In Her Secret Fantasy (8 page)

He switched on the flashlight, shining it straight at whoever lurked there.

A naked woman with long, silky black hair.

Aidan blinked, and soft laughter drifted on the cold air. “Sorry,” she said. “I lost my clothes.”

“Lost your… You weren’t swimming, were you?”

“I swim all the year round. But I don’t always lose my clothes.”

Aidan shrugged off his jacket, walking swiftly towards the woman. She smelled of the sea. Her pale skin seemed to glow in the moonlight. “Put this on before you freeze. Where do you live?”

He peered at her face as she took his coat and unhurriedly slipped her arms into it. Deliberately, he kept his gaze on her face. Alluring as her shapely body undoubtedly was, he didn’t want lust getting in the way of judgement. Again. She looked young, probably a few years younger than he was, but he couldn’t place her features to any of Louise’s friends or any family he knew. On the other hand, surely something about her was familiar?

“I live here,” she said. “For now. Don’t you recognize me? I know you, Aidan.”

A picture, a memory flashed into his mind and vanished. A half-forgotten dream. A highly erotic dream from his randy youth. A woman with a mouth made for pleasure, who straddled him and took him inside her and showed him how…

Damn. What had he just decided about lust and judgement? This was Chrissy’s fault for kissing him. Swallowing, he said, “I’ve been away too long.”

“Is that why you’re lonely?”

He blinked. “What makes you say that?”

As if it was the most natural thing in the world, she took his arm and began to walk on along the beach. “I can sense such things. I’m very empathic.”

“Are you?” he said dryly. “Are your clothes along here?”

“Probably. I’m quite warm now.”

“Good,” Aidan said, and she laughed.

“Sorry. You aren’t, are you? Look, there’s a cave along here.” She tugged his arm, trying to pull him towards a dent in the cliff side. There was a cave there. He knew it well.

“I don’t want to keep warm in a cave,” he said repressively. “I want to find your clothes and have my jacket back.”

She turned into his arms, all mysterious and undoubtedly sexy woman. And in his continuing state of frustrated arousal, she was undeniably welcome.

“I can keep you warm, Aidan. Let me soothe you and love you. I’ve always loved you.” Her voice was beguiling, her words comforting to his ego. And her naked body pressing against his erection was…explosive. More than that, she
was
familiar. The rest of that old teenage dream flooded his memory.

He’d imagined it was real at the time. His dream lover had looked so very like this woman… But that was his imagination, his clamouring desire and the night, playing tricks on his brain.

In fact, this whole encounter felt like a dream, a timely answer to his raging lust, as if he’d conjured her up. A beautiful woman to give him sex, soothe him and feed his ego.

I don’t want that.

“You know what?” He took her by the shoulders, and her eyes seemed to melt with triumph—until he pushed her a step back from him. “Keep the coat. I’ll get it another time. Go home and keep warm.”

And he walked away, back towards the village.

He was a policeman. She’d no idea what sort of danger she was in, wandering the beach naked and accosting strangers for sex. Even here in Ardknocken.

Fuck.

He swung back, his mouth already open to give commands in his policeman’s voice. The beach was empty. She’d vanished.

Chapter Seven At her bedroom window, Chrissy lowered her binoculars and turned her back on the unbearable sight.

What had she expected? Really, what had she expected? That a man as sexy and fascinating as Aidan Grieve, wouldn’t have a girlfriend? She hadn’t known. She’d never even asked. And yet somehow, she’d never expected to see him walking along the seal beach with another girl dangling from his arm. A girl wearing his jacket and not much else.

Not on this beach, where twice now, she’d found some kind of connection with him. Not on this night, only hours after he’d kissed her…

Well, after she’d jumped him. He’d told her he was a bastard. The trouble was, in her experience, men who claimed to be bastards rarely were. It was the ones who pretended otherwise you had to watch for. Or so she’d always believed.

Well, no wonder he’d pushed her away. If he’d ever wanted her, it had been in a purely transitory sort of a way. A physical reaction. She was just work.

