“We love ye too, brother.”
CHAPTER 9
If Bonnie was being honest with herself, she hadn’t expected to see Lyon again.
Of course, his brothers were married to her sisters, so presumably there’d besomeevents—such as the christening of her niece or nephew—where seeing him again would be unavoidable.
But…he rarely left his castle, and it was clear he wasn’t willing to risk his normal existence for anything.
Like her.
So no, she hadn’t planned on seeing Lyon again. If she had to see him at some family function, she’d assumed she could just stand on the opposite side of the room from him or something.
Something which didn’t require her to look into those beautifully haunted hazel eyes, or stare at those perfect lips, and remember how it had felt to be held by him.
Shecertainlyhadn’t expected to back out the front door of the respectable boardinghouse, where she was staying in Inverness, bidding goodbye to the kindly proprietress, and then, as soon as she turned around, run smack into his chest.
But that’s exactly what happened, and as she raised her hand to rub at her smooshed nose and met his worried gaze, her brain went blank. Completely numb. Everything stopped working, actually; she simply froze in place and her mind screamed, “Mraaaap?”
“Hello, Bonnie.”
And then it all started working again, all at once, nudged into motion by that fabulously low growl of his. Her brain sped up, as did her breathing, and as for her arousal…well, that sped up too. Heat pooled between her legs, and her gaze went to his lips, remembering their taste.
“I’m sorry to barge into yer life like this…” he began.
“More like I barged intoyou.” She tried to grin as she lowered her hand to press flat against her own chest. “What are you doing here, Lyon?”
She’d never planned on seeing him again…
“Looking for ye.”
Oh.
But then he cleared his throat and stepped back. “I had some business to attend to in Inverness.”
Oh.
He was here on business?
Now that she looked at him, she realized he was dressed for it, in a finely tailored overcoat of dark blue and a gray scarf, the somber tones setting off his golden hair, which?—
She sucked in a gasp, her fingers instinctively rising, only for her to remember they stood in the middle of a street in Inverness, and it wasn’tproperfor her to touch him, not like this.
“You cut your hair,” she whispered, not sure why she hadn’t noticed it right away. “It looks so…sostylishnow.”
She didn’t miss the flush which climbed his neck and cheeks as he snatched his hat off his head, so she could see it better.
“It was Sander’s idea,” he mumbled, and she had to grin.
“And I am certain Keith was thrilled.”
His nod was jerky. “I thought ye might like it.”
Oh, be still her traitorous heart! “You look very much like a gentleman.”
Although she wasn’t certain she liked that.
“And no’ like a beast? Even with the scars?”
