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Lord Maccon chose that entle approach this ti of lips, and teeth, and tongue

Plastering herself against him, annoyed, as always seemed to be the case when he accosted her, with the a between her hands and his torso Only one possible answer to that: yes, it would be worth it

Miss Tarabotti sainst his lordship’s insistent mouth Bitchs Dance She drew back and looked up into his tawny eyes She liked the predator hunger she saw there It spiced the delicious salty taste of his skin, that sense of risk "Very well, Lord Maccon If we are going to play this particular hand, would you be interested in becoht word What does one properly call a rinned "Mistress?"

"What did you say?" roared Lord Maccon, outraged

"Uh The wrong thing?" suggested Alexia, mystified by this sudden switch in affe, for Lord Maccon’s yell had reached out into the hallway, and Mrs Loontwill, whose curiosity was cho at the proverbial bit, burst into the roohter entwined on the couch with Lord Maccon, Earl of Woolsey, behind a table decorated with the carcasses of three dead chickens

CHAPTER NINE

A Problem of Werewolf Proportions

Mrs Loontwill did what any well-prepared hter in the arentleman olf: she had very decorous, and extremely loud, hysterics

As a result of this considerable noise, the entirety of the Loontwill household ca and into the front parlor Naturally, they assumed someone had died or that Miss Hisselpenny had arrived in a bonnet of un far less likely-- Alexia and the Earl of Woolsey romantically enmeshed

Miss Tarabotti would have moved off the couch and seated herself an appropriate distance from Lord Maccon, but he coiled one arlared at him in extre, you horrible h trouble Mama will see us married; you see if she does not," she hissed under her breath

Lord Maccon said only, "Hush up now Let me handle this" Then he nuzzled her neck Which naturally made Miss Tarabotti even more put out and uncomfortable

Felicity and Evylin paused in the doorway, eyes wide, and then co Floote appeared at their heels and hovered in a worried but mostly invisible manner next to the hat stand

Mrs Loontwill continued to screae The earl and Alexia? What would this do to their social standing?

Miss Tarabotti fidgeted under the warmth of Lord Maccon’s arers off where they gripped her waist, just above her hipbone His ar He les in apparent aht Alexia, really!

Squire Loontwill bumbled into the front parlor with a handful of household accounts he had been in theAlexia and the earl, he dropped the accounts and sucked his teeth sharply He then bent to retrieve the paperwork, taking his tiht, of course, to call the earl out But there were intricate layers to this situation, for the earl and he could not engage in a duel, being as one was supernatural and the other not As the challenger, Squire Loontould have to find a olf to fight the earl as his champion No olf of his limited acquaintance would take on the Woolsey Castle Alpha As far as he knew, no olf in London would take on such a Herculean task, not even the dewan On the other hand, he could always ask the gentlehter But ould willingly take on Alexia for life? That was e No, Lord Maccon would probably have to be forced The real question hether the earl could be persuaded in a nonviolent manner to marry Alexia or if the best the squire could hope for was for her to becoers

Mrs Loontwill, naturally, coly to her silent husband, "you must make him marry her! Call for the parson immediately! Look at the!"

"No, Leticia, be reasonable Being a claviger is not so bad in this day and age" Squire Loontas thinking of the expense of Alexia’s continued upkeep This situation ht turn out to be profitable for all concerned, except Alexia’s reputation

Mrs Loontwill did not agree "My daughter is not claviger material"

Alexia muttered under her breath, "You have no idea how true a statement that is"

Lord Maccon rolled his eyes heavenward

Her nored her "She is wife material!" Mrs Loontwill clearly had visions of drastically improved social status

Miss Tarabotti stood up from the couch to better confront her relations This forced the earl to release her, which upset him far more than her mother’s hysterics or her stepfather’s cowardice

"I will not marry under duress, Mae Lord Maccon has not tendered ly Don’t you dare press the issue!"