The Deepest Cut, (MacKinnon Curse series, book 1) by J.A. Templeton
Chapter 18
Johan drove his Peugeot with nice rims and tires through the windy Scottish roads like he was in a race. My blood pressure kept rising with the speed gauge.
I’m not sure if he was trying to impress me, but I was anything but impressed by the time we pulled into the parking lot of the movie theater in the heart of Aberdeen, a large city on the northeastern coast of Scotland.
In fact, I could have dropped to my knees and kissed the ground, I was so happy to be out of the car.
Milo farted, and Megan crawled out of the backseat, laughing and waving her hand in front of her face. “You’re rotten, you know that.”
Milo reached for her. “Ah, come on, my darlin’. It’s not that bad. Show me some love.”
Their playfulness seemed to ease some of the tension that had been building for the past hour. I was still mad that I’d been completely setup. A “movie with friends” had ended up being a double date. I was all about safety in numbers, but I would have been happier being a third wheel. This current situation is exactly what I’d been hoping to avoid.
Johan rounded the car, and I slid my hands into the pockets of my jacket. He fell into step beside me and put his hand on my back as we walked toward the theater. It wouldn’t be so bad if I knew Johan just wanted to be friends, but I’d been in Braemar long enough to guess his reputation. I had a feeling he wanted more than friendship, and I was worried that I had given him the wrong impression the night of Milo’s party when I had unwittingly reached for his hand.
I would just have to be brutally honest with him.
· · · · ·
The movie ended up being just as uncomfortable as the car ride itself. Ninety-three endless minutes of Johan looking for any opportunity to touch me, and when he pulled a silver flask from his pocket and offered me a drink, I shook my head. He was ready to take a sip when I asked him what it was.
“Whiskey,” he’d said, with lifted brows and a devilish smile, offering it to me again.
“But you’re driving.”
“Yeah, and…” he said with a dip-shit smile on his face. “I’ll just have a couple of swigs.”
“The roads are windy and I don’t think it’s a good idea. Unless you want me to drive your car…” Not only was I not old enough to drive in Scotland, but they drove on the opposite side of the road.
He sighed heavily, screwed the cap back on, and put the flask back in his pocket.
Megan and Milo were oblivious, laughing under their breath throughout the movie, much to the aggravation of the couple in front of us. When they started making out, I couldn’t help but think of Ian, and what it would feel like to kiss him the same way. Just thinking about him brought a smile to my face. Seeing him was the highlight of my day.
I jumped when Johan’s hand slid to my thigh, and my stomach clenched with dread. This is exactly what I didn’t want to happen. I opened my mouth to say something, but snapped it closed just as quickly. I could always push his hand away.
Megan leaned across Johan. “Riley, I have to use the bathroom. You want to come with me?” she asked, glancing at Johan’s hand on my thigh.
Thank God.
“Sure,” I said, jumping up and ignoring Milo’s smart-ass remark about girls never being able to pee without reinforcements.
I used the bathroom, and when I came out, Megan was putting lipstick on.
She caught my reflection in the mirror. “So what do you think of Johan?”
“He’s a nice guy.”
“Nice as in you’d like to go out with him again?”
“Nice as in I like him as a friend.” Oh my God, I was beginning to sound like a broken record. “Honestly, Megan, I wouldn’t have come today had I known it was just the four of us.”
“Milo’s brother and one of his friend’s were going to come but bailed on us at the last minute, I swear.”
I wanted to believe her, but given her track record so far, I wasn’t so sure. “So since we’re on the topic––what really happened between Johan and Cassandra? Were they ever together?”
Megan pressed her lips together. “Yes, and she liked him, but he’s just not into her.” She glanced at me. “It’s probably just as well that you don’t like him. He’s a heartbreaker, that one.”
Weren’t they all?
“Can you keep a secret?” she asked, lowering her voice.
I nodded. “Of course.”
“I mean it, Riley. You can’t tell a soul.”
