In the Heat of the Bite (13 page)

The little Cyprian nodded, dancing on her toes in anticipation.

“Behave yourself with Miss Sinclair,” Matthew warned to Alec’s retreating backside. The blasted Scot just lifted his hand and waved Matthew off.

“If you want me, I’m certain he wouldn’t mind,” Tillie said quietly.

No, Alec probably wouldn’t mind, not that it would matter. There was only one woman Matthew wanted. And wanted with a fury that was unparalleled. By God, if he ever had her, lightning wouldn’t be the only product of their union. It would be fierce and furious and… delightful. But Alec was right. Matthew couldn’t have her. He couldn’t have her at all.

His gaze swept across the chit offering herself to him, and Matthew shook his head. “Another time, perhaps.”

Rhiannon could see very little out the windows of Alec’s carriage. Occasionally the warm glow of a lamp from inside a stately home caught her attention, but she had no idea where she was headed. She supposed this was what happened when one agreed to meet a vampyre in the dead of night without asking for details, even if that vampyre was an old friend. She had no doubts about Alec’s intentions, however. None whatsoever.

The coach slowed to a stop. A moment later, the door opened and Rhi found herself looking at Alec MacQuarrie’s smiling face. “Welcome to the British Museum, Rhiannon.”

The British Museum? Why in the world would he bring her here? Rhi looked up past Alec at the beautiful mansion behind him. “It canna possibly be open at this hour,” she muttered as he helped her alight from the carriage.

Alec’s black eyes twinkled. “If you know the right people, anything is possible.” He led her to the grand front door and pushed it open as though he owned the place.

The inside was just as dark as the night sky, but that didn’t seem to deter Alec in the least as he guided her down one corridor. “Would you like to see the marbles that have all of London in an uproar?”

Rhiannon stumbled a bit on her hem. “The Elgin marbles?” Even in Edinburgh there was some outcry over the ancient Greek sculptures.

“The very ones.” Alec towed her a bit closer to him. “I was fortunate a few years back to see a private showing of the collection before it was acquired by Parliament. Anyone can see them these days, which I suppose is for the best; but the sheer number of visitors makes them difficult to enjoy at one’s leisure.”

Up ahead, the golden flickering of candlelight called to Rhiannon like a beacon. As they reached the threshold, Rhi had to catch her breath. The warm glow danced off the marble statues lining the walls, and it seemed as though she had been transported to another time and place. “They’re from the Parthenon?”

“Most of them,” Alec replied as they stepped farther into the large room. “Though some are from Propylaea and Erechtheum. Take a look around.”

There was nothing else she could do. It was the most amazing display she had ever seen. A panel depicting an ancient battle scene caught her attention. “Is it foolish ta say I feel like I’m in Athens?”

“Not foolish at all,” Alec assured her.

She turned her attention to look up at him. “Are ye sure it’s all right we’re here?”

Alec winked at her. “I’ve known the curator for years, and I can be very persuasive.”

As soon as he uttered those words, Rhiannon felt as though marble suddenly weighted her to the floor. She swallowed slowly. “Ye dinna enchant him, did ye?”

Something dangerous flashed in Alec’s eyes. “What do you know of that?” he demanded. “Blodswell didn’t… did he?”

“No.” Rhiannon shook her head. “And he promised he wouldna do so.” Alec’s features softened only marginally, so she laid a hand on his arm. “But I encountered a vampyre in Edinburgh who was no’ so accommodatin’. I would no’ wish the feelin’ on anyone.”

“When was this?”

“A few months ago. When Blaire and Lord Kettering returned from the Highlands.”

A hard look settled on Alec’s face, almost making him appear as though he were made of stone. “Damn it! Did he hurt you? Are the others all right?”

Realization hit Rhiannon, and she felt like the biggest fool. “He was the one who attacked ye at Briarcraig.”

