Free Lord of the Isles: International Billionaires VIII: The Scots by Caro LaFever

laugh had let her know how close she was to destruction. “Ye know nothing. Nothing at all.”
    Turning, he stomped into the bathroom and slammed the door behind him, before he touched her and lost the last bit of honor he had.

Chapter 6
    T hat hadn’t gone very well .
    Lilly listlessly adjusted her camera again, and tried to focus on taking shots of the sea. She’d gotten some good photos of the bank of clouds rolling in with the storm before succumbing to a sudden blast of sleepiness. Her late night last evening and the trip from India catching up with her, apparently.
    Lifting the camera to her eyes and gazing through the closed window, she tried to find a good shot. She wanted to know what to shoot before she opened the pane and let the wind whip in.
    But the only thing she could think about was the panic in his eyes and the way his face had turned pale.
    She would just have to make it up to him somehow.
    Not by getting him more whiskey, though. That wouldn’t help him conquer his demons and, clearly, the man had a lot of demons.
    Sighing, she dropped the camera onto its case. Whatever a dolster was, she could see this particular storm was not going to stop by the end of the day. She wasn’t going to be able to escape to her dad’s cozy cottage anytime soon.
    Yet, perhaps that was for the best. Because Iain McPherson’s depression and demons were much greater than she first expected. His stubborn denial of any kind of help or any need to talk was going to take more than a couple of hours of her charming company to overcome.
    Maybe staying longer was meant to be.
    Maybe the attraction you feel for him will grow and get you in trouble.
    Shaking away the thought, she slipped the camera into its protective case. He needed a friend, and she needed to remember that.
    She glanced around. Now that she had cleaned everything but the bathroom and done the laundry, there wasn’t much to do. She’d tinkered with his computer for a few minutes. However, the man had it locked down like Fort Knox and the likelihood of his WiFi working in this storm was minimal. She’d have to wait to do a search on PTSD counseling and vet groups. There was plenty of time, since it appeared it was going to take several long talks before the McPherson would be ready to listen to her good advice.
    Walking to the open archway, she stared down at the stairs she’d climbed mere hours ago. It seemed like a lot longer time than that. It seemed to her as if her dad and his cottage and the villagers and their plots had shimmered away into a mist of rain and time.
    Stupid thought.
    She took a look back and noted the still-closed bathroom door.
    So His Lordship didn’t want to talk. Fine. She’d explore while he brooded. There was no more whiskey and no access to guns—the man couldn’t hurt himself. And exploring new places was one of her favorite things.
    The stairs ended at his cave, so she took them down and down, past the hallway leading to the back door, down into the depths of the ancient castle.
    The stone radiated the cold from outside as she ran her hand over the circular walls. The silence echoed, like whispering ghosts coming to lead her around. There was a string of modern lighting on the edge of the ceiling, shedding a meager glow on the steps, but it stopped abruptly at one door.
    She peered into the dark pit of the stairwell and decided to brave what was behind the stout wooden door.
    It creaked as it opened.
    A long, arched, stone hallway stood behind it, filled with clutter and darkness. Still, he had to get his food somehow. There’d be no way a delivery firm would take those backstairs—they must come through here.
    She moved her hand across the side wall and smiled when she found the switch. The hallway blazed into life and she now saw the clutter was actually lined up along the wall, leaving a thin pathway through to the tower entrance.
    The clutter was priceless.
    Her stepfather not only loved the symphony and classical