I rested my hip against the sink. “I swear.”
She lifted her pinky up to me, and I almost asked if she was kidding, but I could tell by her expression she wasn’t.
We hooked pinkies and pinky-sweared, and I felt like I was in fifth grade all over again.
“A few months ago Cassandra and Johan started seeing each other. Just casually, but it grew serious pretty fast. He seemed to like her and she definitely liked him. He took her out, and well—she gave up her virginity, and then a few weeks later he drops her—just like that,” she said, snapping her fingers.
“Back home we called those kinds of guys man-whores.”
She laughed. “Johan is a man-whore. I mean, he can be a complete wanker, but he can be a nice guy too. The problem is he loses interest with a girl the minute he gets what he wants.”
“Maybe one day he’ll find a girl who breaks his heart and then he’ll see how it feels.”
“Yeah, that would be good for him.” Megan dropped the lipstick in her purse. “I know Cass comes across as sort of a bitch but now maybe you understand why she acts like she does.”
“I do.”
“He really hurt her, and despite how she can be sometimes, she didn’t deserve to be treated that way.”
“Please tell her that this wasn’t a date,” I said, knowing the last thing I needed in my life was more drama.
“I will. And I’ll be sure not to leave you and Johan alone.”
“I really do need to get back early.”
She laughed under her breath. “I’ll just tell Johan I have to babysit my little brother.”
“Thanks, Megan. I appreciate it.”
“No problem.” She bit her bottom lip. “Hey, there’s something I’ve been wanting to say. The night at the glen Shane mentioned that you lost your mum.”
My stomach coiled. “Yeah, we did.”
“I’m sorry, Riley. I’m sorry about opening my big mouth about the library books you checked out. It wasn’t anybody’s business, and I would have never said anything if I hadn’t of been pissed out of my mind the night of Milo’s party.”
I nodded. “I appreciate the apology.”
“If you ever want to talk about it, let me know. I lost my dad when I was four. I don’t really remember him all that much, but I know what it’s like to grow up with only one parent.” Megan scratched the back of her neck. “And my mom is really embarrassing. She works at the village pub and borrows my clothes all the time. I swear she thinks she’s still a teenager.”
I was glad she was opening up to me, telling me things about her own life. “I’d like to meet your mom sometime.”
“Hey you two, what the hell!” Milo said, popping his head into the bathroom, startling me, and making me wonder how long he’d been standing there. “The movie’s been over for a bloody hour.”
Megan rolled her eyes.
An old woman walked past Milo and shook her head.
“Sorry,” Megan said, rushing toward him. “My mom called. I have to watch Liam this evening, so we have to get back.”
“Ah, for feck’s sake, man. She’s always goin’ out and leavin’ you to watch the lil’ shit,” Milo said, not at all hiding his disgust.
“We can watch a DVD when we get back to my place,” Megan said, unapologetically. She kissed him on the cheek and he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “Just remember that I’m babysitting.”
“Yeah right,” Milo said with a smirk.
Johan walked out of the men’
On the drive home Johan kept sliding his hand on my thigh every time he shifted gears. Now that I knew the real story behind Johan and Cassandra, I was even more determined to let him know we wouldn’t be anything more than friends. I just needed the right opportunity to tell him, and in a car with two other people wasn’t the right time.
I breathed a sigh of relief as we approached Braemar. Within seconds we’d be passing by the castle and as we rounded the bend, I could see the familiar red stones peeking through the trees.
The painter’s car was in the driveway, the front door wide open. Johan followed my gaze. “My cousins will be back in a couple of weeks, and I’ll give you a tour, if you’d like.”
My pulse skittered. “Your cousins?”
“Yeah, my cousins are the MacKinnon’s.”
Johan was actually related to Ian? I didn’t see that one coming. “That would be great. I—I’d love a tour,” I said excitedly before I realized my enthusiasm might be misinterpreted.
