Page 23 of Edinburgh Escape
Too tired to argue, Maggie grabbed her roller bag and backpack and headed for the bathroom. As she stripped, her mind replayed all that had happened since she’d landed in London, her thoughts revolving around the man in the other room—her bodyguard who’d saved her from the attacker in Crewe and then kissed her awake like a lover, not a hired protector.
She turned on the water, waited for it to warm and then stepped beneath the spray, hoping the water would wash away her confusion along with the grungy feeling of travel grime. It didn’t.
Standing naked, a few very short steps away from Callum, only added to her confusion. Yes, there was a door between them, and he’d probably faked his interest in her while playing tour guide through London, but her interest in him was all too real. So real the water sliding over her sensitized skin made her wish Callum would join her in the shower and run his hands over the same places the water touched.
With the tips of her fingers, she traced a path from her neck, over the swell of her breast and downward to the juncture of her thighs. A moan rose up her throat.
“Everything all right in there?” Callum’s voice sounded through the closed door, shaking Maggie back to reality. She turned the faucet to cold. “Yes. Everything is fine. Just fine,” she squeaked as the cold water hit her skin, chilling her desire into submission. She was a job. Nothing more.
But if there could be more...
Chapter 5
Callum stood on the other side of the bathroom door, his hand on the doorknob, his pulse pounding through his veins. When he’d heard the water come on, he’d gravitated toward the door, imagining Maggie standing beneath the spray, naked, her fiery curls hanging down around her shoulders and over her breasts.
When she’d moaned, Callum’s cock had throbbed, fully erect, hot and thick. He’d almost shoved the door open and joined her in the shower.
And what would that get him?
A slap in the face would be the least of his problems. She’d likely scream like a banshee and demand he leave her and the flat. Then she’d be on the phone to Hank, asking for a replacement protector, one who wouldn’t attack his client in the shower.
The beauty had enough problems without him adding to them. He released the doorknob and returned to the small kitchen, determined to keep his distance from Maggie. It was one thing to let her sleep in his arms on the train and to kiss her eyelids and forehead before she was completely awake. Pangs of guilt still reverberated through him. He’d been out of line to do even that. Molesting her in the shower was out of the question. He’d never taken an unwilling woman. Women usually came to him willingly.
Hands off was the best way to handle Maggie McKendrick. Her day had been traumatic enough and would be even more so before it was over.
Callum gathered the bread and cheese and went to work, preparing sustenance. They hadn’t eaten since the day before. His belly rumbled in protest. Maggie had to be hungry as well. Thoughts of the red-haired beauty made him pause in the middle of cutting slices of cheese. He still reeled from the sudden and intense surge of desire that had almost overwhelmed him. Since his return from Syria, he hadn’t felt that kind of desire. Hell, he’d never felt desire of this intensity ever. Not with any woman he’d dated.
Why now?
Why her?
Because she was spunky. She was optimistic, embracing new experiences with open arms. Everything he wasn’t and hadn’t been for a long time. He found himself wanting to run his hands through her glorious copper curls and down the length of her body, touching every inch of her silky skin as if by doing so he could erase all the ugliness and brutality he’d witnessed during his time in the military.
Her green eyes twinkled with excitement and curiosity, reminding Callum that life went on even after he’d lost so many friends. She made him feel as if he could breathe again, as if the weight of his losses that had been pressing against his chest had lifted just a little. She’d lost her mother recently, yet she’d eagerly boarded a plane and flown to a foreign country, hoping to connect with people who shared her DNA. Innocently hopeful of finding family. Naively assuming they might want her to be part of theirs.
Callum couldn’t fault her enthusiasm and her desire for connection and love. It was who she was. As he’d sat so still on the train, with her in his arms, he’d realized what he was missing and what she provided.
Maggie brought light into the darkness of his soul.
An image of the big man who’d attacked her at the train station flashed through his mind, dimming that light. If Callum hadn’t been there, that man could have killed her with his bare hands or thrown her on the train tracks for the train to do the job.
Maggie was a sweet, kindhearted school teacher, for God’s sake. She deserved to have a long, happy life filled with love, laughter and children, with her bright red hair and sunny disposition. The more Callum learned about her relatives, the more he was convinced someone didn’t want her to make it to the Drummond estate—or worse, wanted to ensure she didn’t claim any inheritance left by the late Lord Drummond. Perhaps she’d be better off returning to Montana. Unfortunately, Callum wasn’t certain her troubles would be over if she retreated. She’d still be a target as long as she was alive.
His jaw clenched, and his shoulders straightened. It was his duty to do everything in his power to keep her alive. He had to find the one, or ones, responsible for putting her in danger.
Callum’s cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He dug it out and read the name across the screen.
Ace Hammerson.
“This is McCall,” he answered and put the call on speaker so that he could continue to prepare food while he listened and talked.
Without preamble, Ace said, “Hank and Swede filled me in on what’s going on with Ms. McKendrick. I have Peter Atkins, one of our protectors based out of London, on standby in case you need him. You might know him from your days in the SAS.”
Callum was impressed by how well the Brotherhood Protectors communicated with each other—another reason to sign on with them. “I do. We deployed together back when I was fresh out of training. He’s a decent sort. I’ll keep him in mind.”
“Do you have a plan going forward with Ms. McKendrick?”
“I do,” Callum said. “I’ll accompany her to her meeting with the Drummonds under the cover of being either her boyfriend, fiancé or travel companion. Where she goes, I’ll go.”
