The Hellion and The Heartbreaker by Jennifer McNare Page B

inside, she curved her
mouth into a seductive smile.  “Perhaps I’m not in the market for a
husband.”
    Alec had been the recipient of the exact same smile more
times than he could count.  Lowering his hand he studied Scarlett, his
expression speculative.  Was she serious?  Could he have been
mistaken about her?  Was it possible that she wasn’t the innocent he had
taken her for?  Had her reckless streak taken her down a similar path
before?  Regardless, the fact that she was Colin’s sister remained the
same, and unfortunately made the point irrelevant.
    “Scarlett…” 
    Much to Scarlett’s frustration, whatever Alec had been about
to say was interrupted by the sudden sound of voices.  He quickly stepped
away from her, and a moment later the door swung open as Colin and Gavin
entered the stable.
    “I thought I would find the two of you in here,” Colin
greeted.
    “Had the poor chap out riding at the crack of dawn, didn’t
you, Scarlett?”  Gavin joked good-naturedly as he moved forward to stand
at his brother’s side.
    “Indeed she did,” Alec responded jovially, praying the pair
didn’t notice Scarlett’s red, kiss-swollen lips.  To her credit, Scarlett
appeared totally blasé and completely unaffected by what had transpired between
them only minutes before.  Hmm, perhaps she was more experienced
than he’d thought.
    “Isn’t it a bit early for you laz-abouts to be up and
around?” Scarlett teased, a look of exaggerated surprise on her face.
    “I’ll never understand you early risers,” Gavin said, shaking
his head in bewilderment as he moved forward and draped an arm across
Scarlett’s shoulders, pulling her to his side for a brotherly squeeze.
    She flashed him a sunny smile.  “Alec let me ride
Brutus.”
    “She handled him magnificently,” Alec stated with obvious
admiration.
    “You were lucky to get that fine animal,” Colin piped
in.  “Our Scarlett wanted him for herself the minute she laid eyes on
him.”
    “Did she now?”  Alec queried with the quirk of an
eyebrow.
    “Indeed she did,” Gavin added.  “And believe me, she
wasn’t too happy to find out she couldn’t have him.”
    “Now that’s an understatement,” Colin teased, regarding
Scarlett with brotherly affection.  “I’m afraid our little sister was
rather accustomed to getting what she wanted.”
    “I was a bit of a terror in my younger days,” Scarlett
admitted with an impish smile.
    Alec brushed his thumb along the tiny scars on the back of
his hand.  “I would never have guessed,” he said with an amused smile.
    Fortunately her brothers were oblivious to the conspiratorial
twinkle in their eyes, as he and Scarlett were unwittingly reminded of their
first encounter.
    As Alec and her brothers drifted into a discussion regarding
the previous racing season at Newmarket, Scarlett found it difficult to keep
her eyes from lingering on Alec’s handsome visage.  Seemingly against her will,
her gaze repeatedly drifted to the full, firm lips that had been pressed so
deliciously against her own only minutes before.
    Though Alec felt the recurring heat of Scarlett’s gaze, he
did his best to appear unaware.  It was a difficult struggle.
    Realizing that her brothers were bound to notice that she
couldn’t seem to keep her eyes off Alec, Scarlett politely excused herself a
few minutes later, leaving the men to continue their discussion without
her. 

Chapter
4
     
    Alec stood before the mirror in the bedchamber he had been
assigned, trying with no small degree of difficulty to perfect the damnable
knot in his cravat, momentarily regretting his decision to leave Thomas
behind.  Frowning in irritation, he finally dropped his hands.  He’d
given it his best effort and that would have to do.  In truth, his
frustration had less to do with the state of his attire and more to do with his
unwarranted attraction toward a certain flame-haired vixen, an attraction that
tempted him as no other had