CursedLaird (18 page)

He glanced out of the corner of his eye at one of the
individuals he hired for this salvage retrieval. A thin, gaunt sort of fellow
with wire-rimmed glasses and a really bad comb-over sat behind the wheel,
steering through the maze of disaster marked off by cones, police and emergency
vehicles.

He’d gotten no names and paid them half of the agreed-upon
fee up front. The other half would be given the moment they safely placed the
statue in the storage unit. Removal of the statue would be the purchaser’s responsibility.
A sigh of relief escaped as the van picked up speed.

For a second he thought of how marriage to Cali had cramped
his style. That’s why he let her go, Kip decided. But one thing suffered with
her loss, Marine Treasures Salvage’s business declined. Not one major find
since she left. Lillianna couldn’t locate an artifact even if handed written
instructions with specific directions to a sunken ship.

He hadn’t intended to acquire such a worthy prize for
auction on this trip. The main reason had been to convince Cali to work for
him. Her refusal left him no other alternative. With her financial situation on
the downward slope, he knew she had to have found something worthwhile or she
wouldn’t be diving the loch. He watched and waited. It paid off, at least for
him.

Kip snickered. When was she ever going to learn that victory
would always be his?

* * * * *

“Caledonia, I heard on the radio there’s been a major
accident on the A9 near Kinross,” Percy spouted as she swung into the passenger
seat of the van. “If we swing onto the back roads, we can make our way to the
bridge in North Queensferry and bypass the whole mess. It’ll put us in
Edinburgh hopefully before Struan wakes.”

“Whatever it takes. I trust your judgment on this.”
Caledonia paused then turned her gaze to his. A smile teased her lips as his
last two words penetrated her brain. “So, you really do believe in me?”

“Aye,” Percy said, reached across the seat and touched her
cheek. “You’re the sister we never had, Caledonia. Family believes in family no
matter how nuts you think their idea may be. You never know what might pan out,
especially with you. We’ve learned the crazier the idea, the greater the
adventure. You’ve made our lives interesting to say the least. It’s why we love
you and will do anything to protect you.”

She choked back the tears that threatened to fall. Neither
he nor Abel ever said anything so sweet to her. Mostly it was brotherly torment
and teasing that came out of their mouths. This took her by surprise.

“Even kill that bastard Kip,” he threw in as he started the
van and Caledonia burst out laughing, even though in the back of her mind, she
knew he meant it.

Touching his sleeve, she smiled when he looked her way.
“Thank you, Percy. You know I feel the same about you and Abel.”

His quiet nod reinforced his former statement and she knew
the bond between her and the O’Reilly brothers would never be broken.

Caledonia watched her parents crawl into the compact car
behind the van. Abel sat at the wheel. She wished they would stay behind. If
they got hurt in all this, she’d never forgive herself. Momma was stubborn and
Poppa wanted nothing more than the chance to knock the shite out o’ Kip. She
sighed heavily. This time… This time she’d let him. Kip stepped over the last
imaginary line she planned to draw for him to cross.

The radio gave up-to-the-minute details on the horrific
traffic jam. She said a silent prayer that no one was hurt too seriously and
Kip was trapped in the long lines behind it. If nothing else it slowed his
progress and maybe they’d get to the storage facility before him.

She leaned into the seat and propped her feet on the
dashboard. It had been a long night and an even longer day so far. Eyes closed,
she rested and sorted through the mass of jumbled thoughts. Several days ago,
she made a major discovery. One she could never announce to the world of
antiquity retrievals. It wouldn’t boost her ranking in the salvage community.
No. Struan wasn’t a thing. He was a person.

His life taken from him by a curse. Caledonia’s heart sank,
remembering the sadness in his face the moment he learned the truth. Disbelief
warred with confusion as Mary’s ghost explained his fate. Would he have
believed Caledonia if she’d been the one who spoke those words? Maybe, maybe
not. He trusted Mary. He knew Mary. The only thing he knew about her was her
body and that they shared a love for the water.

