But neither had his father until he laid eyes on his mother.
Or his grandfather.
Or his great-grandfather.
Culpepper men didn’t fall easily… but when they did, the entire forest shook.
“You’ve found me, Lord…”
“Culpepper.” Fascinated by the flecks of gold shining in her irises, he took a step closer, inadvertently crushing his hat in his hands as heat thrummed through his body. “Mr. Hoyt Culpepper.”
“Mr. Culpepper.” Those heavy lashes skimmed across the top of her cheeks, then coyly lifted. “But you haven’t caught me. You’re not even close. Because I’ve no patience for arrogant men who take it upon themselves to follow women into solitary places and disturb their quiet.”
Had he likened her voice to a babbling brook?
More like an ocean crashing against the shore.
And he was the shore.
“Ah, I believe you’re mistaken,” he said, blessing her with his most charming grin. A grin that had made a debutante swoon two days ago when he’d accidentally deployed it in the hotel’s crowded foyer. “I can assure you it was not my intention to disturb your quiet. I merely thought you might like some company.”
Her brows arched as she rose to her feet and put her hands on her hips. “And what made you think that, Mr. Culpepper?”
“Well,” he began, but she cut him short with a sharp laugh.
“What is it about certain men that makes them believe they can go wherever they like and talk to whomever they please? If you were not blinded by your arrogance and self-importance, you would be able to clearly see that I came here to be alone. Yet here you are. Assuming that somehow it is your company I seek, even though we’ve never met before.”
“We’re meeting now,” he pointed out.
“No, Mr. Culpepper. I’mleavingnow. Please do not follow me.”
As she sailed past him with her stubborn child held high, Hoyt belatedly realized that he’d made an egregious error. Not in following her here. That he didn’t regret in the slightest, even though she was right. Ithadbeen presumptuous of him. No, his mistake had been in comparing her to a fairy.
Fairies were dainty, ethereal beings.
This woman was a vixen. A vixen with sharp teeth and even sharper claws that she was clearly used to sinking into people.
Men in particular.
But while she had scratched him, he wasn’t deterred.
He was completely, utterly, and irrevocably captivated.
