Still, her disquiet lingered.
Giles grasped the arrow between his fingers and stretched back the taut string. His shot landed dead center.
…
Giles reached the balcony landing of the upper floor and glanced back down toward the library. He’d declined Markham’s invitation to play billiards, as had Rayne. Now would have been the perfect time to confront Rayne about his pointed behavior. He considered, and decided against, returning belowstairs. The day after tomorrow he’d be wed. Rayne would grow accustomed to Katherine with time. Best to let sleeping dogs lie, lest he—or Rayne—say something they would later regret.
“Giles?” Katherine’s low call wafted through the dark corridor.
“Katherine,” he whispered, “what are you doing out here?”
She stepped from the shadows, and he vibrated like a plucked string. Her unbound hair fell about her shoulders, an unintentional, but nonetheless tempting, invitation. The ruffles of her simple dressing gown peeked open as they cascaded toward the floor, revealing a tantalizing glimpse of her shift.
Shameful anticipation seized his groin.
Not yet.He gritted his teeth. He would be a gentleman. He absolutely would.Two more nights.
“I—I have something I’d like to discuss,” she said. “Is Lord Rayne still in the library?”
“Yes.”
“We must meet in your bedchamber, then.”
If she had any idea what the word “bedchamber” did to his anatomy, she would flee in the opposite direction. Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips. Or, perhaps not. St. George, how he’d like to taste those lips as he lowered her onto his bed.
“Katherine,” he cleared his throat, “I do not think…”
“Please.” She placed a small, warm palm against his chest.
“Hellion,” his eyes dropped to her hand, “you court danger.”
Less than forty-eight hours. Thank heavens for the custom of early morning weddings.
Downstairs, a floorboard creaked. “Oh no.” Rayne’s words, though whispered, carried up the stairwell. “You are going back upstairs.Now.”
Giles grabbed Katherine in his arms and swirled in a silent, backward dance toward the wall. He slid his hand along the paneling. His fingers met iron, and, with a flick of his thumb, he swung open the panel. They stumbled sideways into the priest hole as Rayne’s footsteps sounded on the stair. Silently, Giles pulled the panel closed. Katherine’s breasts flattened against his chest, and her soft breath tickled his ear.
Every breath she took forced an exhale of his own, and their positions did nothing to calm his raging cockstand.
“How did you know about the priest hole?” Katherine demanded in a fierce whisper.
“Julia.” He commanded the panting beast of his body to heel. “I remember it being larger, though.”
“There is room for two, if you enter one at a time!” Katherine expelled a breath. “You’ve wedged us in.”
“Where we must stay,” he said. “Unless you wish to be discovered.”
Outside the paneling, the voices grew louder.
“I’m surprised you’d run from a woman, Rayne.”
Julia?
“You,” Rayne said in a low, harsh tone, “arenota woman. You are a girl—a reckless little hoyden of a girl, if you ask me.”
“I’m not a girl!” Julia replied with deep offense. “I am an eighteen-year-old woman!”
“Even if you are eighteen,” Rayne scoffed, “I’ve a half decade more experience, which is more than enough to know I do not wish to be caught alone with a bothersome minx.” Rayne’s voice fell. “And I wasnotrunning.”
