The House on the Shore (28 page)

“No
,
you didn’t.
I should have
realized
you still feel vulnerable.”

“I
’m not
.”

The look on his f
ace said he didn’t believe her.

“Honestly, I’m
okay
,” she said firmly, trying to convince herself as well as him.

Something intense flared between them.
H
er erratic heartbeat had nothing to do with her anxious state.
The way Luke was watching her sent desire rippling through her.
It was as if
an invisible, delicate thread pulled them closer and closer together.
When
Luke caught her hand in his
, s
he didn’t hesitate.
His strong arms circled her waist
, and his hands caress
ed
the small of
her back
.

She tilted her face to his.
What she saw in his eyes left her with no doubt of his intention.
His mouth covered hers.
The kiss was urgent, demanding, and left her
lips
burning.
When he released her, she backed out of his grasp and leaned against the
helm
, her heart pounding in her
breast, her
gaze
locked with
his.

“Whoops,” he said
,
softly.
“Just me being stupid again.”

Anna
felt
so confused it took her a moment to think of a suitable response
.
“We just shared the most passionate, nerve tingli
ng kiss, and you say ‘whoops’?”

He rubbed his thumb over her lips.
“Don’t be angry, sweetheart.
I got as much pleasure from that as you did.
I won’t deny that I want you.
I want to be so far inside of you that I forget everything but you.”

Anna was shocked
.
E
ven Mark hadn’t said such things to her.

“However,” Luke continued, “I can’t let my need for you take over my common sense.
In case you forgot, we’re on a thirty-three ton yacht in the middle of a sea loch.
We could easily run aground or hit another boat.”

Anna looked over her shoulder.
“
I don’t believe there’s any danger.
There are no other
yachts. The loch is deep, t
here’s p
lenty of water under the hull.

“I was still reckless.
Besides, the timing is wrong.
You’re way too vulnerable right now.
When it happens, it’s not going to be on the hard deck of a yacht.”

“When what happens?”

“When I finally make love to you.”

“Oh,” was all she could say.

It was late afternoon when they dropped anchor in the small bay opposite Tigh na Cladach.
The house looked so small, like a tiny white cottage on a t
rain set.

“Cat got your tongue?”
Luke asked.

“No, you did,” Anna replied, laughing in sheer joy.

“Mm, and very enjoyable it was too.
I might even be tempted to come back for seconds.”

“Don’t you mean thirds?
W
hat’s this
might
business?
Perhaps you need a reminder,” she suggested playfully as she reached to put her arms around his neck.

“Anna, behave
.
O
therwise we’ll run aground.
Look, there’s a pickup parked outside your
door.
You expecting anybody?”

She squinted at the vehicle.
“It’s not Morag’s
, i
t’s the wrong colour.
I don’t recogni
z
e it.
There’s lettering on the side, but I can’t make it out.
Can you read it?”

“Not from this distance.
Here, try these,” Luke said, ha
nding her a pair of binoculars.

“P-r-o-t-e-u-s
 
S-u-r-v-e-y-s.
What are they doing on my land?
And
why
would they be surveying here?”

“Maybe they’re from the highway department or whoever is responsible for roads in this part of the world.”

“That doesn’t make sense.
I would have received notification if they were going to send anyone.”

“Or maybe someone thinks the croft’s for sale.”

“I don’t know how they could.
I don’t understand this
,
unless it has something to do with the estate.
Luke, we need to go ashore now.”

“
Okay
.
Okay
.
Just give me a chance
to stow everything away
and lock up.”

“There’s no time
—
”

“Anna, wait!”
It was too late. She ha
d already climbed over the stanchion and dived into the water.
By the time Luke
followed her in the dinghy, she ha
d waded ashore.

Dripping wet and shivering with cold, Anna marched up the beach and
stopped
in front of a middle-aged man loading a theodolite into the bed of a blue pickup.

“What
the
h
ell are you doing?”

The tall, thin surveyor with lank
hair
pushed his glasses back up nose. He
took on
e look at the soaking wet woman
and lau
ghed.

“What does it look like, love?
We’re carrying out a survey.
Another half hour, and my mate and I’ll be finished.
Nice dive by the way.
You would
get my vote in a wet T-shirt competition.”
He winked at her.

Anna folded her arms across her chest.
“Surveying?
Why?
This is private property and it belongs to me.
Let me see your authori
z
ation.”

“I don’t have to do that.
Besides, it’s restricted information.”

