Everlastin' Book 1 Read Online Free PDF

hands. She'd noticed that
earlier when he'd taken her suitcase from her. His hold was gentle,
not the least threatening, but nonetheless, she felt intimidated by
the masculinity of him—and the ease by which he had stepped into
her life. He responded to her as if they had known one another for
a very long time.
    The way through the hedges
and brush was growing ever darker, but he walked with a confidence
that bespoke of his familiarity with the property. He kept her
close to his side, like a protective lover. Traversing the path,
she couldn't help but ponder the anomaly of walking at night with a
man she didn't know. It made her realize how sheltered a life she'd
led. The years had simply passed by. She was almost thirty, and
hadn't dated since college.
    “We're here,” Lachlan said
softly, almost in a reverent whisper. He came to a stop by a white,
four-foot corral-style fence, and drew Beth closer to his side.
“The moonlight blesses this field.”
    Beth felt a fluttering
sensation in the pit of her stomach. The field, a farmhouse in the
far distance and the hills beyond were bathed in ethereal silver
light.
    “Tis a sight to soothe the
soul, aye?”
    “It's beautiful.”
    “Aye. It has never had
competition, till you came.” Noting with wry amusement Beth's quick
glance of disapproval, he went on, “The Lauders live in the
farmhouse you see across the way. Eleven or mair generations have
lived on and worked this land.”
    “Did they once own this
property, too?”
    “Aye. Baird's offer to
purchase these forty-five acres came at a time when the Lauders
were in dire need o’ money.”
    Lachlan smiled as he dipped
his head and his gaze caressed her features. “They liked the old
boy, appreciated his love and plans for this piece o’ their
history.”
    The chill of the evening's
drizzle caused a shiver to pass through her. She was prepared to
ignore it when Lachlan stepped behind her and draped his arms about
her upper torso.
    She stiffened out of
instinct.
    “Hold yer indignancies,” he
chuckled by her ear. “I'm only tryin’ to keep the chill ou' o’
you.”
    “I'm f-fine.”
    “Aye, and the chatterin’ o’
yer teeth is really fairies dancin’ on the rocks yonder?
Relax.”
    “I'd relax a lot better if
you weren't wrapped around me,” she bristled.
    Lachlan sighed and rested
his chin atop the crown of her head. She thought to shove him away,
but his closeness did award her much needed warmth. And truth be
told, his closeness felt right. Wrong...yet
somehow... right.
    Jet lag.
    “Wha' do you see when you
look across tha' field?”
    She took a few seconds to
regulate her breathing. “Moonlight.”
    “And?”
    “Space. Openness.” She
sighed and she unknowingly leaned into him. “Incredible beauty and
serenity.”
    “Aye, tis all tha' and
mair.
    “The herrin' loves the merry
moonlight,
    The mackerel loves the
wind,
    But the oyster loves the
dredgin' sang,
    For they come o’ a gentle
kind.”
    Beth pondered the words for
some time before asking, “What does it mean?”
    “I'm hungry, and thinkin’ o’
fish, I guess.”
    The laughter in his tone
brought a smile to her face.
    Despite his unnerving
proximity, the tension in her body ebbed. Something she couldn't
define tingled along her skin. With it came a sense of loftiness,
as if she were absorbing his ease and contentment, his
confidence.
    “Wha' do you think o’
Scotland?”
    She shrugged within the band
of muscular arms embracing her. “What I've seen is wonderful, but I
really haven't had a chance to see much.”
    “You'll come to love it
here. Maybe almaist as much as me.”
    Mindless of what her next
move might provoke, Beth innocently turned in his arms and looked
into his eyes. “I can't understand everything you're saying. Your
accent is very thick.”
    Lachlan's smoldering dark
gaze settled on Beth's shapely mouth. He wanted to tell her what
her dulcet tone did to him, what her physical presence meant to
him. Keeping a tight