HighlandHeat (4 page)

No matter what, he knew the turn of events required a call
to Maisie. Tonight’s happenings would definitely put a smile on her face and a
sparkle in her old eyes.

What a jerk!

Lifting a portion of her dress so she wouldn’t trip on it
and embarrass herself further, Grace walked as quickly as she could in her high
heels. Escaping from the claustrophobic confines of the party and the horrible
attitude from that man was necessary for her sanity. If she didn’t get away,
there was every possibility she’d scream the roof down in frustration.

Once she left the building and the ugly incident was left
behind her, she felt as if she could breathe a bit freer. Grace carefully made
her way down the steep stone steps and onto the sidewalk. The only thing she
wanted to do was find a cab and get away from here. She hadn’t wanted to attend
this function, but had arranged to be here when a well-meaning acquaintance had
made the effort to get her an invitation. Despite the train troubles she’d
experienced to arrive on time, it wasn’t in her to be rude and ignore such a
thoughtful gesture. Now she wished she hadn’t come because the gorgeous man she
had words with left a blot on her evening and not one she wanted.

Seeing no cabs coming down the busy road, she started
walking toward the corner to catch one. It was chilly tonight and as she
shivered, Grace wished she’d worn a coat instead of a sheer shawl. Wrapping her
arms around herself, she kept an eye on the traffic and tried to ignore how the
person she’d run from managed to make himself at home in her mind.

Maybe he could do this because he was Scottish and sexy as
sin. None of this mattered though. He was a complete boor, nothing more. It
was, however, very disappointing. He was definitely a man who tempted her to
think of what he’d be like in bed, which wasn’t normally how she remembered
people. The fact that he’d actually pulled off wearing a kilt so perfectly
didn’t help matters either. She had a weakness for a man who could carry off
wearing a tartan, especially if he wore it the traditional way.

Despite the cold air pushing against her eyes and bringing
tears to them, she fanned her heated face as she remembered the flash of knees
he’d offered. Seeing the length of his tartan was spot on and that he had his
sporran in the proper place had her wondering if he took the traditional dress
to the full extent and had dressed commando. Her knees trembled again. Her
frame of mind wasn’t helped when she remembered his mussed blond mane. It gave
him a wild, just came from bed look. Thinking about it teased her imagination
to go back inside so she could run her hands through it, pull his head down and
taste him.

Damn it, he was a true enigma that managed to catch her
attention and she didn’t want him to.

She stopped where she was and looked blindly ahead. When she
first turned around and looked into his stunning face, he induced an immense
storm of passion to rush through her body and blinded her to everything else
happening around her. The need heightened further when he spoke with the voice
of home. Grace understood in that moment she’d been his for the taking and
didn’t like that vulnerability.

When she’d looked into his golden gaze, it had left her
feeling as if she’d been hit over the head with a hammer. Dizzy and weak for
him. The way he’d looked at her while she waited for him to answer her request
gave her time to think about him carrying her to his lair and taking her. She
felt lust and even love before, but in her lifetime she never had an attraction
strike her so completely and immediately as this one had. There’d been
something about him that drew her in and she’d seen no reason to resist.

In fact, she would’ve stepped closer to him, but the
attraction swiftly turned sour. The stranger had managed to send her hurtling
to a place where she was ready to share herself, only to have her spirit dashed
by his thoughtless words.

She shook her head with disgust and tried to refocus on the
traffic dashing by, looking for a black cab with a light on to show it was
free.

Okay, time to be honest with yourself, Grace, and admit
what’s actually on your mind.
While this was very unlike her, she had to
accept that she wanted the man in a very base manner, on a physical level, for
no other reason than his appearance and reminders of home. A gorgeous hunk of
manhood, a voice that made her bones melt, wild and untamed hair, eyes burning
brightly and intensely focused entirely on her, all merged together. The entire
package had called out to her body on a very intimate plane and she would’ve
been happy to answer.

While he’d been taking in her appearance, she hadn’t been
insulted by his inspection of her body. Just the opposite. She remembered the
way his gaze took in her form had, in fact, turned her on. Grace had enjoyed
his interest, even felt her body prepare itself to entice him to step forward
and seduce her. She’d noticed he possessed a magnificent hard-on that had been
pointing at her from beneath his kilt. It had tempted her to reach out and
touch the rod. The temptation to do just that had been right there and then
he’d opened his mouth. From that point, her personal interest had gone.
Although replaced by anger, it became apparent her body didn’t receive the
message. It still hadn’t.

A black cab turned the corner. She stepped to the edge of
the sidewalk and flagged it down. She was relieved when the driver found an
opening to cross through traffic in order to answer her call. Stepping up into
the roomy back, she shut the door and moved to sit down.

“Piccadilly and Old Bond Street.” Leaning forward, she gave
the address to the man through the small opening in the glass partition between
them.

“Yes, ma’am.”

She could hear the driver had an African drumbeat playing
low. It filled the car with its mysterious sensual rhythm and helped lead her
right back to him. She sat back and fidgeted with the small beaded bag in her
lap.
Damn it, was everything going to bring that man to her mind?
She
crossed her legs tightly in a bid to ease the throbbing in her pussy as it
searched for fulfillment. There was nothing she could do to keep her hard
nipples from thrusting out for his touch.

After the brief interlude that left her mentally cold, her
body was still heated and screamed for satisfaction from the Scotsman. At the
start of the night the clothes she wore were light and airy, now they felt
heavy, tight, constricting and it was entirely his fault. She could tell he’d
noticed her being turned on by him and apparently it was her problem to deal
with alone.

Hyde Park passed by on her left as they drove through the
busy Knightsbridge evening traffic. Once they made it around Hyde Park Corner
Circle, St. James Park appeared on her right.