It didn’t matter. They’d had a moment in the woods, wholly inappropriate, but also unimportant. She hadn’t yet made a complete fool of herself and hell, she’d got over worse. She barely knew him.

And yet the binoculars flew out of her hand, hurled at the opposite wall before she could stop herself. She wanted to cry. But she wouldn’t. She wouldn’t.

“Well,” Runi said when Dyrfinna joined him on the nearest island. “That wasn’t very successful, was it?”

“Not yet,” she said serenely, smiling to cover her anger. She liked that boy. She’d always liked him, and as a man… “I still got on better than you.”

“My aim at that point was not seduction. I was trying to distract her before she found my skin.”

“I could have told you she wouldn’t go for that look.”

“I didn’t want her to,” Runi said with exaggerated patience. “She had her hand in the cave. If I couldn’t distract her, I didn’t want her associating me with the skin. That’s why I took a different form.”

“So when do you actually mean to seduce her? Are you afraid?”

He smiled. “Like your desired lover?”

“He wasn’t afraid,” Dyrfinna protested. “I moved too fast for his human sensibilities.”

“Or he likes my lover better.”

“Don’t call her that,” Dyrfinna snapped.

His smile broadened. “Why not?”

“It isn’t true.”

“Yet,” he insisted.

“We’ll see,” Dyrfinna said. “We’ll see.”

In the morning, Dan MacDonald came over. Chrissy and Glenn gave him the tour of the house, which was a hive of different activities, and then took him out to show him the land they wanted to cultivate. They left him there to poke around and take soil samples, and walked back to the house together.

“I think he might go for it,” Chrissy said. “I think we impressed him.”

“Aye. At worst, he’ll have advice. At best, he’ll take it on. What about the sailing—got anywhere with that?”

“I spoke to a couple of guys on the phone, but they seem pretty much occupied and reluctant to commit to more than the odd weekend.”

“Local guys might be better,” Glenn suggested.

Chrissy walked through the open front door and crossed the hall. “Aidan Grieve’s got a boat and he can sail, but he’s leaving before the spring. Come to think of it, I suspect Dan can sail too.”

She spoke with deliberate carelessness because she didn’t want to think about Aidan, let alone to talk about him.

Glenn followed her into the empty office and closed the door. “Talking of Aidan, do me a favour, Chrissy.”

“What?” she asked suspiciously, throwing her coat on the sofa.

Glenn took a slightly crumpled envelope from his jacket pocket. “For any number of reasons, neither of us wants to be seen as in collusion with the other, but I need him to know our alibis and that none of our vehicles were used over the holiday.”

She glared at him. “You want me to hand it in?”

He shrugged, looking a shade uncomfortable. “You’ve more cause to visit Louise. Either of them, in fact.”

She curled her lip. “You mean our twilight stroll in the woods was noticed? Or has Len blabbed at last?”

“Blabbed what?” Glenn asked.

“Nothing,” Chrissy snapped, snatching the envelope from his fingers.

“I’ll watch the office,” he offered.

“Now?” she said, refusing to acknowledge the nervous little flip of her stomach. “All right, I can take a hint.” She stuffed the envelope into her bag and picked up her coat. “I’ll walk,” she said. “So I may be some time.”

Only when she finally rang the bell of the B & B did it strike her that it would have made far more sense for Izzy to play messenger. A flush rose up into her cheeks. Surely Glenn wasn’t pushing her into Aidan’s path? Not Glenn, who kept out of everyone’s private life unless it was shoved in his face…

At least it was Louise and not Aidan who opened the door.

“Chrissy!” she beamed, standing back by way of silent invitation. “Did Izzy send you for the books she left in my living room?”

“No,” Chrissy confessed, “but I’ll take them.”

“Only if you brought the car—it’s quite a big box. She put them down to have a cup of coffee yesterday when she was clearing the last of her things out of the flat. And then forgot them.”

“Sounds like Izzy.” Chrissy followed Louise into the living room, where the old people were asleep in the arm chairs. At least Mr. Grieve might have been asleep. His head was so far forward that Chrissy couldn’t see his eyes, and he was making an odd humming sound.

