Page 14 of Savage Blooms (Unearthly Delights #1)

“That’s a bit of a stretch,” Adam muttered. Eileen could feel him withdrawing the tentative trust he had extended like a vine recoiling from the scorching sun. She would have to try harder to win him over.

“There’s no reason we shouldn’t all get along,” Eileen insisted, polishing off her whisky. The next drink she poured was water, so Finley wouldn’t nag her.

“There’s also no reason Nicola and I should believe you,” Adam said, standing and dusting the crumbs from his jeans.

He looked resolute in his leaving, which made panic spike in Eileen’s chest. He couldn’t go, not now.

If she had to tie him to the stair banister to make him stay, she would do it.

“We appreciate your willingness to help. But, at the risk of sounding rude, this whole thing is starting to feel a little strange. It’s obvious that you two have something going on that we’ve intruded on, so I think it’s best if me and Nicola head off. ”

“But if you go now you’ll never find out what your grandfather knew,” Eileen said, on her feet before she realized she had stood.

Adam didn’t reply. He just crossed to Nicola and talked to her in a quick, low voice, as if making a plan or asking if she was all right. She chattered back at a level Eileen couldn’t hear, looking nervously to Finley and then Eileen.

Eileen threw a desperate glance Finley’s way, as though to say, Do something.

“Nicola saw something,” Finley blurted, and though it came out rushed, Eileen could tell it wasn’t a lie. “Out in the woods.”

“What do you mean?” Adam asked, giving the other man a dismissive once-over. “Nikki, what’s he talking about?”

“I don’t really know,” Nicola said, a startled gleam in her eye. “It was there and then it was gone.”

Now, she had Eileen’s full attention. Eileen took a step towards Nicola and Adam stepped in front of his “friend”, instinctively shielding her with his body.

A questing white knight, indeed.

“Can you try to describe it?” Eileen asked.

“We were out by the ocean,” Nicola said.

“I saw a person in the trees, or… Something shaped like a person. I couldn’t quite make out the face.

But it was there, and it was watching us.

I could feel it watching me just as much as I could see it watching me.

And then it turned and it just disappeared.

And I mean really disappeared; I didn’t even blink. ”

Nicola’s voice shook slightly, either with fear or with elation, or some heady mix of both.

Eileen reminded herself to breathe, to not pummel the Americans with too much strangeness at once.

But this was a boon; she couldn’t have devised anything better than Nicola seeing something out there with her own eyes.

“I saw it too,” Finley offered. “Just for a moment. But I’m sure.”

“Nikki, come on,” Adam said. “You aren’t serious about this, are you? What did he tell you when you were alone together? Did he convince you that you saw something?”

“Finley didn’t do anything,” Nicola replied, bristling. “I saw something weird out there. I’m telling the truth.”

Eileen watched a flicker of uncertainty cross Adam’s face. It was only a moment of weakness, the tiniest chink in his armor, but she rushed in to exploit it.

“I’m not asking you to take me at my word,” she said. “I can show you something real. Something that will make you understand that Nicola isn’t lying to you, and neither am I. Not about this place, and not about your grandfather’s stories.”

Adam gave her a wary look, stock-still where he stood. He refused to speak, just weighing her with his gaze.

“Come with me, and I’ll tell you everything,” Eileen lied.

“And why would you do that?” Adam asked.

“Why do men hunt grouse? My reasons are my own. And maybe I’m only trying to help you, Adam Lancaster.”

“You’re serious about this?” Adam asked Nicola. This wasn’t about Eileen any more, she saw that clearly. Whatever happened next, Adam would only do with Nicola’s blessing, and for Nicola’s sake.

“As a heart attack,” Nicola said. “I’ve never seen anything like that before. It almost felt like…”

“Magic,” Finley supplied, with that succinct no-nonsense air that made arguing with him impossible. His timing couldn’t have been better. Eileen could have kissed him.

Adam looked at Eileen for another long moment, and Eileen wondered if she had misjudged him. He wasn’t receptive and he wasn’t ready: this would be the final straw for him and he would undoubtedly be on the next flight home, leaving Eileen to her loneliness and her ruin.

But, miraculously, Adam surprised her.

“If I follow you, where are we going?”

“To the cave,” Eileen breathed, for once in her life not lying, not even obfuscating the truth. “That’s where it all starts, and that’s where it all ends.”

