Page 79 of Tempting the Scoundrel
Nick bent down and kissed her, leaving Alexandra breathless. “I’ll be back after I deal with this fucking idiot.”
The slamming came again. “Thorne!Where the hell is my sister?”
Nick froze, and Alexandra smiled apologetically. “That idiot is James,” she said.
“Jesus Christ, Kent,” another voice said from the hallway, “Itold younot to go charging in after Alexandra like a goddamn lunatic.”
Alexandra winced. “And that idiot is Richard.”
Nick shoved a hand through his hair. “Shit,” he muttered, getting out of bed. He reached for his trousers and shoved them on, grimacing as her brother slammed his fist against the door again. “Speak to the angry one before he breaks my door down, please,” he told her.
Alexandra sighed. “James?” she called.
“Alexandra?” James rattled the knob. “Come out of there right this second.”
“Unless you need to put clothes on!” Richard added. She had a sneaking suspicion he was enjoying this, damn him to hell. “In which case, for the love of god, get dressed first.”
James made some animal noise, then said something in a low voice that sounded like a threat.
“We shall be out in a moment,” Alexandra said. Good god, this was ridiculous. “Meet us in the sitting room upstairs, please. Third door on the right.”
She heard muttering and footsteps and then, blissfully, silence. When she turned back to her husband, she found Nick leaning against the bedpost still holding his shirt. She bit her lip and stared at his naked chest, admiring the beautiful, sculpted lines of muscle. It seemed a shame to cover it up. “The post in the Americas may be slow, but it does reach its destination,” she told Nick, a touch regretfully. “He was going to come along sooner or later.”
Her husband glared at the door. “Was hoping for later.”
Alexandra pushed off the sheets and stood, catching her husband’s heated gaze. He slid an arm around her naked waist and pulled her against the hot length of him. “Proposal,” he said, his lips brushing her cheek. “We ignore the interruption and stay here.”
“Counterproposal: be nice to my brothers and let me do the talking. I’ll reward you later. In bed. Thoroughly. For hours.”
“You drive a hard bargain.” He stepped away to put on his shirt. “Very well. I’ll be nice.”
* * *
Alexandra pausedat the doorway of the sitting room. It had been six months since she had seen her brother James, the Earl of Kent.
He had left without any goodbyes, in a hurry to catch the ship that Emma had taken to Boston. And he had succeeded: James and Emma married, and had gone on an extended tour of both America and Canada.
From the look of things, travel had agreed with her eldest brother. He had always been hale and athletic, but now he sported a deep tan that indicated a great deal of time spent out of doors. His blond hair was a shade paler than she remembered, distinguishing him from Richard, with whom he bore an uncanny resemblance.
James looked up and saw her. He gave Nick a murderous glare and then held open his arms to Alexandra. With a resigned sigh, he said, “Come here, you troublesome girl.”
Alexandra stepped forward and embraced him. Her brother smelled of the sea; she wondered if he had rested at all after the ship docked. “I missed you,” she said. “How is Emma? Is she with you?”
He pulled back and shook his head. “She put up a grand argument, but I had to suggest she leave for Roseburn after the journey. She’s visibly . . .” He cleared his throat. “In the family way now.”
Alexandra’s jaw dropped. Emma, with child! She could hardly fathom why her friend or brother didn’t mention it in their letters. “So I am to be an aunt twice over, andboth of you”—she shot a glare at Richard—“kept it from me?”
Richard settled on the settee and crossed his legs. “Oh, so now we’re comparing secrets?” he asked with a mocking smile. “How long have you been married, again? Four years, wasn’t it?”
Oh, very well, so she was guilty of her own secrets.
“Fair point.” She felt Nick’s touch at her back and it gave her comfort. “It was . . .” She hesitated, worrying her lip for a moment. “Complicated.”
James flickered his gaze to Nick. “Does he need to be here for you to tell it?”
Her husband was tense. She could tell by the way he tightened his hand at her spine, the set of his shoulders. “Would you like for me to leave?” Nick asked. Alexandra wasn’t sure if he was asking her or James.
“No. On second thought, do stay.” James’s smile was menacing. “It’s convenient to have you right here if I wish to punch you in the face.”
