Logan (24 page)

Phoebe laughed. “No, I have a chance to look at an artifact from the Lennon family.”
 

“Lennon Enterprises? Hold on.” Phoebe heard a deep murmur in the background before Izzy came back. “Roberto wants to know if you met Callum Lennon.”
 

Just hearing his name sent a shiver of awareness across her nerve endings.
 

“Yes, in fact, I’ve met two of the others also.”
 

More murmuring, then Izzy giggled. “Roberto said he’s a real bastard.”
 

“He’s met Callum Lennon?”
 

“Roberto negotiated a deal with them a few years ago. They want you to look at an artifact? What is it?”
 

“I haven’t heard, but apparently it might work for that grant I wanted to go after.”
 

Izzy said nothing for a moment. “Don’t do this.”
 

“What?”
 

“Poppet, I love you. You know I do. So I’m saying this for your own good. Your parents aren’t worth it.”
 

“Izzy—”
 

“They will never accept you.”
 

A sharp shard of pain stabbed her heart. Izzy was right. They both knew it.
 

“I don’t give a damn about them accepting me.” She drew in an unsteady breath. It was the truth, even if it took her almost thirty years to accept that. “What I want is to study Celtic myths full time.”
 

“Then do it. You have enough money.”
 

“I can’t…well, I can. It’s just…” How did she say she wanted to stick their noses in her success without sounding like a horrible daughter? She would never be free of their shadows if she couldn’t make it on her own without their help. They would always try to influence her career unless she made a clean break.
 

“You want to say shove it to Barbie and Ken.” Amusement infused Izzy’s voice. “I wholly approve.”
 

Phoebe chuckled. “I thought you might. They won’t say a word if I get a reputable historical society to back me. But none of that is going to happen until I get a look at what the Lennons have. I can’t do that until I negotiate the terms with Callum Lennon.”
 

“What was that?”
 

“I said, I can’t—”
 

“No. There was something in your voice. You…oh, my. You’re attracted to him.”
 

Phoebe swallowed. “Him?”
 

“Callum Lennon.”
 

Bugger
. Izzy always could tell what Phoebe was feeling even before Phoebe knew. “You can tell that all from the tone in my voice?”
 

“Yes. There was a little heat in your voice when you talked about him.”
 

“It’s because he’s a pompous ass.”
 

Izzy laughed. “You
are
attracted.” Phoebe opened her mouth to lie, but her friend was too fast for her. “Don’t even fib to me. I’ll let you go, but I want regular updates.”
 

Phoebe sighed. As if she could talk Izzy out of it… “You got it.”
 

After ringing off, Phoebe looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was still a mess, her makeup still streaked her skin. This was not the most auspicious of beginnings.
 

*  *  *  *
 

As soon as Fletcher escorted Dr. Chilton from the room, Callum shifted weight from one foot to the other, trying to calm his body’s reaction to her. Bloody hell, he’d practically jumped over the desk and kissed her, not caring who was there to witness.
 

Be truthful, Callum. You wanted to do a whole lot more than kiss the lass.
 

Aye, he did. She made his blood pump, and he wanted to know if she’d look as heated when she moaned his name.
 

“Just what the fucking hell was that?”
 

Angus’s cursing wasn’t normal. Callum knew he deserved the rebuke, but it didn’t mean he cared for his younger cousin’s tone.
 

“Nothing.”
 

“Nothing?”
 

“You willna question me on this, Angus. Nothing happened and nothing will.”
 

Callum turned and watched the younger man approach him. As leader, Callum allowed discussion, but with his body still aroused, any debate was like pouring salt into the wound. Not only was he angry with himself for the desire still curling in his belly, but he’d shown disrespect to a woman by showing such blatant lust, not to mention giving her a way to use him. If she had any idea how much he wanted her, she could get just about anything she wanted.  He never bedded women who worked for him.
Ever
.
 

Dr. Chilton had been attractive in a rumpled sort of way. He had a feeling that under the ill-fitting jacket, she had curves he couldn’t find on women today—ones he thirsted to explore. He still didn’t trust her. Not many people would turn down money just because of a simple contract. Callum couldn’t put his finger on it, but something about the woman bothered him. Other than the fact he wanted her beneath him, digging her nails into his back.
 

Sweet Jesus, when she’d stood up to him, mild interest had shot to heated desire in the blink of an eye. The force of it had left him shaken to his soul.
 

“We can’t have you tupping the help, Callum.”
 

He smiled, knowing it was all teeth and no humor. “Have you ever known me to?”
 

“No.” Angus looked out the window, and Callum could almost hear his mind turning over the problem. When he met his cousin’s gaze, Callum realized he wasn’t angry but worried. “But I’ve also never seen you act like that.”
 

“I’m hardly a virgin.”
 

Angus smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes, a hint of sadness darkening his gaze. “I know that. Seriously, if it were anyone else, I would say take her to bed for a week—even if I think you two are completely wrong for each other. You have a business mind, she has a scientific mind and you would never—”
 

“Sweet Jesus, Angus, just get on with it.”
 

He sighed. “This is too important.”
 

Guilt, familiar and uncomfortable, had the muscles in his gut clenching. He knew he’d failed before when it had counted the most. But he refused to let his emotions get the better of him again. Even for a woman with the fire Phoebe Chilton showed—especially when she held their future in her hands.
 

“Doona fash yourself.”
 

Before Angus could reply, Fletcher returned, Anice following close behind him. A frown puckered her brow as she kept darting nasty looks at Fletcher.
 