Almost home.

In a bid for calm, she breathed out and tried to let the
bustling city take her mind off the man whose name she never managed to get.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work. He had seemed familiar, but obviously her mind
was stuck on other matters. Lust and need were at the top of the list, although
she was equally angry with his rudeness.

The next breath stopped in the back of her throat when she
suddenly realized she was actually thinking about doing something she’d never
consciously thought of before. For the first time ever, Grace actually wished
there was a man in her life who she could work off all the built up sexual
tension filling her. And, to make matters worse, she had no one, not even a
recent date or past boyfriend she felt comfortable with turning to for a sex
only call.

“Excuse me. I can get out here.” Traffic was stopped and
didn’t look to be going anywhere fast. At this rate, she’d be able to walk home
quicker than driving. Besides, she needed to do something, anything to escape
her thoughts. She moved to the small jump seat sitting behind the driver and
held a ten pound note through the small opening as he maneuvered closer to the
sidewalk. Four pound coins were returned to the change bowl. She picked up two
before moving over to open the door.

“Thank you.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

Closing the door, she moved out of the way as the cab pulled
back into traffic and was greeted with a horn’s toot. Trying to find her smile
again, she held her formal gown out of the way and brought her shawl together
with the other. Once she turned onto Old Bond Street, she thought window
shopping to her place would hold her attention.

Of course that wasn’t possible. No matter how interesting
and outlandish some of the clothes being shown in the windows were, her mind
wasn’t going to be pulled away from thinking about him. Grace knew she was
curious about him and how one short interlude had made her hungry. She wanted
satisfaction for all her sexual needs, even the more intense desires. She had
to erase him from her mind before she did something she’d regret later, because
right now she doubted that would be possible.

Arriving at her shop’s door, she opened her small purse and
pulled the keys from it. Using one to open her shop, she found it interesting
how her time with the man had been both too long and not nearly long enough.
She’d come away from their time together with a belief that he possessed a
powerful dose of control over himself and others as well. Secretly, it was that
power she wanted to test. He seemed to know what he wanted and looked as if he
wouldn’t hesitate to make it happen.

The dominating presence she’d settled around him actually
suited him. She found it incredibly sexy and attracted her like a bee to honey.
She was sure there was something else there, something very intense hiding
behind his composed façade and would’ve enjoyed discovering it.

Well, it was his loss that he’d crushed whatever could’ve
been between them before it had even begun.

* * * * *

Hamish had his mobile out and was making a call as soon as
he settled in the back of the car. It was urgent he find out all he could about
the lady he’d just met and insulted. The need to know the details about someone
he found attractive was a new phenomenon for him. Women came and went, who they
were or what they were about played little part in what he looked for from
them. Everything about tonight was different and he didn’t feel inclined to
alter the path he’d found himself on.

The number he phoned rang three times before his assistant,
who was also his nephew, answered.

“Hey, Hamish, you’re calling late. Everything all right down
there?”

It was and it wasn’t. There’d be no rest for him until he
found all he could about Grace. The intensity he felt had him offering an
abrupt greeting before giving the young man instructions.

“Duncan, I need you to do something for me. Gather all
available information on Grace Strachan.” He mentioned what little bit he knew
and hoped it was enough to help the other man find something more about her. A
few questions came back and he answered them as best he could.

“Yes, definitely Scottish and I believe a milliner, a hat
maker. It sounded to me like she did business in both Edinburgh and London, but
I’m not entirely sure. Get me everything you can find about her. Addresses for
home and work, phone numbers, family history, anything. Whatever you can get, I
want. Call me back on this line as soon as you have something.”

Silence filled the car as he listened to the young man ask
the question he’d anticipated. Duncan wanted to know what it was all about,
except he wouldn’t share the feelings she’d planted in him. Not yet and maybe
never. “Later, okay? I appreciate your help this late at night.”

After disconnecting the call, Hamish needed to find a way to
relax. He slipped the small mobile into the inside pocket of his formal black
jacket, stretched his legs, leaned back and closed his eyes on a sigh.

Normally, whatever or whomever he wanted was there to be
had. Apparently he’d become used to not having to put himself out for someone’s
attention. Now he had to jump through a few hoops to get what he wanted and
realized he thrived on the hunt. Adrenaline pumped through him, making his need
for this particular woman grow. There was something about her that spoke to
him. Obviously he found her attractive, although it felt like more than that.
She was the type of woman he dreamed of having in his life.

The dream of having one lady in his life that he could share
everything with, the good and the bad, had always been just that, a dream. Tickling
at the edges of his mind was a picture of him closing his eyes each night with
her lying at his side and having the sun wake them up beside each other. What
was even more interesting was that there had never been a woman in his life who
came close to bringing the concept of domesticity to him.

Hamish wasn’t sure how comfortable he was with this idea,
he’d have to delve deeper into the development later when he was alone and
clearheaded.

There was, however, no doubt in his mind that Grace Strachan
would entice more than his cock to come out and play. To have traversed the
complicated world of business was tricky enough, but apparently to have come
out on top as her friend claimed provided tantalizing clues to her personality.
She wouldn’t give up easily nor would she step back and always let him have his
way, not with that fiery manner he’d glimpsed.

Unfortunately, right now there was nothing more he could do
except wait to hear back from his nephew. Working on leveling out his
breathing, he revisited what had bothered him all night. This idea that he was
hunting a mate. He’s not the type of man who spent time focused on him or how
he felt. There were some things he didn’t want to know the answers.

However, as he remembered everything that happened earlier
with Grace, he realized he actually wanted to examine every strand of emotion
racing through his body that led back to her. Each thread felt alive, full of
verve. It was unlike anything he’d ever experienced before and wanted more of
it.