Highland Fling (The McLaughlins) Page 4
“Aye. I’ll be on my way.” He stepped back from her and gave a small nod. “Call if you need anything.”
“I will,” she promised. “Night, boss boy.”
“Good night, Lana.”
Without a backward glance, he turned and left the house. The door closed, and the slide of the deadbolt sounded.
Good girl.
Chapter Four
Sunday evening in the bar was dead. The crowd who’d come in to watch the Seahawks game had gone home for the evening, and the pub held only a handful of regulars now.
“It’ll pick up.”
Delonna glanced over at Aleck as he made his way down the bar toward her. She hoped it would, and usually it did somewhat during the dinner rush.
“I hope so.” She sighed. “I have a lot of money I need to replenish.”
His gaze narrowed, the expression in his eyes one of concern. “Did you file a report with the sheriff?”
She arched a brow. “Colin didn’t tell you whether or not I did?”
“He hasn’t yet, no. But then I’ve not texted him to find out. I could, right quick.”
“Don’t bother. Yes. I filed a report this morning.”
There wasn’t even a flicker of suspicion in his gaze. He clearly trusted her words. Which he should. She hadn’t been blowing smoke up his ass. As much as she’d dreaded it, she’d stopped by the station this morning and Colin had directed her to the right person to file a report with.
“Good. Hopefully something comes of it.”
“I have a feeling not much will. He’s probably skipped town and is tossing back tequila shots south of the border.” She scowled. “With some skanky American tourist giving him a backrub.”
“You’ve spent quite a bit of time considering his current state, I see.”
She grunted. “I didn’t sleep much last night.”
“Sorry to hear that, but I understand.” He paused. “If you’d like to leave early tonight, you may.”
“Not a chance. I’m not losing another dime.” She shook her head, leaving it at that as a customer came to the bar to order.
She resurrected her smile, turned on the friendly attitude and then went and prepared the requested whisky and ginger ale. Five minutes later she’d pocketed a four-dollar tip off the simple drink.
“You bring in more tips than any other bartender here, you realize,” Aleck murmured.
“People don’t like to be treated like shit. If you treat them nice, smile a little, it goes a long way.”
“I don’t hire wankers. All my employees are nice. It’s more than that. You’re personable, you talk to them.”
“I enjoy talking to people. Makes my job more fun, plus you get to know the regulars.” She wasn’t about to ignore the obvious bit they were both thinking. “But I’m sure the tits and ass part doesn’t hurt.”
“That’s a bit crude.”
“Says the man who never fails to appreciate a nice body.”
His lips twisted. “You could be ugly as sin and the customers would still flock to you. But, aye, there’ll be no denying that you’re quite pleasing to the eyes.”
“Easy, boss boy. Sexual harassment and all.”
“Ah right. Let me rephrase that. You are far more attractive than a Highland cow.”
She gave a choked laugh and shook her head. “I think you may have gone from flattery to insults.”
“Bah, not at all. Highland cattle are absolutely beautiful, magnificent creatures.”
“Really?” she asked skeptically. “And they’re different from American cows?”
“Aye. You’ll have to Google them.”
“I’ll get right on that.”
He drummed his fingers on the counter. “Did James have any enemies? Or owe anyone any money?”
The deputy at the sheriff’s office had asked her the same thing.
“Not that I knew.” She hesitated. “I mean, occasionally we’d go to poker parties and he’d throw down some money. But it wasn’t all that often.”
“Hmm. Casinos?”
“Yes, he’d go to them a couple times a month on his day off. But I don’t really think he gambled that much money. I mean, he didn’t have a lot to gamble.”
“Maybe because he’d gambled it all away previously.”
“Look, I don’t know what his deal was. What I do know is that my money’s gone, and there’s a pretty good chance it’s not coming back.” Tears pricked her eyes and she cursed him for making her nearly cry about this again. She’d cried enough already.
Aleck reached for a bottle of Glenfiddich, poured a shot and handed it to her.
She didn’t question it, just accepted the shot, turned her back on the dining room of the pub and downed it. Employees didn’t drink often on a shift, but taking a shot now and then wasn’t uncommon. Hazards, or perks, of working in a pub.
Besides, who was she to protest when her boss was the one pouring it?
“Better?”
Sure enough, her tears had dried up. “Better. Usually I’m more of a rum girl, but that was good.”
“Now get your arse to work. I’m heading to the back to take care of some things.”
“Will do.”
She watched him disappear. Still upset, but able to appreciate the epic male ass beneath a pair of well-worn jeans.
“I saw that.”
Shit. Delonna turned back to the counter and grinned at Kenzie as she sat down on the barstool.
“Saw what?”
“You checking out my brother’s backside.”
“I was not. I was looking at—” she glanced back the way he’d disappeared, “—that puddle of something or other over there.”
Kenzie arched a brow and leaned forward to peek over the bar counter.
“That puddle is the size of a quarter. And your eyes were arse level, not floor level.”
“I’m not having this conversation.”
