Among the Heather (The Highlands, #2)

Aria’s face lit up at the news, and she excused herself before drifting off to offer congratulations.

I was distracted from my intense awareness of the woman when Eredine came over to say hello. Eredine had a serene quality that matched well with her occupation. Originally from the States, she’d picked up a slight Scottish inflection in her accent. She asked how I was doing after the scandal, and because of the sincerity she exuded, I didn’t mind talking about it with her. Her fiancé, Arran, quickly joined us, however, who turned the conversation to their wedding, happening in a matter of weeks. His pointed need to remind me that his fiancée was taken amused me. Either he was so infatuated with Eredine he couldn’t see past it, or I was doing well at hiding my obsession with Aria.

Soon enough I’d understand exactly where Arran was coming from when, a half hour later, I turned from chatting with Walker and Sloane to see Aria at the bar. With Jared McCulloch.

Their heads dipped toward one another, and a shot of jealousy cut through me.

Before I could let rationality catch up with my testosterone, I wound through the crowded bar and approached Aria just in time to hear Jared say, “If you really want to make me feel better, we could get a room upstairs.”

Fury heated my blood, my neck growing hot as I sidled up between them and slid a possessive arm around Aria’s waist. “I don’t think so, mate. She’s taken.”

Aria tensed against me, turning solid as a brick wall, and before she could speak, Jared exhaled wearily. His pupils were dilated, and I could smell the whisky on his breath. “Ignore me. I’m drunk. Sorry.”

Pity killed my territorialism. “You all right? Do you need someone to see you home?”

“I’m fine.” He waved me off and stumbled from the stool. I moved to steady him, but he jerked away from me before weaving his way around the villagers. Arran suddenly appeared in front of him, placing a hand on Jared’s shoulder. The farmer seemed to relax at Arran’s touch, and I turned to Aria, assured someone was taking care of the grieving man.

That assurance died under Aria’s wrathful glare.

Fuck.

“Ari—”

“I’m taken?” she hissed angrily. “I’m not a piece of property you can pee around.”

Before I even had a chance to defend myself, she shoved past me and stormed through the crowd toward the exit.

Fucking great.

Hurrying after her, I didn’t catch up until we were out the door. “Aria!” I reached her just a few steps away from the bar’s entrance, not caring if there was anyone around as I tugged her toward me.

She stumbled in her heels, and I steadied her, taking hold of her biceps. Aria pushed at my chest and it felt like it was caving in. “Aria, please.”

Her face was flushed, but I could see right through her. This was more than being pissed at me for acting like a jealous boyfriend.

Panic flared in the back of her eyes.

“I’m not yours. You get that, right?”

“Did you want to fuck him?” I snarled, hurt beyond bearing by her rejection.

“Of course not.” She huffed, shoving my hands off her. “But I’m also not your girlfriend. I thought I made that perfectly clear.”

The caving-in feeling worsened. “Aria,” I exhaled her name hoarsely. “You and I both know there’s so much more going on here than just sex.”

That trepidation I saw on her face hit red alert status, and I muttered a curse as she took a few steps backward, retreating from me. “No.”

“No?” I followed her. “Just no? That’s it? That’s all I get?”

“We had a deal,” she insisted. “Don’t do this.”

“Aria, I—” The squealing of tires cut me off, and my eyes flew in the sound’s direction.

It took my brain a second to make sense of what was happening, but horrified understanding dawned just in time.

An SUV was careening off the road, heading at speed directly toward us.

Instinct took over, and I yelled Aria’s name as I threw my body at her. I had the presence of mind to turn my back as I wrapped my arms around her, taking the majority of the impact as we hit the ground.

Blood rushed in my ears. The sound of a growling engine and Aria’s cries were muted and far away as the wind knocked out of me.

“North, North!” Aria’s hands smoothed over my chest, her concerned, frightened expression coming into focus.

Tires squealed again, and I glanced over her shoulder in fright, only to relax marginally as the SUV reversed and sped off. The sight of Walker running into the road jolted me, and I realized the commotion had drawn people from the pub.

“Did you hit your head? North?” Aria’s fingers were on my face now. “North, say something.”

My mind reeled as I gaped up at her, and the first words out of my mouth were, “Did someone just try to fucking kill us?”





Twenty-Four


ARIA





It was hard to determine whether North was okay because he wouldn’t stop asking if I was all right. After the initial shock of someone driving their SUV at us, all he cared about was me.

“I’m fine,” I assured him. My knee throbbed, but I’d only scraped it when North had thrown us out of the way of the vehicle. He was the one who’d taken the impact. I’d run my hands over the back of his head, searching for bumps or injuries, as his hands coasted up and down my waist. As if he needed to touch me. To be reassured that I was alive and okay.

It frightened me how concerned I was that he was hurt.

And I was even more frightened that someone had just tried to run us over.

“Right.” Walker marched to our sides, pushing through Lachlan and his brothers, who’d surrounded us protectively outside of the bar. “I’ve given the license number to a contact. He’s running it.”

Walker had been fast enough to run after the SUV to get the make, model, and plate, but he hadn’t seen the driver. North didn’t want the police involved, considering he was just recovering from being in the news, so Walker agreed to handle it privately.

“You’re sure neither of you saw the driver?”

I shook my head. “I didn’t even know what was happening until North hauled us to the ground.”

North grimaced angrily. “I didn’t see. It took me a second to even realize what was happening, and then I was focused on getting us out of the way. It looked like a Defender.”

“It was,” Walker confirmed. “A very old one. Hopefully, we can track down this person with the plates.”

“Unless they’re false plates,” Lachlan threw in.

The men talked among themselves, but I watched North and caught the winces he made as he shifted. “You are hurt.”

“My back.” He shrugged but winced again. “I’m fine.”

Huffing at his lack of concern for himself, I got behind him and lifted his T-shirt. A bruise was already forming on his left shoulder. “You knocked your shoulder pretty badly. We need to get back and ice it.”

“Aria—”

“Look”—I stormed around to face him—“you not only hit the ground but you had me on top of you, and I’m not exactly a delicate flower.”

His eyes narrowed. “Don’t.”