“Remind me of your name, lass.” Alex’s deep voice had always been one of his secret weapons to lure women. It rumbled in his chest when he kept it low. The woman rocked her hips forward and pressed her cheek to his, but she recoiled when she felt the scar. Alex watched her turn her head to peer at his face, then shift her gaze to his arm. “You can feel what matters still works.”
Alex tried to hide his irritation, but he was growing weary of the women only paying attention to what he couldn’t change. The part of him they should be most interested in seemed to get forgotten all too easily.
“Uh, Catriona. Caty,” the wench stuttered. Alex nearly pushed her from his lap. He couldn’t bear the idea of bedding another woman who shared a diminutive with Caitlyn. It had always felt off to bed other women once he realized he had feelings for Caitlyn, but they’d never declared their feelings or made any agreement that they intended to pursue more than friendship. Yet he drew the line at the same name. While it ensured he cried out the right one, he disgusted himself to even consider it.
“That’s my sister’s name. It just wouldn’t be right,” Alex lied, or at least told a half-truth. Catriona shot him a disdainful expression before moving on to another customer as the first woman returned with his food and drink. She returned several more times, but only with more whisky until the room grew blurry to Alex’s heavy-lidded eyes. He’d seen the two women who’d approached him whispering to the other whores. It took little imagination to recognize they warned them away from him.
Knowing he was close to growing too intoxicated to make his way back to the keep, he rose on unsteady feet. If he remained, he was certain to pass out and wind up robbed. He staggered from the alehouse and wobbled his way back to the keep. The guards ogled him, and he perceived they struggled not to laugh at him. He could only imagine what he looked like as he stumbled, and his left arm swung beside him. He hadn’t bothered to take his sword with him, so he had nothing to turn over.
Alex set a course for a side door he was certain should get him close to the stairs he needed to find his chamber. But a peal of laughter made his cock harden more than it had when the whores rubbed against him. His head whipped toward the sound, and he regretted the quick movement. He caught sight of Caitlyn at the same time she spotted him. She appeared ready to hurry her friends along, but Alex stalked toward her, suddenly much steadier on his feet. He kept approaching, even as ladies-in-waiting had to move out of his path.
“Alex?” Caitlyn hissed.
Alex ignored Caitlyn’s repetition of his name as he steered them toward the undercroft. When they entered the secluded area, his good arm snaked around her and pulled her close. He felt her come willingly, stepping toward him the moment his arm came around her. He gazed into her upturned face and recognized the desire that shone in her eyes. He brought his mouth crashing down on hers as he pressed her back to the wall. He swept his tongue across her lips, and she opened to him. A flash of curiosity crossed his mind as he wondered who taught her to kiss with her mouth open.
Caitlyn clung to his doublet, fearing she’d either trip over her skirts or her knees would buckle. She felt Alex’s entire body press against her as her back met the stone wall. She reveled in the feeling of finally experiencing her first kiss with the only man who’d ever held her interest. But the moment she opened to him and his tongue slid past her teeth, she could taste the whisky. She shoved at his chest and fought to break free.
“What?” Alex demanded as he reeled back from her pushes. “You wanted it.”
“You’re drunk.”
“So. Drunk or sober, I know what a woman feels like when she wants a mon.”
“Then find one who does,” Caitlyn snapped.
“Come on, Caity.” Alex’s words slurred, making Caitlyn’s name sound like Casey. “You’ve wanted me for years, and I’ve wanted up your skirt since you were auld enough to hike them for a mon.”
“Alex,” Caitlyn hissed. “I don’t understand what’s happened to you other than what I can see, but I’m leaving. I won’t listen to this, and I’ll gut you if I stay.” Caitlyn made to step around Alex, but he shifted to block her.
“Stay, Caity. Find out how good what we’ve both wanted feels.”
“You think I want to be with a drunk mon? Find yourself a whore.”
“Why find someone else when you’re right here?” Something in Alex’s inebriated mind kept telling him to stop talking. As his last words spewed from his mouth, he had a feeling he’d really erred. When Caitlyn’s knee came up to his groin, he barely backed away in time. It made her pitch toward him. His arm wrapped around her waist and grasped her backside.
“I’m not your whore or anyone else’s, Alex. Would you force me?”
Alex released Caitlyn immediately, some of the alcohol clearing from his mind. “Never. I thought you wanted this, wanted us.”
“Us? There is no us. You ignore me, then you call me a whore. You are not the mon you once were,” Caitlyn spat.
“I know I’m not, Caity. Every woman who glances at me knows that. I’d find a whore if she’d take me. I’d find one who reminds me of you, and I’d pleasure her for a month of Sundays. But who wants a disfigured mon?”
“I would if you weren’t such a shite pile.” Caitlyn pushed Alex hard enough for him to stumble backward. She bolted to her right, lifting her skirts to her shins. She never thought Alex might force her, but she didn’t want to remain for the wretched conversation they were having. Neither would say anything that didn’t hurt the other.
“You’d have half a mon?” Alex questioned as he caught Caitlyn’s arm and swung her around.
“Half? The only thing I notice missing is your honor,” Caitlyn stated as she swept a look of disgust over him. “You know me not at all, Alexander. If you did, you’d understand what matters.”
“What matters is that I’m no longer a mon who has any right asking for your hand,” Alex stated.
“But you’re the right mon to ask for my virginity.” Caitlyn thrust her face forward to bring her to eye level as Alex bent over her. “You’d disgrace me. I think you believeI’mgood enough to marryyou.”
“What the devil are you talking aboot?” Alex demanded, surprised by Caitlyn’s assertion.
“I think you’re like all the others. You’d proposition me and learn if I’ll whore for you like I live in a harem. Like I’d be lucky to catch a mon like you. That you’re too good to stoop to marrying someone brown like me. You really have no honor left. None.”
“I never once thought that, Caity. I can’t believe you could accuse me of that.”
