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hear their conversation for a moment before ripping the mutt’s limbs from his body, simply because he had let Sorcha touch him.
    Alec froze in place.
    “It is a sad day when gentlemen must resort to eavesdropping, is it not, Miss Ferguson?” he heard Radbourne ask Sorcha.
    “Eavesdroppin’? That’s a terrible practice. One I never indulge in unless I absolutely have ta ken somethin’ that no one will tell me about.” Alec heard her giggle and felt a grin tip the corners of his own mouth.
    “There are things that people refuse to discuss with you?”
    Radbourne asked. “Such as?”
    “Such as what it’s like ta kiss a Lycan,” Sorcha said quietly, her voice barely more than a whisper.
    “What a travesty.” Radbourne’s voice deepened. “Shall I show you?”
    That was it. That was all Alec could possibly take. He couldn’t stand on the opposite side of the coach and let Radbourne introduce Sorcha to passion. And he had no doubt this would be her introduction. He strode quickly around the coach and stopped in his tracks. The pair of them stood there laughing at him.
    “It’s ill-mannered to eavesdrop, MacQuarrie,” Radbourne said. A good six feet of space separated the Lycan and Sorcha. Thank God.
    “What’s even more ill-mannered is to have her out in the dead of night without a chaperone,” Alec clarified. He took Sorcha’s elbow and turned her to face him. “What the devil do you think you’re doing, Sorch?” he asked. “Your reputation will be in shreds if one word of this gets out.” He opened the door of the coach and made a motion to usher her inside. But a foot fell out of the door instead. A man’s foot. Which was solidly attached to a leg. What the hell?
    Radbourne shrugged. “He’s a big man. I’m afraid it was nearly impossible to fit his body in such a small space without folding him.”
    Sorcha giggled. “Looks as though he’s come unfolded.”
    “That much is obvious,” Radbourne said, a chuckle behind his words.
    “Who is that?” Alec ground out.
    “He’s no’ dead,” Sorcha said, almost as though she was put out by his questions.
    “I’m well aware of that,” Alec ground out. “I can hear his heart beating.”
    “She knows what you are?” Radbourne asked, his voice incredulous.
    “I ken everythin’,” Sorcha said. Then she immediately bit her lip at the scathing glance Alec sent her. “Well, I ken a lot.” Then she clarified again. “I ken enough. Just barely enough.”
    “She knows what I am too,” Radbourne said casually as he leaned against the coach.
    “She knows enough to get herself in heaps of trouble,” Alec countered. Would his entire holiday be spent removing Sorcha from sticky situations? Evidently it would. He inhaled deeply and faced Radbourne. “Your services are no longer needed. You may go.” He raised an eyebrow at the Lycan. “And I trust that you value your skin enough that you will not tell anyone of this impromptu encounter.”
    Radbourne pushed away from the coach with a groan.
    “What encounter?”
    “Exactly,” Alec returned.
    He could almost hear the words in Sorcha’s mouth before she spit them out. “What if I tell someone? What then?”
    Infuriating little witch. Alec had no idea what to do with her. “Then one of us could be forced to marry you. Or see you ruined.”
    “And since I was with you first…” Radbourne said.
    Sorcha’s eyes grew wide. “It’s that simple? Truly? Ta catch a beast of my very own, I simply have ta let him compromise me?” She put her hands on her hips and tossed Radbourne a saucy grin. “Then consider yerself compromised, Lord Radbourne. Shall we race for Gretna?”
    Alec’s mouth fell open. Damn if she wouldn’t kill him, which wasn’t an easy task as he was already dead. But then amusement broke across her features and she laughed until she had to wipe tears from her eyes. Thank God, she’d been teasing. Still it left him ill-humored.
    “I’d like to know why this is so