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"My mother. She worries about me. Always has, but ever since my last adventure, she doesnae want me to leave Loch Fairbairn."
"Well, I can understand that. You were pursuing a murderer, after all. What does your dad say about it?"
Errol's expression becomes slightly pinched. "Da died of a heart attack eighteen years ago. I was away at university when that happened, had just finished the semester, and I came home to help Ma through the worst of it. She insisted I had to finish my degree, though, and she wouldn't hear of it when I suggested I should delay that."
"I'm sorry, Errol. I know what that's like. My mom passed away, but it was a car accident."
"We have more in common than we thought, don't we?"
"Seems like we do."
He inches closer, keeping his arm on the sofa's back, and the distance between us shrinks to half of what it was. I can't help gazing into his eyes and letting their blue color mesmerize me. We've made a connection, I think, something I hadn't expected. All I wanted was to convince him to come with me to the Grand Canyon. But we've created a fragile bond that seems deeper than our mutual interest in ancient mysteries.
He roves his gaze over my body, and his tongue slips out between his lips, almost as if he's imagining something naughty. "Your robe has slipped."
For a second or two, that statement doesn't penetrate my brain. His hungry expression has made me feel warm and tingly. Then I realize what he just said. I look down and see that the belt on my robe has come undone and the halves have fallen open just enough to expose a glimpse of the hairs at the juncture of my thighs. He can see the slopes of my breasts too.
I tug my robe closed. "Sorry."
"Donnae apologize, lass. You are beautiful, and ye know I'd love to have a poke."
God, I want that too. Without even realizing it, I've wriggled even closer to Errol. He shimmies closer too, and the masculine scent of him teases my senses. I can't move, can hardly breathe, when he dips his head to brush his lips across mine. My pulse beats so fast that I feel a touch lightheaded. I've never gotten this excited by the prospect of a kiss, much less the other thing he suggested. A poke. That should sound silly to me, but instead, it makes me want to tear his clothes off.
Errol cups the back of my head with his hand, then touches his lips to my mouth. I sigh whispers out of me. My lids flutter shut, and I clutch his shirt in my hands while pressing my lips more firmly to his. He groans deep in his throat. I moan and sag against him. Errol wraps his free arm around me and pushes his tongue between my lips to tease me with it, sliding his arm down my back until he reaches my bottom. I moan again, more deeply, when he molds his hand to my ass. Our tongues glide across each other, twining and thrusting, every movement sensual and so delicious that I can't breathe anymore. My ears start to ring, but I don't care. I never want Errol to stop kissing me.
But he pulls away just enough that we can gaze into each other's eyes. "I want to shag ye, Ashley. But you need to know a few things about me first."
Chapter Five
Errol
Ashley tastes better than any woman I've ever kissed, and I want to lay her across the sofa so I can sample the flavor of her cream. It will be sweet and intoxicating, I'm dead sure of that. I hardly know this woman, yet I want to make love to her right now. But I told her she needs to know a few things about me first, and I meant that. I'm not a normal man. My hobbies often scare women away. I don't want Ashley to regret spending the night with me once she realizes the truth about me.
So I slide backward on the sofa, drawing out a distance between us. Her robe hangs open even more than before, and I need all my willpower to keep from staring at her tits and the hairs on her mound. Fuck, I can smell how much she wants me. But I will not shag her until she understands.
"What did you want to tell me?" she asks.
I force myself to look her in the eye. "The articles you've read about me don't tell the whole story. On the mission with Magnus and Piper, we did more than root out antiquities thieves. We also infiltrated the Istanbul headquarters of Sovereign World Industries, the company owned by Royce Hammond. That would be the bastard who framed Piper for the murder of Archer Caldwell."
Ashley keeps her focus on me, her expression curious, but she doesn't seem to notice my raging erection.
"I sweet-talked Hammond's right-hand woman, Dilara Terzi, into showing me their main server room," I say. "Then I, ah, sort of blew it up."
"What?"
I cannae help smirking. "Well, it's more accurate to say I shut down the fans that keep the servers cool, and then they all melted down. That's what caused a minor explosion. We were being held hostage inside the building, but I managed to copy all the data on those servers before the meltdown."
"Oh. I see. You're a computer expert as well as a treasure hunter?"
"No. But I've learned a few things from my cousin Evan. He's a tech mogul, and a billionaire."
"Really?" Ashley's eyes have gone wide. "Wow, I've never met anyone that rich."
"But you dug up information about my family. How could ye not know about Evan?"
"I researched you, not your cousins. Magnus and Piper are a part of your story, so that's how I learned about them."
"Ah, of course." I might have learned important things about Ashley tonight, but I know there's more to find out. I still haven't quite told her everything about me. Am I trying to scare her away? No, but my personality and lifestyle aren't for everyone. "I've been somewhat…subdued since I've met you. I donnae want you to be shocked by the way I behave."
