22. Lachlan

Chapter 22

Lachlan

M y cock goes hard again as I stare into her eyes and hear those words tumble from my lips without prompting. Taran is glaring at me, but I don't give a flying shit. It's not my problem if he has to catch up. I'm already behind Keir in this so as far as I'm concerned, Taran has ground to make up. I cup her face and bend to give her a soft kiss on her lips, which I wish I could linger over, but the photographer is calling me, and Anna is shouting for Emma.

"Better go," I murmur.

"Wait," she whispers. "What did you mean before?"

Considering telling her the truth, I don't think now is the time and besides, I need to run it past Keir first, but I doubt he will have an issue with it. I feel Taran's gaze still on me, and I look up, eyes narrowed before I say, "We'll talk later, baby girl. Okay?"

I let her go and saunter off, feeling Taran's eyes burning into my back. Rebecca starts adjusting the lights and angles, muttering about shadows and highlights.

"Alright, Lachlan," she says, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Let's get started. Strip off to whatever you're comfortable with, and then throw on that plaid shirt to start off. We're going with a plaids and pecs theme, and we'll throw in the Christmas stuff a little later."

Nodding, I give Emma a smirk as she watches closely, wondering how far I'm going to go with this. Stripping off my shirt, I feel the cool air on my skin, making my muscles tense slightly. I toss the plaid shirt on and grin, catching Emma's eye as she licks her lips.

The camera clicks away as I shift from pose to pose.

Emma's gaze is intense as she watches every movement. The way she looks at me sends a thrill over me and makes me work harder to impress her. I can tell she's enjoying the show. Rebecca calls out different poses and positions.

As the shoot continues, Rebecca eventually brings out Christmas props: Santa hats, candy canes — you name it. I resist the urge to laugh when she hands me a pair of reindeer antlers.

"Seriously?" I raise an eyebrow at her.

"Yes, seriously!" she retorts.

I roll my eyes but play along, donning the antlers and grabbing a candy cane for good measure, I stick it in my mouth and take off the shirt.

"Oh, nice," Rebecca calls out, snapping away. "Lose the pants?"

Emma snickers into her hand before calling out, "Yeah, Lachlan, lose the pants!"

"Wow, talk about being objectified!" I protest with a laugh, but they know I'm only joking. I have zero inhibitions, but a part of me wants these women to look at Emma and be envious of what she has, knowing they will never have it.

"Woooo!" Emma catcalls as I stand there in just my tight boxers and antlers.

I strike a pose, flexing my abs while keeping the candy cane between my teeth. Emma watches, her eyes locked on me. I wink at her, which immediately earns a giggle and a wolf whistle.

Rebecca continues snapping away, hollering out commands as I shift from one pose to another. By the time we wrap up, I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself. I grab a towel to wipe off the sweat that's formed on my body from all the posing and smiling.

"Right, you're done for now," Rebecca announces, finally lowering her camera. "Next up is Taran!"

Taran steps forward with a confident grin, and I notice Emma's gaze flick over to him.

"I'm ready to steal the show," Taran teases as he saunters past me, giving me a playful shove.

"You wish," I reply, giving him the finger.

"Let's do this!" Taran says, stripping off his shirt and dropping his pants without hesitation before grabbing a summer hat and sunglasses from the pile of props for June.

As Taran strikes his pose, I take a moment to walk over to Emma. She glances up at me with those captivating blue eyes that still have a hint of mischief.

"So," I say quietly, leaning close enough so only she can hear. "When's my reward for being the star of the show?"

"Didn't you already get that?" she whispers with a soft laugh.

I frown and point to the VIP box. "That? Oh no, that was the warm-up."

"Oh, really? What did you have in mind?"

I glance around and lean in closer. "The day after tomorrow, we have another friendly against the Elgin Elves. The arena will be packed out, and I want to take you where everyone can see us but not know what we're doing."

"Lachlan," she groans, throwing her head back. "I can't."

"You said you would with Taran," I point out.

"No, I said maybe I was getting closer to agreeing to a public thing."

"That's not what I heard," I joke, making her giggle.

"Well, you need your hearing tested then."

We laugh together, which is a nice moment before her phone rings, and she reaches for it. Her face falls and then tightens into a grimace.

"Who is it?" I ask, wondering if it's that Carrick arsehole.

"Highland Spirits," she grits out and then turns from me to answer the call with a clipped-out, "Emma Thornton speaking."

I watch her pace back and forth, the phone pressed tightly to her ear. Her earlier carefree laughter is replaced by a hardened expression as she listens intently, but Keir's arrival at my side draws my attention away. "I want Emma to move in with us permanently," I say without preamble and without even looking at him as my eyes are back on Emma.

"No objections," he says instantly, not that I thought he would.

"Taran as well."

"Yeah, figured."

"So we're cool?"

"Obviously," he grits out.

"Awesome." I turn to him and smile, punching him on the shoulder. "We'll discuss it with her later."

He nods, staring at Emma as she stops pacing, hand on hip.

"Massive, no thanks!" she says and hangs up, gripping her phone and shaking it before she turns on her heel and marches out of the arena,

I'm about to follow, but Anna reaches her first, so I turn back to the photo shoot, knowing that if Emma needs me, she will come to me.