Alec nodded. “There were two of them. A man and a woman. She is responsible for what I am now. Honestly, Rhi, I don’t remember it clearly. One moment we were looking at stars, and the next I was lying on the cold ground, barely able to nod as Blodswell stood over me. I literally felt the life drain from my soul.” He looked a million miles away, his eyes focused on images Rhiannon couldn’t see.

She touched a golden button on his waistcoat. “I am so sorry, Alec.”

He shook his head, and a roguish smile settled on his lips. “Come now. I’ve always been a student of history. Think of how much of it I’ll get to see now.”

Rhi stared up at him. “Doona try ta downplay yer situation, Alec. I ken this change has ta be difficult for ye.”

“Allow me to find a bright side to it all, would you?” He grinned at her.

“Fair enough,” she replied, and attempted a smile.

“Blodswell has lived through so much. I can only wonder at what I’ll see in my lifetime. Do you suppose future generations will look back on us now and think us quaint and wholly uneducated?”

Rhi shook her head. He was smiling in wonder, but there was an emptiness to his voice. If she didn’t know him, she would have never realized he was lying though his fangs. “Doona pretend for my sake, Alec.”

His smile faltered for just a moment.

“I am worried about ye.”

He frowned, and a deep crease furrowed his brow. “I’m more worried about you. Rhi, how can you and…” He looked over her shoulder to avoid eye contact. “How can you and Caitrin stay in that house with those beasts?”

So he knew about Lycans now. Rhi sighed. “They’re no’ all that bad. No’ really.”

Alec’s dark gaze leveled on her. “I don’t know how you can even say that. They transform into vicious, drooling oversized wolves, and they’ve been known to hurt women and blame it on the power of the moon.”

Not any women Rhiannon knew of, but she chose not to voice the dissenting opinion. In fact, Elspeth was delighted with her beast, who just happened to be Alec’s best friend, even though he had no idea about his friend’s monthly change under the light of the moon. Besides, he wasn’t concerned about other women. He was concerned about Cait.

“She
is
fine. And she has seen that side of him. He doesna harm her. In fact, he would protect her with his life. I’ve no doubt about it.”

“Blodswell promised me she was safe.”

“She is. They’re all like trained lapdogs around her.” Rhiannon smiled, hoping he would do so as well. “Ye ken how she is. All of Thorpe House is at her beck and call. If she tells them to sit, speak, or roll over, they all do as she commands.”

He didn’t smile. “Be careful, Rhi. I don’t want her fate for you or for Sorcha.”

Sorcha, her youngest coven sister, was a bit obsessed with possessing a Lycan for her very own, but Alec didn’t need to know about any of that. A gentle wind swept through the museum, making the candlelight flicker wildly, and smoothed Alec’s dark hair from his brow. He smiled softly at the gesture and shook his head. “You’ve done that my whole life. I just never knew it was you.”

“Done what?” she asked, pretending to be completely innocent of the use of her magic.

“I still worry for you, Rhiannon.”

“Ye doona need ta worry about me. I’ve been takin’ care of myself for as long as I can remember.”

“Because Dougal Sinclair keeps his head buried in books instead of focused on his daughters.”

Rhi bristled at the slight directed toward her father, no matter how many times she’d thought something similar. “He’s researchin’, Alec.”

“He’s been letting life pass him by since your mother died, and in the process he’s left you to fend for yourself and for Ginny. You’ve taken care of everyone else for so long and done it so well that you now have a false sense of security. You think you can keep yourself safe from all the dark creatures who stalk the night.”

All of this over Lycans? She had half a mind to tell him his best friend was just such a creature, but she held her tongue. There was no point in upsetting him more than he already was. “I think my lightnin’ can deter just about anyone.”

“How did your lightning work against that vampyre in Edinburgh?” he asked, his tone condescending as he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her.

If he didn’t watch his tone, she’d feel inclined to see how lightning worked on a vampyre in the middle of the British Museum. She sniffed and raised her nose a bit instead of answering.

“You can’t protect yourself against something superhuman. Not something determined to have you.” Alec frowned again. He was doing that quite a bit lately. “You should keep your distance from Blodswell, too.”

