Free The Calum by Xio Axelrod Page A

demanding. Something she
thought only existed on the silver screen, or in the pages of Jo’s
tattered paperbacks. He nibbled at her with lips and teeth. His
tongue curled around hers, hot and sweet, and every synapse in her
brain misfired.
    Duff broke the kiss, set
the bottle down and pulled her closer, tangling his fingers in her
hair. Lovie tingled from her scalp down to her toes.
    She slipped her hands
underneath the coat and around his back, her fingers sliding over
solid muscle and searing heat. They stared at one another,
breathing heavily.
    Lovie licked her lips before they
came together again.
    This kiss was decadent and
full of promise. His mouth was soft, warm and urgent. He tasted
like power restrained.
    She gently bit down on his
lip, running her tongue along the edge to soothe it, and Duff made
one of the sexiest sounds she’d ever heard. She wanted to take him
down to her room and see what other sorts of noises he could
make.
    His hand drifted down and
over the front of her sweater.
    Lovie’s nipple peaked
against the warmth of his palm, and a soft, needy sound escaped her
throat. Her mind hovered in the shimmering haze between fear and
desire. Desire won.
    She placed one hand over
his, pressed it harder against her flesh and squeezed, knocked even
more breathless by his answering groan.
    Lovie came up for air, but
there wasn’t enough oxygen on the planet.
    Duff leaned back, gave her
a little ‘wow’ and moved in for the kill, sucking on her bottom lip
as if it was candied.
    Lovie skimmed the stubble
on his jaw with her fingertips and slipped a hand into his hair.
His fingers tightened around a handful of hers.
    Duff pressed her body to
his, and she sighed into his mouth. She felt him, hard against her
belly.
    They fit together like
chocolate and peanut butter. Like Ross and Rachel. Like scotch and
rooftop kisses.
    His arm banded around her
waist, nearly lifting her off her feet as the kiss deepened into
something more than mere lust. It was magical.
    A shout from the doorway
broke the spell.
    Duff leaned away, a
shocked expression on his face. After a breath, he quickly set her
down and removed his hands from her body. The cold air rushed back
in with a
vengeance . Duff took a step back, but his
eyes were on her mouth.
    Lovie could still feel his
lips there.
    Indecision was written all
over his face.
    Yeah, me too.
    “ Duffy where are ye, ye
bawheed? Pizza’s ready.” Hamish yelled from the top of the steps.
His voice bounced off the eaves, grating against her
ears.
    Duff scrambled back.
“I’m...sorry, I didna mean to...”
    “ No worries.” Lovie cursed
her breathy laugh. She pulled the blanket tight around her. “Heat
of the moment.”
    “ Right.” Duff frowned, but
his eyes drank her in. “Yeah. Look, we should-”
    “ Right.”
    She followed him back down
the steps, torn between thanking Hamish for saving her from herself
or killing Hamish for, well, cockblocking.
     

Discoveries
    Lovie hated the smell of
nail polish, but they’d somehow ended up in her room after dinner.
It was the same back home. Jo blew on the nails of her right hand.
She’d painted them candy apple red, the same color as Hamish’s
convertible, apparently. It matched the red in the paisley quilt on
the bed. “I think Duff’s into you.”
    Lovie looked away, the
blood rising in her cheeks. “Nah, he’s just being nice, keeping me company while
you work your magic on The Calum.”
    She flipped through a worn, leather-bound book containing the history of the estate.
Judging by the portraits of his ancestors, Hamish was the product
of some very strong genes. His family had a long history. In
another time, he might actually have been a laird or
something.
    “ Nice? The way he looks at
you, he’s being more than nice.” Jo’s freshly painted toes nudged
her thigh. “Did something happen between the two of
you?”
    “ What?” A sharp edge slid
along Lovie’s finger as she flipped the page. “Ouch! No! Why