Page 15 of Scotch & Dreams

In His Bed

Violetfeltthesoftpillow under her head, and she pulled the crisp, clean duvet tighter around her. She breathed in deeply, feeling sated. Mmm, clean, fresh spiciness filled her senses. And something else. What was that? She crinkled her nose. In her dreamlike state, she felt like she was being watched, and her eyes sprung open.

A wet lick to the face greeted her. Startled, she sat up. A horse lay upon the bed, staring at her expectantly. Okay, maybe not a horse, but definitely an oversized dog—not a normal-sized dog at all. This dog was enormous. And his tail was wagging excitedly. Feeling disoriented, Violet looked around the room.

It was the second time in less than a day that she woke up wondering where she was, but at least this time, she noted her head felt better. She eyed a huge stone wall fireplace on the wall toward the foot of the bed. She looked up at the dark wood posts of the beautiful four-poster bed she lay in.

Nice room, she thought to herself, feeling in awe of her surroundings. The oversized dog beside her inched closer and looked at her with anticipation in his big brown eyes.

“And what is it I can do for you?” She smiled, rubbing the shaggy white-gray beast on his head and giving his soft ears a scratch. He rolled onto his back in appreciation, offering his hairy belly up for a rub. Violet laughed at the move, but then also noted the big hairy creature was a girl dog, not a boy. Almost as quickly as the dog had rolled over, she’d rolled back and jumped off the bed, getting to the door just as it opened.

Lachlan peeked in the narrow opening of the door, and Violet realized he was checking on her. “I’m awake. You can come in,” she said sleepily, and the door opened. Violet’s heart did a little flip-flop at the sight of him as if she'd forgotten how his very presence seemed to take her breath away.

“Hi.” He smiled lightly as he came to sit on the end of the bed. He seemed much more at ease again. That intense, angry energy was gone.

“Hi," she said awkwardly, belatedly realizing she’d been asleep in what she could only assume was his bed.

He ran his hand through tousled locks and looked at her from under his brow. The effect did funny things low in her belly.

“Did ye have a good rest? I think ye must’ve needed it.”

“I slept like the dead.” She smiled with a fortifying stretch and wondered if she’d imagined his eyes dropping to her chest for the briefest of moments.

“That’s good. I see ye've met Sally.” He ruffled her ears and patted her back.

Sally, not the name she would have imagined for this oversized scruffy beast. Although she did seem very sweet. “She’s a big lady.”

“Yer not scared of dogs, are ye?” he asked with concern etching his handsome features. “She’d never hurt ye. In fact, she hasn’t left yer side since the moment I brought ye in.”

A little shiver ran down her spine at the thought of him carrying her inside. She couldn’t believe she slept through it—again! Although the first time he'd carried her, she wasn't asleep. Still, it would be nice to be conscious the next time he decided to carry her—if there was a next time.One could only hope.

“No, no, I love dogs. All animals. I love animals,” she rambled, trying to focus on anything other than the fact she was lying in this dreamy guy's bed. Fortunately, he didn't seem to be concerned by it.

“I had a feeling about that. I don’t think Sally would’ve taken to ye if ye weren’t a dog lover. She’s an excellent judge of those things.”

They sat silently for a moment. He raked his hand through his hair again, and she wondered how he could make such a benign gesture look so freaking sexy. It could be the way it tousled up his dark pompadour fade haircut, or it could be the way his bicep bulged when he did it. Either way, she liked it.

“I’m sorry I passed out on you,” she said, aware it had happened twice now. Although this time, she'd slept and not blacked out.

He chuckled. “Ye really slept like the dead. Didn’t even stir once when I brought ye in. To be honest, part of me worried ye were sleeping too deeply. I stayed here for a time to be sure ye were okay. I didnae want to leave ye, but ye seemed to be sleeping peacefully, so I eventually just left ye to it.

“Thank you.”

“Of course. I did come back to check on ye. I didnae forget that I agreed to keep watch.”

Violet’s heart flip-flopped, liking that this handsome man was taking care of her. He really was like a knight.

He went quiet, and she sensed he was trying to find the words for what he wanted to say. A little piece of her worried that he'd changed his mind and didn't want her to stay here after all.

“About earlier,” he began. He was looking down as if grappling with himself. When he glanced back up at her, his eyes were so piercing and blue.

“I’m sorry,” he said. His gaze never wavered from hers.

A little trickle of relief rippled over her. She assumed he was referring to what had happened at Craggy's. There was a crease between his brows, and she could practically feel the tension emanating off him.

“It’s okay,” she said, hoping to ease his mind.

“No, it’s no’.” His eyes dropped from hers, and he took a deep breath. “‘It's a long story. Safe to say, we were at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

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