“It’s fine, I’ll carry it on for the both of us. You guys really should just sleep together,” Kenzie mused. “I’ve never seen two people more destined to fuck.”
She was not the type that blushed easily, but dammit, this was twice in two days she’d had a reason to.
“Why are you here? Aren’t you off for the evening?”
“Aye, but I wanted to check on you. And besides that, I’m hungry. Ring in a cheeseburger for me, all right?”
“Done.” Delonna typed in the order, knowing her friend well enough to request no onions. “And I’m fine, by the way.”
“Are you really? I’m sorry I wasn’t home last night. I meant to be, but Brett bought this brilliant wine, and one thing led to another, and—”
“Really, no need to explain. Especially about where it led.” She laughed softly. “I get it, Kenzie. You’ve got an amazing fiancé whom you’re head over heels in love with. I wouldn’t be home either.”
“Still, you needed me last night.”
“I was fine. And whether I wanted him or not, I had Aleck. Though he was pretty awesome, actually. Even made sure I got home okay.”
“Did he now?” Kenzie’s eyes brightened. “After he ensured your safety home, did he perhaps sleep over?”
“No. And stop with that line of thought, please.”
“Hmm. Bummer.”
Delonna gave her a pint of ale and a warning look.
Kenzie sipped the ale, her expression thoughtful. “You realize he canceled a date for you last night?”
Heart stilling, Delonna stared at her friend. “He had a date?”
“Aye. Some customer with too much makeup and a skirt that was about the size of a bandage.”
“So his usual type,” Delonna muttered.
“So to speak. Or it is when he actually makes an attempt to go on dates, which isn’t al
l that often. Though…never mind.”
“Though what?”
Kenzie looked uncomfortable. “It’s nothing. It’s just that, I suppose dating is the wrong word.”
Awareness kicked in and Delonna nodded. “Just hooking up?”
“Aye. Probably. Aleck doesn’t really date. Hasn’t since…” Kenzie closed her mouth and looked away. “He just doesn’t anymore.”
So Aleck had given up getting laid last night to help her? Why?
The memory of him walking her to the door last night flickered through her head. Of him going in for a kiss. Her heart began to pound harder and her mouth tightened.
“Excuse me for a moment.” Glancing around to make sure no customers were going to need immediate help, she strode to the back room.
Aleck had just begun putting in his whisky orders from their delivery source when Delonna strode into the back. He glanced up, distracted momentarily from the price changes, and glanced at her.
“Everything all right?” He needn’t have asked, though, if he went by the compressed lips and warning glint in her eyes.
“Last night, when you showed up to help me. Were you hoping for something in return at the end of the day?”
He stilled, not pleased with what she was implying. Leaning back in his chair, he narrowed his eyes at her.
“As in was I hoping you would shag me?” he asked lightly.
She blinked and then gave a small nod, folding her arms across her chest.
He bit back a snarl of a laugh. Then, as stoically as he could, he rolled his shoulders and said, “Aye.”
Her eyes went huge and her body began to tremble. “You complete jerk. You seriously—”
“Bloody hell, no, not seriously.” He stood up and rounded the desk toward her.
When she moved to back up, he caught her arm to stop her retreat.
“What kind of fookin’ bastart do you take me for?” he demanded.
She didn’t try to escape his grasp, but now lifted her chin and met his anger head on. “Well you had plans to screw someone else, so maybe you figured you’d pull a Boy Scout move with me and get lucky at the same time.”
“I helped you last night because I’m a nice guy. I can be one, you realize, when I want to be.” He slid his fingers down her arm to join their hands. “And I’m a bit curious at how you’d know all about my so-called plan to get laid last night.”
“Let’s just say a little birdie told me.”
He glanced at the door behind her, and wagered that if he were to open it he’d find his sister sitting at the bar.
“A little birdie named Kenzie, perhaps?”
“Does it matter?”
“Aye, it does.” He pulled her flush against him and this time she did look alarmed. “Because I suspect I don’t need to dress up as a knight in shining armor to get you into bed, Delonna.”
She made a little gasp and her eyes went even wider—if that were possible.
“You cocky mother—”
“Your mouth is really much better suited for kissing than cursing, luv.”
Before she could finish ripping him a new one, he dipped his head and claimed her lips. It wasn’t a need that had begun last night. Not even one from that kiss over the summer. It had been simmering on the back burner from the minute he’d hired her.
When she tried to pull away, he backed her up until she bumped in the closed door. He was completely unwilling to lift his mouth from the softness of hers.
Shite, there was a very good chance he was about to get sued for sexual harassment. Assault. Whatever the hell she wanted to go with if his gamble didn’t pay off and she didn’t start kissing him back soon.
He teased his tongue against the fullness of her compressed lips and her growl of anger morphed slightly into a moan. Just as quickly, she stopped trying to push him away and instead opened her mouth to him.
Her tongue met his halfway, and instinct and need took over. He gathered her tighter into his arms, deepening the kiss and tasting every inch of her mouth that he’d sampled so briefly last summer.
Completely overwhelmed by the taste and feel of her, and needing a whole lot more, he slid his hands down her back. Lower and lower still, until they rested on the soft roundness of her arse.
