She jerked up to search his face, that wariness touching her eyes again.
He cleared his throat. “I mean sleeping. Won’t your father expect…?” He didn’t have to finish. Her bright red cheeks said she understood his meaning perfectly.
Her eyes cut to the fabric hanging to divide off one corner of the room. "My bed is over there. It’s not… I mean…." She darted a glance at him before focusing on her food again. “It’s small. Not really big enough for…”
Was it wrong of him to chuckle at her embarrassment? He wasn’t laughing at her exactly. She was just so cute when her cheeks flushed like that.
“You can keep the bed. If there’s a spot big enough on the floor, I’ll be fine with it.” Even as the words came out, a niggle of concern slipped in. “Unless… Will your father look behind the curtain? Will it make him suspicious if we’re not in bed together?”
She hesitated, finally shaking off her embarrassment as she considered. “The bed really isn’t that big. I’m not sure two could lay side by side without one falling off.” Her brows lowered. “He generally doesn’t go near my things. I don’t know if he’ll be different now, but…”
He shrugged. “If there’s not room, there’s not room.” Though he’d sure be amenable to testing that to be certain.
From the looks of her, she wouldn’t. And it wouldn’t be proper. “It’ll make sense for me to be on the floor for the short time we’ll be staying here. I hope we’ll be able to leave in a day or two.”
The line of her shoulders eased, and her brows relaxed. She returned to stirring the gravy around her dumplings. As far as he knew, she’d only taken that single bite. Did he need to prompt her again? The last thing he wanted was to be annoying. Maybe he could try a different tact.
He leaned across the small table and used his spoon to scoop a dumpling from her bowl. Then he lifted it toward her mouth.
She eyed the bite, almost glaring at it.
He raised the spoon to level with her chin. "Have a bite. You’ll like it."
She shot him a look, but the amusement was there in her eyes.
He lifted the spoon a little. “Best dumplings I’ve ever tasted. You don’t want to miss them.”
The line of her mouth cracked as its corners lifted in a reluctant grin. At last, she leaned forward and closed her mouth over the spoon. She probably didn’t mean the bite to be as seductive as it was. She’d blushed when speaking of sleeping arrangements, after all.
But as she closed her lips around the spoon, then pulled back, taking the dumpling with her, she lifted her eyes to his.
Everything in him went still. His mouth dried up. His breath stopped moving. And did his heart stop beating? The only thing in him that continued working were his eyes. And a lot of other parts of him that wanted to push this table aside and pull her close, letting her lips close around his as they had that spoon.
Mercy, this woman got to him. She was beautiful. Breathtaking. Fragile. Strong.
Andnot his.
Only his pretend wife.
A woman who still stiffened at his touch. They’d only met today, so he probably shouldn’t expect more. Had it really only been this morning when he’d ridden out of Canvas Creek, trying to maintain a thread of optimism that he might actually find Sampson?
He’d done that and so much more.
Jess still held his gaze as she chewed. Was she trying to set him ablaze? Maybe she couldn’t look away either. For sure and certain, even if he wanted to break the connection betweenthem, he couldn’t do it. Her eyes were dark and intense, the richest navy he’d ever seen—at least, in this dim lantern light.
She blinked, dipping her focus to her bowl.
Something in his chest cracked. He’d never felt such a need for someone, so intense it brought a physical ache when they weren’t connected, either by touch or locked gazes or…
He let out a breath. He needed out of this room. Fresh air. Something, anything to clear his mind. To get his senses back.
He scooped the last of his food in one large bite, chewed twice, then swallowed and stood. “I need to water my horse.”
Jess’s gaze pressed into him, but he turned away, striding for the only exit from this pressure chamber.
As he stepped out into the cool night, he inhaled a long swig of fresh air, filling up his lungs until they could hold no more. He let it out in a slow stream, releasing the tension of the past hours. He had to keep his wits about him. If he didn’t, he might make an error that cost them all far more than he could stand to pay. There was far more at stake here than his heart.
CHAPTER 7
