Title: Scot Under
Covers
Wild Wicked Highlanders 2
Author: Suzanne Enoch
Release Date: January
28, 2020
(ARC Version)
Published By: St.
Martin’s
Category: Historical –
Romance – Scottish
Type: Digital –
Paperback
Blurb:
In Scot
Under the Covers, a resourceful English lady and a hot-blooded Highlander
join forces to trick a scoundrel, and every rule will be broken!
Miranda Harris is
known for her charm, wit, and ability to solve any problem she encounters. But
when her brother lands neck-deep in gambling debt to a crafty villain and
Miranda is subsequently blackmailed into marrying him, she must enlist the help
of the devil himself to save the family honor—and herself.
Devilishly handsome Highlander Aden MacTaggert knows next to
nothing about the ways of the ton, but he most certainly knows his
way around gaming halls and womens’ hearts. Still, Aden is not sure how he’ll
manage to find a Sassenach bride in time to save his family’s inheritance. When
his almost sister-in-law Miranda comes to him for assistance, he proposes a
partnership: She will help him navigate London society and he’ll teach her
everything about wagering…and winning back her freedom. The beautiful, clever
lass intrigues Aden—but is she playing her own game, or are the sparks between
them real? He is accustomed to risking his pocket. But betting on Miranda’s
love is a game he can’t afford to lose. . .
By reading any further, you are
stating that you are at least 18 years of age.
If you are under the age of 18,
please exit this site.
Favorite Lines:
“I am most certainly not
smitten with you. I’m somewhat amazed your swelled head could even fit through
this doorway.” ~ Miranda
“You are very upsetting
to my equilibrium, Aden McTaggert. I like things to make sense. You don’t make
sense.” ~ Miranda
“I’ve an answer for
nearly everything, but I cannae explain ye, or why the day seems brighter and
the room warmer when I’m about ye.”
~ Aden
Excerpt:
They took a position on the dance floor close by where Niall and his Amy stood, and a few feet from Eloise and Matthew. Coll, as usual, wasn’t dancing, but had taken command of a table covered with breads and cheeses.
As the music began Aden put his hand on Miranda’s waist and stepped them into the dance. She had a grace about her, a confidence that made her movements fluid and seemingly effortless, a skill that most of his other partners for the evening had lacked. For once he didn’t have to keep himself poised, ready to catch a lass before she hit the floor if she should stumble.
“I don’t want compliments,”she finally said.
“Nae. Ye want insight, ye said. To what?”
“A man who wagers.”
“We’re all different, lass. Some of us arenae even particularly villainous. Ye’ll have to be more specific.”
“A man who is very skilled at wagering.”She took a breath, her gaze briefly lowering to his cravat. “One who might select a particular person, and intentionally work to put that person into a difficult position for a reason.”
The query surprised him. “That’s fairly specific. And still a wee bit vague. Who’s the target? What’s the difficult position?”
She shook her head. “None of your affair. I want to know what sort of man does this, and whether he can be reasoned with.”
With a brief frown, he considered. Clearly, she didn’t intend to give him any further information. Even so, her description was precise enough that she had a specific scenario in mind. And luckily enough for her, whatever he thought of her insults, he did enjoy a good puzzle.
“The sort of man who’d lure another man into ruin to get someaught he wants,”he mused aloud. “I reckon ye’ve answered yer own question, lass. What anyone else wants or needs doesnae concern him. Another man’s situation and pride doesnae concern him. He has a goal, if I’m hearing ye straight. As far as he’s concerned, he’s worked toward it, put up with someone whose skills dunnae come close to his own, spent his valuable time leading the fool into temptation, and he means to collect.”
As he spoke, Miranda’s fair complexion took on more than a hint of gray. None of this discussion was supposition or fancy, then. Someone she knew had gotten in too deep, and she wanted a way to get them out. “But reasoning with this person?”she countered. “It can’t be as pointless as you’re suggesting.”
