Here, I am safe. At least, there are no shadows or dark corners.
She stayed very still for a few minutes, wishing to be certain she wasn’t imposing on anyone in this grand room. When many minutes passed and no one came, her body started to relax and she drifted off to sleep, her eyes falling closed.
Evelyn wasn’t sure how long she was asleep for, but it was long enough for her mind to dream. She saw many things, different memories colliding together, setting off sparks and stirrings in her mind, some that frightened her, and others that excited her.
At first, she saw the child she had been in that darkened room, left there alone for so long. Then she saw Kitty and Bridget, both looking down at her, and the disparaging way that Kitty had curled her nose, astonished that Evelyn might get a proposal from a man at all.
The image shifted, and Evelyn saw herself on that balcony at the ball. She saw the masked man coming toward her, the way he had kissed her, and how she had been the one to initiate that kiss, yet he didn’t pull back. The image changed and she was no longer kissing the masked man at all.
She was in the drawing room of this castle, with the Duke of Ravensworth before her, his shirt open and his waistcoat discarded. He was the one kissing her as she clung to what remained of his shirt. He was a similar height to the masked man and had dark blond hair too, though worn completely differently.
Just the thought of that kiss made Evelyn warm in her sleep, heated.
A sound woke her. Evelyn’s eyes shot open as she turned her head in the chair, her usual anxieties making her nervous. Fortunately, the room was so bright, she did not need to fear the dark.
Someone moved around the library.
Evelyn held her breath, terrified of discovery when she saw who it was.
On the opposite side of the room was the Duke of Ravensworth. He stood on a short step of ladders, reaching up to a shelf where he pulled down a book. His hair was tangled, as if he too had been attempting to sleep. With his back to her, he clearly had no idea she was there.
He jumped down from off the ladder, the athletic display making her lips part in wonder as she caught a glimpse of what he was wearing. He stood in a pair of trousers, a loose sleep shirt, and a dressing gown that hung off his shoulders. He hadn’t bothered to tie it closed around his waist, revealing the glimmer of his open shirt and the flash of bare skin.
Flicking through the book in his hands, he walked out of the room, heading through the door.
Evelyn released a breath she hadn’t noticed she was holding.
That was close.
She didn’t doubt if the Duke of Ravensworth had discovered her there, he would have been upset. She could remember all too easily the sight of his anger earlier that evening when he had dragged her to the door, clearly intent on throwing her out. Now that she had already fallen asleep once, perhaps sleep in the guest chamber would find her quick.
Slowly, she stood from her place in the chair and reached for her candle. As much as she wished to stay here in this safe place, she couldn’t do it. She had to leave before being discovered.
Tiptoeing through the library, she headed for the door, determined to escape before he could possibly come back. Why else leave the room so full of candles that were lit? He must have intended to come back.
She stepped through the door, only to find herself walking into something.
No. Someone.
She backed up hurriedly, realizing with her heart in her mouth exactly what she had done as a book dropped to the floor between the pair of them.
The Duke of Ravensworth stood before her—his heavy jawline slackened as he stared at her and those light brown eyes gawked wide.
“What in God’s name are you doing up at this time of night?” Then his eyes darted down to what she was wearing, or lack of, and Evelyn found her tongue was tied.
CHAPTEREIGHT
Rafe couldn’t form words. This was not what he was expecting. Having Miss Voss wander his house late at night? An unlikely event indeed! Having her so little dressed at the same time? Surely that should have been impossible.
Rafe’s eyes darted over her. She’d pulled on a dressing gown over the sheer night gown she wore, but it must have fallen open, for Rafe could see every way in which the nightgown was molded to her figure. It pulled tightly over her slim breasts and the thin curves of her body. Yet the glimpse of her legs under the short hem drove him madder still.
The heat was so sudden in his body that he could not possibly stop his length from awakening. He felt it within seconds, hardening beneath his trousers.
“Miss Voss…” His initial anger had now transformed. There was desire in his voice, deepening his tone as he stared at her.
With her red hair wild about her ears, hanging loosely, it would be so easy to indulge in his fantasy of running his fingers through it, perhaps playfully tugging on it just a little to see how she would react. Would she moan? Gasp in pleasure? Regardless, the sounds she would make would surely beexquisite.
“I am so sorry.” She spoke in a sudden rush, her plump lips parting as she talked. “I-I could not sleep in my room. I am not good sleeping somewhere so dark, so I went in search of another place and found the candles here. I did not know you were here too. My apologies, I should go.”
