Page 3 of Highlander’s Fruit of Eden

Despite her height, she still appeared to be dwarfed with the tall ceilings and open room.

They served a lot of people in Montgomery Castle, and his uncle had made sure there was adequate cooking space for a Ceilidh .

And of course, the main food for the staff and the Lairdship.

His uncle was a powerful political figure and Laird in the Montgomery Clan, so there was always a reason for a feast or a grand meal of sorts.

He turned to leave the kitchens, ready to go about his day and let her settle in.

“Well, wait a minute—” she called behind him.

There was a feminine cry of distress, and Jon spun around just in time to catch Amelia from falling into him and onto the floor.

The laces of her gown dug into his palm, and he wrapped the other around her waist. He could feel the taught muscles of her body as she recovered, and he saw the swell of her breasts over her gown as Amelia was caught in a rather comprising position.

Jon looked down at her face, as if he was in a trance.

Beautiful , he thought immediately. He couldnae help it—the word seemed to slip right past his mental defenses.

She had taken his breath away, and he was mesmerized by the way she looked just then.

The way her back was pressed against his hands, the swell of her breasts as she caught her breath.

When she set her feet on the ground and her head turned up as he eyes locked onto his, it felt as if he had been doused in cold water.

She was off limits.

Amelia was the housekeeper, not someone he could take as a mistress for his whims. Besides, she didn’t look to be too thrilled at the moment, her face in a firm line.

Good, that would make it easier , he thought.

If he kept acting exactly like the arse she thought he was, the easier it would be to keep his distance.

“Aye, be careful where ye step,” he growled. “I dinnae take kindly to women throwin’ themselves at me.”

“I tripped,” she corrected, a fire in her eyes as she set her hard gaze on him. “And I doubt any woman would throw herself at the likes of you.”

Her eyes widened at the insult, almost shocked that she had said such a thing to his face.

There was also the fact that she had done it now twice, and Jon had done nothing as a consequence.

There was nothing to be done—he wasn’t one to lay an offending hand on a woman, and he rather liked her smart mouth that always seemed ready to argue.

She sure was alluring with her body, enticing him to bite at the verbal bait she set out.

She ’ d make a fine wife one day , he thought.

That shook him out of his trance even more than her insult had.

Jon shifted his thoughts back to the matter at hand.

He couldnae like her—rather, he wouldn’t allow himself to be attracted to her.

The boundaries between their two statuses and positions in the castle was one thing, the entire other matter was that Jon was not in need of a wife. A woman, sure. But not a wife.

“Ye better watch yer tongue,” he scolded. “Otherwise, I’ll be findin’ ye a different position.”

The sexual undertones of his words seemed to hit them both at the same time.

Jon was rewarded with a scarlet blush on the Englishwoman’s cheeks, which just almost made him growl with need.

He passingly wondered if she would look the same if he had just finished kissing her, if her eyes would still be as wild.

The blush deepened as she realized that he was still holding her up, and her lips parted innocently.

She had full lips, and the bow of her top lip stretched as she opened her mouth.

Her body was soft and firm at the same time under his hands, and he felt her slim curves as he helped her back to her feet.

She was sure a thing of beauty in this ugly castle—and a little pang shot in his heart.

Rarely dae anythin’ beautiful stay very long in Montgomery Castle , he thought.

Especially given how Uncle liked to run things, there was not much of a place for beauty.

And he felt bad for the Englishwoman. Not only was she a wolf in a lion’s den due to the fact of her home country, but she was working as one of the worst positions in the castle.

Two weeks, he thought as he walked out of the kitchen.

He gave her two weeks before she was fleeing Montgomery Castle as if it was on fire.

And what Jon hated the most was that he was powerless to stop anything, including his uncle’s tirades and iron will.

And as the Man-at-Arms for the Laird, he was always carrying out the latest decree and making sure people stayed in line.

As he gave a parting glance to the kitchen, he saw her face—innocent, but set in a tiny frown.

He was hard in ways he didn’t think a look could do to a man, and Jon resolved to keep his distance from the new housekeeper in the meantime.

Getting caught up with the staff would be a huge disaster. Beauty be damned , he thought.

He had a job to do.