A Time & Place for Every Laird by Angeline Fortin (ebook reader TXT) 📕

Wrapping his arms tightly around her, Hughrolled onto his back, carrying Claire with him until she wassprawled across his heaving chest. His lips skimmed down her throatlazily. “Mé gráigh tú. Mé adhradh tú. Mé grá tú, mo Sorcha. Igcónaí,” he murmured against her as his hands stroked down herback.

Claire nuzzled her cheek against his dampneck, inhaling the musky scent of his skin as she snuggled againsthim. “What does that mean?”

Hugh shook his head, his hand sliding downover her bottom once more. “It means, I am glad that we hae anotherday together before we must leave.”

She didn’t believe that but Claire wasn’t inthe mood to question him. The moment was too magical, tooextraordinary to question. Instead, she sat up, straddling him andspreading her hands over his chest. Brushing her lips across his,she whispered with a smile, “For you, I would make all the time inthe world.”

Olson, one of that fool Nichols’s junioragents, was hopping from one foot to the other in Jameson’s doorwayas if he needed to use the G.D. John, Jameson thought irritably ashe slammed down the phone. He’d be damned if he was going to takeon one more academy stripling after this fiasco. “What is it?”

“Sir! Well, shit, sir! I can’t believe it,really,” Olson stammered excitedly.

“Spit it out or you’re fired!”

“She turned on her phone … Claire Manning,that is,” the junior agent said, bouncing on his toes. “Who wouldhave thought …” Olson paused at the look on his superior’s face.“We were able to trace her, sir. I mean, she didn’t have it onlong, but we’ve definitely narrowed it down.”

“Who did she call?” Nichols asked, steppinginto the office.

“N-no one, sir,” Olson stammered. “That’swhy I can’t believe it. She just turned it on and then off again afew minutes later.”

Jameson hid his surprise well. After days ofnothing, he wouldn’t have thought the woman would be stupid enoughto get caught twice in one day. “Where is she?”

The junior agent was hopping again. “Shewasn’t on long enough to pinpoint her exact location but she’ssomewhere on Bainbridge Island.”

Blood surging with satisfaction, Jamesonpounded on his keyboard, looking up the location. “Get Marshall. Iwant men on that island now. Lock down the ferry. Do a door-to-doorsearch of every building on the fucking island if you have to, butI want her found. Now!”

“Y-yes, sir,” Olson piped and was gone.

“You don’t have enough evidence to get awarrant to do a sweep like that,” Nichols said, closing the officedoor behind him. “Might I remind you that all you have is the factthat she left work early one day and left Spokane when the labclosed.”

“Probable cause excuses everything, Nichols.I thought you knew that by now.”

“You have nothing. We should be focusing allour efforts in the Spokane area instead of going off on some wildgoose chase.”

“Dammit, Nichols, I understand you’rehovering on the edge of retirement but some of us still have to doour jobs if we want to suck off the government tit for the rest ofour days, too.”

Nichols frowned. “You think I’m beingcomplacent because I’m not jumping at shadows? Maybe I’m just assure as you that this entire line of investigation is absolutebullshit!”

Jameson pinned the INSCOM agent with amurderous glance that would have had young Olson fainting at hisfeet. “Then who attacked my agent this afternoon, Nichols?Huh?”

“Marshall said that he never saw the man whograbbed him and that the guy spoke with a Southern accent,” Nicholsreminded unnecessarily. “Hardly one of your savages. He wasprobably a tourist who thought Mrs. Manning was being mugged orsomething.”

Given that his life was practically on theline, Nichols was proving to be surprisingly resolved in his needto follow the protocols, which demanded some evidence ofculpability before such extreme measures were taken. Jameson didn’tgive a rat’s ass about protocols. What the evidence said and whathe knew were two different things, so to hell with it all. “Gether, Nichols,” he growled. “If she gets off that island, ColonelWilliams will be looking at you for answers.”

“And if she comes out of this clean, it willbe your balls in a sling.”

Spreading his hands across his desktop asNichols left the room, Jameson felt a surge of primal satisfaction,and a satisfied sneer curled his lip into some semblance of asmile. Soon, every one of his naysayers, like Nichols, would seethat his gut had been right all along when he had Claire Manning,and by extension his missing anomaly, in his grasp.

Fuck the warrants. He’d burn down everybuilding on the island if it meant proving himself right.

Chapter 34

Hugh turned and spooned behind her, slippinghis hand up to cup her breast comfortably as he pulled her snugglyagainst him. She’d forgotten how good that could feel. What a safeand warm place it was. How it made a woman feel sheltered andprotected. Right then there was nowhere Claire would rather be.

She sighed with contentment, but misreadingthe exhalation, Hugh shifted behind her, lifting his head to lookdown at her with his brow furrowed. “Are ye well, lass? Do ye … haeregrets?”

Claire almost snorted at that. Her regretswere many, but none of them fell where she might have thought theywould. Lying there in the bed with Hugh after they made love, shehad waited for the guilt and regret to flood her over what a weekbefore she would have considered a betrayal to Matt, but Claire hadknown almost instantly that they weren’t going to come. What washappening between her and Hugh felt right.

What she did regret was that she was goingto lose Hugh and that she had no choice in the matter. Claireskimmed her fingers over Hugh’s cheek and stretched up to kiss himsoftly. “No regrets. It was incredible.”

“And it will be again. I told ye I am naedone wi’ ye.”

The husky words were possessively spoken,and Hugh settled in behind her once more, his hand at her hip,pulling her back against the arousal already hardening againagainst her bottom. Her wild Scotsman was proving insatiable, butafter a week of simmering lust, Claire was happy to have as much ofhim as possible before they were forced to part. Wiggling againsthis groin, she