Page 14 of The Highlander's Twisted Deal
Dinnae think of that. Think of something else, anything else.
“And ye serve that special tea to all yer customers?” Laird McAdair interrupted her thoughts, tilting his head back to look at her.
It was hard to tell—the fire was going down, its light flickering and casting deeper shadows—but she could have sworn that he looked almost impressed.
“Mostly,” Ava admitted. “I… I never meant for it to happen that way. Some of me customers are men who want company, not intimacy. I dinnae serve them anything. I like them, and they’re happy for other men to think they’re bedding a woman like me. It works for everyone.”
“I imagine it does.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Well, I dinnae hold with men—or women, for that matter—buying favors in that way. I’m of the mind that if ye want someone to lie with ye, ye ought to earn it, and that’s that.”
Another silence spread out between them. Ava knew she ought to take her leave. There was something in the air, a sort of tension that she couldn’t quite understand. The room was warm, and she knew the hallway outside would be cold, and she didn’t want togo. Laird McAdair’s bare chest was making her think of shocking things, like touching him and seeing how he reacted, having his large hands on her waist, on her back, on her ribcage, sliding upwards…
She swallowed hard, squeezing her eyes shut.
Stop it, stop it, stop it!He has no interest in ye. None. He’s just a bored laird who needs a healer.
“Are ye well, Ava?”
Laird McAdair’s voice cut into her thoughts, and Ava’s eyes flew open. She forced a quick smile. “Aye, I’m well. Just tired. I think that the bath sapped the last of me energy.”
He eyed her for a moment as if he did not believe her. “Right. Well, go and find Sara—she’ll be in the kitchens at this hour—and have her find ye a bed. If she tries to get ye to see to some of the sick in the Keep, tell her that I said ye are to sleep first, aye?”
Ava bit her lip. “Sara… Sara kens I am a healer?”
“Of course. She was relieved to see a healer here, I must say.”
Ava swallowed, feeling guilty over some of her less charitable thoughts regarding Sara.
“I see. Well, I’ll take me leave, Me Laird.”
“Wait.”
Ava had nearly gotten to the door when he spoke. She kept her back to him, listening to the creak of the chair as he rose. She could almostfeelhis warmth as he stood directly behind her.
“So, have ye never…” he trailed off meaningfully, and Ava turned to face him.
She pressed her lips together in what she hoped was a respectful but disapproving expression. “Have I never what, Me Laird?”
He winced, shaking his head. “Nothing, nothing. None of me beeswax, as me ma would have said. I have great plans for ye, Ava. I cannae compel ye to stay here in the Keep, but I have much to discuss with ye tomorrow, once ye have rested. Nothing to do with yerservices, of course.”
“Of course,” Ava echoed, intrigued despite herself. She turned to leave, but he spoke again, stopping her short.
“Oh, and thisLairdbusiness is getting on me nerves. I hate it, ye ken. Laird this, Laird that. Laird McAdair was me faither, and God kens, I dinnae want to be a thing like that man, ye understand?”
Ava did not understand, but she nodded anyway.
The Laird glanced away, looking troubled for the first time. His gaze was distant now, wrestling with something that he was clearly not going to share.
He sighed, glancing back at her. In the firelight, his eyes were dark and heavy, and the tingles in Ava’s chest intensified.
“Good night, Ava. Sleep well. And ye may call me Callum.”
5
Callum drummed his fingers on the table in a familiar, reassuring pattern.
To her credit, Ava didn’t seem irritated. She simply sat opposite, her hands folded neatly on the table, waiting for him to speak.
His arm did feel better. He’d peeked at the wound only that morning, and there was no sign of infection. That was always something to consider—even the smallest cuts could fester and lead to death. It would take days, if not weeks, to bring the healer back from the mountain villages, and when it came to infection, a delay of only a few hours could bring death.