Adam glanced at Nicola, who was lit up brighter than a Roman candle at the promise of some sort of supernatural experience, or maybe even just a good story. She had mentioned last night that she enjoyed folklore, and now Eileen saw that it wasn’t just a pastime, it was a passion.

In the end, Adam conceded, perhaps more for Nicola than for himself.

“Wherever we’re going,” he said, “I want to be back here loading up the car in an hour.”

“Done,” Eileen said, euphoric with triumph.

“Wait here for me, will you?” Adam asked. “I need my coat and shoes.”

“I’ll come with you,” Nicola said, and scurried up the stairs behind him, no doubt ready to spill all her theories about what she had seen out there on the grounds, or perhaps her theories about Eileen and Finley.

Eileen didn’t really care which. As long as it kept Adam curious enough to stay just a little while longer, she was happy.

In the Americans’ absence, Finley stepped right up to Eileen, grasped her chin in his hand, and tilted her face up. He held her tightly, not enough to hurt, but enough to ground her in the seriousness of the moment.

“Are you sure about this, Isla?” Finley asked.

He had asked her this countless times before. Her answer was always the same.

“Absolutely.”

“There’s still time to call it off and send them home. There’s got to be some other way to fix this that doesn’t involve taking advantage of innocent people.”

Eileen snorted, tossing her head like an unruly mare. Finley held her tighter, forcing her to look at him. Now it did hurt, that clarifying sort of hurt that helped her think clearly. He wouldn’t leave a mark; he knew the precise amount of pressure it took to bruise her skin.

“No one is innocent, Finney,” she said. “Not even doe-eyed tourists. And don’t act like you didn’t play your part in this. I’ve got to give it to you: leading them here from the pub was quite the feat.”

“I didn’t know them then. I was only doing what you asked.”

“And you don’t know them now. They’re as foreign to us as we are to them, and I’ll caution you not to trust anything either of them says. All human beings serve their own ends, when it comes right down to it.”

“There’s got to be a different way to handle this. We can go back to the drawing board, we can do more research—”

Eileen turned her face abruptly and bit into Finley’s palm, just hard enough to startle him. Finley swore and shook out his hand, but he didn’t move away.

“There’s no other way, and you know it,” Eileen said, lowering her voice as the sound of footsteps echoed above them.

“This is the way forward, Finley, for you and for me. And once it’s all done with, we’ll finally be safe, and so will Craigmar.

Please. I want this to be over. Just let me do what I have to do. ”

Finley gently massaged her jaw, rubbing away the indentations of his fingers. It always took her breath away, how he could be so restrained in his brutality and so lavish in his tenderness.

“I trust you, Isla. Unto death, I do. But we’re playing a dangerous game here. Please remember that.”

“I will,” she said, pressing a kiss over the spot she had bitten. A wicked smile tugged at her lips. “Are you going to tell me what happened with that little redhead? Did she taste so sweet? I’ll bet she let you feel her up, too. Did it get you hard?”

“I’m not doing this with you right now, they’re upstairs—”

Eileen unceremoniously cupped him through his jeans.

“Mmm, you’re half hard now. Is that me or is that her?”

Finley gave her an unimpressed look.

“It was a heat-of-the-moment kiss, that’s all. She doesn’t matter, and it didn’t mean anything.”

“Then why are you suddenly so protective of her?” Eileen said, squeezing a bit harder. “I think we’re a little old to be lying to each other.”

“Fine,” Finley bit out. He was doing a very good job of pretending like she had no effect on him, but his cock told the truth. “I want her. Is that a sin?”

“I’ve told you before, there are no sins in Craigmar. If you want her, and she’ll have you, I won’t hold it against either of you. So long as you’ll do me the same courtesy.”

These were the terms and conditions of their relationship. They always returned to each other, binary stars circling each other with the undeniable pull of gravity, but they could take their pleasure elsewhere, if they chose.

“And you want Adam, then?” Finley went on, shifting ever so slightly against her hand to seek more friction. “Is that the bargain we’re making here?”

“I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep him at Craigmar. But don’t worry, I’m not opposed to sharing. There’s plenty for both of us; he’s certainly tall enough.”

“You’re absolutely insane,” Finley said, but it sounded more like, I love you.

Eileen snatched her hand back as the footfalls grew closer, and she was left as flushed as Finley was left erect. He made an irritated noise and adjusted his shirt tail to protect his decency.

“All ready,” Adam said, appearing in the doorway in a rain jacket and hiking boots. Nicola was close behind, bundled up and bright-eyed. “Now what’s this about a cave?”