“Come through to the kitchen,” Louise said. “Shame to wake them.”

It was, Chrissy reflected, like making the most of children’s daytime naps.

“Tea or coffee?” Louise asked.

Chrissy hesitated. She wanted to give Louise the envelope for her brother, and bolt. But there was such eagerness in the other girl’s face that she said, “Oh go on then, quick coffee, but I’m AWOL—need to get back.”

“What can I do for you?” Louise asked, reaching for the coffeepot and waving Chrissy to a seat at the kitchen table.

Chrissy sat, took the envelope from her bag and placed it on the table. “Glenn asked me to drop this off for Aidan.”

Louise’s eyebrows flew up. “Really? Well, there you go. I knew he’d like him eventually.” She pushed a mug of coffee towards Chrissy and put a jug of milk on the table beside the sugar bowl. “Help yourself. Aidan’s just bunging some stuff in the flat. I’ll get him.”

“No need,” Chrissy said hastily, wishing she’d just shoved the damned envelope through the letterbox of the upstairs flat and run for it. “So, how’re things? Guests rolling in yet?”

Louise shrugged. “Got my regular truck driver on Tuesday, and an enquiry about the Easter holidays. Looks like I won’t be buying my private jet just yet.”

“Me neither,” Chrissy sympathised. “Maybe you and Aidan should brainstorm some new business ideas.”

Louise waved one dismissive hand and sat down opposite Chrissy. “Not his thing. Besides, he’s going away again. Ardknocken’s always been too small for Aidan!”

Chrissy shrugged and sipped her coffee, trying hard to talk herself out of her next words, and failing. “People change. If he has a girlfriend here—”

“Ha. Well, he hasn’t. Trust me, I’d know. Not the sort of thing you can hide in Ardknocken.”

“Well, he was on the beach with a girl last night,” Chrissy said as casually as she could. Why was she doing this to herself? It didn’t matter who he was with.

“Was he?” Louise asked, clearly intrigued. Worse, a bump and a screeching hinge came from the direction of the front door, and while Chrissy’s stomach dived, Louise called, “Hey, Aidan!”

A moment later, Aidan’s stunning blond head appeared around the door, and before Chrissy could even try to prevent her, Louise demanded, “Who were you on the beach with last night?”

His gaze flickered to Chrissy, and he nodded to her with the casual manners of old friendship. Ha, wasn’t that funny?

“Ah,” he said. “Well, strangely enough, I wanted to ask you that.”

He came in, his bulk filling the kitchen as he reached over for the coffeepot and poured the remains into a clean mug. With his foot, he pulled out the chair between Chrissy and Louise and sat down. Chrissy refused to move her elbow out of his way, but every nerve shrieked at his nearness.

He looked at his sister. “A girl about your age, maybe a couple of years younger. Long black hair. Pretty. Voluptuous, even. A bit wild, if not missing a few pennies from her shilling. Mean anything to you?”

“No,” Louise said. “Unless it’s Nicole Graham?”

“It was not Nicole Graham.”

“No idea, then. Why? Did you entice her for a long walk?”

More than a walk, judging from what I saw…
Chrissy lifted her mug, drinking while gazing at nothing, as if she was thinking about things quite removed from Louise and Aidan’s conversation.

“Hardly. I ran into her on the beach. She was looking for her clothes. Seems a bit of a danger to herself.”

Chrissy, her heart beating faster, sneaked a look at him, as if she could gauge the truth from his face, and found him watching her. She lifted her chin.

“Bizarre,” Louise remarked. “She can’t live here. Must have been someone passing through. Her friends will have been nearby—probably having hidden her clothes in the first place.”

“Maybe,” Aidan allowed without releasing Chrissy’s gaze. “See any seals last night?”

He knew, the bastard. He knew Louise had got the gossip from her.

“Nope,” she replied. “Dull night for seals.”

“They’re early this year,” Louise observed, glancing from her brother to Chrissy and back. “Don’t normally come ashore until the end of the month. They breed sometimes on the beach north of Ardknocken House. Chrissy brought you this.”

Almost, it seemed, with reluctance, Aidan looked at the envelope Louise slid over to him.