Blodswell? Where had that come from? Rhiannon’s heart clenched in her chest. Hadn’t Alec defended the earl the previous evening? “Ye said he saved ye.”

“He did save me.” Alec took her shoulders in his hands and stared into her eyes. “But I don’t want him to have the need to save you in the same fashion, Rhi. Go home. Go back to Edinburgh where I know you’re safe. Keep an eye on Sorcha.”

Rhiannon shook her head. “I’m here for the season, Alec. Ginny’s here. I willna go home without her.”

He winced a bit. “Then promise me you’ll stay away from Blodswell.”

But she couldn’t do that, either. She’d made an agreement with the earl that very afternoon. “I’m no’ afraid of him.”

Alec grumbled something under his breath that sounded a lot like “stubborn witch,” but she couldn’t be sure. “He’s honorable, Rhi. Legendary. Can you believe I actually studied the man’s heroics in Harrow?”

She’d had no idea. Rhiannon shook her head.

“Richard the Lionheart bestowed the earldom on Sir Matthew Halkett. He was given the title Blodswell because blood gushed from his sword whenever he took it up. He was quite revered in his day. And I’ve gotten to know the man fairly well over the past few months. He is a knight in shining armor in every way. He’s just the sort who could capture your heart and never give it back. I don’t want that for you. You deserve better than a creature like him or me. You deserve a man of flesh and his own blood.”

Rhi’s mouth fell open. After that little monologue, she most definitely shouldn’t mention her deal with Blodswell. Who knew how Alec would respond to that. “I promise ta be careful, Alec. That’s the best I can do.” Because vampyre or no vampyre, Lord Blodswell was who she needed. Rhi wanted to stay close to Ginny, and having Lord Blodswell at her side was the best way of ensuring that goal.

“Very well.” Alec nodded. “But I’ll hold you to that.”

She smiled at her old friend. “I’d expect nothin’ less.”

He held his arm out to her. “Let’s take a look at some statues, shall we?”

She slid her hand into the crook of his arm and smiled up at him. He hadn’t changed. Not where it mattered. Thank heavens.

Matthew felt like the worst sort of fool for hiding in the foliage outside Thorpe House. But he had to see if Alec had brought Miss Sinclair home. He had no idea where they’d gone. But if they weren’t back soon, he’d probably lose what was left of his mind. He paced back and forth from one end of the street to the other, his hands deep in his pockets one minute and running through his hair in frustration the next.

The loud sound of masculine laughter reached his ears from inside Eynsford’s house. The wolves. All four of them must be inside. But then the door opened, and three of them came quickly tumbling out. One of the twins, Matthew wasn’t certain which one, fell onto his backside in the walkway. Matthew stepped farther into the shadows as the pup got up, dusted himself off, and growled loudly. “That was completely unnecessary,” he grunted.

The one who looked just like him laughed loudly. “It was worth being thrown out just to see you land on your arse on the ground,” he hooted.

Eynsford stood in the doorway, glowering at the three of them with unbridled hostility. “The next time I tell you to behave yourselves, you should do so immediately. Or it won’t be just Gray’s arse that’s aching.”

“But, Dash—” Radbourne began.

“
But Dash
,” Eynsford mocked with a feminine tone to his voice. “Don’t ‘but Dash’ me, Archer. You’re just as bad as the other two. Now, go home, the lot of you.”

“Can we come back tomorrow?” the twin who hadn’t landed on his backside asked with a cheeky grin. “Or are we banished for a week like the last time Archer worried the devil out of you?”

“You may
attempt
to return tomorrow.” Eynsford hid a grin behind that huge frown, Matthew could tell. He’d used that move himself a time or two. The marquess obviously had great affection for the younger men, even if he didn’t want them to know it at the moment.

Matthew held still, hidden by the darkest of shadows as the Lycan trio walked past. But then Lord Radbourne stopped and said to his brothers, “Do you smell that?”

Blast and damn! Of course they smelled him. They had unparalleled senses.

The twins chuckled.