witch had the loosest lips? “The source of my meal would be none of your concern, Sorcha.” She wouldn’t let this one alone, he was certain.
And he was right. She leaned closer to him, so close that her shoulder brushed his. “I wish ye would just take from me,” she whispered.
Alec tipped his head back and closed his eyes. The very idea of taking her had consumed all of his thoughts since he’d arrived at Castle Hythe. Taking from Sorcha as he gave her pleasure would be the quintessential moment. He knew it would be for him. And he’d make it so for her.
“Don’t make offers you can’t fulfill,” he warned.
“I’m a Ferguson, and I would never make an offer I couldna make good on.” She looked mildly affronted.
Good God! As proud a Scot as her father. Alec scrubbed a hand across his brow. “That wasn’t what I meant, lass. Just let it be, will you?”
But she continued as though he hadn’t spoken. “I’m tryin’ ta help ye, Alec. It’s just a bit of blood. Besides, Kettering did it with Blaire. And Blodswell did it with Rhiannon. It canna be all bad.” She shrugged her delicate little shoulders.
Oh, but it was bad. A bad idea for Sorcha. Taking blood served a need for Alec. It fed him, and he traded passion in return. But he would never expect a lady he truly respected and admired to be his next meal. “Let it be, Sorcha,” he warned. Already, his fangs were pricking at his upper lip, ready to make themselves known. That was the last thing he needed.
“I’m jealous,” she said quickly.
Alec stared down at her. Sorcha’s face was flushed, her freckles standing out in stark comparison across the bridge of her nose. “Jealous of?” he asked. He must sound like a half-wit. But he wasn’t following her thought process at all.
“I doona want ye ta take from anyone else.” She shrugged her shoulders again. “I doona like the very idea. I doona want ye ta have someone else in yer arms.” She took a bite of her food and pretended they were having the same type of quiet conversation that all the other occupants of the table were having.
“Why not?” Alec prodded. What did she mean by that? If he had a heart, it would be stamping a beat within his chest.
She speared a carrot and ignored his gaze all together.
“Sorcha?” he tried again.
She laid her fork down. “I refuse ta spell it out for ye, Alec.” Then she pointed toward his plate. “What do ye plan ta do with that? Claim a stomach ailment?”
He was much more interested in what she’d almost said, but she didn’t seem likely to say any more. So Alec grinned slowly. “No. Watch this,” he said. Faster than she could blink, he traded her plate for his. She looked up and down the table, but no one even noticed the switch. Alec couldn’t help but smile. Sorcha wouldn’t have noticed it either, if he hadn’t bade her to watch.
“I had no idea ye could move so fast.” She grimaced down into her plate. “But I’m no’ certain I can eat this. I just finished mine.”
She was tiny as a bird. No one would be surprised if she didn’t eat as much as a morsel. “Shove it around on your plate, then,” he groused. “Make a good show of it. Besides, with the gown you’re wearing, I doubt anyone is watching your plate.”
“My dress is just fine,” she complained, but she did finally look at him as she said it.
“Just fine if you want to get yourself tumbled.” He really should watch his tone, but it was blasted hard. Everything was hard. From the entire situation to his manhood. Thank God for draping table linens.
“If I dinna ken better, I’d say ye are also jealous.”
Perhaps he was. That was definitely possible. After all, he didn’t want other men gazing at her, certainly not the way Eynsford’s blasted brothers did.
“Ye canna go and drink from a lass and then expect me ta be a paragon of virtue,” she warned.
That did it. He tossed his napkin onto his plate. Alec wouldn’t have her think him a scoundrel, not for one more second. For some ungodly reason, her opinion mattered to him. He leaned close enough to murmur in her ear. “I didn’t take from anyone. I visited that little butcher shop you mentioned to me. And I had some blasted goat’s blood. Maybe even mixed with something