Johan beamed as he looked at me, his eyes all soft and dark. Oh God, I knew that look. I quickly glanced away. His cousins would be back in a couple of weeks, which meant I needed to seriously get on with finding that journal.
As we passed by the cemetery, Laria appeared, right in front of the car. I put my hand up and held my breath. Johan swerved, nearly putting us through a fence before straightening the car out. He looked at me with wide eyes.
“Sorry,” I blurted, embarrassed. “I thought I saw something run out in the road.”
I looked in the side mirror and saw Laria still standing in the middle of the road, watching us, a satisfied smile on her face. Damn it, I’d reacted exactly as she’d wanted me to.
“There wasn’t a bloody thing in the road,” Milo snickered in the backseat.
Megan elbowed him and told him to shut up.
“I’ll take you home last, okay?” Johan said, his expression saying exactly what he had in mind.
I didn’t get a chance to respond because he drove right past the inn and turned toward Megan’s.
We dropped both Megan and Milo off at her house.
“Call me when you get home,” Megan said before stepping out of the car.
“I will.”
I swear Johan drove slower than the speed limit as he crept along the road toward the inn. “Did you have a nice time, Riley?”
“I did. Thanks for driving us.” I was glad I’d paid my own way into the movie. That way no one could argue that this hadn’t been an actual date.
“Maybe we can do it again soon.”
“Maybe,” I said, wishing I had it in me to tell him how I felt. I just knew how guys could be, and I didn’t want Johan talking shit about me to his friends.
He pulled into the driveway and put the car in park.
“So…can I come in?” he asked, grabbing my hand and squeezing it tight.
I reached for the door handle and that’s when I noticed someone watching us from the parlor window. My heart skipped when I saw dark hair and broad shoulders. Ian. I was so used to him coming at night that it surprised me to see him during the day.
Johan followed my gaze to the window. “Is your dad home?”
“No, he’s working.”
Excited to see Ian, I opened the door.
“Riley?” Johan sounded frustrated.
“Sorry, my dad won’t allow me to have guys over when he’s not here.”
“I won’t tell,” he said, a cocky smile curving his lips.
“Miss Akin will though. Seriously, my dad is completely anal when it comes to guys being here when he’s gone. But I’m sure I’ll see you around.”
“Why are you being so hot and cold with me?” he asked, irritation in his voice. “Was Megan talking shit about me?”
Wow, he had gone from cocky and self-assured to suspicious and demanding in three seconds flat. “Megan didn’t say anything,” I said trying to pull my hand free.
His fingers tightened around mine. “There are two sides to every story.”
Spoken like a guy who had something to hide.
I opened my mouth to tell him I really had to go when he leaned in and kissed me. His lips were hard against mine, and when his tongue slipped inside my mouth, I pulled away so fast I hit my head on the car window.
I stared at him in disbelief. What the hell?
“Sorry, I thought you…”
He thought what, exactly? That I wanted his tongue down my throat?
“Too soon?”
Ya think? “Yeah,” I said, pushing open the car door. He finally let go of my hand.
“Maybe we can go out again with Megan and Milo, so your dad doesn’t think it’s a date.”
Ian was no longer at the window and I hoped he hadn’t left because of the kiss.
“I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later, okay?” Not waiting for his response, I rushed into the house. My heart slammed against my chest as I shut the front door and ran to the parlor, only to find Ian wasn’t there.
I ran up the steps to my room to find it empty.
“Damn it,” I said under my breath, mad that Ian had taken off before I’d had a chance to talk to him. I was so disappointed, I felt like crying.
“He likes you.”
Ian stood in the doorway to the bathroom, leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest. He was so beautiful, my heart skipped a beat.
I nodded. “I guess.”
“He kissed you.”
“I didn’t want him to.”
“Are you sure?” he said jokingly, but there was a slight edge to his voice.
“Did you see me pull away?”
“No, I wanted to give you your privacy.”
