Page 2 of Kiss Me, Macrae

Rolling to her side, she pulled the thick blankets up to her chin, tucked her hands beneath her cheek, and was deeply asleep within minutes.

Chapter 2

A low, growling rumble slowly pulled Allegra from the comfort and luxury of a dreamless sleep. Struggling to clarify what had awakened her, she tried to roll to her back.

But she couldn’t.

Something—no, someone—was in the way.

A band of fear and shock wrapped sharply around her, abruptly halting any movement and stalling her breath while her heart rate leapt to a frantic pace.

Despite the paralyzing tension that claimed her body, her mind was suddenly alert and agile as she acknowledged that the rumbling that had awakened her was a man’s snore. A man who was currently curled around her with his thighs tucked intimately behind hers, his solid chest pressed to her back, and one large hand cupped even more intimately over her breast.

With a burst of energy breaking through her momentary inaction, Allegra’s muscles tensed to flee, but she made it no more than a few inches before getting tugged to an instant halt. Eyes wide with disbelief, she peeked swiftly over her shoulder to see almost the entire length of her hair trapped beneath the slumbering male’s impossibly wide shoulders.

In the breath she took between acknowledging her unbelievable predicament and opening her mouth to cry out in distress, she realized that the man in her bed was the same red-haired Scot with the belly-tingling voice she’d spied in the common room the night before.

Despite her scrambling, he continued to snore unaware. He’d likely be sleeping off the effects of his revelry for some time to come.

A drunken state of confusion was probably what had brought him to her room in the first place.

Although a hardy scream would bring people to her rescue, the discovery of a man in her bed—regardless of how he got there—would result in nothing but scandal. And that was something she’d had more than enough of lately.

If she could just get away without waking him…

Biting her lip, she took hold of her hair with both hands to give a hard pull.

And gained not even the slightest bit of leeway.

After a few more tries, while the large Scotsman remained utterly oblivious, Allegra’s frustration got the better of her and she might have accidentally—on purpose—jabbed an elbow into the man’s ribs on her next attempt to pull herself free.

He gave a low, roughened growl that sounded more bear than man as his eyes cracked open from beneath a furrowed brow.

Allegra suddenly found herself staring rather closely into the greenest eyes she’d ever seen. Even bleary from sleep and all the ale he’d obviously consumed the night before, his gaze was rich and verdant beyond anything she could come up with in comparison.

And then he smiled. Sensual, masculine lips widened within a scruffy red beard and white teeth flashed. “Mornin’.”

The stimulating timbre of his voice combined with the fact that he didn’t seem the least bit surprised to awake to her presence spurred Allegra back into action. Shoving both hands against his hard-muscled shoulder, she demanded, “Get off my hair, then get out of my room.”

His eyes flickered at her words. He even lifted his head to glance around before dropping it back onto the pillow. Wiping a large hand over his face and beard, he muttered, “My room, lass.”

“No. It’s mine. And I want you out. Now.” She accented the last word by giving another two-handed tug on her hair.

Unfortunately, as she did so, he finally seemed to notice her predicament and graciously lifted his weight, which sent her rolling off the edge of the bed to land on the floor with an inelegant “oof.”

Furious over the drunkard’s intrusion and the outright indignity of her situation, Allegra rose swiftly to her feet. Hands planted on her hips, she glared down at the man who lay sprawled in the bed with a noticeable lack of concern.

And a very noticeable lack of clothing.

Allegra’s belly clenched in shock as her heart stuttered.

All that stark male nakedness was presently covered by only a small portion of the blanket draped over one leg and his groin. His skin was lightly freckled from head to toe and his thick arms and legs were covered by a dusting of reddish hair. His broad chest and rigid abdomen, however, were smooth and sculpted except for a thin line of hair that ran from his navel downward.

She’d spent the night curled against the body of a naked man. A very large, very well-muscled body.

Heat beyond embarrassment or frustration swirled deep in her center.

Snapping her gaze back to his face, she was relieved to see he didn’t appear to have noticed her wayward perusal. “This is obviously my room,” she stated firmly and sharply. “If you don’t get out before someone discovers you here, there will be serious consequences.”