The Scot is Hers (Scots of Honor #2) - Eliza Knight Page 0,3
still very handsome.
If she held her breath, would he determine that he’d heard wrong?
She held her breath to see.
“Why are ye hiding? Who’s there?” He stood straight now, hands fisted at his sides as he took two steps toward her.
Giselle bit her lip. She could come out and tell him who she was, but if she did and anyone saw the two of them alone in the garden speaking, it could be a whole scandal, and she was not ready to be married, let alone gossiped about. This was, after all, only her first season, and she’d not even experienced her first kiss.
There was no way on earth she was going to be tied down to the first man she happened to be alone with. Not that she would have minded so very much being attached to the beastly Alec Hay. She’d be a countess, and he was exhilarating. Attractive and tall. From what she could see of his legs encased in woolen hose to the knees, he was formed well too. Striking in a kilt. The ninnies feigning horror at his face were stupid. Didn’t they see the rest of him?
Scars mattered little to her.
What did matter was his penchant for punching walls. He was not entirely stable, and that, she decided, was not the type of man she wanted to be tied to. She needed stability. After all, her parents were the opposite of stable. Always arguing, and her mother was so controlling that Giselle was lucky if she could sneeze without asking permission first.
“Dammit, come out of the shadows, or I swear to God I will yank ye out.” Alec’s voice was full of threat, and it almost made her scurry around the front of the tree to reveal herself.
But she did have some semblance of self-preservation left, and so she tiptoed backward, deeper into the garden.
“Coward,” he called out to her, obviously hearing her retreat.
Coward? Giselle snorted. Maybe she was when it came to saying no to her mother, but in any other circumstance, this was the last thing anyone would say about her.
What did he know? She whirled around, prepared to tell him that, but caught herself in time, clamping her lips closed. She turned back around to face the great house, prepared to march inside and tell her mother her head ached when her entire body collided with solid muscle.
“Oof,” she said, very unladylike. Her hands came up involuntarily to press against the stony expanse of male chest. Nay! The earl. “Oh. Pardon me.”
“What are ye doing lurking in my garden?” The Earl of Errol, or perhaps she should call him the Beast of Errol, made no move to get out of her way, nor did he retreat from her touch.
Giselle yanked her hands away from him, suddenly feeling heat creep its way up her limbs and onto her face.
“I was out here for a moment alone. Much as I suspect ye were, sir.” She tilted her head back and glared at him. If he were going to act the beast, she would put him in his place. Striking green eyes—or were they blue—glared down at her in the moonlight. Oh my. “I did no’ try to insert myself in your time alone. I was, after all, here first. I think it would behoove ye to treat me in the same manner. Now, if ye will excuse me.”
She made to step around him, but he stepped in her way, blocking her once more. Definitely, his eyes were green as they raked up and down her form, sending chills of something not altogether unpleasant racing along her skin.
“What did ye see?” he asked.
“What?” She wrinkled her brow. That was not a question she’d expected, and she didn’t even know how to answer it.
“Ye were watching me. What did ye see?” He brought his face close to hers as if trying to intimidate her. But he obviously had no idea who she was, for she would not be intimidated. And also, he smelled delicious. Spicy and woodsy.
Giselle looked him right in the eyes, lifting her chin. “I saw nothing.”
In the light of the moon, she watched his brows narrow. She should probably be worried, but the truth was, she wasn’t scared at all, only annoyed. The headache she was going to pretend to have was quickly coming true.
“If ye will excuse me, now, sir.” She again tried to skirt around him. This time he not only stepped in her way, but he also grasped her arm.