Lady Alexandra's Excellent Adventure: A Summersby Tale by Sophie Barnes

men always presume themselves to be so invincible all the time?”
    Michael stared at her in disbelief. He could not ignore what she was saying, regardless of how much he wished to deny her accusation. It was true that he had never fallen prey to an enemy, but he’d always believed that if he ever did, he would withstand anything for the sake of his country. Alexandra had just cast serious doubts on that and it shook him rather violently to acknowledge her point of view.
    She sighed. “I’m sorry, my lord. I find that I am being quite rude of late. It’s not my place to question your sense of duty or your honor. Please understand that it’s this whole dratted business that has me so out of sorts. I’m quite worried about our potential for success, and I happen to care about . . .” She stopped herself instantly and there was suddenly a very perplexed look upon her face, as if she’d been about to say something that she knew she’d come to regret.
    “What?” he asked.
    “Hm?” Her eyes took on a look of complete incomprehension as if she was doing her very best to feign ignorance.
    “What is it that you care about?” he asked in a low murmur.
    “Oh . . . er . . . nothing really . . .” She made a sound much like a nervous chuckle before sticking her hands in her pockets and shrugging her shoulders dismissively.
    Nothing indeed?
    “It wouldn’t happen to be my welfare would it?” He moved a little closer and couldn’t help but smile when he spotted the telltale blush upon her cheeks.
    She snorted. “Of course not . . . that would be preposterous, Michael.” Again she chuckled with apparent uneasiness. “I mean really . . .” She turned her head away as if something of far more interest had suddenly caught her attention.
    Michael, however, stood as if nailed to the ground. That one simple sentence had given him a world of insight. Alexandra had not only used his Christian name but she had also made that small uneasy sound that women tended to make when they were shy or embarrassed about something. However, the Alex he knew was not the sort of woman to be shy or embarrassed about anything, which led him to deduce that she must have finally taken a liking to him. The thought pleased him to no end. In truth, it surprised him just how much it pleased him, but there it was. It simply did.
    Now, to test the theory .
    Pushing the thought of Ryan hunting him down and beating him to a bloody pulp from his mind, he took a step forward, toward Alexandra. She didn’t move.
    So far so good.
    Feeling a bit more confident, he took another step until they were standing no more than half an arm’s length apart. She remained where she was, gazing up at him, expectantly. It was almost as if she wanted him to kiss her. The realization stunned him. Alexandra Summersby, the most unruly, feisty hoyden he’d ever encountered in his life, was presently gazing up at him with that same doe-eyed expression that he’d seen a hundred times before. He felt the corners of his mouth start to twitch with the beginnings of a chuckle. It really wouldn’t do to laugh now, he warned himself. It would be most unfair, ungentlemanly and unkind to say the least. Yet for some annoying reason he couldn’t seem to stop himself. The expression on her face was so completely out of character. Never in a million years would he have imagined her to look at him like that—eyelids batting of their own volition and her lips puckering in expectation as she leaned slightly forward. Yet here she was doing precisely that—it was much too comical to stop the smile crossing face.
    And that was when she hit him.
    It wasn’t a faint slap on the cheek. No, Alexandra put all her weight behind the right hook that landed squarely across his jaw, throwing him completely off balance.
    Damnation!
    “What the devil are you—”
    “Who the hell do you think you are?” she hissed, cutting him off.
    “You hit me,” was all he could think to say as