Turning her in his arms, he shrugged. “Ye gave me two sentences, Miss Harris. In my experience, which is all I can go by, this lad wants whatever it is he played for. Find someaught else that interests him and convince him how that thing will benefit him more. Offer him a prettier prize, or one ye can convince him is more valuable.”
Her grip on his hand tightened, and she leaned into him a little. If not for her stated dislike of him and the blood gone from her face, he might have thought the move flirtatious. But this woman didn’t do flirtation, evidently; she remained direct. If she ever decided she liked him after all, she’d likely simply state that very thing to his face. Aden shortened his steps and firmed his grip on her hand and waist, keeping her secure until she got her feet beneath her again.
She lifted her face to look at him. “Thank you.”
Well, that was unexpected. He wasn’t about to let her know she’d surprised him, however, or that it hadn’t occurred to him not to support her. “I’ve a wife to find. I dunnae need to be known as the MacTaggert who makes lasses faint. I’ll leave that to Coll.”
“Even so.”
The dance ended, and since she still didn’t look quite steady on her legs, he carefully transferred her hand to his forearm so she’d have something to hang on to. “I like wagering,”Aden said, not certain whether he’d be better off confessing his sins or denying he had them. “I’m good at it. I’ve nae brought anyone else to ruin by it, and a time or two I’ve walked away from the table to keep from doing just that. If my insight helped ye then I’m glad of it; as I said, ye’re to be my sister-in-law, after all. But if ye want to hate me, I’m nae overly troubled by that, either, except to note that I did give ye my best dance just now.”
“Why did you waltz with me, then?”
“Curiosity,”he answered smoothly, because that answer made more sense than him admitting that perhaps her loathing did trouble him just a whit. Or that in general he admired a lass who could stand toe-to-toe with him in a conversation, and one who looked like a sultry goddess while she did it. Or that he could imagine her eventual apology, and that it would be spectacular.
On the tail of that thought he stopped near a line of chairs so she could take a seat if she needed to. Freeing his arm, he gave her a nod and turned away.
“You’ve given me some things to consider,”she said from behind him. “Thank you for that. As for causing someone’s ruin, even if you walked away from the table, you left someone desperately unskilled in the hands of others. Don’t expect praise for that. Not from me, at least.”
Aden kept walking. Arguing with a pile of rocks didn’t budge the stones. She’d made up her mind about who he was before they’d ever met, and nothing he said would alter her opinion. Whoever it was who’d gotten into debt with some talented swindler, with that tongue of hers she likely had as fair a chance as anyone of negotiating a settlement.
He generally liked a sharp tongue on a lass, a bit of fire to warm a chill night. And Miranda Harris had that aplenty, with a touch of flame in her brunette hair and a smolder in her deep-brown eyes to match. It was a shame she didn’t seem to want to warm up to him as much as she wanted to burn him to a crisp and shovel him into the ash bin. But then tonight he’d asked her for a dance, and whatever the twisting path was they’d traveled, he’d danced with her.
Dialogue Highlight:
His brother reached over and turned over the top card. The seven of hearts looked up from the table. With a scowl Niall flipped the entire deck faceup and spread them out. “I didnae see it, damn it all.”
“So ye reckon I’ve an entire deck of naught but sevens of hearts?”
“I’d nae put it past ye.”Picking up the card, he examined it. “Tell me how ye do it.”
“Nae. I showed ye four times just this morning, Niall. Figure it out yerself.”He took the card back, danced it through his fingers, and put it back into the messy stack before he straightened the pile. “And do it elsewhere; I’ve a lass come to see me.”Turning his head a little, he caught Miranda’s gaze with gray-green eyes.
His brother turned as well, his eyes a startling light green very like his sister Eloise’s unusual ones. As he stood, she noticed the medium-sized black dog curled beneath Aden’s chair. Brògan, who wasn’t at all a male dog, whatever Aden claimed, and whomever he chose to fool. “Ye’re Matthew Harris’s sister, aye?”Niall asked as he reached the doorway.
