She could not help a sigh of deep contentment and deep, deep desire.
His kiss was soft and gentle, his lips feathery light against her. She moved her hands to his shoulders, then entwined her fingers in his tousled hair, bringing him back for more.
Because she wanted more.
But a heavy hammering on the front door made them both freeze. Esme might have been inclined to ignore it, but after a moment’s hesitation, Adam got to his feet. His expression passed from regret to bewilderment, before settling in the fixed lines of duty she was so accustomed to.
“It might be Jonah.” His voice was rough.
Jonah.
She had all but forgotten her missing brother.
The hammering came again.
“Whoever it is, they are most keen to gain entry,” she observed.
Adam gave her a curt nod and strode over to the entrance hall. “Leave it. I shall get it,” he said brusquely, to Jennifer mayhap.
Then came the sound of the heavy bolts being pushed back and the unmistakable squeak of the solid door being pushed open.
Esme put her hand on her heart. Who would come upon them at such an hour?
She strained her ears, but all she could hear was the crackling of logs in the fire. Suddenly unwilling to sit, she pushed herself upright. Just moments earlier, she had been so happy. But now she could not shake a feeling that something terrible was about to happen.
Chapter Thirteen
Ishould nothave opened the door without demanding to know who was there.
Adam deliberately closed his eyes, momentarily making himself even more vulnerable to attack. When he opened them again, he was better able to see through the dark night into the cobbled courtyard.
Which was apparently empty.
He narrowed his eyes, looking right and then left before walking out onto the upper step. The air smelled fresh and clean, with the same brisk wind billowing about his tunic.
“Who is there?” he demanded in his harshest voice, unable to dispel a notion that their easy days of peace were over.
Have I grown so besotted with Esme that I have inadvertently put her in danger?
A sliding sound made the hackles rise on the back of his neck. Then came a hiccup. Adam spun around just as a hand landed on his leg.
“Adam, my good man. Help me up.”
His words were slurred, but it was recognizably Jonah. Adam’s pounding heart began to still.
“Milord.”
Esme’s brother was slumped against the wall of the house, his long legs inelegantly splayed amidst the autumnal remnants of the flower beds.
“I took a fall.” Jonah sounded surprised, but not really put out.
The man is drunk, Adam realized.
He extended both hands and grasped him under his arms, pulling him upwards and allowing him time to recover his balance. Jonah wobbled a little, then clapped him on the back.
“I’m most grateful, sir.”
“Let us go inside,” Adam suggested, leaving one casual arm around the younger man’s shoulders to keep him steady.
