“Okay,” she said slowly, “and back off a minute. Let me think.” She pinched his nipple, hard. He yelped and reared back. “That’s better. Okay, if you can prove you’re disease free, I’ll stay the night with you.” She forced herself to meet his gaze. Her face was so red she was sure her head was going to explode, like that poor schmuck in Scanners. “I’ll do anything you want until the sun comes up. You’ve got my word on it. And a Smith never goes back on her word. This Smith, anyway,” she finished in a mutter.

He looked at her, wide-eyed. Then he turned so quickly—snake-quick, it was uncanny—and grabbed for the telephone.

“Wait a minute, who are you calling?” she asked, alarmed. She hadn’t thought he could prove a damn thing at two o’clock in the morning. “If it’s some buddy in Scotland who’s gonna back you up—”

“I’m calling Massachusetts General Hospital,” he said, grinning widely. “Good enough? Dr. Madison has staff privileges there. She’s been looking after my family for years and years. She’ll tell you all about my medical history if you like.”

He put the phone on speaker so she could hear the hospital operator. Dr. Madison was paged and soon came to the phone.

“How are you feeling, dear?” she asked. She also had an accent, this one the clipped intonation of a blue-blooded Bostonian. “I had a terrible time calming down Alec while you were ill.”

“I’m—ack!”

“No idle chit-chat,” Alec said in her ear and ran a finger all the way down her spine.

She turned and slapped his hand away and then grabbed for the receiver so Alec wouldn’t hear the rest of the conversation. “I’m fine, much better…listen, does Alec have any STDs that I, as a potential—ack!—sexual partner should know about?”

“STDs? You mean like AIDS or—oh dear—”

Giselle held the phone away, the better not to be deafened by the woman’s shriek of laughter. A few seconds later, Doc Madison had it under control. “Sorry about that. I give you my word as a physician and a lady, Alec has never been sick a day in his life. Nor any of his family. They’re a…a healthy lot.” Another chuckle. “Why do I have the feeling I’ll be seeing more of you, dear?”

“Beats the hell out of me. Okay, then, tha—” That was as far as she got before Alec was tossing the phone across the room and her back on the bed.

Chapter 7

Ah…”

“Don’t be afraid.”

“I think this is an excellent time to be afraid. For one thing, a) you’re a lot bigger than I am, and b) I’m pretty sure you’ll tackle me before I get to the door.”