“Yes. Miranda. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop; I didn’t wish to interrupt.”
“Have at him. I’m grateful ye appeared before I started losing blunt to him.”With a nod and a loose grin, he moved past her into the hallway and toward the stairs.
Aden remained seated, a king in his own well-appointed domain. Hiding her scowl at his very unsurprising lack of manners, she went over to sit in his brother’s vacated chair. “I’m not a lass who’s come to see you. I am a female acquaintance who would like to speak with you on a particular subject.”
“And I’m a male acquaintance all aflutter over what ye want to say to me. An unmarried lass coming to call—to speak with—an unmarried lad. Ye’ll have so many Sassenach tongues wagging, we’ll all feel the breeze.”He shuffled the cards again, this time using only one hand to do it.
Miranda supposed he could imply whatever he liked, as long as he did end up helping her. And the fact that for a moment she thought him clever—well, she was not some fickle female who changed her opinions simply because she required some assistance. “If it flatters you to think I’m setting my cap at you, then indulge yourself. I only ask that you answer my questions.”
He chuckled. “Relentless, ye are. If ye’re nae here because our waltz made ye swoon, then, I reckon ye’re here for more free advice. An angel seeking out the devil for help with another demon, aye?”
“Your insights last night were useful,”she admitted, ignoring the fact that he’d called her an angel and suggested she made a habit of swooning. A man like him wouldn’t mean either one as a compliment. In his world no doubt angels served only to spoil all the devil’s fun. And swooning in his presence could be …precarious. It was beginning to seem, though, that he had more than a keen insight into fellow reprobates. No, he seemed to have taken her measure and decided he could stand toe-to-toe with her. And though she hated admitting it even to herself, he’d managed to do so—for the moment, at least. “My difficulty, however, remains unresolved. I require more information.”
His gaze assessed her, though she had no idea what he looked for, or what he saw. Worry? Fear? Frustration? Anger? They’d all been taking turns with her for the past half hour. “I’ll make ye a bargain,”he offered. “Ye tell me how I produced that card for Niall, and I’ll give ye all the insight I own.”
Miranda’s jaw clenched. The nerve of this Highlander continued to astound her. No, he wasn’t poetical at all. Devilish, yes. “You’re actually wagering me.”
“Aye. Ye insulted me. Climb down into the mud for a damned minute if ye want help from a man ye called a pig.”He held out the deck in one hand. “I’ll even show ye once.”
“I never called you a pig, sir.”
“Ye did; ye were just more polite about it. I may nae sound like ye, but I do speak English.
”Very well, he did have a point. At the same time, he hadn’t precisely disproven her original assessment of him. Pride pushed at her to refuse, to stand up, fling the cards at his face, and walk away. At the same time logic refused to budge, insisting on reminding her that having a little familiarity with this world into which she was being dragged might actually prove helpful. Clenching her jaw, she picked up the top card between her gloved fingers. “The queen of clubs,”she stated.
“If I were a superstitious lad,”he commented, lowering the remaining cards in his closed fist as he spoke, “I’d say I reckon ye’ve chosen the card that most resembles yerself. Regal and confident, and ready to whack at me with a solid weapon.
”Under other circumstances she might have found that amusing, and even slightly complimentary. “No doubt you arranged the deck precisely so you could make that comment. Let’s get on with it, shall we?”She gestured for him to produce the deck.
Opening his hand, he held the stack of cards out, and she removed a good two-thirds of the deck, set the queen into their spot, and placed the rest back on top. He tapped the cards against the table and began shuffling with nimble fingers. Then he set down the deck and cut it. Reaching over, she turned over the exposed card. The queen of clubs again.
Looking at him through her lashes, she picked up the queen and turned it over, examining the back for a cut mark, the edges for a bend or a sign that he’d marred it with a fingernail. Nothing. She rubbed it against the soft white kid of her glove. No ink came off against the material.
