Chapter 7

Seven

Malcolm

T hree days later, Lachlan Castle was decked out to impress for the Christmas Eve Ball. My mother took her hostess duties seriously; the whole place was dressed with greenery, lights, and decoration. Extra staff was hired to assist with all the guests.

I'd received good news the other morning in the study and the family finances were back on track. Lachlan would remain as it was. The specter of having to sell-off even a small part of the estate had hung over me for the last seven months. I hadn't created Ronan's mess, but I sure as hell didn't want to be the Murdoch who had to reduce the estate. Legacy was a powerful thing, even though it felt like it had a chokehold on me. For the millionth time, I wished that I'd stayed in the States and that my damned fool brother hadn't had a death wish.

Entertaining never interested me much. I preferred my life in New York to being dressed up in a traditional kilt and paraded around the crown heads of Europe like a stud bull. But as the host, I was required to greet everyone in the receiving line. The inane chit-chat gave my mind plenty of time to wander.

What must Holly think of this world? Most of these people had never worked a day in their lives. Though they may have attended world-famous universities, they weren't accepted to them based on their merit, but on the size of the donations their families had contributed. They never planned to use the degrees they earned and only acquired their diplomas as just another mark of their pedigrees.

I'd been pleasantly surprised that Holly and my mother got on well. They were as different as could be, but they found common ground in respecting each other's dedication to their chosen work. Holly assured my mother that we were not a couple, and my mother had demurred badgering her about it.

She saved that for me.

"Tell me again why you aren't announcing your engagement tonight?" My mother had succeeded in cornering me as I was trying to reach Holly across a crowded room.

"Because we aren't engaged." Though for the hundredth time today I wondered if she already carried my child. I nodded at a passing couple of Italian royalty. Two hours into the event, I was seething with jealousy. While one obligation after another snared me, Holly was free to mingle, dance, and socialize with every man who had two eyes in his head and a cock.

"And whose fault is that?"

"It's no one's fault. It's complicated." I growled. Most people backed off when I growled.

Not my mother.

Or Holly.

My mother raised a manicured brow. "Malcolm," she said gently. I hated it when she tried to be motherly. It was as anxiety-producing as a crocodile cuddling a kitten. "She can't practice medicine here without retraining. What do you think she'd do here?"

Holly was smiling at Nevil Brockton. Undoubtedly, he was telling her about when he crewed at Oxford. Brockton was an ass, surely she would see that? Now that she was back in my life, I didn't want to let her go. But keeping her from her true calling wasn't good for her.

But she would have plenty to do once I knock her up, whispered the devil on my shoulder. My gaze stayed on Holly. Fuck it. I was dedicating myself to filling her pussy every chance I got. If she was pregnant, she'd have to stay. I should've been ashamed but I wasn't. Dukes were used to getting what they want.

My mother's brows arched towards her hairline. "Whatever the problem is, fix it. Show her Scotland has plenty to offer as do you. You're the Duke of Lachlan."

"I'm well aware of my title. Not everyone's sole objective in life is to be a Duchess. You're aware that we're in the twenty-first century, right?"

She waved away such a small detail.

"You were a bright boy, Malcolm. Figure out what she wants and give it to her."

That didn't put me in a better mood. What Holly wanted was to practice medicine, and that I couldn't give her. Worse, the only way she could do what she loved was to be an ocean away from me.

"Where'd she get that damn red dress? It's causing a scandal." I snarled.

The dress I had ordered for her was not red but black, with long sleeves and a fucking back. What she was wearing instead looked more like a red holiday cocktail napkin. My fists clenched at my sides.

"It's one of mine." My mother said happily.

I choked. "You're joking. I've never seen you wear a dress like that."

"It's been a while. I wasn't always just your mother, you know. And your father bought it for me before he proposed." My mother surveyed the ballroom. "It fits Holly perfectly. And it's not red, the color is ‘claret.' Do be precise."

"I suppose you loaned her the jewelry too?" I grabbed a wineglass from a passing tray. The only thing that could help tonight was more alcohol.

How soon could I send everyone home? Before midnight? Probably not.

My mother looked smug. "I loaned her a few strategic pieces. Nothing to overwhelm or detract. You are a grump. The party is going very well. I thought you'd be pleased."

"I'm thrilled. Can't you tell?" I stalked to join the circle of admirers thronging around Holly.

Leon Foscomb, an annoying hedge of a man but who made money with ease that astounded anyone with a brain, stopped my progress.

His eyes were squinty behind his glasses, but when you were one of the world's richest men, that didn't matter. "Good evening, Malcolm. Holly has been sharing war stories about your time in New York."

I glanced at Holly.

