His touch felt as if it burned her. She watched him move towards the door as if she were in a trance.
‘I will see you later,’ he promised. And leaving her, he made his way down the hall to the library…
CHAPTER SEVEN
HE’D BEEN DEEP in the throes of the most erotic dream he’d ever had…Now, stirring to wakefulness on one of the old overstuffed sofas in the library, his brow damp with perspiration and the very devil of a searing pain in his arm, Keir sat up feeling dazed, and rubbed his hand round his studded jaw.
It was hard to tell which pain was worse…The scald he’d acquired from the hot coffee, or the strong throbbing ache in the region of his groin…The dream had been so damn real that Keir could swear he’d been making uninhibited passionate love to one dark-haired, hazel-eyed sorceress who, in turn, had done things to him that would make a grown man sink down onto his knees and give thanks that he had been incarnated as a male in this lifetime…
‘Bloody hell!’ He exclaimed out loud. Not because he shouldn’t be nursing such lascivious thoughts about his temporary secretary, but because she wasn’t there with him to carry out his fantasy for real…
Keir reflected that now he had enforced an intimacy between himself and Georgia that there was probably no turning back. Perhaps it had been reckless of him, but even his infamous iron will could not resist the pure temptation that was Noah Cameron’s shapely, beguiling,— sister. Things had really started to get out of hand when she’d pushed back that lock of hair from his brow. Her touch had been so exquisite, so infinitely kind, that Keir had been undone by it. No one had ever touched him in such a tender, almost loving way…
He froze at how dangerously his emotions seemed to be unravelling. What the hell was he thinking of? Georgia Cameron fascinated him, and he definitely admired her as a person—how could he not when she had so many amazing qualities?—but right now he had only one goal in mind as far as she was concerned,— and that was to simply seduce her. Anything beyond that—especially anything remotely appertaining— to emotional need—was simply a fantasy on Keir’s part, no doubt brought about by what had just happened to him.
Yet, even if that most basic physical need were fulfilled, would he find it that easy to let her go? He wanted more from this woman than mere sex—although— he hesitated to confirm in his own mind what that something ‘more’ was.
He’d always found it difficult to relate to the concept or even the possibility of needing a deeper response from anyone. He even kept his platonic friendships as uncomplicated and commitment-free as possible. There was a deeply held belief inside him that somehow the taint of his unhappy past would ultimately end up destroying those friendships,— and so inevitably he did not allow anyone to get too close to him. There were very few, if any among his acquaintances, who could really say that they knew him.
Now, glancing down at his watch, Keir experienced mild shock when he saw the time. Had he really slept most of the afternoon away?As he made himself stand, he— tried to shake off the slightly unreal and stuffy feeling in his head that made him feel as if he’d been drugged. He was thirsty, he was hungry, and his burn throbbed like merry hell! Had anybody in the house-hold— come to check on him whilst he’d been sleeping?
As he reached the door and wrenched it open with a disgruntled frown, Keir knew full well the person he’d hoped would have undertaken that task was Georgia.
Georgia had set off walking about half an hour before dinner, to try and get her head straight. She’d hardly had any peace since Keir had kissed her, and now her feelings were in absolute turmoil.
Walking in nature usually provided a release from such inner turmoil, she’d found, and so she’d resorted to the one thing that might help her. But now she realised that the inevitable spell of the mountains and lochs had weaved their magic too potently around her senses, and the distance she’d inadvertently— covered because of her enchantment was too great to allow her to get back to Glenteign in time to sit down to the evening meal with everyone else.
Damn!
Even Hamish looked up at her with reproach in his big dark eyes, his great tongue lolling as he panted hard at his exertion. Dropping down onto her haunches, Georgia affectionately stroked back the champagne coloured fur on his head and sighed heavily.
‘I’m sorry, Hamish! I just lost track of time. Never mind—you’ll have your dinner as soon as we get back to Glenteign, I promise. We’d better get our skates on, though, because it looks like it might rain again!’