Page 15 of Kiss Me, Macrae

Making love to this man would be sinful and hot and perfect in every way.

But then what?

Doubt and suspicion cleared some of the sensual haze from her mind. “I’ve admitted my attraction and now you’re trying to use it against me.”

“Never.”

“Are you saying you’re not trying to seduce me?”

“Of course I am.” His tone was ardent. Intent. “But not like that.”

She didn’t feel a need to reply. His brazen admission was enough to prove her point.

He searched her gaze in the silence that followed. His expression tense. His eyes sharp and piercing. She could practically feel him trying to uncover her secrets and lay bare her vulnerabilities.

After a moment, the furrow of his brow smoothed and he dipped his chin. “Ye dinnae trust me. And mayhap I havna given ye any reason tae.” Green eyes flickered with quiet resolve. “I willna touch ye again in the way of a lover—willna kiss ye—unless ye ask me tae.”

She narrowed her gaze to keep him from seeing the unfathomable disappointment his words inspired.

“Though I’ve every hope of getting’ ye into my bed again—the sooner the better—seduction isna my ultimate aim.”

Allegra tensed. Had he just admitted to having an ulterior motive? Though she’d suspected it all along, the acknowledgement that his interest was insincere hurt more than she’d expected it to. She struggled to keep her tone level and her pride intact. “Then what is?”

“I’m gonna marry ye, lass.”

In his deep-textured voice, the words sounded like a vow.

The breath left her body in a rush. A heavy weight that wasn’t entirely unpleasant settled then swirled in her belly. “You’re out of your mind,” she whispered, too stunned to say anything else.

His mouth curved a bit before he gave a shrug of his great shoulders. “Mayhap, but I kenned the moment I woke tae see ye glaring at me with those gorgeous eyes of yours that ye’d be mine. There’s something powerful between us that shouldnae be ignored and shouldnae be wasted.”

His words resonated with her, which caused her to stiffen in revolt. “It’s lust. There is nothing special about that.”

“D’ye truly believe that’s all there is here?” he asked intently. “If so, tell me now and I’ll accept it.”

She wanted to confirm it, convince him there was nothing more to explore, nothing to claim. Convince him to walk away and never look back.

She couldn’t.

The emotion pressing outward from her chest threatened to choke her, but she couldn’t bring herself to say the words that would have him giving up on her.

“I understand ye’ve your reasons for bein’ wary. Winnin’ ye won’t be easy. But I’m up tae the task. Dinnae doubt it,” he added with a wink.

Although she most definitely doubted herself at that moment, she didn’t doubt him in the least.

Chapter 8

Macrae held to his word.

Though staying at Darrow House, he spent a great deal of his time holed up in the library. Over the next couple days, Allegra encountered him only infrequently—at breakfast, while passing in the hall, across the table at dinner, but never just the two of them and never for any great lengths of time.

Though their behavior toward each other was utterly innocuous in word and manner, an underlying current of intensity ran through every interaction. He never once attempted to get her alone where he could attempt a caress or a kiss or a seductive comment. Allegra might have suspected his attraction had run its course if not for the smoldering heat of possession she saw in his eyes when no one else was paying attention.

It had taken years of navigating New York City society to establish herself as a woman who did not fall as easy prey to lazy flirtation or false flattery. She had long ago become expert at deflecting unwanted advances and thwarting overzealous suitors—and in the beginning, there had been many. It was possible a few gentlemen had held honest affection for her, but the fortune she’d inherited from her mother had been a significant draw for a wide variety of others.

Once it had become accepted that she was not for the marriage mart, interest had eventually waned. And for that, she’d been infinitely grateful as it had allowed her to focus on what was important. Because Allegra had known what she wanted to do with her life from a very young age and becoming a society wife was not it.

She had been about five years old the first time she’d visited her father’s office in the city. She had been fascinated from the start and loved everything about the work he did. It was only a few years later that she set a goal to work her way into the position of partner in her father’s architecture firm.

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