Angus (13 page)

“Bloody hell!”

He straightened and looked at the room. Various objects, mainly books were flying about.

“What are you doing?’

And just like that, everything stopped and fell to the floor. The heat dissolved and was replaced by a burst of freezing air.

Maggie’s eyes focused on him finally.

“Angus?”

“Yes, Angus. What the fuck are you doing in here?”

She blinked. “You cussed.”

“I always cuss.”

“Not out loud.”

That much was true. He had a filthy mouth, but he usually kept it to himself.

“You read my thoughts.”

She frowned. “I do not read your thoughts.”

“But you read other’s thoughts?”

She sighed, the sound leaving him no doubt he was offending her in some way.

“No. I cannot read minds. What are you doing in here?”

“I just thought I would pop in and see what you are up to.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly at that. “Okay, if you don’t want to tell me the truth, then I’ll play along. I’m exercising my abilities, seeing how far I can push them.”

It was then that he saw the paleness of her skin, the bruises beneath her eyes. This wasn’t easy for her.

“You’re draining your energy.”

She shook her head and turned away. She said nothing as she walked about the room picking up the items that had fallen.

“Maggie.”

She set the books on the table against the far wall. “What?”

She had been very standoffish since she had agreed to help the Clan, but the last day or so, she had literally frozen him out. She refused to make eye contact and worse, she had often left a room to avoid him. She didn’t say that was the reason, but he had an idea it was.

He knew it was best not to confront her about it though. She had a horrible tendency to retreat further when he did.

“So, why didn’t you just pick them up with your Magick?”

She didn’t answer right away and he felt as if she were trying to come up with a clever story to tell him.

“I don’t have the energy.”

He said nothing to that. The fact that he had seen it with his own eyes didn’t make him any more comfortable with her abilities. He knew most people would think he was an idiot for questioning Magick. Lord knew Phoebe was right when she said they were Magick…at least in their own way. But, the truth of the matter was…Angus just didn’t want to accept it. And he didn’t feel comfortable around a woman who could wield Magick as easily as some women could wink, but he couldn’t seem to stay away.

“Nothing to add, Lennon?”

“You call all my cousins by their first name. But you never use their last name like you do with me. Why?”

“You are the one I cannot figure out.”

The simple statement confused him. “What do you mean?”

“I know where I stand with the others, but I feel that you haven’t made your mind up about me. “

True enough. “But you have no problem with Fletcher, who has made it clear he doesn’t like you.”

She leaned back against the table and crossed her arms beneath her breasts. He didn’t know if it was because of the chill that seemed to have taken over the room, or to comfort herself. Probably a little bit of both. If she knew he saw her as vulnerable, she would be mad at him.

“I’ve no problem because your cousin has been very open about his feelings. You, on the other hand, have not.”

“I’m the one who brought you here. That should tell you.”

She cocked her head to the side. The long straight hair she had arrived with had slowly given way to curls. The sunlight danced over her tresses, bringing out the bright red. Her eyes, now more greenish blue than anything else studied him as if she were trying to figure him out.

How could she when he had no idea why he was behaving this way?

“Yes, because you always do Callum’s bidding.”

“You make me sound like a bloody hound.”

She smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. There was something in him that wanted to make her eyes sparkle with happiness. And there was something definitely wrong.

“I will be honest with you. I can usually handle this level, or could, but it is really wearing me out.”

She sounded so tired and defeated. He didn’t like it. Not one bit. “I think you need a break.”

She sighed and nodded. “Yes. A break is definitely needed.”

“Maybe a walk outside.”

She shook her head. “I really would like to have a lie down.”

“Fresh air will be good for you.”

“I appreciate that.”

“But?”

“I’m really tired. Practicing wears me out and we only have two days until the Gala. I need to be sharp.”

He nodded and let her walk out, but something had him saying, “Please don’t tell me you’re ignoring me because of what happened in the kitchen.”

She stopped at the door and looked back over her shoulder. “Not entirely. It isna good for me to have to deal with you and deal with this. But part of it is that kiss. You’re too much temptation for me to resist.”

Then she turned to leave.

“Maggie,” he said passed the lump in his throat.

Without turning around, she said, “Please, Angus, let me be. I have a job to do and you are a distraction I cannae afford.”

He watched her slip out the door and, this time, he let her go.

Chapter Eighteen

Jack watched her again. “Are you sure you feel okay?”

Maggie glanced at him, unsure of what she should say. She had been feeling out of sorts as the day of the Gala approached. Jack was so perceptive, not to mention empathic. She knew she needed to be careful because her moods could affect his.

“I’m fine,” she said, threading her fingers through her hair. “I’m feeling anxious.”

“About the Gala and your Magick?”

And Angus, but she couldn’t tell her son that. He would want to know why Angus made her feel that way. Explaining that she wanted to bed a man to Jack was a bit further than she wanted to go.
Ever
.

She nodded. “I’ll be fine. I thought you had plans with Belvidore or Logan or someone.”

“If you feel that you will be okay.”

She nodded and he ran out of the door. She had one thing to thank the Lennons for. Her son still had that serious look and he had his premonitions, but he had more time to be a boy. Of course, they were all a bunch of big boys in full size male bodies. Even Callum hadn’t complained about it. In fact, he seemed amused when Jack followed him around.

With her son occupied, Maggie decided to get some more work done. Grabbing her mother’s book, she settled down to go over the spells again.

*  *  *  *

"Where are you off to?" Phoebe asked him as she stepped out of Callum's office. He stopped, knowing there was no way out of it. Thankfully, he noticed that Callum wasn't sitting behind the massive desk.

"I was going to check on Maggie."

"Indeed?"

He heard the speculation in her voice. If it had been anyone else in the family, he would've told them to bugger off. But it was Phoebe and she understood him in a way none of the others did.

