Page 23 of Sadie's Highlander (Highland Protector 1)

Sadie wheezed in another deep breath, then thumped her fist against her chest. “I must’ve sucked in a bug or something.” Still coughing, she pawed at the window controls in the center of the dash. “Gonna put up the window so that doesn’t happen again.”

Alec bit the inside of his cheek.Must not laugh. Must speak nary a word.Perhaps the sweet fragrance of berries didna wash away after being branded into the flesh with the melding heat of passion. He shifted in the seat again, yanking down on a pant leg to give his hard-on more room. He’d ne’er look at a bowl of strawberries the same way again—nor a can of spray topping.

Rounding the bend, he pointed to the rows of trucks, campers, and trailers filling the southeastern field adjacent to the park. “It appears Ross has them well settled. Seems yer sister doesna travel light.”

“It takes a lot of people behind the scenes to make a movie happen.” Sadie directed his attention to a gleaming black RV withRealm Spinners Productionsemblazoned down its sides in silver lettering that dissipated into a trail of stars. “That one’s Delia’s. We’ll find her in there.”

“I’d prefer we walk through this chaos first so ye can enlighten me on the need for all this”—he flipped a dismissive hand toward the filming entourage—“clutter.” He didna like all this mess on his land and he failed to see how the production company could possibly return the peaceful meadow to its original state when they left. A burning uneasiness set him on edge.

Alec parked the Jeep in the only corner of the field not cluttered with equipment. He glanced in the rearview mirror at Dwyn. “Ye can come with us or ye can vex Mistress Delia and get her good and stirred up afore I speak with her. Which are yer druthers?”

Mischief flashed in Dwyn’s eyes. He winked at Sadie, then arched a bushy red brow at Alec. “I believe I’ll start this lovely mornin’ by havin’ a go at Mistress Delia.” He lowered his voice and leaned closer to Alec. “I’ve always had a way with the banshees. Let’s see if I’ve lost me touch.” At the sound of Sadie’s sharp intake of breath, he turned toward her and barely ducked his chin. “No offense meant toward yerself, lass.”

“None taken.” Sadie giggled as she pushed open the door and hopped out. “ ‘Banshee’ is one of the nicer things I’ve heard my sister called.”

Alec exited the Jeep and strode around to join her. The transformation of the formerly serene field that could usually be found dotted with grazing deer and any number of kinds of other local wildlife disturbed him greatly. The place had become a noisy, chaotic mass of machinery and cables, crammed full of strange equipment he’d never seen before. It was crawling with workers rushing about setting up tents and tables and generally making Alec more tense by the second.So many.He’d ne’er thought there’d be so many. How the hell would they ensure none went where they shouldna go? The Heartstone and goddess weapons had to remain hidden at all cost.

“I dinna like this,” he said, a choking sense of something about to go terribly wrong tightening around his chest.

Sadie squeezed his forearm. “I know it looks really bad, but it’s a controlled chaos. I promise.”

Her touch calmed him somewhat, but he still had too many doubts. Sadie had no idea what was at stake here if the Heartstone and the goddesses’ weapons were discovered. Especially if they were found by this group of—he had no idea what to call these people, but none of the words coming t’mind were good.

“Good morning, everyone! I didn’t expect to see you here so early.”

The sound of Delia’s voice ratcheted Alec’s already raw nerves to battle readiness. He liked that foul woman even less than he liked this venture. He pointed toward the field full of equipment as Delia made her way over to them, gingerly stepping through the tangled mounds of grass and struggling to keep the four-inch heels of her thigh-high leather boots from sinking too deep in the soft earth of the field.

“All this is necessary?” Alec jerked a thumb toward the tents and campers.

Delia’s pinched face brightened with an irritatingly smug look as she pointed a slit-throat shade of red, perfectly manicured nail at Sadie. “Ask your assistant. That’s what she’s with you for—to explain all this.” Her eyes narrowed and her voice sank to an insultingly suggestive tone. “At least Ithoughtthat’s what you wanted with her. Wasn’t it?”

Alec lunged a step forward. “I’ll be damned if I allow ye t’insult—”

Dwyn shoved between them, cupped a hand under Delia’s elbow, turned her aside, then pulled her stumbling along beside him. “Come along, Mistress Delia. I wish to review the layout of the filming to ensure all the terms are met.” He tossed a meaningful look back over his shoulder, one that Alec completely understood. “You two look around for a bit on this nicecoolmorning and then meet us in that fine black bus when ye’ve finished, aye?”

Alec clenched his fists until his knuckles popped. He knew damn good and well what Dwyn was doing. This was the twenty-first century. He couldna verra well knock Delia on her arse without serious legal consequences.Damn the ways of this time!He took a step back, sucked in a deep breath, and slowly blew it out. “Aye. That we will.”

He soothed himself by imagining Delia bursting into flames from the demigod’s righteous touch as he watched the pair walk away.

“Don’t let her push your buttons,” Sadie said. “She’s like some twisted succubus that feeds on pissing people off.”

“What?”

“She’s a bitch and she enjoys it.” Sadie snagged his shirtsleeve and tugged. “Come on. I want to see if there’s a trailer for the writers. I can’t believe Delia would have them working on all the scenes at the keep instead of doing some of the patchwork here at chaos central.”

Grudgingly, Alec allowed Sadie to steer him to the center row of campers lined up down the field. Each of the compact units, nothing more than white metal boxes on wheels with a window and a door, had a sign taped on its side denoting who could be found inside:Makeup. Wardrobe. Director. Producer.

Alec shook his head. He had no idea it took all this for what amounted to barely two hours of make-believe. He tromped along beside Sadie, struggling to understand why anyone would want to spend precious time watching such foolish things instead of experiencing life firsthand. He’d much rather be riding up in the mountains—he stole a sideways glance at Sadie—or making love to this fine woman.

“There.” Sadie pointed to the last camper in the row. Two handwritten paper signs were taped to the door:WritersandEnter at Your Own Risk.The closer they drew to the trailer, the more animated Sadie became as she hurried him along. “You’ll like Seth and Holly. Abe’s a bit of a quirky jerk, but he’s not too unbearable once you get to know him.”

“Aquirky jerk?”

“He’s kind of weird, with a dash of asshole.” Sadie paused, one boot propped on the first step leading up to the door. “Actually, Seth and Holly are a little odd too, but all writers are.” She smiled back at him as she yanked open the door. “We fit into the worlds we create a lot better than we fit into the real one.”

If she only knew how much he understood about trying to fit into this world—into this time. “So…they are yer friends?” Alec ducked through the narrow door and nudged his way closer to Sadie.God’s beard, this place is smaller than a priest hole.

“I wouldn’t say friends. But we all work together pretty well…most of the time.” Sadie edged her way around a table filled with dog-eared packets of papers, markers, and half-empty cups of coffee. She rested her hand on top of the closed laptop in front of one of the benches. “Still warm. We must’ve just missed them.”

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