If his brother hadn’t already suggested he had a deck full of the same card, she would have demanded to see them all. It was a trick of some sort, but what was the trick? What wasn’t she seeing? Had he secreted it up a sleeve and only returned it as he cut the deck? She’d been watching carefully, but she wasn’t accustomed to deviousness.
“Do ye give up, lass? Should I wish ye good day so I can go find someaught to eat? I’m feeling a bit peckish. Or do ye have someaught else ye’re of a mind to offer me in exchange for my insight? Someaught more personal might suffice, I suppose.”
Miranda scowled. Everyone wanted something from her, apparently. Every man did, anyway. At least this one was thus far only annoying and arrogant. “May I touch you?”
“That was swiftly decided,”he returned, his gray-green eyes amused and, unless she was greatly mistaken, a little surprised. “Well, I’m a man of my word. Do ye want to do it here, or somewhere more private?”
What? “Oh, for heaven’s sake. May I touch your damned arm, Mr. MacTaggert. To decipher your card trick.”There. And she’d spent barely a second imagining herself kissing him, as if she would ever wish to do such a thing. Just because his appearance was likely to set other, more naive women swooning didn’t mean she was the least bit tempted by him.
His grin only deepened at her rejoinder, and if her clarification disappointed him, he didn’t show it. “Oh, aye, then. Such language, Miranda Harris. Ye’ll make me blush.”
She very much doubted that, though she couldn’t recall ever cursing in a man’s presence before. Well, this one deserved it for being so aggravating and handsome and more complex than she’d expected. Sitting forward, she reached for his right hand. He had large hands, with calluses across the palm and several fingertips—marks of someone who labored. That surprised her. Gamblers gambled. That was their occupation and their means of support. They didn’t do whatever hard work it would take to make calluses.
“Do ye reckon I hid it inside my skin, then? That’s a worse guess than any Niall’s ever made.”
“I’m not finished.”When she glanced up at him, his gaze was on their joined hands, his palm up with one of hers holding it there and the other touching his fingertips. His hand did have an elegance to it despite the calluses—a sculptor’s or a wood carver’s hand rather than that of a common laborer. And his skin felt warm, even through her gloves.
Mentally shaking herself, she felt up along his sleeve to the elbow. This wasn’t a seduction, and it wasn’t simply about trying to solve a puzzle; her future might well depend on whether he would answer her questions or not. No springs or wires lurked beneath his coat sleeve or the superfine shirt beneath; no sign that he’d hidden a card away.
“Are ye finished now? Ye can check beneath my kilt if ye like, but I can promise ye there’s nae room for a spare deck of cards down there.”
Review:
Miranda is in a pickle no thanks to her
brother and she seems to have no recourse in which to dig herself out. The more
she uncovers, the worse things seem. Unable to rescue himself from several bad
bets, her brother Matthew has provided HER as the debt payment – forcing her
into a marriage she vehemently opposes. She abhors gamblers for several
reasons, but suddenly finds herself needing exactly that if she’s ever going to
finagle the slightest of chances to get out of this damnable mess. Enter
Aden,
brother of Eloise, Matthew’s intended. The Highlander is brash and irritating
slowly charming her right down to her toes. What first annoyed her – or so she
argued – is now attracting her to distraction. But she needs to keep her wits
about her because Aden is her only conspirator, engaged in a dangerous game of
cat and mouse, and her singular hope of escape. The more they discover, the
less likely freedom seems. But Aden, frequently discounted as a Highland
barbarian, is much more than he appears and he’s not backing down from this
challenge. Fiercely protective and disturbingly dense…the man refuses to allow
her to make any decisions about the two of them before she’s been untangled
from this vicious snare for fear that the trauma is influencing her free will.
But Miranda has made her decision and as soon as they yank her free from the
clutches of an evil mastermind, she has only the proved to Aden (the pig-headed
oaf) that she knows her mind and plans to make him hers. Rules will be broken
and convention will be cast aside.
