Page 6 of The British Bastard

Chapter Three

Alex

Dinner with a student? I've lost my mind. The fact that she's a grad student and that I am not her adviser doesn't make me feel any less uncomfortable with what I've done. The university ethics code does not bar professors from dating students, and honestly, I never used to worry about that sort of thing. My conscience seems to have decided now is the right time to wake up from its long slumber.

Yes, all right, I want Catriona. As more than a mate. I want to strip her naked and do very unprofessional things to that body.

But I won't do it.

When we reach the restaurant, a waiter leads us to our table. It's a corner booth in a secluded area, just as I'd requested. I might not have ever visited this establishment before, but when I requested a table with a romantic atmosphere, the gent on the phone had assured me he would arrange that. I'm certain it helped that I offered him a large monetary inducement. Why I've gone to this much trouble, I can't explain. I shag women and don't ask for their names or give them mine. Yet with Catriona, I needed to…impress her.

It's bollocks. But here I am, placing a hand on her back as we wend our way through the tables to our booth.

Catriona slides into the semicircular booth first, then smiles at me.

I'm sure she expects me to sit right beside her, but I maintain an arm's length of distance instead. The waiter hands us menus and then leaves us alone. In this booth. Where no one else can see us. I've never taken a woman to a restaurant before, so this is new territory—and I haven't the slightest idea how to handle it.

The Scots lass pats the bench between us. "You can sit closer to me, Alex. I don't mind."

"Well, I, ah, don't want to crowd you." What a twat I've become since this morning. I don't want to crowd her? It's ridiculous.

Catriona smiles again. "It's all right. Please come closer. It's hard to talk to each other when you're so far away."

She makes it sound as if a continent separates us.

But I can't seem to control my own body, and I find myself sliding across the bench until I sit no more than a foot away from her. "Happy now?"

"Aye."

I flip open my menu and study my options while I take a sip of water.

Catriona leans in, her breasts brushing against my arm. "I see oysters on the menu. Have you ever eaten those?"

I choke on my water and barely avoid spewing it across the table. "What? No, I've never had those."

"Are you all right, Alex?"

She just asked if I want to eat an aphrodisiac, so no, I am not all right. Her nearness doesn't help matters. So I do what I'm best at—avoiding the truth by deflecting the question. "Tell me, Catriona, do you have any siblings?"

"Oh, aye." She straightens and aims those stunning blue eyes at me. "I have three brothers and two sisters."

"Five siblings? Blimey. Do you get on with all of them?"

"We get on very well. Lachlan and Rory, my oldest brothers, can be overprotective, but they mean well. I'm the fourth oldest, after my sister Fiona. Aidan and Jamie are the youngest."

"Fascinating." I tear my focus away from her eyes and force myself to study the menu again.

"Do you have brothers or sisters?"

Every ounce of blood in my body freezes. My fingers curl, the nails scraping the vinyl cover of the menu. I never react this way when someone asks me that question, but I think I…don't want to lie to Catriona. It's an unprecedented feeling. Since I can't tell her the truth, I resort to a little more deflection. "Do you have any other family? Parents? Aunts? Cousins?"

"Yes, I have many of those."

"Tell me about them. I'm fascinated by your family dynamic."

She says nothing for several seconds. When I glance at her, expecting to find the lass browsing the menu, instead I catch her staring intently at me. I recognize that look. It means the person I'm with wants to understand me, but no one can accomplish that feat.

"My cousin Logan is in the army," she says. "And my cousin Iain is an archaeologist. Watching him work inspired me to take a similar path."

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