Shy Innocent In The Spotlight by Melanie Milburne

CHAPTER SIX

MACKSTOODOUTSIDEthe crofter’s hut and took in a deep lungful of crisp Highland air. Somehow, unburdening himself to Elspeth had loosened the tight knot of pain deep inside his chest that had lain there for years. And yet, she was still intent on carrying on with her charade. How long did she think she could keep it going? While it was amusing to watch her valiantly act in her twin’s persona, he found himself wanting her to confess, especially now they were alone. He wanted her to know he knew exactly who he was kissing. Who he was making love to. That it was increasingly difficult for her to stay in her twin’s persona was more than obvious. But it had to be her decision to confess the twin-switch. How far was she prepared to run with it? That she had taken it this far showed a strong commitment to her twin, which was admirable, but what if there was some other motive? Or was he getting too cynical and jaded?

Mack came back to the hut with the box of supplies the housekeeper had organised for him. Elspeth was sitting on the small sofa in front of the fireplace, her legs curled beneath her. She had changed into casual clothes and her hair was loosened from the up-do and cascaded around her shoulders in a red-gold cloud. He wondered if he had ever seen a more beautiful woman. Or a more desirable one. She unfolded herself from the sofa, her graceful movements and slim figure reminding him of a ballerina. ‘Do you want some help?’

Mack placed the box on the small kitchen table and began to take out the items. ‘It’s okay. I’m used to doing this.’

A shadow passed over her face and her small white teeth sank into her lower lip. ‘Yes, well, no doubt you’ve brought dozens of women up here for a secret getaway.’

He placed the bottle of champagne on the table with a soft thud. ‘Actually, you’re the first person I’ve brought here.’

A look of astonishment came over her face. ‘Really? But why? I mean, why me?’

Good question.

One Mack didn’t have an answer for her other than she was the first woman he’d wanted to bring here to his private sanctuary. The first woman he felt would truly appreciate it in the way he did. The raw beauty of it, the isolation and starkness and untouched wildness speaking to his soul as no other place could. ‘I wanted to get you away from the press and this seemed a good place. The best place. Only a handful of people know it even exists.’

Elspeth tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, her cheeks a faint shade of pink. ‘I guess I should feel honoured...’ Her gaze fell away from his. ‘Mack?’ Her voice was tentatively soft.

‘What’s on your mind?’

‘Nothing.’ Her response was quick. Too quick. Her gaze troubled, her teeth savaging her lip once more, her cheeks a darker shade of pink.

Mack placed a packet of oat crackers on the table next to the cheese and came over to her, taking her by the hands. ‘Is there something you want to say to me?’

‘Just...thank you for bringing me here. It’s a beautiful place and I... I’m glad I don’t have to face the press right now. I would’ve found it too distressing.’

Mack brushed a loose strand of her hair back from her face. ‘But you’re used to handling the press.’

She looked down at their joined hands. ‘Yes, but this is different...everything about this...about us is different...’

He brought her chin up so her gaze met his once more. ‘What’s different about us?’

She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. ‘I’m not really how I’m portrayed in the media. I want you to know that before we...go any further...’

Mack stroked her pink cheek with the broad pad of his thumb, his eyes locked on hers. ‘There’s another Robert Burns quote I like. “O wad some Power the giftie gie us To see oursels as ithers see us! It wad frae mony a blunder free us, An’ foolish notion.”’

She gave an effigy of a smile. ‘So true...’

Mack lowered his mouth to hers in a soft kiss that made his lips tingle and buzz for more. Elspeth sighed against his lips and pressed herself closer, her hands going to the wall of his chest, her lips opening beneath the pressure of his. He wrapped his arms around her, bringing her as close to his aching body as he could. The slim contours of her body exciting him as no other woman had ever done. Need pummelled through him, a pounding, punishing need that drove every other thought out of his mind other than to possess her in order to quell this maddening ache of his flesh.

He kissed her deeply, thoroughly, delighting in the breathless murmurs of encouragement she gave. Her hands moved from his chest to wind around his neck and she stood on tiptoe, bringing her pelvis into blistering contact with his. Mack cupped the sweet curves of her bottom, holding her to his throbbing length, wondering if he had ever felt so aroused before. Something about her shy sensuality stirred his senses into a frenzy. Her body spoke to his in a language as old as the craggy peaks of the Highlands.

