Heart of the Highland Wolf by Terry Spear Page B

think maybe her family had taken the castle over during a siege. Maybe then they had been overwhelmed at a later date and had to scurry out of there. Not good. If Ian learned about her Scottish roots, would he hold a grudge against her?
    She glanced back at the wall walk. Ian MacNeill had stopped to watch them now and hadn’t left the curtain wall as she had thought he would. At first, his attention was on the director, as if he was measuring him, the perceived enemy in his midst. His attention settled next on Julia and caught her gawking back at him. She smiled. Couldn’t help herself.
    Ian’s masculine lips parted slightly, and she believed she’d actually surprised him with her smile. Maybe unsettled him a little.
    Maria whispered, “Coming, Julia?” She glanced up to see what had gained Julia’s attention. “Hmm, hot stuff. And despite what you say, I think he has a thing for you. Not to mention your interest in him.” She grabbed Julia’s arm. “Come on. The crew is already headed back. The Highlanders watching us look as though they want someone to entertain them tonight.” She motioned to the wall walk. “Think the laird might be good for a tumble?”
    Julia laughed, her thoughts running away from her again. “Yeah, really hot stuff,” she murmured. And if she got too close again, she could be scalded. “But definitely not good for a tumble.” In that he was a wolf, and that meant a permanent commitment.
    She could just imagine what it would be like to be under the MacNeill’s spell. More of his hot kisses, his hard body pressed against her, his dark, hungry look while he carried her inside the stark castle, but nothing but his heated body would fill her thoughts as she melted against him, wanting so much more.
    If he hadn’t been a wolf, she would have been very tempted to have a tumble with him as Maria had suggested. Just to get the feel for one of her more… sexy scenes. For the lupus garou , it was perfectly acceptable to have human lovers before they found their lifelong mate. But he wasn’t strictly human, and as hot as Ian was, she should have guessed he was a wolf.
    She shook her head at herself, never having had the need to act out her scenes in real life before she wrote them, until now. It was as though the ties she had to the ancient woods and masonry, to her deep family roots in Scotland, Ireland, and even Wales had never been severed when her people left the region so many centuries ago.
    With a lift to her step, she walked back through the gatehouse where not one, but three portcullises kept invaders out.
    â€œI thought they only had one of these iron gates at the entrance to a castle’s outer bailey,” Maria remarked, pointing at one of the gates.
    â€œSome did. But some, like this one, used them to trap invaders in between gates if their enemy was unfortunate to get caught that way.” Julia’s arms prickled as she glanced up at the castle arch above them and pointed to the entryway where gaps in the stone existed above the entrance and along the length of the curtain wall.
    â€œMachicolations, murder holes,” she explained to Maria. “The rectangular openings provided a place for the defenders of the castle to pour boiling water down on their enemies who were attempting to breach their defenses.”
    Maria shuddered. “I thought they used boiling oil.”
    â€œHollywood’s version. It would have cost too much.”
    Maria reached out and touched a place on one of the stone walls where repairs had been made to the mortar. “Can you imagine how much this place must cost to heat? Or the upkeep on these old stone fixtures? Every time I turn around, something’s wrong with my condo. And it’s practically new. But can you imagine the expenses in maintaining something this big and ancient?”
    â€œNo, not really.” Julia hadn’t given it much thought.