She’d thought for a moment he was going to…do something. Reach for her. Touch her. Ask her to stay.
Tell her not to marry Alexander.
But he’d been the same cold, harsh Corvindale.
She sat on her bed. Perhaps not quite the same. There had been those moments of softness. She hadn’t imagined them.
Had she?
Flopping back onto her bed, she looked up into the darkness, misery welling up inside her. Emptiness filled her chest, making it hollow and cold.
She closed her eyes at the sting of tears. Foolish, addled woman.
That was she. Foolish. Addled. In love with a cold, hard man. The wrong man.
Foolish…
Maia must have slept,for she dreamed.
He was there in her dreams again, but this time she recognized him. The wide, strong hands, the dark hair, the smooth, sensual brush of lips, the flash of fangs as they slid easily into her shoulder.
For the second time that night, she woke suddenly, heart pounding, breathless.
Her dreams were soreal.Her body was damp and alive, throbbing and tight…but she was alone.
Maia sat up. All at once she remembered the dream she’d had when Corvindale was gone, the dark, frightening one. The dream that must have been…could it have been…what he was experiencing? At the hands of Mrs. Throckmullins?
Did that mean…
She swallowed hard, heat rushing through her. Could it mean that, just now, he was dreaming the same thing that she had been?
Heart thumping madly, hardly realizing what she was doing, Maia slid off the high bed to the floor. She glanced at the window to see a faint glow in the distance, out over the rooftops. Dawn was near. Her feet made no noise on the wood planks as she went to the door and opened it.
If he were dreaming what she was dreaming…
Her fingers closed around the doorknob and she hesitated. Her knees trembled. She knew what she wanted to do. What she was about to do…but would it make any difference? Would it not only cause deeper problems?
But as she stood there in the shadows, half in the corridor, half in her chamber, she realized that she stood on a different threshold.
If she went back to bed, she would remain Maia Woodmore, soon to be Mrs. Bradington, peer of theton,the epitome of propriety and gentility. She’d marry Alexander and they would be happy together, they would have children, God willing, and she would have a very even,properlife. And she would never forget the Earl of Corvindale.
And if she didn’t go back to bed…
Her insides filled with butterflies, and for a moment she almost swooned with fear and apprehension…and hope.
If she didn’t go back to bed…anything could happen.
Good or bad.
Loving or hurtful.
Maia closed her eyes, struggled and made her decision, closing the door softly.
18
WHEREIN ALL IS LAID BARE
Dimitri woke to find himself hard, hot, damp, and tangled in the bedcovers. His fangs were fully extended, his body swollen with need. The Mark on his shoulder shuttled pain through his limbs, but even that bone-deep agony wasn’t enough to chase the potent dreams from his thoughts.