Mack placed one of his hands below her right breast, aching to feel the weight of the soft curve in his hand but not wanting to rush her.

Elspeth whispered her approval against his lips. ‘Touch me.’

He needed no other encouragement. He gently peeled away her top and lowered the slim strap of her bra to access her breast. He drank in the sight of her before he brought his mouth to the creamy curve with its rosy peak. He caressed her with his lips and tongue, enjoying the sounds of her pleasure as much as he enjoyed the taste of her in his mouth. He moved to her other breast, uncovering it and caressing it with the same sensual focus. He finally raised his mouth off her soft flesh, looking into her lust-glazed eyes. ‘I wanted you from the moment I met you.’

She stroked her hand down the length of his jaw. ‘That soon?’

He smiled and ran his hands down the sides of her body to bring her hips flush against his. ‘You sound surprised.’

‘I am.’

Mack ran his hands through the silky thickness of her hair. ‘I would have thought you’d be well used to men lusting over you by now.’

Something passed through her gaze like a faint ripple across a body of still water. Her gaze dipped to his mouth, her throat rising and falling over a swallow. ‘Mack?’

He tilted her face upwards to meet his gaze. ‘Yes?’

She swallowed again and stepped out of his hold, pulling her bra and loose-fitting top back into place. ‘I need to tell you something...something about myself that you’re not going to like.’

‘Go on.’

She shifted her lips from side to side, then bit down on her lower one. She did it so often, he wondered if she was even conscious of it. ‘I’ve been lying to you from the moment we met.’

‘I know.’

She rapid-blinked. ‘Pardon?’

Mack gave a lazy smile. ‘I was wondering how long you were going to keep it up.’

Her expression was wary. ‘Keep what up?’

‘The act.’

She licked her lips, her mouth opening and closing. ‘The...act?’

Mack came over to her and took her by the upper arms. ‘You little goose. How long did you think you could pull it off? You’re nothing like your twin apart from in looks.’

A host of emotions washed over her face—shock, relief, surprise, dismay, even a little anger. ‘How did you know? When did you know?’

‘Not until earlier today, although I had my suspicions from my first glimpse of you at the window when you first arrived at Crannochbrae.’

Elspeth pulled away from him and hugged her arms around her body again. ‘Does anyone else know?’

‘No.’

She began to pace the floor. ‘No one can know, especially not Sabine. She’s been hurt enough.’ She stopped pacing and arched her head back to look at the ceiling and groaned. ‘Argh, why did I allow myself to think I could do this? I knew I would stuff it up.’

‘You didn’t stuff it up,’ Mack said. ‘You convinced everyone.’

‘Except you.’

He approached her again, stroking his hand down one of her slim arms. ‘I’m the one who’s spent the most time with you. I was drawn to you. You intrigued me.’ He captured a handful of her hair and ran it through his fingertips and added, ‘You were a beguiling mix of feisty and shy. The stuff I’d been told about you didn’t add up, but it wasn’t until I did a bit of research after the wedding was called off that I put all the pieces of the puzzle together.’

‘What did you find? I asked Elodie to keep quiet about having a twin. I never wanted the fame she’s sought since she was a kid. I hate being in the spotlight. I hate being compared to her and found lacking. I’ve had nightmares for years of people mistaking her for me and chasing me down the street. I dress simply, I never wear make-up or nail polish. I keep the lowest profile I can. I only did the switch because...well, I was a little tired of my boring life. And I genuinely wanted to help her.’

‘There was one photo attached to an article about Lincoln Lancaster’s aborted wedding. It wasn’t a clear shot of you but I could see the likeness. Your name was there along with the other young women. I’m annoyed at myself for not guessing who you were sooner.’

‘I’m glad you didn’t.’ She threw him a churlish glance. ‘It might’ve caused an even bigger scandal if you’d outed me.’

Mack took her hands in his and gave them a gentle squeeze. ‘Why did you do it?’

She gave a shuddering sigh. ‘Elodie needed to be somewhere else for an important top-secret meeting. She convinced me to go in her place to the wedding, but she didn’t tell me anything about her one-night stand with your brother. I was so shocked when he approached me and was no nasty towards me.’

‘I’m sorry about his behaviour.’

