I was far too nervous to eat. “No thank you, Tompkins. I’m fine.”
He bowed. “Rest well, Miss Madison.”
I glanced down at my torn blouse and wrinkled skirt.
A bath.
That was what I needed.
I would figure out the rest later.
Right now, all I wanted was a nice, long, hot bath. After weeks of communal showers, it would be heaven to immerse myself in a tub filled with silky, soapy bubbles.
I headed across the room and hesitantly opened the door Tompkins had indicated, as if I were expecting a ghost or some ancient Worthington ancestor dressed in a Civil War uniform to come leaping out.
Lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating a lavish bathroom of carved pale marble. The claw-foot tub was big enough to fit four people.
I turned on the brass spigots, adjusted the temperature, and poured a generous measure of perfumed soap under the flow. I found matches on the vanity and lit a trail of candles, letting their flickering light fill the room. Vanilla and honey drifted on the hot swirls of steam.
Gingerly sinking into the hot water, hissing a little when all the scratches and bruises from the day made contact with theheat, I settled against the back of the porcelain tub and gave a long sigh, letting the tension melt away from my body.
My mess of a life could wait.
In this moment there were bubbles and candlelight and the sweet scent of vanilla. I let my eyes close, oddly comforted by the romantic Gothic feel of the place.
As if I were in a Daphne du Maurier novel.
My lashes fluttered open as a distant thunderclap reverberated through the mansion.
And that was when I saw him.
Watching me from the shadows.
CHAPTER 39
HAILEY
My chest ached from forcing myself to match him in sleep.
After lying still for what felt like an eternity, I shifted my hips forward… slightly.
I covered the motion with a small shoulder shrug as I nestled my head more deeply in the pillow as if I was just settling in my sleep.
I then waited.
For another eternity.
My body fought itself as my heart raced, yet I restrained my breath to match his calm, even breathing.
I shifted again, moving further, feeling his hand slipping over my hip.
I slid my leg forward until my right toes peeked out from under the covers over the edge of the bed. Then my calf. Then my knee. My hip pivoted.
Greyson’s grip tightened.
I was swept lower under the covers, closer to his body. “Is my little bird trying to fly away?” He nuzzled my neck from behind, his warm body half covering mine.
“I have to go find Madison.”
