“But even as he reached out to cup he face he heard an angry buzzing, and a huge black bee dive-bombed him from out of nowhere. With an oath, Thomas jumped back, swatting ineffectually at the persistent insect. As his left foot came down he turned his ankle and nearly fell.Alexandria’s hand covered her mouth in horror. Aidan, stop it right now!I cannot imagine what you are accusing me of, Aidan returned innocently from the living room. But I have not done anything. He smiled and moved slowly toward her. Yet.“Marie!” In a panic, Alexandria called out as loudly as she could.Aidan laughed as the housekeeper hurried in. Little coward, run while you can.Though they were half a room apart and Marie was squarely between them, Alexandria felt the brush of his fingers on her skin, her face, her throat. They trailed lower, feather-light, to touch the aching swell of her breast before the sensation was gone.“What is it, Alexandria?” Marie asked, her hands on her hips, glaring at Aidan.He held up a placating hand, laughing. “I am innocent. I was a perfect gentleman to her visitor.”“He spilled Thomas’s coffee, made him sneeze, smeared whipped cream over him, and chased him with a bee,” Alexandria accused.While Marie struggled to keep a straight face, Alexandria delivered a final outrage. “And he was going to wither my flowers.”“Aidan!” Marie reprimanded sharply, but there was laughter in her eyes.”

“I think the living room is the perfect place to put the flowers,” Alexandria agreed. “When Thomas comes over, he’ll be able to see them.”Aidan found himself gritting his teeth. Alexandria was already flitting from the kitchen. He caught Marie by the shoulder before she could follow, leaned down, and put his mouth to her ear. “Couldn’t you have thrown the damn things out?” The words came out somewhere between a hiss and a growl. “And just for the record, you traitor, Ivan is not her man. I am.”Marie looked shocked. “Not yet, you’re not. I believe you still have to court her. And of course I would never throw roses out, Aidan. When a man goes to the trouble of giving a woman flowers, she should at least have the pleasure of seeing them.”“I thought you didn’t like this bum.”“He can’t be all bad. You should have seen his concern for her. I tell you, Aidan, he’s really taken with her.” Marie was deliberately, innocently, enthusiastic. “I don’t think you’ll have to worry about her when she’s with him.” She attempted to sound reassuring.Behind them, Stefan was choking again. Aidan swore eloquently in three languages and followed Alexandria out of the room, shaking his head over the workings of the female mind.Stefan put an arm around Marie. “Wicked, wicked woman.”She laughed softly. “This is fun, Stefan. And it’s good for him.”“Be careful, woman. He is not like other men. He might kill to keep her. His nature is that of a wild predator,” Stefan warned gravely. “We’ve never seen him like this.”

“If you don’t get out of my way right this minute, I’m going to . . .” She pictured bringing up her knee hard and watching him writhe in pain on the floor. The image in her mind was as vivid as his shark image had been. Aidan leapt away from her, laughing as he did so. “You have a nasty little temper, Alexandria.”

“I can’t believe he sent me flowers.”A rude noise escaped from somewhere deep in Aidan’s throat. “I just saved your life. What are roses compared to that?” He was glaring at the long-stemmed flowers, his golden gaze intent and menacing. Alexandria glanced up at him, saw the dark, determined set of his mouth, and burst out laughing. She spun around and went up on her toes to cover his eyes with her palm. “Don’t you dare. If my roses wither, I’ll know exactly who’s responsible. I mean it, Aidan. You leave my flowers alone. You can probably destroy the entire bouquet with one ferocious glance.”Her body was soft against his, her laughter warm against his throat. His arm circled her small waist, locking her to him. “I was only going to make them droop a little. Nothing too dramatic.”

“Aidan’s hands itched to strangle the woman. He had known Marie from the moment of her birth—sixty two years ago—and they had never exchanged a cross word. And he suddenly wanted to strangle her. He should have ripped Ivan’s throat out. Flowers. Why hadn’t he thought of flowers? Why hadn’t Marie mentioned it to him first? Why had she accepted them? Whose side was she on, anyway? Flowers! He had the urge to rip those petals off one by one.“Look,” Marie cooed, “he even had the thorns removed so you wouldn’t hurt yourself. What a thoughtful man.”“What time did you tell the police we would see them?” Aidan interrupted, afraid that if he didn’t he would erupt into violence. He detested the way Alexandria kept caressing the petals of one of the white roses.”

“I’m used to doing things my way, and Aidan is set in his medieval ways.”“What’s medieval?” Joshua wanted to know.“Ask Aidan. He’s good with answers,” she replied resentfully.“Medieval refers to the days of knight and ladies, Joshua. Alexandria thinks I would have made a great knight. They were men who served their homeland with honor and always recued and took care of their fair maidens.” Aidan drained the contents of a third glass of ruby liquid. “A fitting description, and quite a compliment. Thank you, Alexandria.”Stefan coughed behind his hand, and Marie hastily turned to look out the window.Alexandria found a reluctant smile curving her soft mouth. “That’s not all I could call you, but for now, we’ll leave it at medieval.”

“And another thing—when you talk to that pompous ass on the phone, do not go all syrupy.” He folded his arms across his chest and looked down at her from his superior height. “Syrupy?” she echoed indignantly, outraged at the accusation. “I never sound syrupy.” Her large eyes flashed a warning at him, daring him to pursue his point.He dared to. “Oh yes, you do.” He clasped his hands together and made a face, his voice rising an octave as he simpered. “Oh, Marie, the flowers are so beautiful. Thomas Ivan gave them to me.” He rolled his eyes as he mimicked her.”