“Restricted from the person who owns this land?
That’s ridiculous!”

“How do I know you own the land?
Nobody was home when I knocked at the door.
You could be a tourist for all I know.”

“I’d gone out for the afternoon.
T
hose are my dogs you hear barking.”

“So
what
?
Unless can prove you’re the owner, get out of my way.”

“See that dry stone wall?”
Anna said, pointing to her left.
“That marks the boundary.
All the land between it and the shoreline, including the croft house, belongs to me.
Everything on the other side is owned by
Killilan
E
state.
If you’re working for the estate, why are you on my land?
And if you’re not, I demand to know who sent you.”

“I’ve only got your word for any of this.
I don’t have to tell you a thing.”

“I’ll give you the name of my solicitor.
He’ll confirm what I say is true.
Now stop what you’re doing
.”

“Look, love, I’m
only
following instructions,” he replied, placing a tripod in the truck.

“Yes, but whose instructions?
The Highland Council?
The Forestry Commission?
Alistair Grant?
Killilan Estate?”

“Never heard of ‘em.”

“Then who’s paying you?
And stop patroni
z
ing me by calling me your
love
!”

“I need to pick up my mate
. H
e’s waiting for me further down the track.
In the
meantime, do yourself a favour and
keep out of our way.”

“You can’t leave until you’ve answered my questions.”
Anna followed him round to driver’s door.

“You’ll have to take those up with the boss.
I need to re-check a few measurements before I lose the light.
Come on darlin’, move or I’ll run over you.”

A male voice cut the silence.

“What’s going on here?
Are you threatening her?”
Luke’s
eyes bored into the surveyor’s.

Recogni
z
ing authority, the surveyor’s tone mellowed.
“As I was explaining to the little lady, I’m doing a preliminary survey.
I’ve finished for today, but I’ll probably need to come back to check one or two things out.”

“Like
h
ell you will.
Get off my land now!
If you come anywhere near Tigh na Cladach again, I’ll have you arrested.”

“
I don’t know what the survey is for, or who authori
z
ed it,” the man said, getting in
to
his pickup.
“But if you’ve
an
y sense, you’ll not interfere. You’ll
let us get on with our work
.”

Anna blushed with rage.
“I’ll find out who sent you.
Now get
off my land
before I
set my dog
s on you.
”
She fished her keys out of her soggy pocket and
thrust them into Luke’s hand.

The surveyor let out a long breath and scribbled something on a piece of paper.
“
H
ere’s the office number
.
The guy you need to speak to is called George.
He usually gets in around ten o’clock.
I suggest you take your argument up with him.”

“Oh
,
I will.
Trust me.”

Anna watched the surveyor drive off before turning
and storming towards the croft
.
She marched into the kitchen, filled the kettle and slammed it
down
on the hotplate
, spilling some water in the process
.

“As soon as I’ve showered and changed, I’m going down to the gate and lock
ing
it.
That way, no one will get in or out without my knowledge.
I’ll phone Proteus Surveys in the morning and get to the bottom of this.”

“Do you have a lawyer?
You might need one to find out what the legal deal is.”

“I do
,
and I shall speak to him in the morning as well.”
Grateful for its warmth,
Anna leaned against the Aga.

“Good.
You’ll get it figured out tomorrow,” Luke said
,
as he
c
ame and stood beside her.

“Do you really think so
?” she asked, her voice fading.

“I have faith in you.
You’re one strong chick,” he
said, kissing her cheek.

“Yeah, right.
I’m a real tower of power.
First someone tries to break into my house, now a surveyor turns up.
All I can do is shake.
What’s going on Luke?”

“I don’t know, but
we’re
going to find out.
Go and take a hot bath.
I don’t want you getting s
ick on top of everything else.”

Luke waited until he heard the water running before removing the revolver tucked in the waistband of his jeans.
He figured it was a bit too soon in his relationship with
Anna
to explain why an artist needed to carry firearms.
When he judged she was safely up to her neck in bubbles, he climbed the stairs to his bedroom
and opened one of the drawers.

He held the gun for a moment, feeling its weight in his hand.
He
dropped it in the drawer.
Firearms belonged to a part of his life he preferred to forget.
This gun was usually locked away in the safe in his cabin.
U
ntil he could be sure that the events of last night, and the unexpec
ted appearance of the surveyor
weren’t connected, he wasn’t taking any chances.
He was prepared to shoot.