Signore Cardinelli had gone on for some minutes about his treasures, boasting that his was one of the largest private collections in Europe.

Alec flicked her a cool glance. “Among other things.”

“Are we not going to dinner, then?”

“Absolutely not,” he barked and walked even faster, moving a few steps ahead.

“Why?” she pressed, determined to fracture his marble facade. “You can’t possibly be worried about a man twice my age with a penchant for ancient crockery.”

Alec suddenly stopped short and whirled around. Lottie bumped right into the solid wall of his chest. For an instant she was sorely tempted to press against the warm musculature and inhale his woodsy scent, but Alec stepped back and put his hands on his hips. She suspected he took the same stance with students who tried to submit late work.

“Don’t be fooled by him,” he scolded, likely using the same tone as well. “Sir Alfred taught you better than that.”

She shot him a glare. “I can manage the signore.”

Alec held her gaze, his expression now more thunderous than thorny. But Lottie refused to be cowed by him. “Luckily you won’t have to,” he snapped and turned on his heel.

Lottie grudgingly followed. In another minute they entered Saint Mark’s Square, where they were drawn into the bustling crowd and promptly separated by a large group of German tourists. Her sharp cries of “Pardon” and “Excuse me” went unheeded. Lottie had endured her share of ballroom crushes, but panic began to claw up her throat as she was carried along in a veritable sea of strangers. An older man with an impressive gray mustache began speaking to her in a jovial tone. Lottie smiled politely and exchanged a few basic pleasantries that covered nearly all of her German, but when she turned away the man caught her elbow. He murmured something else, and based on the direction of his leer Lottie suspected it was nothing she wished to translate. She tugged on his arm, but the man’s grip tightened. Lottie opened her mouth to chastise him, but Alec was suddenly beside them. If his expression had been merely thunderous before, it now bordered on apocalyptic.

He shouldered his way between them and uttered a string of guttural words to the man, who swiftly held up his hands. His eyes had gone wide with fear. Alec then grabbed her wrist and pulled her across the square.

“There was no need for such dramatics,” she insisted, even as her heart still raced in her chest. “I had the situation in hand.”

Alec kept his gaze fixed ahead. “Of course you did. But then I wouldn’t get to practice my German.”

Lottie glanced back. The man had gone deathly pale and immediately turned away when their eyes met. “What did you say to him?”

A chilling smile tugged at Alec’s lips. “Nothing appropriate for a lady.”