‘It’s okay, I’m quite proud of how I managed it, to tell you the truth.’ Elspeth frowned and continued, ‘But as much as I wanted to put Fraser in his place, there was Sabine to consider. I know you wanted their wedding to go ahead but I was convinced it would be a disaster if it did.’

‘You were right,’ Mack said with a heavy sigh. ‘Fraser has some serious growing up to do before he’s ready to settle down with anyone.’

‘There was another reason I agreed to step into my twin’s shoes...’ Her gaze came back to his. ‘Because of my allergy, I’ve spent most of my life with my mother hovering anxiously over me in case I ingest a peanut. I only moved out of home a month ago and I’m twenty-eight years old. If I checked my phone right now I swear there will be fifty missed calls or texts from her. I have to turn my phone off most of the time otherwise it drives me crazy. The last time I tried to have a weekend away, she turned up. I was so embarrassed having her fussing over me. I decided switching places with Elodie would be a chance to live a little. To experience things I’ve only ever dreamt about before.’

‘What sort of things?’

Her gaze drifted to his mouth. ‘The first and only time I was kissed when I was eighteen, I ended up in hospital with anaphylactic shock.’

It took a moment for Mack to realise the import of her confession. ‘You mean you haven’t been kissed until now?’

Elspeth gave a self-conscious grimace. ‘I know, pathetic, right?’

He took her by the upper arms again. ‘It’s not pathetic. It’s... I’m just gobsmacked that I’m the first person to...’ He shook his head as another thought occurred to him. She was so inexperienced. He was the first person to kiss her in a decade. He was shocked and yet strangely touched. Honoured that she had allowed him to be the one to be the first. ‘Does that mean you’re—’

‘A virgin? Yes. That’s even more pathetic.’

Mack released her to score a hand through his hair. She was a virgin who had only been kissed once before. How could he think of having a fling with her now? He was used to sleeping with women who were at ease with casual relationships. Sleeping with a sweet, shy virgin was not in his game plan. ‘No, it’s not pathetic at all. But it changes everything between us.’

Elspeth looked at him in alarm. ‘What do you mean?’

He waved a hand to encompass their intimate surroundings. ‘We’ll stay the night here because it’ll soon be too dark to go back to the castle but we won’t be sleeping together.’

‘I see...’ Her expression became masklike but he could sense the disappointment in her. The same disappointment he was experiencing. A bitter disappointment that was hard to swallow. ‘Can I ask why?’

‘For God’s sake, Elspeth. You’re a virgin and I’m a freaking playboy, that’s why.’

She held his gaze with straight-shouldered pride. ‘I hardly see how that’s a problem. If anything, surely it would be an advantage? You know what to do and can help me.’

Mack rubbed a hand down his face, the sound of his palm raking across his stubble loud in the silence. ‘It’s not going to happen. I’m not the right person for you.’

‘I’m not asking for a commitment, Mack. I just want to experience sex with someone I desire. It can be just the once. I just want to lose my virginity to someone who will treat me with respect. I know you will do that.’

Mack let out a swear word in Gaelic. ‘I don’t want to talk about it any more.’ He stepped back to the table where he had left the box of food. ‘We’re going to have a drink and a light supper and go to bed. Alone.’

Her gaze drifted to the queen-sized bed through the open door of the bedroom off the living area. ‘But there’s only one bed.’

‘I’ll make do on the sofa.’ His back began to ache at the thought. And not just his back but other parts of his anatomy that would have preferred sharing that bed with Elspeth. But how could he do such a thing? She was so innocent, so inexperienced and he had no right to be thinking of taking her in his arms. She was off limits. He had to be strong, in control of his desires, to be honourable and steadfast. He could do that, of course he could. He would have to.

‘It won’t be very comfortable for you. I’m not as tall—maybe I should sleep there instead.’

Mack shook his head. ‘No. You have the bed. I insist.’

‘But—’

‘No arguments.’ He injected his tone with a note of intractability, more for his own benefit than hers. He had to be strong. He had to ignore the chemistry that filled the crofter’s hut with unbearable tension. He had to ignore the throbbing need in his body. He had to be out of his mind to even contemplate sleeping with her now he knew about her inexperience.

‘Fine. We’ll do it your way.’ Elspeth swung away and stalked off to the bathroom, clicking the door shut behind her.

Mack let out a ragged sigh and stared at the bottle of champagne in his hand. He had never felt less like celebrating.