She shuddered. “Yes, I suppose I was very lucky, indeed. But what can I do now?”
“It isn’t salvageable,” Mr. Gray said as he picked up a shard of glass, examined it and then tossed it aside. “Even if you could clean it up and block the hole, which you couldn’t, the bedclothes are soaked by the melting snow and you’d likely freeze.”
Panic lifted in her chest as she spun to face him. He was no longer looking at the damaged room, but at her. His gaze was penetrating but unreadable.
“Then what do I do?” she repeated. “Should I see if there’s another room at the inn?”
He shook his head slowly. “You heard the innkeeper tonight. He came by crowing about being at full capacity more than once. He only had a few rooms left before you arrived and a dozen or more came after you.”
She broke their gaze and stared at the floor as reality began to become clear. “You’re right. That was why so many were piling up in the great hall. They have taken over every available cushion and carpet. Damn.”
Tears swelled and she blinked so she wouldn’t let him see. But he did. Even in the dim light, his face tightened as he explored her face.
“Could you join your maid?” he asked. “It isn’t the most comfortable solution, but it would be far better than what you see here.”
She sighed. “My maid and my driver were married just a month ago. Despite her mercenary tendencies, it seems the innkeeper’s wife is also a romantic. She was kind enough to allow them to share what Gertrude described as a tiny little private room. And when she stopped by our table a couple of hours ago, she told me the rest of the servant quarters are unbearably full. There is not an inch of bed or floor to be shared there.”
“I see.” There was a long hesitation before he spoke again. “Then there is only one alternative, Mrs. Wilde.”
She swallowed hard, trying to focus over the pounding of her heart. “And what is that?”
He took a step toward her, his body filling up the space between them, warming her in the chilly room. “Come tomyroom. Stay with me tonight.”
The words had been said. Gray couldn’t take them back. He didn’t want to take them back, though he knew he should. Mrs. Wilde’s cheeks filled with high color, her breath grew short, and in the dim light of the remaining lantern, her pupils dilated.
It was undeniable that his request was welcomed. Damn. It would be easier if she would set him down with a solid slap that he so richly deserved. Perhaps it would snap him out of this fog of need that clouded every judgment.
“I—” she began, then swallowed a few times, searching for breath. “I—but—I…what?”
“You must see there is little choice. You cannot stay here and there is nowhere else for either of us to go in this situation.” He drew in a long breath. “I would depart the room before dawn, before your maid came. You could tell her I surrendered the room to you. No one would be the wiser.”
She lifted her stare to his and he was lost in cerulean blue, the color of faraway oceans and unreal fantasy. He wanted so badly to kiss her in that moment, to drag her against him and make some part of her his, even though he knew it wouldn’t last.
“We don’t know each other,” she whispered. “Not even our first names.”
He shrugged. “In this case, perhaps that is best.” He edged closer again. The distance between them was almost gone now, and yet she didn’t step away. She just shivered and he knew from her expression that it had nothing to do with the cold. “If it helps, I would not touch you. Unless you wanted me to do so.”
Her eyes widened and that dratted pink tongue darted out again to wet those full lips. She was testing him. Trying to make him a liar.
“Come.”
He held out a hand and she lifted her own, almost in a daze, to take it. She had taken his arm twice tonight and each time had sent a thrill through him. But this was the first time that bare skin met bare skin. Electricity seemed to flow between them as their fingers tangled.
He drew her from the room and shut the door, then took her to the next in the hallway. He opened it wide and ushered her in, leaning against the barrier once he’d closed it to allow her to explore his chamber.
He knew what she saw. It was small, just as her room had been small. In fact, the bedrooms were almost identical, with just a bare table near the window and a bed wide enough for two. There was nowhere else to go or hide here. If she stayed, there would be intimacy to it, even if he never so much as grazed her cheek with his fingers.
She turned slowly and met his stare. Her hands were shaking, as was her voice when she said, “It seems I have no choice, Mr. Gray. Thank you for your kind offer to let me stay here. I’ll—I’ll take it.” She shifted a moment and then clasped her hands before her stomach. “What did you mean when you said you wouldn’t touch me unless I wanted it?”
He squeezed his eyes shut. And there it was. Temptation embodied and unavoidable, forcing his hand. He would give in to it now. He knew he wasn’t strong enough to do otherwise, not when she was standing in the middle of his chamber, her expression telling him exactly what she wanted. What sheneeded, even though she was afraid and uncertain.
And it was the same need that coursed through his veins.
“We have spent several hours together,” he said. “And I know you’re clever. You must have sensed how attracted to you I am.”
Her eyes widened and her voice cracked when she asked, “Yes?”
He folded his arms, mostly to keep himself from reaching for her. “Don’t pretend you are naïve. It doesn’t suit you. I felt your attraction to me, as well.”
