Page 3 of Kiss Me, Macrae

“I hear ye. I might still be a wee bit off my head, but I can hear well enough,” he growled as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and sat up only to drop his head into his hands with a heavy groan.

Forcefully averting her gaze from the sight of his impressive body, she glanced toward the window. The light grey of the overcast sky suggested it was well into morning. “Come on. Get up,” she urged, turning back with a burst of panic. “Up. Up.”

He lifted his head and gave her an odd look before his focus slid intently over her bristling form.

Recalling that she was only slightly more clothed than he was, her skin ignited with tingling awareness. Her undergarment was not so thin as a summer chemise, which would have been practically transparent, but it was sleeveless and barely reached to mid-thigh.

When he brought his gaze back to meet hers, something in his eyes triggered a delicious flutter low in her core. Then he smiled in a way that was both challenging and amused as he rose to his feet.

As soon as she realized he wasn’t going to do anything to keep the blanket in place over his groin, Allegra spun around, but she was not quite quick enough. The stunning sight of his large, muscled body on full display was likely to be etched indelibly in her mind.

“I cannot believe you just did that,” she gasped.

His response was a throaty chuckle. “Just givin’ ye what ye demand, lass.”

Allegra took a deep breath. Frustration mounted at his irreverent behavior as much as her wayward reaction to him. He clearly wasn’t taking this situation as seriously as it warranted.

“What I demand is that you get dressed and get out,” she repeated in a desperate bid to rush him along.

When only a hushed sound of movement answered her, she glanced over her shoulder, then froze in place when she discovered him standing right behind her. Though he’d pulled on his trousers, his torso remained bare. The sight of such a broad male chest so close had her body tightening as her heart skipped to a faster pace.

Tipping her chin up to meet his gaze, she reluctantly acknowledged that his features were handsome in a rugged sort of way and possessed a boyishness when he smiled—as he did now. A flash of wicked delight ignited in his green eyes and caused her breath to restart on a swift inhale.

But when he leaned forward, reaching past her body in a way that brought his face even with hers, her breath stalled completely.

His bold gaze fell briefly to her lips and then her breasts before he gave her a quick wink. “I’ll be needin’ this.”

He swept up his shirt from the chair beside her in one brawny hand. Without moving away, he lifted the shirt over his head, demonstrating a powerful movement of muscle in his arms and chest and abdomen. The display of so much masculine strength within intimate reach caused Allegra’s pulse to quicken as blood rushed swiftly through her veins, carrying the heat of unexpected—and thoroughly unwanted—desire to every corner of her being.

When he reached for his coat, Allegra realized she could have stepped back at any point to give him more space. The boldness of his grin indicated he was equally aware of that fact.

She was not typically so hotheaded…or hot-blooded. This man seemed to bring out the worst in her.

“I’ll be on my way then.” The rich, rolling cadence of his burr suggested he was in no particular hurry.

“Finally.”

“Even though ’tis my room,” he added.

Placing her hands flat against his solid chest, Allegra gave him a shove toward the door. “Get. Out.”

He chuckled at her attempt to exert physical force, but gratefully, he did not resist.

Before he got more than a step, however, Allegra realized her error and grasped his thick arm in both hands to pull him back. “No, no, no. Wait.” He couldn’t go out the door, where anyone could pass by and see him coming from her room.

He looked down at her with an arch of surprise lifting one eyebrow. “Ye dinnae want me tae leave?”

Allegra shook her head. “Of course I do, just not that way.” She rushed to the window and noted that it looked out over the mews behind the inn. It was early enough that no one appeared to be about just yet and, to her great relief, there was a comfortable-looking hedgerow growing right below the window and plenty of snow all about. Releasing the casement latch, she threw the window open to the chilled morning air and gave a studied glance down.

Not too far a drop for a large man with a sturdy build.

“Ye expect me tae jump oot the bloody window?”

Oddly, the Scotsman didn’t sound the least bit offended as he came to stand beside her. In fact, he looked thoroughly amused.

“It’s not terribly high,” she noted. “I doubt you’ll get hurt very badly. And most importantly, no one will see you.”

He gave a harsh sigh as he leaned over the sill to view the drop for himself. Then he turned to her with a dubious expression. “Ye’re lucky this isna the first window I’ve had tae leap from.”