had been a long time since she’d had this longing, this need to feel wanted…to be touched. She really couldn’t remember ever feeling it this deeply, this intensely, even for her husband. After her debacle of a marriage, she had no inclination to find a man. She wanted nothing to do with them. Her career was all that had mattered. Men were too much of a bother. If she couldn’t keep Simon happy, how could she keep another man from straying?

But tonight, oh, God, tonight.

She rolled over onto her back as fat tears streamed down the sides of her face. She had wanted a man she had no business wanting. No. Wanting was too simple a word for what she was feeling. She yearned for another taste. It shamed her that her libido apparently had no pride, no sense of self-worth.