“As you wish. I shall be close by.” He looked at the stranger and then back to his employer. “If you need me, sir, simply ring.”
A small smile quirked up one corner of Lucas’ mouth as he sat on the settee beside Sara. Instantly, she was all too aware of the maleness of him. He smelled like leather and soap and his body gave off a heat that sent her own blood racing through her veins. Or maybe she was having am estrogen moment. Did he have to sit so close?
Hah! Like you mind that!Her faerie had suddenly materialized beside her ear. Sara tried to ignore her, thankful the imp was invisible to the rest of the world. Trust Nim to pick this day to follow her to work. She usually stayed home.
“I can assure you,” he said, “that I am not armed, although it’s reasonable of your butler to be concerned.” He turned to Sara with a slow smile that quirked up one side of his sensual mouth. “I’m glad to see ye are well.”
The smile was pure animal magnetism. Luckily, she was immune to such things. Really. She lifted her chin. “Thank you,” she replied, well aware that Mr. Smith’s ears perked up like a terrier’s. “Have we met?”
He hesitated a minute and the smile spread into a grin. He took off the shades and held out his hand. “I’m Lucas Ramsey.”
His eyes. They were slanted a bit at the corners and were the same tawny color as his hair, and clear as single malt Scotch. She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen eyes the color of amber before. And they were penetrating, too, looking right through to her very soul. Her senses sharpened and she felt her aura expanding toward him. Great. So much for immunity.
He cleared his throat, only it sounded like a small growl. Sara realized she was gawking and felt her face flush.I’m almost thirty years old, for crying out loud! I’m no schoolgirl!“I’m Sara Kincaid,” she said and took his hand.
Big mistake. If she’d been warm just sitting near him, now she sizzled. The touch was almost electrifying, sending pulsations to nerve endings everywhere. Including, she realized as her face grew even hotter, downthere. Abruptly, she pulled her hand away and managed to regain some control.
“Ummm,” Nim said dreamily. “This one’s a keeper.”
Stop it!She turned away from the giggling faerie. “What brings you here, Mr. Ramsey?”
“Lucas. The document, of course.” He nodded to Mr. Smith’s desk.
At least, he didn’t try to cover that up. “You were on the plane yesterday.”
He nodded again. “I wasn’t able to afford the bid, so I did the next best thing. I followed its new owner home.” He smiled lopsidedly. “Just like a puppy.”
That smile was disarming, as he probably meant it to be, but she refused this time to be distracted.He followed me? Damn. So much for my knack of situational awareness.
“I don’t believe I saw you at the auction.”I couldn’t have missed him with all that testosterone flowing!
He shrugged benignly. “I spoke to the accounts clerk afterwards.”
“And he gave you the information?”
“Well, not exactly. But his ledger was open, and I…have the ability to read upside down. It comes in useful sometimes.”
Sara wondered what other little skills he had that might come in useful sometimes. Like addling her brain with those exotic eyes. Or what those strong fingers would feel like stroking her bare skin…Stop this! Concentrate on the topic!With her not-so-great record with Bad Boys of America, she didn’t need to go falling all over a perfect stranger. Especially a devastatingly handsome one. She should know what good-looking men could do. Breaking hearts was what they did best.
“How did you get by security, by the way?” Sara asked. Her boss might be an eccentric, but he was a lucid one, well aware of the high risk of burglary. He had surveillance cameras posted around his estate, and every gardener, handyman and servant had also been trained as security guards. In addition to the uniformed ones and the off-duty officers who had been waiting for her at the airport.
Lucas looked a bit sheepish, making him seem like a small boy caught with his fingers in the cookie jar. Sara began to wonder if he had, indeed, done professional acting. He reached inside the attaché again and produced a badge.
“Scotland Yard?” Sara said as she examined it.
“It’s the real thing,” he answered, and she blushed somewhat guiltily and handed back the badge. “I do a little…investigative…work for them occasionally. Usually when they need to authenticate medieval artifacts that have been reported stolen and pop up somewhere.”
That explained his little skill of being able to read upside down. Detective training, no doubt. Fleetingly, she wondered if the Yard trained its men in the art of seduction too. Lucas Ramsey could make James Bond look like a geek. Goddess, she needed to get a grip. Sara leaned back against the settee.
“So, then. Why are you here?”
His eyes held hers a moment longer and then he turned to Mr. Smith. “As I said, I was on the dig, but I never got to look at the manuscript. It was sealed in a metal container when we brought it out. I’d very much like to read it. That’s all.” He opened an attaché case and pulled out papers that he laid on the desk. “Letters of reference. I think you’ll find that I am who I say I am.”
“The manuscript is in Gaelic,” Sara said dryly.
“And I’m a Gael,” Lucas replied with a grin.
“You could read this?” Mr. Smith interrupted.
