Page 18 of Her Magnificent Mistake
And neither was he.
As she beamed up at him and he stared down at her, his brain unable to hold onto a single thought, Marcia’s thumbs ran over his scarred knuckles, and it was all Hawk could do to tamp down his shudder.
Her touch…
Her touch wrecked him. Hadalwayswrecked him.
It was why he’d pushed her away.
It was why he’d promised himself he’d never reach out for her again.
“Hullo,” he managed to croak past a dry throat.
Christ, she feltgood.
He wanted to pull her to him, to wrap his arms around her again. Only this time he wouldn’t just dance; he wouldfeel, he wouldtaste. His mouth watered just thinking of kissing her again.
Nay, ye must no’. Bull is yer best friend. Ye cannae jeopardize that. If he ever found out what ye did with Marcia all those years ago…
A throat cleared, and Hawk’s gaze snapped sideways to the young man stepping up behind Marcia.
That was not Bull.
“Rupert Calderbank,” he announced, shoving his hand out stiffly. “It’s been years, Lord Tostinham.”
Oh yes, Marcia’s younger brother. Heir to their father’s dukedom. A proper lord.
With great difficulty, Hawk made himself drop her hand to accept the shake from Rupert. “Milord,” he greeted. “Welcome to Tostinham. I…I confess we werenae expecting guests quite so soon…”
But Rupert waved away the apology. “Nonsense. When Marcia told me of yer invitation, I insisted we depart immediately, before Da could saddle me with a valet to get in the way of my floral edification. We needed to reach Cowal immediately, before the rhododendron finish their bloom. Did ye ken thatRhododendron ponticum,or common rhododendron, were originally introduced in this area of Scotland as an ornamental variety, prized for their beautiful purple blooms? But they are prolific, and have covered the peninsula to the detriment of other, less beautiful native blooms. It’s the acid in the soil, their roots—are ye quite well? ”
Hawk blinked. “I…didno’ken that, milord.”
“Please, call me Rupert. And I’ll call ye Hawk, the way my brother and Marcia do, and we’ll be jolly chums. Where are these rhododendrons?”
Hawk exchanged a glance with Marcia, who was looking quite amused. “Jolly chums, aye,” he managed, wondering how often, exactly, Rupert got away from his father’s duchy and interacted withnormalhumans. “I take it ye’re interested in flora?”
“Flora, fauna, firma, everything.” With hands on his hips, Rupert surveyed the front drive, the house, the distant woodlands...not bothering to explain whatfirmawas. “I’ve never been to Cowal. I’m going to learnall the things.”
Hawk opened his mouth to respond, and couldn’t think of a single bloody thing to say except a weak, “Bravo.”
With a chuckle, Marcia slipped her arm through his and Hawk jolted at the delicious contact. When he glanced down at her, she was smiling.
In a seductive sort of way.
What? Nay. She’s smiling.
Just smiling. Like she knew something he didn’t. Like she was amused by an inside joke between them. Like she was thinking of howhetasted and wanted to repeat—Shut up shut up she’s no’ being seductive!
“We are sorry for descending upon you without notice, Hawk,” she announced sweetly.
Hawk, notmy lord, the way she’d addressed him at the ball. When her smile had been much less seductive.
“But you remember how Rupert can be,” she continued, entirely unaware of his whirling thoughts. “Da could spare him for a few weeks, and he jumped at the opportunity to visit a corner of Scotland he’s heard so much about. And its, um, flora.”
Rupert hooked his thumbs through his lapels and settled back on his heels in the manner of a professor giving a lecture, eyes lit with excitement. “Cowal Peninsula is mainly metamorphic rocks formed from deposited sediment layers during the Precambrian period and shaped during the Caledonian Orogeny, the same mountain-building event that created the Highlands. During the Ice Ages glaciers sculpted the landscape, carving out features such as Loch Eck and Loch Fyne, moraines, and the distinctive glens.”
He’d said he’dheardabout Cowal? Hell, he’d practically memorized Cowal.