Aden has a bit of a problem. Instructed by
his mother to marry an English lass or deal with loss of funding for their home
in Scotland, he either needs to complete said directive, or figure a way out of
it. The very intriguing Miranda provides a solution for both options. Aden
isn’t sure which direction is most desirable, but he knows for sure he has
little choice but to come to Miranda’s aid. At the very least they will soon be
related by marriage and part of the same family. At the most, and he’s no where
near that way of thinking yet, she’ll be the lass he marries. Unbeknownst to
Aden, the ploy she has become involved in, however unwilling, is much worse
than originally intuited. As the risk increases, so does their passion. But
Aden hesitates to put a label on anything before lifting the burden of stress
off Miranda’s shoulders. He wants her – has never been captivated or affected
by anyone like her – but he wants her head clear when she decides whether to
keep or discard him. And he fears the worst. With his tender heart on the line,
and new emotions flooding to the surface, he wagers everything in an
all-or-nothing move to save her from the clutches of the evil vulture. If it
works, at least he’ll have a chance with her. If it backfires, he risks losing
her forever with her fate sealed and her future controlled by someone who harbors
only ill will. If anyone has a chance, it’s this wagering Highlander and the ferociously
loyal family he has backing him up; by rights the same family that is soon to
be hers in one form or another.
I’m in love! Deception, desire, and
kilts! Oh my! I love Scottish HR and have some books I adore, but this series
and Ms. Enoch have easily moved to the absolute best of them all! I laughed,
got angry, was shocked, even cried! My family looked at me like I was losing my
mind every time I cracked up. Pretty sure the whole time I was reading I
usually had a s**t-eating grin on my face. And you know what? I don’t give a
fig! Books that inspire that kind of emotion and joy from me are a treasure! My
only singular complaint is that I had the first book in the series and didn’t
realize it until after I had finished this one. Argh! I could have read in
order. But no matter. I am sure it will be just as engaging even already knowing
the outcome. I even moved it up on my list, so I will have it polished off in a
couple of weeks at the most. And now that I am getting caught up and back to my
regularly reading habits, I will be able to actually read these ARCs prior to
release. How about that concept? Seriously though, I just read something I
really didn’t care for, so much that I was wary of a new read from a new
author. Not so any longer. Aden and the McTaggerts have rejuvenated me! *le
sigh* I need to visit Scotland.
I absolutely loved the quick wit and
cutting comments which slowly morphed into playful, sexy banter between Aden
and Miranda. Opposites attract and these two were a fantastic example of
exactly that. There’s nothing better than a damsel in distress, who in any
other circumstance could hold her own, than a hunky, brooding Highlander in a
kilt come to rescue and thoroughly seduce her. I enjoyed the fact that Miranda
had loving, possibly unconventional parents, who allowed her to be herself with
no forced expectation of marriage. She was free to do her own choosing despite
her numerous seasons and determined to marry for love, if ever deciding to
marry at all. And how she came about making that decision and acting on it was
fantastic! Then there’s Aden – despite is flaws, which actually endeared him to
me more, he was pretty much flawless. The perfect pepper to Miranda’s salt. I
didn’t want the book to end. And dang those other McTaggert men. Sex on a
stick, all of them. I am curious to know what the story is behind their mother,
Francessca. There seems to be a bit more that occurred beyond her agreement with
their father, creating quite a rift between her and her boys. She nearly
explains it to Aden and then stops herself. I’m hoping to discover more in the
next book because Coll is inevitably next for his own romance. Estrangement
aside, I thoroughly enjoyed her character. She added quite a lot to the story
and her quick assessment and keen sense when dealing with her boys – dealing
with everyone really – was a thrill to read. I truthfully cannot come up with a
single complaint to mention. Whether you enjoy Scottish HR, or have yet to
experience it, this is a wonderful place to begin. Although, in hindsight, I
might give the first book a read first so as not to create any spoilers. But
even if beginning the series here, an electrifying experience within these pages
is guaranteed! The series title says it all – and boy do I crave more of those
Wild Wicked Highlanders!
Kindle
version provided by NetGalley/St.Martin’s in exchange for an honest review.
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