I wanted to tell him that no one else could make me feel the way he did. That no one could ever compare to him. But didn’t he know that? Couldn’t he read my thoughts? Or perhaps he could only read certain thoughts?
The silence stretched out until I couldn’t take it. “Oh, guess what—Johan is related to the MacKinnon’s who live there now, and he’s offered to give me a tour.”
“Don’t rely on Johan,” he said abruptly.
I could read the jealousy on his face, in the way his jaw clenched. For some odd reason, the knowledge that he was jealous thrilled me. At least I knew my feelings weren’t one-sided.
“He might just be our only way in…short of breaking in. I mean, maybe he can talk to his parents and get a key.”
“We don’t need Johan’s help.” I clearly heard the jealousy in his voice this time, and saw irritation in his eyes.
My stomach fluttered. “Then how do we get in?”
“I can get in anytime I’d like, but you, on the other hand, require a bit more finesse. Let me work on it.”
I didn’t think it could be too difficult for him to get me in, but maybe, like me, he wanted to wait awhile. Maybe––just maybe––he enjoyed my company as much as I enjoyed his.
He looked at my neck, reached out, and lightly pulled the shirt down. Only a tiny bruise remained. “Laria’s going too far. This must stop.”
“I’m not afraid of her, Ian.”
He watched me closely, intently. “She is invading your dreams now?”
I didn’t deny it. “I had a nightmare last night…and you were in it. Actually, you tried to kill me.”
He frowned. “I would never hurt you, Riley. You know that, right?”
I nodded. “I know. I trust you.”
Slowly a smile tugged at his lips, and the old Ian returned. “Have you read anything in the books about protecting yourself against evil spirits?”
I bent over my bed, reached for the stack of books I had hidden there. All the blood rushed to my head, and when I sat upright, I realized my shirt had ridden up and Ian stared at the skin I’d unwittingly flashed him.
His gaze shifted slowly back to my face, and the blood in my veins turned hot at t
I looked down at the book and quickly flipped through to the pages I recalled reading earlier. “It says here that small stones and pebbles placed along the floor can ward off evil spirits.” I glanced up at him. “We can always go to the river. There are plenty of stones there.”
We raced to the river and I picked up as many stones and pebbles as my jean and sweatshirt pockets could hold. The sun was slowly slipping behind the horizon when we entered the inn again.
I unloaded the rocks the second I made it to my room, and Ian helped me place them around my bed and along the doorway and window frame. “I hope you know if Miss Akin walks in here, she’ll think I’m crazy.”
“No, she won’t…she adores you,” he said with a smile that curled my toes.
I stared at him, and I don’t know what came over me, but I took the steps that separated us and I kissed him. I had meant for it only to be a chaste kiss, a “you-make-me-so-happy” kind of kiss, but it ended up being something completely altogether different.
I sensed his surprise, but only for an instant. The next thing I knew, his arms came around me, crushing me to him. I sighed into his mouth and he smiled against my lips before he deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding against mine, silky soft.
Exhilaration and need rushed through me as my hands flattened against his back. I could feel the play of muscle and sinew beneath my fingers. What I felt for Ian was real, and ironically he made me feel alive in a way I hadn’t been since my mom’s death.
Ian pulled away the slightest bit, looking down at me, his blue eyes intense. “We’re playing with fire, Riley Williams.”
“I don’t care.” And I didn’t care. I wanted Ian MacKinnon more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life.
He opened his mouth to say something else, but I silenced him with another kiss. His long hair tickled my forearms, and as his hand moved down my back and settled on my hip, I moaned softly.
Footsteps sounded on the staircase and I held my breath. Ian put me at arm’s length and started fading before my eyes.
“Don’t you dare leave,” I whispered at the same time a knock sounded at my bedroom door. It had to be Miss Akin checking in.
Her timing sucked.
“Tomorrow,” Ian said, kissing me one last time, and before I could beg him to stay, he was gone.