Caledonia turned away from Percy and hoped he didn’t catch a
glimpse of the unwanted flush in her cheeks. Her insides tingled and her pussy
reacted to the memory of their phenomenal sex. This was going to be a long ride
if she didn’t control her libido. Squeezing her eyes tight, she forced the
image of his incredible form, the taste of his mouth and his solid, perfect-fit
cock from her mind.

They had to save him, not fuck him.

Though she doubted Struan needed help. Kip was in for the
surprise of his life when darkness came. A knowing smile upturned her lips. She
felt positive Struan, armed with a claymore and a
sgian dubh
, would win
any battle that ensued. Unless they had guns. Panic sliced through her soul.
Don’t go there. She tried to calm herself. Kip abhorred violence. If anything,
he’d hired a couple of poor slobs to help him move Struan in statue form. He
definitely wouldn’t do it himself. That required physical exertion and the
possibility of getting dirty.

No. There wouldn’t be violence. That wasn’t his cowardly,
thieving sort of way.

* * * * *

Panic tore through his chest. Something was wrong. He sensed
movement, yet could not tell if he was being moved or if his imagination played
tricks. Nonfunctioning ears strained to hear but gathered naught. Maybe
Caledonia was somehow moving him in statue form. Without movement, sight nor
sound, Struan was resigned to being held prisoner within the confines o’ stone.
Naught for him to do but fantasize.

Resurrecting her memory, he held her in his arms, tasted her
lips and suckled from her breasts.
Caledonia.
His
fèilleil fiadh-chat
.
Phantom nails scratched down his back. Her teeth teased his lower lip.
Och
,
he knew his shaft ached to harden for her but lacked the ability to respond.
Struan needed to be inside her, needed to fill her over and over with his cock.

In his mind, he licked and kissed her flesh and laved her
navel with sharp spikes of his tongue. A wicked moan rang inside his head. Her
pelvis lifted. Her legs opened. A scent belonging to Caledonia and her alone
tormented his nose’s memory. Dragging his tongue along every curve, he licked
the salt of her skin but wanted more. The haven between her thighs creamed rich
with her essence. He had to have a taste.

Situated between her thighs, he teased her lower lips with
gentle nips and long, lavish licks, but refused himself the pleasure of
ravishing her sanctuary. Instead, he took pleasure in tormenting her into
another plane of desire. Tease her until she couldn’t take any more then reap
the rewards. Over and over, he kissed and nipped without separating her folds
completely. She withered and whimpered, begging him for more.

Moisture seeped from her crevice and he was lost, knowing
she wept for him. Struan entered her pussy with one long, deep swipe of his
tongue. A flavor unlike any he’d ever tasted coated his tongue and rocketed his
need skyward. This was Caledonia pure and uninhibited, giving him sustenance
through pleasure. Though it lived only within his mind, Struan didn’t doubt
she’d ever fall below the level of this dream. Nay, she’d surpass it in
reality.

* * * * *

Caledonia moaned aloud, waking herself. She froze, lost for
the moment as to where she was or how she’d gotten there.

“That must have been some dream you was having,” Percy
teased.

Heat flushed her cheeks as she straightened her clothes and
righted herself. It suddenly became apparent they were parked. “What happened?
Where are we?”

“You fell asleep so I figured you needed it. If you look out
the window into the side mirror, you’ll see the storage facility across the
street behind us.” Percy nodded. “Abel parked your parents over by that grocery
store on the far end of the parking lot, so as not to draw attention when we
both pulled in.”

“How long have we been here?” Caledonia stretched.

Unusual heaviness lingered between her thighs and her
panties felt slightly damp. Great, a wet dream. She’d had a wet dream in front
of Percy. That was one he’d never let go and she knew it. Images of Struan
flashed behind her eyes and made her smile inwardly. The dream felt so real. A
one-time fuck wasn’t going to be enough for her. Not with the way this man
dominated her mind even when she slept.

She caught a movement in the side mirror’s reflection. A
wimpy-looking man exited the storage locker she knew belonged to Kip. According
to the records she had on him, he used it as one of his
antiquities exchange
locations
as he called them. This gray building was one long, rectangular
wall of storage cubicles, which lined the front, sides and along the back. A
tall fence enclosed the building with a one-room security house at the gate.
The paved lot around the building gave enough space for vehicles to park and
maneuver to load and unload their goods for storage.