“From Glenn,” Chrissy said hastily.

Aidan picked it up. “Thanks.”

Louise set down her mug with a bump, her eyes wide. “She was a selkie!”

Aidan’s gaze flew up to her. “Who?”

“Your girl on the beach. I’ll bet you anything you’d have found her seal skin if you’d searched, not human clothes.”

“Aye, that’ll explain it,” Aidan agreed with heavy sarcasm. Except his eyes weren’t sceptical. They looked slightly awed. Or perhaps…anxious.

“Well now, it might explain a lot of things,” Chrissy said, pushing her mostly finished coffee away from her. “I found something like a fur in a cave the other day. Selkies are real and living in Ardknocken. More than that, they’re out to seduce the local prodigal son.” She stood up, giving him what she hoped was a dazzling smile. “Good luck with that. Thanks for the coffee, Louise, and I’ll remind Izzy about the books.”

“She walked down,” Louise told Aidan, who immediately stood up.

“I’ll give you a lift back up.”

“No need. I like the walk.”

“Can’t have you running alone into stray selkies,” he said severely. “I understand they’re very persuasive. Besides, Louise wants rid of the books. She fell over them twice.”

“Did not,” Louise protested, but she was smiling as she shooed them both out of the kitchen.

Chrissy was more than capable of getting out of this. She had every intention of dismissing Aidan as soon as they left the house. With or without the books. Except that as he opened the front door for her and she sailed past him, he murmured, “Don’t bolt, I’d like to talk to you.”

Tough.
Only the knowledge that her anger was unreasonable—whoever the girl on the beach had been, and whatever she’d kidded to herself was developing between herself and Aidan—kept her silent. And so she waved farewell to Louise and walked out of the gate ahead of Aidan.

“What?” she said ungraciously as he led the way along the road.

“The car’s round in the garage. You still on for our sailing date tomorrow? The weather shouldn’t be too bad.”

She had the horrible feeling her mouth actually dropped open. It seemed to do that a lot around this man. She closed it and swallowed.

“Look. Even if I could, I’m not coming between you and your girlfriend. And I’m not prepared to provide the cover to keep Louise and the village gossips off your back either.”

His head jerked round to her in what looked like genuine astonishment. “Wow. You really do think I’m that Machiavellian.”

“Aren’t you?” she retorted.

His eyes glazed slightly. “Maybe. Yes, I suppose I am. I suppose it would do no good to tell you there is no girlfriend? Or that I’ve no idea who the girl on the beach was?”

“Nope. She looked pretty comfortable in your coat.”

“She did, didn’t she?” he agreed. “She’s still got it as well, and I didn’t bring any others with me. Do you really think I’d throw one girl to the gossip-wolves just to keep their claws off another?”

She shrugged. A faint blush of shame seeped through her body. “Wouldn’t you?” she challenged.

There was a pause. He might have been remembering which of the four garages was his. “I don’t know,” he said. “I never thought of it before. I could try telling Louise I’ve gone sailing with Izzy.”

“Only if you want Glenn to break your legs.” Appalled in case he took that seriously, she added, “Only kidding.”

“Shit, really?” Aidan marvelled, lifting the garage door.

It was, she realized, the first hint of anger she’d seen in him. Even yesterday, interrogating her in the office, accusing her of lies and murder, there had been no fury. She’d sensed only tension and tiredness lurking behind his calm facade. The anger had all been hers. Until now, when she’d felt it necessary to explain a joke.

Aidan shoved the box of books in the boot, got in the driver’s seat, and reversed the car out of the garage. When Chrissy climbed in, and fastened her seat belt in silence, he dropped Glenn’s envelope into her lap.

“What does it say?” he asked, driving along the bumpy ground to the road.

“I don’t know. Alibis and car mileage, I think.”

“Read it to me,” he suggested.

She stared at his profile. “Is this an expression of trust? Or apology?”

“Oh no. I can’t read and drive.”

For some reason, a smile tried to form on her lips. Biting it back, she tore open the envelope and tried to decipher Glenn’s handwritten scrawl.