Page 58 of Gift-Wrapped in a Kilt

Jamie was starting to see a pattern here. Her brothers and their wives got together, for real and for good, by opening up about their pasts and their fears. She needed Gavin to do the same for her, and she needed to do the same for him. The idea of talking about her time with Trevor, of ripping open those old wounds, shot a spike of cold straight into her chest.

She couldn't ask Gavin to expose his deepest fears and secrets if she wouldn't do the same.

"Why are you frowning?"

Gavin's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she started. "What?"

Eyes half open and sleepy, he dragged his fingertip over her bottom lip. "You're frowning. Why?"

"Thinking about the road ahead."

He yawned noisily, blinked several times, and then pulled her up and onto his body, their faces aligned. One large hand settled on her buttock while the other fanned over her back. "It'll be a bumpy one, but we can get through it. I'll do whatever it takes to keep you."

She squirmed when his hand on her bottom kneaded her flesh. Flashing him a saucy grin, she said, "Would you strip naked in the town square in Loch Fairbairn?"

His mouth crimped with a half-repressed smirk. "The way I heard it, Rory didn't actually get down to the buff."

"Not the point."

"I know." He swirled his palm on her back. "I'd strip naked and streak through Inverness if that's what it takes. Hell, I'd even hug Rory and smack a wet one on his cheek."

Jamie laughed. "Rory would blow his top."

"Totally worth it, even if he skelps me."

"Skelp? I didn't teach you that word."

He pinched her behind, making her squeak. "I learned that one from Iain."

"Should I worry about you making friends with Iain? He's a notorious rogue."

"You called him a gentleman that night when you showed up to blow me."

Though her cheeks warmed at the memory of that night, she wasn't embarrassed. Remembering it made her want to try that again. Instead, she answered the question implicit in his statement. "Iain is a gentleman, mostly, but he has a checkered past."

"Seducing every woman in Loch Fairbairn? I've heard that rumor."

"Might be more than a rumor." She poked his side. "Don't get any ideas of following in his footsteps either."

"No way," Gavin said, hugging her to him, his hands on her shoulder blades, "I've got all the woman I can handle. And I've got an important question for you. What should we do today?"

Jamie tried to shrug but couldn't, what with her body crushed to his. "Donnae know."

"We're spending time together, for the next few weeks. Lots of time." He swept a hand up to her nape, easing her mouth closer to his. "We can do anything you want."

"Anything?" she breathed against his lips.

"Yes. Anything."

She pretended to consider the options, tapping her tongue on the bottoms of her top teeth. "Bicycling."

He pulled a face. "Biking? That gives men cancer of the balls, you know."

"No one knows that for sure. Besides, you can get a special seat to reduce the possible risk." She slid a hand down to his hip, inching it toward his groin, though her body blocked her from reaching the part of him she longed to fondle. "Do you think I'd let you endanger my favorite part of your anatomy?"

He grunted when she ground her body against his erection. "Ah… You win. Biking it is."

"Thank you, Gavin."

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