When he kneaded her flesh through the jeans, she made a low groan and rocked forward against him. His cock grew harder as it came into contact with her belly.
He thrust his fingers into her hair, pulling strands free from the ponytail as he held her head still to commandeer her mouth.
Deeper. Slower. Their tongues explored and tasted. She tasted of the whisky shot he’d given her. Sharp and sweet. And it went beyond the alcohol. It was as if he were getting drunk on the kiss. As if he were taking shot after shot.
She twisted her head to the side, and gasped in a breath.
“Lana,” he whispered.
Not wanting the break from the sweetness of her, he kissed the side of her mouth. Her jawline. And then the pale curve of her neck exposed over the McLaughlin’s Pub V-neck shirt.
She made another low moan and arched into him again. Her head fell back, lifting her full breasts higher and closer to his mouth.
He kissed lower. To the rapidly beating pulse in her neck. Lower still. To the swells of the top of her chest. Her skin was so soft. Addictively sweet like sugar. Christ. He wanted to rip off her top and find out how those gorgeous breasts would feel in his hands. His mouth.
“Customers up front. And my arse isn’t working today.”
Kenzie’s sharp words from the other side of the door were followed by her retreating footsteps.
Son of a bitch. He closed his eyes.
Delonna swore. “Do you think she heard anything?”
“Hmm. Perhaps some heavy breathing. Moans,” he said matter-of-factly, and then winced when she slugged his arm. “But then the door is pretty thick, so likely not.”
“This is your fault.”
“Undeniably.” He paused. “Are you going to sue me?”
She was silent for a moment, and then very solemnly said, “Aye.”
Throwing it right back at him, was she? His mouth twitched. “I suppose I’d deserve it.”
“I suppose you would. But then that’d make me a hypocrite for kissing you back and liking it.” She eased back from him, but lightly touched his chest. “Then nearly stripping down and jumping you on your desk.”
Statements like that were not going to help his hard-on. He glanced at his desk. “You know, it’s not actually too late.”
“We’re working. And as Kenzie just yelled, there are customers to serve and that sort of thing.” She slid out from beneath his arm and began to refasten her mussed ponytail. “Should we just pretend this didn’t happen?”
“Again?”
She cast him a sharp look.
“Maybe you could blame it on pain meds once more?” he mocked, irritated that she wanted to sweep it under the rug.
“This shouldn’t have happened.”
“But it did. And it’s happened twice now. And instead of pretending as if it hasn’t, maybe we should acknowledge there is a legitimate sexual attraction between us.”
“No.”
“You’re denying you’re attracted to me?”
“No.” She turned on him, her ponytail swinging now. “I’m not denying anything, Aleck. But you’re my boss. Sleeping with you is a big fat no. You don’t do it.”
He paused. “You’re fired.”
“What?”
“Kidding of course. I’ll not discipline you for sleeping with me.”
She didn’t look any less shocked.
“Or, er, not sleeping with me. Either way, there won’t be consequences. Is this confusing? It feels a bit confusing.” He thrust a hand through his hair and shook his head.
“Clearly. But you kissed me the first time during summer.”
“What is this, first grade? Besides, I was on pain meds that time.”
He gave a lopsided smile. “Aye, by all means, blame the drugs.”
The flash of embarrassment in her eyes made him realize the excuse had been as flimsy in her mind as it was in his.
“I, on the other hand, have no excuse,” he continued lightly. “I simply wanted to kiss you a moment ago and did so.”
“Okay, you need to stop saying stuff like that.”
He nodded. “I’ll certainly try.”
“What do you mean try? There is no try!”
“Yoda?”
She looked confused, before shaking her head and darting out of the office.
He sighed. So perhaps not a Star Wars fan. He went back to his desk, where he knew getting anything done was going to be damn near impossible.
Chapter Five
“More wine?”
When Hailey entered the living room with the wine bottle in hand, Kenzie and Delonna put out their glasses.
“Oh you can definitely top me off. I need it,” Delonna murmured as her friend sloshed some more merlot into her glass. She took a sip and appreciated the sweet warmth as it slid down her throat.
“I wish,” Sarah chimed in. “I know the doctor said a glass now and then wouldn’t hurt while breastfeeding, so it’s not that. I just know the wine will knock me out from being so sleep deprived.”
“No worries, we’re just glad to have you here,” Hailey murmured. “And I’m not drinking either, as usual. I’m just here for the company.”
“Me too.” Sarah groaned. “I needed this Girls’ Night In more than you know.”
“You deserve it. Newborns are exhausting.” Kenzie took a sip of wine and raised a finger. “Mmm. Which is why I only baby-sit for a couple of hours at a time.”
“I’ll take those two hours gratefully, and besides you’re fabulous enough to take Emily plenty of times for overnights.”
As the discussion turned to Sarah’s nearly teen daughter Emily, Delonna looked around the living room. It was amazing that she and Kenzie had somehow gotten it cleaned before it was their turn to host tonight’s gathering.