To her horror, she heard men entering the room they had been standing in mere moments earlier. She shook her head to dislodge his hand, but then she went completely still.
In silence, they waited until the sound of chairs being drawn out provided a little cover, and as softly as possible, they crept down the small dark, servants’ passage.
Without room for Malcolm to pass her and lead the way, Serena remained in front, trailing her gloved hand along the wall to guide her. She could see nothing at first, yet she thought it was lighter up ahead so she kept walking slowly. However, the edge of his infernal basket which he now carried continually bumped her in the back, making her startle each time.
When they had gone for many feet, she was beginning to think there was less air and she could barely breathe. It was almost worse than the catacombs.What if a spider web touched her face?
Stopping abruptly, she braced herself as he bumped into her again.
“This is intolerable,” she said.
“There are openings ahead, signified by ropes hanging off the door panels. Let’s switch places,” he offered, and she heard a thump at their feet. “I’m stepping into the basket. She felt his hands grasp hold of her arms and draw her towards him. “Step in, too. Don’t worry if you land on my feet.”
She let him draw her in, and sure enough, she was perched on top of his boots, facing him.
“You understand,” Malcolm began, “I couldn’t leave the basket behind. It would have declared my having been in the room as surely as if I’d left a message scrawled across one of the maps.”
She did understand, but her awareness of his touch, heightened by the darkness, was distracting. Their bodies were pressed against each other, and yet she could only feel one heartbeat. Hers or his, she couldn’t tell.
His familiar spicey scent of carnation and bergamot, so English, so utterly Malcolm, elicited a reaction deep inside her. Vividly, she recalled what this man could do with his lips and his fingers. She swallowed.
“Of course,” she agreed, trying to focus on the important matter at hand, escaping the palace. “And you can’t leave it anywhere in this passageway for the same reason.”
“Exactly,” he agreed, his tone softer, a little husky. His mouth was closer, as if he were bending toward her.
Her skin was tingling under the grip he still had upon her, and low between her hips was already tingling as well. In fact, she had an absurd notion of how delightful it would be if he were to press her back against the passageway wall, as long as there were no spiders. She wanted to feel the length of his firm body.
This was a terrible time to be aroused, with the risk of detection looming. But they were in such close quarters, Serena couldn’t deny the spark of attraction had become a roaring fire.
As if he knew everything she was feeling, his mouth descended upon hers, landing half on her cheek at first until he corrected its course, then firmly taking her lips. She slipped her hands behind his neck and held him tightly as the kiss deepened. Amazingly, he did what she’d hoped, pressing her against the wall behind her, grinding his hips precisely where she was most sensitive. At the same time, her breasts were crushed against his chest.
A kiss more intense and satisfying, she could not imagine. At the same time, it made her yearn for more. Ever since their encounter in his garret, in the recesses of her mind, she’d wanted to see him naked and to let him satisfy her with all the skill he had. Perhaps they could do something right there, standing up.
Someone whistled loudly on the other side of the wall panel behind her, cooling her ardor instantly. People, some of them dangerous, were mere feet away.
Breaking off the kiss, Malcolm leaned his forehead against hers as they listened to the booted feet of soldiers, perhaps searching for them.
When it grew silent again, he whispered against her ear, “Step out of the basket in the direction I was.”
He held her hand as she stepped back, and then he joined her, picking up the basket that was now in front of him before starting onward.
The passage grew brighter, and when it turned at the building’s corner, suddenly there was light ahead. A small window was cut in the wall to her right, and light came in from the interior courtyard. At the same time, she realized there was a rope hanging to her left to indicate one of the secret door panels.
“We can go through here,” he said, “but it would be safer if we continue to the servants’ stairs and go down to the next level where I started.”
Although she desperately wanted to get out of the tight space, she knew it would be safer to go downstairs.
“Let’s continue,” she said.
“We may run into a servant coming in our direction,” he reminded her. “You should do the talking. Tell them we were seeing the sights, admiring the palace after making our deliveries, even though we knew it was wrong. And if it’s a man, batt your gorgeous green eyes at him.”
“And if it’s a female, you should do the same,” she said.
He chuckled. “Batt my eyes?”
“They are a lovely warm brown,” she told him. Although she couldn’t see his face, she knew he was grinning.
Up ahead, after passing two more ropes, suddenly, the floor dropped away to a dark, narrow staircase winding down without even a railing. Luckily, with the diffused light behind them, they were prepared. If it had been nighttime, Serena believed they would have tumbled head over heels.