Today it appeared as if the security guard was nowhere in
sight and the gate was left open. From the looks of the place, it was quite
possible it lacked security in the first place.

“Just a few minutes. Abel’s doing a bit o’ reconnaissance on
the building,” Percy stated as he watched the mirror on his side for movement.

“Do we know if Kip is inside?”

“We should when Abel is done.”

The suspense of not knowing was killing her as she stared
into the side mirror watching for anything. How long was Abel going to take?
Percy nudged her and she turned to see her parents walking along the sidewalk
as if they were taking a Sunday stroll. Momma wore the broad-brimmed, red hat
she used while gardening. Poppa stood at her side, keeping her between him and
the storage facility. At the angle at which she had the hat tilted on her head,
it helped keep his face shielded from direct view.

What were they thinking? She didn’t want them getting hurt
or tangled up in all this. Caledonia prayed for their safety.
Oh lord, keep
those two out of harm’s way. Please. I know they’re a handful and
strong-willed, but do your best.

Abel popped up from behind a garbage container, which sat
two doors down from Kip’s unit. The container sat in front of a space that had
obviously been cleaned out at some point earlier in the day. He gave a slight
nod with three fingers held up. He then walked out the gate, turned left and
met her parents in front of the flower shop next door. Percy opened his door.

“It’s clear. Kip is in there with two other men.”

“How’d you know that?” Caledonia asked as she opened her
door.

Grinning, Percy replied, “He held up three fingers, middle
one included. That one’s Kip.”

Caledonia shook her head. Those two were incorrigible, as
well as her parents. She and Percy hurried across the street. They met the
others in front of the flower shop. A large cart of assorted flowers sat
between them and the fenced lot. They had the perfect view of Kip’s storage
unit. It was number two-twenty on the front corner and was one of the more
spacious. Corner storage units were big enough to back a van in and unload with
the roll door closed. It also had another door for easier access.

“How are we going to get to Struan?” Momma asked as she
pretended to shop for flowers.

“The way I see it,” Percy stated, “we wait for the sun to
drop, let nature take its course and during the confusion, we rush the place.”

“I like that plan,” Abel chimed in. “As long as I get to hit
someone.”

“Again with the hitting,” Caledonia said. Her brows bunched
and she knew he noticed the confusion in her tone. Percy was normally the one
who wanted to hit something. “What’s gotten into you?”

“He just needs to get laid,” Percy whispered loudly and
laughed.

“Pent-up frustration makes a man crazy,” Poppa added with a
stern nod.

Great, just what she needed—a man with an overactive need to
break something because he suffered from a case of blue balls. Then again, she
stopped as the idea sank in. It might be enough driving force for them to win
if it came down to a fistfight.

She returned her attention to the storage unit. Nothing
moved but the growing shadows along its front. The sky slowly darkened as the
sun’s last beams nodded off to sleep. Caledonia and her crew walked through the
unguarded gate, leaving Momma at the flower shop to call the police if needed.
The moment sunlight disappeared the fun began.

For a split second, her skin sizzled and the hairs on her
arms and the back of her neck stood on end. Struan was awake. She knew it.
Hell, she felt it in every living molecule of her body. Her heartbeat increased
when she heard the crash echo from inside the storage unit. Something hit the
opposite side of the roll-up door with a solid thud. If it were a cartoon,
there would have been a shape molded in it from the force. Probably someone’s
face, she figured. Poppa grabbed the other door’s knob and found it unlocked.

On the count of three, Poppa jerked the door open. Percy and
Abel bounded inside followed by Poppa and Caledonia. The sight was nothing
short of comical where Kip was concerned. He bobbed and weaved behind some big,
brute of a guy who had squared off with Struan. Another rather large individual
lay knocked out cold on the floor beside the roll-up door. In the back corner sat
a pile of discarded junk. From the dirty look of the place, Caledonia was
surprised Kip stood within its walls.