A low soundroused him from his restless slumber, and Silas jolted upright in the darkness of the night.
Once again, he was positioned on the chair across the hall from Honora’s room, keeping watch.
That horrifying moment when Honora was almost run down in the street outside the bookshop felt like it had aged him by more than a century. Never in his life had he ever been more terrified than in the seconds when he feared he would not reach her in time.
From the air of quiet stillness in the house, it must be past twelve, the faint chime of the clock belowstairs confirming his suspicions.
The chime must have woken him up, he decided, but he took a moment to listen to the dark house around him, relying on his senses to alert him to anything out of place.
Resting his head back slowly against the headrest, Silas shifted in the chair, trying to get comfortable once again.
A low sound wafted through the night, making him catch his breath as his ears strained to identify the origin.
It came again. That low, breathy sigh, and Silas gradually realised the noise came from behind the door in front of him.
Honora’s room.
His pulse flared to life with alarm, but he rose to his feet silently, padding as quietly as a cat to the door as he waited for the sound to come again.
There was no chance someone had made it past, or opened this door without alerting him, but he needed to be sure there was no threat.
After a long moment of stillness, Silas felt his shoulders relax, his heartbeat returning to normal as the adrenaline surging through his veins started to ebb.
But then, it came again. Slightly louder, now that he stood directly in front of the door.
A sultry whimper that sent his composure scattering to the four winds.
It was Honora, Silas would know her voice anywhere.
She was alone, he knew that for a fact, and there was only one reason a woman made a sound like that under the circumstances.
Saints preserve him.
Silas felt the breath leave his lungs as every muscle in his body tensed anew, waiting, waiting for another hint of what was occurring beyond the threshold.
The sound of rustling fabric, another breathy sigh, and then Silas knew without a shred of doubt.
Honora was touching herself.
Gods above, was there no mercy to be had?
As a gentleman, he should step away, go back to his room and give the lady her privacy.
But as a man, he wanted to stay right where he was. Wanted to press his ear to the door and picture every second of her pleasure, imagine it was him touching her secret places, making her moan with delight as he-
The sounds grew more frantic, Honora’s breath hitching sweetly with every soft moan, and Silas felt his cock surge to life, hardening painfully inside his trousers, his body trembling with the effort of holding himself back from breaking down the door.
He gripped the doorframe with desperation, slowly lowering his forehead to the cool hardwood, breathing deeply in an effort to get himself under control.
She is just a girl, Silas. You need to step away right now.
But that other part of him, the one he had fought so hard to keep from her, chuckled darkly, reminding him that at twenty-two, Honora was really a woman.
With a woman’s needs, it was clear.
The moans increased in intensity, a soft keening cry causing the blood to drain from his head and pool, hot and roiling, in his groin.
Had she just-
