Sisters of Colford Hall 01 - The Invasion of Falgannon Isle by Deborah MacGillivray Read Free Book Online Page A

agony. He bit back a groan.
    Desmond felt sandpaper scraping his face. Fearing what could be on the end of that tongue, he risked peeking. Two sets of amber eyes blinked at him—B.A.‘s and, oh yeah, that nutty cat.
    “Your cat has eyes like you.” Reaching up, he patted the kitty on the head. Never much of a cat person, he found this one oddly charming. “What’s her name?”
    “His name’s The Cat Dudley,” she corrected, “and he’s not my cat.”
    “Hi, Dudley.” The puss pushed against his fingers, demanding attention. “So affectionate, I thought it a female.”
    She sniggered. “His name isn’t Dudley. It’s The Cat Dudley. Scotland’s other monster. Not as well kenned as Nessie, but Nessie had a head start.”
    “Maybe she’s not a cat person, eh, Dudley?”
    The silly feline meowed, his purr kicking into overdrive. Flopping over, he curled into the curve of Desmond’s arm, then turned his head backward in one of those only-cats-can-do moves, and looked at him upside down. my hero was in the kitty’s amber eyes.
    “Shoo, Dudley, I need to get him to take off that shirt.”
    Desmond’s mouth quirked up at one corner. “You called him Dudley. Why did you name your kitty The Cat Dudley?”
    “He’s not my cat. The Marys own the demon spawn, named for a beau the twins had in their teens.” B.A. pushed the limp moggie away and took Desmond’s upper arms to help him up.
    Instead of being shaky and weak, he sprang at her, invaded her space. Nose-to-nose with her, his warm breath fanned her face.
    “You mentioned looking into my eyes?” he asked. His voice was husky.
    Clearly lightheaded, unable to draw air, B.A. jerked back before leaning into him. “Aye, they said look into them, watch for changes.”
    “You fear a concussion.” He put a hand on either side of her lap and leaned closer. “Stare into my pupils. They should be the same. If one’s dilated, it’s a warning sign.”
    Desmond saw B.A.‘s dazed reaction to his nearness, to the heat off his body. In the same measure, her female scent clouded his brain. Her small mouth was full and faintly parted—a punch to his gut. He resisted the temptation to close the last inch between them and cover her mouth with his, kiss her long and hard just to see the stunned look on her face.
    Familiar with a concussion, Desmond knew he didn’t have one. On the other hand, he wouldn’t tell her that. Thanks to a bizarre accident, the Scots had plunked him down in her bed and forced her to play nurse. Lady Fate had smiled on him!
    Memories were muddled following the knock on his head, but he recalled kissing B.A. Oh, boy, had he kissed her—as he’d dreamt of doing for longer than he cared to admit. Perhaps kissing B.A. hadn’t been the smartest thing he’d ever done. He’d intended to ingratiate himself, win her over to his plans. On the other hand, in the deepest of night B.A. had played a part of his most sensual fantasies more times than he could count. For too long, she’d haunted him. Being knocked loopy, he’d been unable to resist. The taste of Pepsi had made him want to kiss her forever. And by her stunned reaction, he inferred that though surrounded by men, she wasn’t kissed often enough.
    “They all right?” he prompted when she kept staring with that perplexed expression.
    She batted her lashes as if coming out of a trance. “Aye, urn… they’re normal. You need to remove your shirt so I can treat the scratches. ‘Tis ruined, I fear.”
    “Plenty more where that came from.” Unbuttoning the shirt, he tossed it onto the floor.
    Desmond glanced at the ruined Armani shirt. Costing more than his mother had earned in a month, the price would’ve been a godsend on many an occasion when he was growing up. Now he discarded it without thought. He suspected that spoke volumes about his character—and not anything he liked. Pushing down inner demons, he summoned the control that came second nature to him. B.A. jumped to her