“Wanting you as my wife is such a great crime?” he asked, ignoring her and lifting her skirts even higher, all the way to her knees.
He settled the snow-crusted hem back down upon the floor. There was a draft in the chamber, and it licked at her already-chilled skin, making her shudder again.
“You are cold, regardless of all your insistence that you are not,” he observed drily. “Do you suppose there are any blankets in this wretched place?”
Truly, she did not know. But it occurred to her that if he went off in search of them, she would at least be afforded a few minutes of solace. Time enough to gather her wits. Time enough to attempt a second escape.
“In one of the other chambers,” she lied. “Yes, I do believe so.”
He pinned a narrowed gaze upon her. “I will be back in a trice. Do not move, Pru. I will only catch you again, and bring you back here until you are safe and warm.”
But there was the crux of the problem. She was not safe with him. Not at all. Indeed, she was in the greatest danger of her life. Because he was a heartless rake with a charming air, wicked lips, and a kiss that could not help but to seduce. Whilst she was the feather-brained fool he wanted to marry for her dowry.
“I will remain precisely where I am.” She felt not a hint of shame when she fibbed once more.
Her mind was already plotting her next battle plan…
He rose to his formidable height and stalked across the chamber.
The moment he crossed the threshold, she would rise and make another attempt at fleeing the false ruins. If he was preoccupied enough, he would not even hear her make a sound…
“Ah, how fortuitous,” he said then, breaking through her concentration with his deep, delicious voice.
Her gaze jerked to him. He held a fur blanket aloft, which he had apparently plucked from behind a nearby chair. She ought to have known she could not be fortunate enough to escape him.
“Fortuitous indeed,” she agreed through clenched teeth.
But it was his next words, as he returned to her side, that truly alarmed her.
He tossed the fur blanket to the settee alongside her. “I am afraid we are going to have to get you out of that wet pelisse and gown, Pru. There is no other way to keep you from taking a chill.”
