Read Online Heart of the Highland Wolf by Terry Spear - Free Book Online Page B

serious. If I wasn’t so afraid of losing my job or had more nerve, I’d go with you. But still… I don’t think you should be doing this.”
    â€œI’m just going to take a walk around. No one will see me. I’ll be sure of it.”
    Maria didn’t look convinced. “Laird MacNeill said he didn’t want anyone roaming around the property without his permission. And we kind of have an in now. We don’t want to ruin that.”
    â€œI’ll be in the woods outside the castle, not inside.” Unless Julia located the secret tunnels her grandfather had mentioned. Although he’d said the place had been too well defended in earlier years for them to try to get back in that way, and in more recent years, they hadn’t been successful with a couple of quick tries to locate the tunnel entrance. A lone female might do the trick.
    â€œAround the perimeter or within the castle—the place is off-limits unless Laird MacNeill gives us permission.” Maria gave Julia a critical look. “Just because he dropped us off at the cottage, he still might not make any concessions for us. Although you can’t tell me there’s nothing going on between the two of you. The air practically sizzles with the way he looks at you. Don’t think I didn’t notice the interest you’ve shown him in return.”
    â€œHe got me an ice pack, nothing else. Well, started the bath. Don’t read anything more into it than that. He was just being nice. All right?” What Julia didn’t say was how much she suspected Ian didn’t trust her one bit and that was all his interest in her. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer—wasn’t that the old adage?
    Maria motioned to the fireplace crackling with heat. “He started a hot, little fire—probably more than the one in the fireplace. Grabbed a blanket from your bedroom. I imagine he removed your heels and stockings, and no telling what else he would have removed if you’d been agreeable. I’ll bet he also carried you into the bathroom, or he wouldn’t have been leaving it when we arrived.”
    Julia’s face heated. She was not about to tell Maria that Ian had kissed her in a way that she’d remember forever. Her ex-boyfriend had never come close to setting her on fire the way Ian had.
    Maria’s brows rose. “He offered to remove your clothes, didn’t he?” She laughed. “If we’d had any food, he probably would have fixed you something to eat.”
    â€œHe’s a laird. He probably doesn’t know how to cook. But I’ll be careful. Like a wolf in stealth mode.”
    Maria’s dark brows rose, and her worried look returned. “You’re not going as a wolf, are you?”
    â€œNo.” Not at first . Unless Julia could locate the secret entrance easier that way. “What did you think of Duncan MacNeill?”
    â€œHe’s one to watch. Quiet and lethal. As for Laird MacNeill, after Harold took one look at that photo of him, Harold summed him up in four little words, ‘ Bad to the bone .’”
    â€œYeah.” Julia thought of Ian’s image in the photo and of him sitting in the pub. He’d had the same cool look as he did in the photo, his eyes hauntingly perceptive. And he appeared to be in charge, even miles from his castle. How far did his sphere of influence reach? Why didn’t he have an entourage? She imagined a laird would have lots of people tagging along with him everywhere he went, trying to get on his good side, wanting favors. Maybe it didn’t work that way in this day and age.
    Ian looked to be around thirty or so, maybe a little older. Not old enough to be so obstinate about not wanting to film at the castle, so set in his ways and not liking change.
    â€œMaybe we can deal with someone else.” Because despite what Maria might think about Ian and her, Julia knew he was wary of her.