"Excuse us." I placed my hand at the small of Holly's back. "A guest has a medical emergency and I need to consult Dr. Ives." I moved her out of Foscomb's ogling orbit. I loved how she shivered at my touch.

Holly waved a hasty "goodbye" as she picked up her gown. She frowned at me. "What's going on?"

"I told you, a medical issue has come up." I removed her drink from her hand and set it on the tray of a passing server.

"Medical issue, my ass." She breathed while I steered her away from the ballroom.

"You had more than one drink."

"It's Christmas Eve!" She glanced around in the dark hallway where we'd stopped. "This is awfully dark for a medical discussion."

"You should be in bed."

"Are you offering to tuck me in?" Holly swayed as she giggled. "Daddy."

I grabbed her by the elbows, staring down at her sternly.

"By the way, Mr. Grump, I had plenty of offers tonight to show me around your village."

"To hell you will." I felt like my world was crashing down. Her dark hair, her fair skin, and her red lips made her the most beautiful woman in the world.

My hands wandered down her breasts and her nipples hardened under my touch. My exploration drifted further down her body with my hands sliding under her dress where the backless style ended right above her ass. I felt the globes of her ass, her crack, and nothing else. "Holy fuck. You're not wearing panties?"

"I thought that was what you wanted." Her cheeks blushed in the dim hall light before glancing away.

I hauled her against me hard and crushed my lips to her. She gave a squeak of a surprise, but her lips parted beneath mine. I stroked my tongue against her lush lower lip as she moaned. My cock was stiff with need, and I flexed into her.

I pulled back, breathing hard. It was painful to be parted from her once I had her in my arms. "I'm not going to fuck you in the hallway." The wall of dark windows behind us faced the rose garden, which was wrapped in burlap and twine under the deep snow.

"Why not? I'm game if you are." Her hand tightened on the lapels of my kilt jacket, pulling me back to her. I had the oddest feeling we were being watched, but no one was in the garden this time of year.

Oh hell. Who was I kidding? I was intoxicated with her. It was easy to back her against the wall in this dim hallway. Her pupils were dilated, and her lips swollen from my kisses. My heart thumped in my chest like I'd run a marathon.

"I'm not going to fuck you here because I'm taking you to my bed where I'm going to make you come so hard, and so many times, you won't remember your name."

Holly stared at me, her eyes heavy-lidded with desire. Then she reached behind her head and unclasped her halter top gown. Her neckline immediately sagged. She caught it, but the swells of her breasts entranced me.

"Can't we do both? Besides, I know what will make you less grumpy." Holly got down on her knees.

Fuck no.

Yes.

She looked up at me from under her lashes as her fingers danced up my thighs under my kilt.

"Holly."

"Shhh." The tip of her tongue was between her teeth; she found my bare cock.

The sight of her pink tongue made my balls ache. Fuck, I wanted her mouth around me, sucking me off.

"Wait."

I shucked my suit jacket off, handing it to her. "For your knees, stone castle stores aren't forgiving."

She took it, folded it, and put it under her knees. "Always the gentleman."

Precum glistening from the tip of my shaft in the moonlight. Her gentle fingers ran up and down it lightly. She fingered my balls and they grew tight and heavy in her hands.

I guided her head forward.

I was a strong man, but Holly on her knees in my castle corridor was the most erotic thing I had ever experienced.

There was no way I was letting her go. I would never again walk down this hall without remembering the sound of her excited little moans.

"Holly." I groaned.

She slowly advanced her mouth, taking more and more of me until the head of my cock hit the back of her throat.

It was heaven. I closed my eyes, letting the sensations of her lips around me flood my body like an electric storm. The pleasure was everywhere.

Then she started to suck. First, she took gentle little sucks, then she applied herself to the task in earnest. Her mouth wet with my cock was the only sound in the hall other than the Christmas carols drifting in from the ballroom. I could develop a real fondness for holiday music with Holly around.

Her little moans only increased my own pleasure. How could I possibly let her go? Yet how could I entice her to stay?

"Holly, you better stop if you don't want me coming in your sweet mouth."

Her reply was to suck harder.

My fingertips lightly held her head, loving how silky hair brushed my hands. My orgasm was so powerful that my knees buckled. Ribbons of my hot cum shot down her throat. As I emptied my load, and Holly swallowed every drop.

But I was determined to fill her pussy again. I never thought I'd have to work so hard to gain my duchess, but at least I didn't mind applying myself to the task.

She pulled back, replacing her mouth with her hand slowly stroking me. She sucked away every last drop. Looking up at me, lust shining brightly in her eyes, she said the last thing I expected. "I finally know what you men wear under your kilts now."