She had no idea what her shriek had done to his heart rate. Especially given that he was still recovering from his encounter with one of her two admirers in the main room. What the hell was she thinking, screaming like that? He thought... No, he had just stopped thinking for a split second. Afterward, the effort of calming the beast raging inside his chest had nearly made it easy to ignore her shadow playing on the wall as she dressed; well, quite easy. She had taken her sweet time vesting. Did she think he was made of stone? Good God, he was only human and she was beautiful… “I cannot believe you told her we eloped!” Her outrage cut through his distracting thoughts. Caught off guard, Derek managed a sneer. “I did not recall using that particular word. I told only the truth. We did leave without your father’s approval.” Derek paused to observe their surroundings and find the general direction the innkeeper had indicated for the church.
