She asked him if there was anywhere else a mummy could be hidden besides a cave or an old mine. He assured her that there was not.
“Does Wyndhill Park possess a dungeon?”
“No, Eliza, it does not.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Are you certain?”
“This manor was built during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. It is not a castle and has no need for a dungeon.”
“Such a pity,” she sighed.
“Why is that?” he asked.
“Because I have never seen a real dungeon and would like to.”
“All I can offer is a cellar where we keep wine.”
Their conversation then continued on to other matters, such as what she might write when she finally finished her current book, to which Eliza could not answer.
In fact, as the evening progressed, she realized that she did not have any ideas when she usually had one story in her mind while she wrote another. Such was not the case now and she only had a sheet of parchment on which she had written an idea.
Once she finished the mummy novel, did that mean she would be done being an author? What if no other ideas came to her? What was she to do then? Her writing was her income and why she was able to remain independent.
The more she thought about it the more panicked she became. Eliza did not want to have to rely on her family for assistance, nor did she want to have to beg her brother to release some of her inheritance.
Her fears accompanied her to her chamber, while she changed and after she’d crawled into the bed. She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that Eliza was startled when her bedchamber door slowly opened.
Her heart nearly seized and her breath lodged in her throat with fear that the unknown man had found his way into the manor. That is, until she finally saw the previously shadowed face of Lucian and blew out a sigh.
“Why are you here?” she whispered.
He arched a brow. “Do you wish for me to leave?”
“No. I just…” She wasn’t certain what she had expected. Earlier in the day she had hoped that he would come to her chamber but that was before she became panicked over having no more ideas.
He crossed to the door to the corridor and turned the lock, then stalked to her bed.
A sudden thrill coursed through her body in anticipation of what they would enjoy.
Lucian stopped by the side of her bed, then pulled the covers completely off her leaving them hanging over the footboard of the bed.
She shivered with anticipation. His eyes grew dark as they studied her body. The corner of his mouth tipped.
Eliza’s breast tightened at his perusal, yet all he did was stand there.
She lifted her arms out, welcoming him into her bed. Instead of joining her he grasped her wrists and pulled her to a seated position and then turned her so that her legs were over the side of the bed.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“There is more than one way to find pleasure,” he murmured as he dropped to his knees. “Was that not proven in the cave earlier today?”
“Seated on the bed?” she asked. How was it possible for him to join her in this manner?
“We are exactly as we should be,” Lucian said before he took her lips.
Eliza sighed and grasped his shoulders. When his lips left hers and trailed down her neck and then to her chest, she realized that he had untied the top of her night shift and had shoved it open so that her sleeves slid down her arms and soon her breasts were exposed.
When Lucian took one peak into his mouth, she groaned and let her head fall back.
