“Really? Because everyone I met last night seemed to be connected in some way. Ravens and Sinclairs.”
She didn’t know what to say.
“You look panicked, Dorset. If that is because I carry Raven blood and you Sinclair blood, fear not. I will never marry. And especially not a foolish, innocent miss like yourself.”
“How dare you call me foolish! You don’t know me!”
He leaned closer, but Dorrie refused to cede any ground.
“You were alone, in a carriage, in a part of London a sweet little innocent like yourself should not be.”
Their eyes locked, and suddenly she couldn’t breathe. His face moved closer, so close that she could see herself mirrored in his dark eyes.
“Little girls like you, Dorset, should be nowhere near men like me.”
“It is not by choice that I am.” Her words came out as a breathy whisper.
His lips touched hers as his hand cupped the back of her neck. The kiss was over before it had started, and then he was gone.
“Dear Lord.” Her hand shook as she pressed it to her lips.
She stood looking out to sea while she let her thoughts settle. He’d called her a foolish innocent, and if there was anything she loathed, it was people judging her. He’d done the same with her family, and she’d set him right there.
The flutter in her belly when he was near was most unpleasant, but she could fight that for the short time he was here at Raven Castle. Yes, she’d saved him, but the ultimate decision for her to marry was hers alone, and the man she would wed would be someone who could make her happy. Someone who knew how to smile and laugh. Ashford Charlton would not be that man.
Feeling a great deal better after that, Dorrie vowed to be pleasant to him while he was here, and no different than the others in her family when she had dealings with him. He would be gone soon.
She made her way down the stairs and to the breakfast parlor. Harry and Cambridge were there, and their wives Maddie and Emily. Children were scattered around the room, some reading, others playing games.
“Hello.” Cam held out a hand, and she went to him, kissing his cheek. “How are you this morning, darling?”
“Excellent. I had a wonderful sleep.”
“Now that’s a lie, and you should not do that to your favorite brother.” He hugged her hard. “Sit, eat. That will restore your spirits and put the sparkle back in your lovely eyes.”
Cam believed food a restorative for everything.
Dorrie moved around the table kissing cheeks before sitting next to Emily, the gentle other half of rambunctious Cam.
“It was a lovely wedding,” Emily said.
She was slight and fair and could be strong when required. Usually when pulling her husband back into line. Em was James’s half sister.
“Do you smell that?” Cam wrinkled his nose.
“What?” Harry asked.
“Peaches.” Cam sniffed the air again. “I wonder if there will be cobbler in our future.”
Cam’s heightened sense was smell like hers, and it made him look like a hound as he was constantly sniffing the air. Dorrie tried never to do that.
“Dev and James are about to enter,” Harry said.
Like Dev and Wolf, Harry had the heightened sense of sight.
There was not much that a person who belonged to this family could get away with. In fact, the only thing that was private were your thoughts. Dorrie closely guarded those.
“What do we think of Ashford Charlton?” Cambridge said.
