Page 5 of Kiss of Smoke

Yet I couldn’t seem to stop.

Alec’s delicious, woodsy scent mingled with a subtle cologne, reminding me of crisp fall nights and long walks through a dark forest. He was so warm, his body throwing off the same comforting heat as an electric blanket.

Gentle fingers stroked my hair. “Go on and cry, sweetheart. You’ve had a shock.”

“I’m s-sorry,” I said, my throat thick. “I just can’t believe he had the nerve to pick her up at the same airport at the same time I was leaving. Who does that?”

Alec’s voice was a mix of anger and exasperation. “A coward and a fool. It took everything I had not to lay him out.”

“I wish you would have.” Alec was several inches over six feet and worked out five days a week. He would have sent Josh flying across the terminal.

“We’re cleared for takeoff,” Lachlan said, seating himself across from us.

I sensed rather than saw the men have some sort of unspoken exchange over my head.

My shoulders tensed. Lachlan probably wanted me gone. He’d hinted as much in the lounge. If he’d felt that way before, he almost certainly did now. Who wanted a jilted bride tagging along on their vacation?

No one. Which was why I needed to get off this plane immediately.

But when I started to sit up, Alec ran his palm down my hair again, keeping me against his chest. “The choice is yours, Chloe. We can be in the air within minutes if you still want to go ahead with the trip. If you ask me, I think you should.”

“You do?” I said into his shirt.

Lachlan replied, his voice low and steady. “Only if you want to.”

“I think she does.” Alec made another lazy stroke down my hair, and the rumble under my ear deepened. “Get away for a couple weeks. There’s nowhere like the Highlands for unplugging from the rest of the world.”

It sounded wonderful. His hand in my hair felt wonderful. Goosebumps rose on my skin, and I had to suppress a shiver. He must have worried I was cold, because he tightened his arms around me. As soon as he did, another wave of lassitude swept me. My lids grew heavy, and my breathing slowed.

Sleep. God, I wanted nothing more than to drift off in the comfort of Alec’s embrace.

Somewhere deep in my brain, a faint alarm bell clanged. I had no business being in Alec Murray’s embrace. He was my boss. His lover—my other boss—sat across from us.

But as exhaustion gripped me, the alarm faded. I was so tired.

I could worry about doing the right thing later.

“Chloe lass? Shall we tell the pilot to go?”

If I hadn’t been so sleepy, I would have smiled. There was something endearingly old-fashioned about the way Alec spoke, with his “shalls” and his Highland accent. I’d never get sick of hearing it. And if I flew to Scotland right now, I could hear it all the time.

As his hand smoothed my hair and sleep tugged hard at my mind, I nodded. My voice seemed to come from far away as I said, “Yes. Tell the pilot to go.”

* * *

The next time I woke, I lay on my side with the steady thrum of jet engines filling my ears.

I sat up, and a light blanket slipped to my waist. I was in a darkened bedroom—a luxurious one with sleek furniture and thick carpet. To my left was a bathroom with one of those plug-in night lights that turn everything a soft blue. Someone had removed my heels.

And the top button of my blouse was undone.

My face heated. At the same moment, the door opened and Alec entered, spilling yellow light into the room.

“Madainn mhath.” He closed the door, then crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed. “Means good morning,” he said with a wink.

“Is it morning where we are?” As my eyes adjusted to the dark, I took in his appearance. He was as immaculate as ever, his thick hair neatly brushed back from his high forehead.

“We’re over Iceland at the moment, and it’s the middle of the night.”

---