Without preamble, Fletcher said, “I think we need to be careful of Dr. Chilton.”
 

“You have no basis for that.” Anice had crossed her arms which was a sure sign she was ready to fight.
 

“For the love of Christ, you haven’t even met the woman. I have, and she was asking too many questions about us and the company.”
 

“The company?” Callum asked, his suspicion rising.
 

“She wanted to know when you took over Lennon Enterprises and who was in charge before you. I tried to dissuade her, but she kept on it until we reached the room.”
 

“I’m sure she forced you to answer her.” Disgust ripened Anice’s voice. “You’re over six feet tall, and she is barely five and a half feet.”
 

“I’m not saying she forced me but that she was persistent.”
 

“I think—”
 

“Enough!” Callum shouted. When brother and sister got going, they could make him barmy.
 

He thought of her refusal to sign the contract, possibly turning down a healthy amount of euros. People just didn’t do that without cause. Now she was asking about them. She was insistent enough to make Fletcher question her motives, and he rarely thought straight when a woman was involved.
 

“I want you to check out her background.”
 

Angus studied him with a frown. “I did. I double-checked it, in fact. There is nothing to indicate she would sell out.”
 

Callum gritted his teeth and then blew out an aggravated breath. “Triple check. I want to know everything there is to know about Phoebe Chilton, especially if this turns out to be the cure we’ve been searching for.”
 

Angus nodded.
 

“Since I missed my meeting, I need to ring up the supplier and set a new one. I’ll be having dinner by myself with her tonight,” Callum said.
 

All three cousins looked at each other. Angus, the one who had always been their spokesperson said, “I don’t think that is a good idea.”
 

“I didn’t ask.”
 

Callum sensed that Angus wanted to say more, but nodded instead.
 

“I need some privacy to get this done so I can meet Dr. Chilton for dinner. The sooner she gets it translated and decoded, the sooner she is gone.”
 

Anice, the peacemaker, stepped in. “And the sooner we will be able to start working on a resolution to our problem. Come on, boys.”
 

Fletcher curled his lip. “I take offense to being called ‘boys,’ especially at my advanced age.”
 

But he followed his sister just the same. Angus looked to argue again, but Anice said, “Come on, cuz. We have a meeting with department heads, and we’re already late.”
 

When the door shut and Callum was blessedly alone, some of his tension eased. He stared out at the garden again, watching the wind blow the naked limbs this way and that. He knew the feeling, the loss of control to outside forces—the impotence over the failure to shape your own destiny. He’d sworn never to feel that way again.
 

If it meant he had to resist a golden-haired angel with the temper of the devil, so be it. He would ignore the momentary loss of control and find another woman to satisfy his needs. Angus was right. Tupping the help would not only be bad for business, it could dash any hopes the other four had.  That and he still didn’t trust her. This diary could hold the secrets that could save them—or doom them to the hell they now suffered. He couldn’t chance it. Regret shifted through him when he realized he would enjoy sparring with the woman and slowly conquering her. But even as a surge of fire lit through his blood, Callum ordered his body and soul to ignore it.
 

The clan was all that mattered.
 

ANGUS
 

Book Two
 

A man who only believes in fact.
Even after everything the Clan has endured, Angus has always held onto his scientific leanings. He isn’t a believer of instant attraction, so, he is surprised by the force of his attraction to Irishwoman Maggie O’Conner. He doesn’t trust her, but she soon become an obsession he can’t seem to shake.
A woman who defies every logic.
Single mother Maggie comes from a long line of magickal women, but she walked away from that part of her life. When Angus bursts into her life, she tries to ignore the handsome Scot, but soon finds that she needs his protection. She knows he’s not normal, but she never expected him to be the one man who could capture her heart.
A passion they could not deny.
As they work together, their need for each other threatens to consume them both. But just as they close in on the next jewel, a new enemy emerges and puts everything they hold dear into jeopardy.
 

Now enjoy this excerpt from Angus:
 

Angus studied the clearing before them and stifled a sigh. How he had allowed his brother Logan to talk him into coming to see a witch was beyond rational thought. A fine mist was already starting to fall, but he could feel the change in the air.  A storm was coming and they were going to be drenched before they returned to the holding.
 

He glanced at Logan.
 

“What are we doing here?” he asked. Angus would be the last to admit it out loud, but he had a horrible feeling about this.  Logan would say Angus had an ability to foresee
the future. Angus would say it was just a lesson he’d learned as a child. It wasn’t the first time Angus had to follow his brother into trouble.
 

“Grandfather said that she has the Sight.”
 

Angus rolled his eyes.
The Sight
. Who really believed in that nonsense? He studied Logan. His brother apparently did. Of course, artists were like that, believing in things that didn’t actually exist. From the time they were boys, Logan had lived in a dream world.
 

With the current situation in Scotland, Angus didn’t see how Logan kept his dreamy perspective on life.
 

“And, what does this have to do with me? Or you for that matter?”
 

“Don’t you want to know what your future holds? What you will do with your life?”
 

Unfortunately, Angus didn’t have that ability. Not really. His dreams at night didn’t allow him to ignore the future. If he disregarded the odd dreams he had been having over the last year, he could say that he would be a man of science.  Inwardly, he snorted.
What man of science dreams of things before they happen?
 

Angus shook that thought away and squinted into the clearing in front of the house. Had the fog gotten thicker? His mind was playing a bit of trickery on him.  He glanced at his brother, finding only eagerness on his face.
 

“Why would you? Everyone knows you’re going to be an artist. So, I repeat, what the bloody hell are we doing here?”