Charon knew he needed to step away from Laura, but he couldn’t. His body was ablaze. For her.
Her large pale green eyes watched him carefully, hiding her emotions perfectly so he had no idea what she was thinking. Was she appalled that he was so near her? Did she enjoy it?
Damn, but Charon hated not knowing. Even that couldn’t put the distance between them. Laura’s luscious curves called to him, begged him to learn more of her.
He’d been careful never to get too near her. Now he knew why. Somehow, someway his body had instinctively known its reaction to her. But now that he’d had that amazing curvaceous figure against him, he wanted more. Needed more.
Charon didn’t know how long they stood there looking at each other. He was desperately trying to get his body under control when all he wanted to do was lean down and take her full lips in a fiery kiss.
It was the crunch of rocks as Hal drew near that managed to bring Charon to his senses. He took a step back and looked away before he screwed up everything by kissing Laura.
“Is Laura all right?” Hal asked, concern marking his face.
Before Charon could form an answer, Laura said, “Yes, yes. I’m fine.”
“Duke is a good lad, just doesna know his own size,” Hal said with a laugh as they watched Duke allow Cassie to take the kitten.
Charon forced a smile when Duke came trotting back to him. More words were spoken, but he didn’t hear any of them as he absently rubbed the Great Dane. He concentrated on his breathing in an effort to stop himself from hauling Laura against him again.
God, what was wrong with him?
No woman in six hundred years had affected him so. Why did it have to be Laura? Why couldn’t it be a Druid, so at least Charon had the hope of something more?
Charon waited for Laura to get in the car before he closed her door and walked to his side. He slid behind the wheel, wondering how he was going to sit alone with her for the next few hours and not touch her.
They had just driven away from Dreagan when Laura asked, “Did you get everything you wanted?”
It took Charon a moment to realize she was referring to the whisky and not her. He scratched his jaw and nodded. He’d come away with much more than he expected. And a lot to think over. “Aye. Con seems like a reasonable man.”
“I shouldn’t have gone in the office with you. I didn’t realize there would be things to discuss I didn’t need to hear.”
“Neither did I.” That had come as quite a shock to Charon, and he couldn’t wait to tell Phelan about it. “You did nothing wrong. I asked you to come, and if I had no’ wanted you in the meeting with Con, I would’ve asked you to stay back.”
“I know,” she said, and fiddled with her purse strap. “The entire time we were there, it was like there was an undercurrent of something going on everyone knew but me.”
Charon didn’t answer, because he didn’t know what to say.
“Does this have to do with our conversation yesterday? The one where you were telling me someone was trying to do something bad?”
He briefly squeezed his eyes closed and wished like hell he had kept his mouth shut. Laura shouldn’t know that little bit, but he’d needed to talk about it. And then she was there. How could he resist?
“You know I’ll keep your secrets,” she said in a low voice.
Charon glanced at her. “Aye, I know. If I didna trust you, you wouldna be working for me.”
“Then why don’t you tell me what’s going on? I might be able to help.”
“If only you could. It’s better if you know nothing.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and looked out her window. “I hear the whispers around Ferness about you.”
“People talk.” He didn’t care what others said, but he didn’t want Laura to know the monster that he was.
There was only one fortunate thing about the entire mess that night a year ago, and that was that Laura had gone to Inverness to get some legal papers from his attorney.
Charon could only imagine her expression had she seen him shift into his Warrior form.
Laura made a sound in the back of her throat. “You’re a powerful man in the community, but even you can’t stop people from talking. Nor could you make all the damage disappear. Something attacked the village. People were killed. And then you left.”
Charon turned to see her reflection in her window. She had her head averted, which kept him from looking into her green eyes and telling her everything she wanted to know.
“Will you tell me what really happened? Not the story that there was a freak storm, but the truth?”
“I can no’.”
“I didn’t figure you would.”