Lover Uncloaked (Stealth Guardians #1) - By Unknown Page 0,70
human or Stealth Guardian he’d ever met.
A woman he could fall on his knees for and wish for things he’d previously believed impossible.
If she ever forgave him.
TWENTY-FIVE
Leila accepted the cup of tea Hamish handed her as he joined her on the couch in the living room. She had gotten dressed in jeans and T-shirt again.
Hamish leaned back in his corner and saluted her with a glass of Scotch, which he’d told her was the preferred drink among Stealth Guardians.
“Why whiskey?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I guess it’s our heritage. We’re descendents from an ancient tribe that lived in Scotland, or rather on an island off Scotland. It’s cold up there. And the Scotch warms us.”
“Aiden mentioned something like that, the Outer Hebrides, I think he said. Well, I prefer tea.” At least it would keep her head clear.
Hamish smiled and took a swig. She watched as he savored the drink coating his throat. He was as tall as Aiden, but a little broader around the shoulders and the hips. His features were a little more worn, with more pronounced lines crisscrossing his face and dark shadows under his eyes as if he hadn’t slept in days. As if some big worry had kept him up.
“So, what else has he told you about us?”
Leila set her mug on the coffee table. “Not much, only what your powers are; that you can cloak humans, and walk through walls. Is there more?”
He quirked an eyebrow. “That’s about it.”
“How many of you are there?”
“Not enough.” He expelled a bitter laugh. “And at this point I’m not even sure which one of our people I can trust. It’s sad to see that even among our kind there are those who put their own profit before the good of the community. And we’re not immune to temptations, as you might have noticed.”
She felt herself blush under his suggestive gaze, knowing only too well what he was referring to: the fact that she and Aiden had kissed passionately when Hamish had transported them to the wine country. She could only blame her fear of dark spaces for having provoked this kiss. Otherwise, she was sure, she wouldn’t have allowed it, not after everything that had happened between her and Aiden previously. After all, he’d lied to her—repeatedly.
And so have you.
She tried to squash the little voice in her head that reminded her that she hadn’t confessed that one copy of her research still existed. Instinctively, her hand went to her pendant that still hung inconspicuously around her neck.
“So,” she searched hastily for something to say, “how long have you and Aiden known each other?”
“Almost two hundred years, we grew—”
“Two hundred years?” Shock made her sit up straight. “You’re two hundred years old?” He didn’t look a day over thirty-five, and neither did Aiden.
A charming grin spread over Hamish’s lips. “Yeah, that always gets a reaction.” He winked at her. “But we’re only just hitting our prime. Unfortunately, rasen can be a pain in the butt.”
Her eyebrows snapped together in confusion. “Rasen? What’s that?”
“Mating season. The closer we get to our 200th Birthday, the more urgent the drive to find a mate becomes. It’s a bit like a human woman’s biological clock, only a lot more intense.”
“Oh.” She hadn’t really wanted to talk about anything related to relationships. Maybe it was best to change the subject. “That’s okay, I wasn’t really asking about that.”
But Hamish didn’t let her off the hook. “You wanted to know more about Aiden. I’m willing to talk. You might as well take the offer. Who knows whether I’ll feel this generous ever again.”
She reached for the mug, feeling the need to steady her hands with something to distract from the fact that she was nervous. “I’m really not interested in talking about him. He’s obviously mad at me for calling my parents. I’m sorry, but I had to. I couldn’t just let them believe that—”
Hamish held up his hand. “I understand. But you’re misinterpreting Aiden. He isn’t mad at you. Of course, he has his reasons for reacting the way he did. But since you’re not interested in finding out more, I’ll just keep those to myself.”
Leila glared at him. She understood exactly what he was doing: he was baiting her. As if she were that easy to manipulate. Taking a quick sip from her tea, she told herself that she didn’t care what Aiden’s reasons for his outburst were. It didn’t matter at all.
When she looked up, Hamish sat there in silence as