"I feel responsible." Okay, so he was going to tell her but he definitely wasn't going to tell his sister-in-law that he wanted to bed the witch. He felt bad enough about it because he had been on Callum not to mess with Phoebe.

"I'm sure it's more than that. Come in where we can talk."

Now he really wanted to tell her to bugger off, but again, it was Phoebe. They were alike the two of them, plus, now as Callum's wife, she was the matriarch of the family. Angus followed her into the room.

"Shut the door."

Lord, she wanted to have a private chat. That was never good. They had all learned that having private chats with Phoebe was painful, liking to being called on the carpet with their mother. He did as she requested. She sat at her desk, and turned her chair to face his as she settled in.

"I understand feeling responsible."

He said nothing because she continued to stare at him. Bloody hell, she had perfected his stare.

Then, she laughed, that loud laugh that always seemed to put them all at ease. "Sorry, seeing you under scrutiny is just too much to resist. Professor Angus is sniffing around a witch."

"I expected this from my cousins, but not from you."

"Oh, poo. You can let go of that stern expression right now, Angus McLennan. I know you better than even your own brother."

"We've spent centuries together so I doubt that."

She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms beneath her breasts. "I am sure there are things I can pick up on that they never will. Mainly because we are alike."

"Indeed?"

She nodded. "Maggie isn't a woman you would normally go for."

"So, you've been paying attention to my bed mates, have you?"

Not that there had been many the last couple of months, but that was something a man could only admit to himself.

"Oh, yes, what was the name of that one you brought to the wedding? Something tedious."

"Beatrice. You think her name was tedious?"

"She was a bit too pretentious for my liking."

"Is that a fact?"

She nodded but didn't focus on him completely. "She had plans for you, Angus. Big plans."

"And you would know this how?"

“She told me, that's how I knew."

"She told you?" Beatrice had been an educated woman he had met while at a conference in London. They had hit it off and she had come up for a visit or two. Thinking that she said anything to Phoebe about their relationship was kind of embarrassing.

"Yes. She told me that I wasn't going to be the only woman around here. Apparently, she didn't count Anice."

"None of us do."

"Something that will...how does Fletcher put it? Oh, bite you in the arse in the end, but that is a discussion for another time. Back to Beatrice."

"Why does that matter? I stopped chatting with her months ago."

She chuckled. "Is that what you call it?"

For a second he said nothing, then shook his head. "You've been spending too much time around Fletcher."

"Maybe. And now that he's not trying to charm me, he tells me all kinds of things."

Oh, that couldn't be good. Looking at the sparkle in her eye and the way she was smiling, he was going to have to beat the bloody hell out of his cousin.

"Is there anything else?"

"I didn't finish talking about your witch."

"She's not my witch."

"Angus, I know out of all the cousins you disdain Magick most."

Yes, he did. Even more than Callum, but his roots went deeper in his dislike.

"Are you ever going to accept the fact that you have had to deal with it all these years?"

Anger surged. "I think I've had enough talk about Magick."

"Is that so? Well, maybe I haven't. You want to walk around here mopping about what you perceive as some kind of insanity bringing in a witch."

"I am the one who brought her here."

"Yes, and I am glad you did. I've enjoyed getting to know her and I cannot help but say I love Jack."

For a second, his mood lightened. The boy had become a constant companion for the male cousins in the family. He followed all of them around as if he were their little brother.

"He's definitely brightened up the house."

She laughed. "Yes. I do like that he is here. But I am happy that she is here too. I think she might help you."

"Help me?"

"Yes. I think she can help you accept it isn't your fault."

He blinked. "What the bloody hell are you talking about?"

She studied him for a second or two. That was always a bad sign with Phoebe. When she felt she had to be careful with what she said, there was always hell to be paid for the conversation.

"I know how you think."

"You do?"

She rolled her eyes and kicked his foot with the tip of hers in a playful manner. "I do know how you think. Are you forgetting I am the other scientist here? Okay, so I am not a scientist like you, but I look at the world as you do."

"I don't think any of us can look at the world the way you do."

"That sounded like an insult, but I'll address it later. Mainly because I know you are trying to change the subject. If I had been you, I would have been furious that I hadn't figured a way out of the curse. Callum, he was so furious with himself and your grandfather. He felt he was at fault."

"That's stupid."

She nodded. "I agree. It's why he was such a grumpy man for the last two hundred years."

He was a ruthless predator and a mean son of a bitch in business, but then again, Phoebe did look at the world a lot differently than they did.

"It made him impossible on some days to deal with, still does. But as the oldest and now acting Laird, he saw it as his duty to protect you from this. He thinks he failed."

"And you think I think that way too."

"You all feel responsible in a way, but I think you and Callum are the worst of the lot. You are a scientist, a man of facts. The idea that Magick has defeated you is almost too much to bear."

"But I have found a way."

"Using Magick. Really, can't you see that bringing a witch here is probably what has your knickers in a twist?"

"That is absurd."

"Is it?”

Oh, he hated that tone. Worse, he had used it more than once with his cousins. Having it thrown back on him was a bit unnerving. "So, you think I harbor some kind of need to reject what can save us?"

She tilted her head to the side and studied him. "No, I think you have a problem accepting it, but, like everyone else around here, you will do what is right for the Clan."

"And that would be?"

"That would be accepting that you have to work with Maggie; although, you don't understand why."

He scoffed at that and her eyes narrowed.

"Listen, Angus, no one else will talk to you about this."

"I find that hard to believe."

"Okay," she said with a shrug, "I am trying to save you from dealing with Callum. I can tell he is getting frustrated and he will explode at some point. You know how he is."

No, he didn't. Until Phoebe came along, Callum was smooth as glass. Now, he seemed more...human.