Page 58 of Return of the Scot
“The missive ye sent with your butler.”
“I sent no such missive…” But her voice trailed off, and she frowned. MacInnes. The old fool was meddling. Had he seen them the night before? Her face heated at the thought.
“Well, someone did. And now, here I am. Point me in the direction of where ye’d like me to help first.” He leaned closer, his clean scent surrounding her. The heat of his breath fanned over her cheek as he whispered near her ear, “And stop trying to push me away, lass. I’m no’ going anywhere.”
Especially after last night… She could have finished that sentence for him.
“I’m no’ going to Ireland today.” She felt it necessary to say so, even if it was obvious.
“I had surmised as much.”
After several minutes of wrestling with herself to find her voice, Jaime relented. “Fine, ye can help. Come on.”
Lorne followed her up the gangplank, her skin prickling with need at his nearness. She led him down into the dimly lit underbelly of the ship where men were lifting barrels and crates.
“All of this has to go,” she said.
“All right.” Lorne lifted a barrel that would ordinarily be hefted by two men, as if it weighed nothing at all, and then climbed the ladder with it, all while Jaime watched.
His strong legs carried him up the ladder, the muscles of his arse bunching in his breeches, and she had to look away, as the sight of him made all sorts of naughty thoughts tumble about in her lunatic brain.
“Are ye all right?” Emilia asked.
“Perfectly.” But Jaime’s voice was high and tight, giving away she was exactly the opposite of perfect. “Let’s get back to work.”
Emilia tried to hide her grin and pointed to one of the smaller crates. The two of them maneuvered it up the ladder and handed it on to the men.
“I’m impressed,” Lorne said softly, winking at her as she came back down the ladder. “No’ only do ye have a lot of strength, but ye did no’ fall in the process.”
“Ye’re a jackarse.” She grinned at his surprised expression. “When on a ship, talk like a sailor.” This time, she winked at him, grabbed the closest, small crate, and climbed back up.
He maneuvered behind her, another barrel balanced in his grasp and delivered it to a man who beckoned on the deck. They worked side by side for hours, passing glances, and at one moment, he accidentally slid against her—though she was fairly certain it was on purpose. His chest skimming against her arm made her entire body tingle, and the fact that he gave her a roguish grin showed her he knew exactly what he was doing. Another touch like that, and she was going to drag him deeper into the ship where they’d be covered in darkness, press him up against the ship’s wall and…
Jaime cleared her throat and put herself back to work, hoping the physical exhaustion would help banish the carnal thoughts from her mind.
With the four strapping noblemen adding to the help, they emptied the ship’s cargo by mid-afternoon rather than evening as she’d estimated they’d be completed.
With plenty of daylight still left, the crew boarded the transferred ship and worked to set sail.
Emilia and Jaime stood on the dock with Lorne and his companions, staring with satisfaction at the ships. Her arms were on fire, her back ached, and her legs felt heavier than the crates and barrels they’d moved. A hot bath sounded like heaven about then.
“Well done, Miss Andrewson,” Lorne said. “Though I’m certain ye need no compliments from me.”
Jaime smiled at him, grateful. “We were able to get everything done much quicker than anticipated. I do verra much appreciate the added assistance. And in fact, I should like to invite the four of ye to a ball I’ll be hosting upon the ship soon.”
Emilia let out a little gasp but outwardly did not show any other signs of surprise or excitement.
“I’ve no’ yet had the invitations made. But I think it will be a lovely boon to our clients and any potential merchants who wish to use us for their wares.”
“I canna speak for my friends here, but can tell ye I would be delighted,” Lorne said.
“I would as well,” and “same here” was heard from the other men.
Good, she had several people on the invitation list already then. She just needed to plan the fete. After she got Shanna and Gordie back, of course.
Tired and covered in sweat that had started to dry and further stiffened her already stiff working gown, Jaime decided it was time to call it a day. “I bid ye farewell.”
“Or we could get some ice cream,” Lorne suggested.
