be a next time, not if Alec could help it. He returned his attention to Sorcha, placing his hand on the small of her back and directing her through the open terrace doors. If he wasn’t already dead, she’d be the death of him. She wasn’t a child any longer. She couldn’t play as she once had. No more frolicking in orangeries. No more carelessly dancing through life. No more attracting the attention of every scoundrel within a five-mile radius.
“Why must ye do that?” She turned on him, her brow furrowed with irritation.
Was she actually annoyed with him? “You mean threaten blackguards like Bexley? Because you seem blissfully unaware of the havoc you create, Sorcha. This isn’t Edinburgh. You’re heavily ensconced in the cream of English society, and you can’t continue in this manner.”
Her perfect little nose scrunched up as though she smelled something distasteful. “That is no’ what I was referrin’ ta at all. And I do no’ create havoc.”
“Oh, aye, you do.” Of which his jumbled emotions were testimony.
“Doona change the subject.” She jabbed one pointy finger into his chest. “There’s no reason for ye ta treat the Hadley men with such disdain. They havena done a thing ta ye. I’m no’ sure I even recognize ye anymore, Alec.”
That’s what this is about? Those damned Lycans? Her precious wolf-men? The fellows she was bound and determined to catch no matter what? A bit of despair settled in the pit of his stomach, and Alec took a step away from her. “Perhaps you may have noticed, Sorch. I’m not the same as I once was.”
“Nay, ye’re no’. But ye were raised ta be a gentleman, Alec. That hasna changed. And for the life of me, I canna understand the incessant snipin’ back and forth between vampyres and Lycans. Ye have so much in common. Ye should get along famously.”
They had so much in common? Aside from their common lust over certain witches, Alec really couldn’t concede her point and he snorted in response.
Sorcha folded her arms across her middle, raising the tempting mounds of her breasts higher. His eyes drifted downward until she began speaking. “Ye canna help what ye are, and neither can they. Ye live among humans but hide the truth of yerself, just like they do.”
“The same could be said of witches, Sorcha. Yet you and I are like night and day.” And it was true. Where he preferred quiet darkness and solitude, she was all that was sunny and cheerful. “I am death and you are life, lass.”
Her face seemed to fall a bit, yet she took a step toward him. “It doesna have ta be that way, Alec.” She placed her hand on his chest, and the warmth from her fingers stirred something inside him. He almost felt alive again.
“I wish—” He shook his head. Wishes were better left unsaid. Particularly ones that couldn’t come true.
Sorcha inhaled deeply but didn’t remove her hand from the center of his chest. Those creamy swells of skin at her bodice rose and fell with her exhale, once again capturing his interest.
“Alec MacQuarrie, are ye starin’ at my bosom?” She pulled her hand from his person and stepped back.
Of course he was starting at her breasts. They were probably absolutely beautiful, if one took the time to disrobe her properly. He coughed into his hand. “I was doing no such thing.” A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.
Luckily, his teeth weren’t descending. Not quite yet.
The skin at her throat suddenly pinkened, her freckles becoming even more pronounced. What he wouldn’t give to taste them, each and every one.
“Ye are starin’ at my bosom,” she complained. But there was something in her gaze. Something he couldn’t quite decipher.
Alec leaned closer to her and said softly, “If you don’t want men to stare at them, perhaps you should cover them up.”She gasped. “Oh, aye, it’s my fault. Should I have ta have cover up ta my ears too, just because men like ye canna control yer basic instincts?”
Oh, she had no idea how much he was in control. No idea at all.
Chapter Thirteen
Sorcha felt quite certain she would explode into flames at any minute. He was still glaring at her chest. He’d even licked his lips as he’d done so. She’d called his name, and it had barely grabbed his attention.
“I don’t know why you women dress to show off your assets and then get upset when we look at them,” Alec muttered beneath his breath but loudly