She looked around the morning room, nerves taking her. While it was crazy to think, Octavia was taken by the sudden assumption that this man had somehow followed her here. Washe also a street ruffian? A con artist of some kind? Had he sneaked into this house to try to rob the place?
And if he is caught, what if he tells Miss Spencer how we met just last night? Surely a story like that would be enough to see me shown the door!
“You cannot be here!” She hurried toward him, keeping her voice low. “Whatever game you are playing, I do not want a part of it.”
“What game I am –”
“We do not know one another.” She stepped past him and shut the door. “In fact, we have never met.” She turned and widened her eyes as she took him in. “If you mean to steal from the Duke, do it on your own time.”
He frowned at her. “And why would I steal from the Duke?”
“I do not care! Just leave me out of it!”
Her mind whirred as she considered the situation. Miss Spencer was on her way right now to collect the Duke and bring him here. If he found Octavia and this strange man together, he would assume they had come as one, that this was all some trick to try to steal from him.
Octavia thought quickly… a little too quickly.
“That jacket! Those shoes! Take them off!”
“You might want to repeat that.”
“Here!” She rushed him and grabbed his jacket. “If we are found… I do not know what we will say. Perhaps you can try to pass as a member of staff. Hurry!” She wrenched the jacket down from his shoulders, trying to pull his arms free.
Surprisingly, he did not fight her. He appeared far too shocked for that.
“And those shoes,” she hurried him. “And that watch! How did you get in – no, do not tell me. I do not wish to know.”
“Do you mean to undress me?” he asked as he removed his jacket.
“I mean to see you out of here.” She tossed the jacket onto the chair. “The shoes,” she said and pointed at them. “I know they are not yours.”
“And my pants too?” He looked down at her. “Shall I take those off?”
Octavia very nearly said yes. Thankfully, she paused, realizing before she spoke how ridiculous this was. She could not ask this man to take off his pants! If they were found that way, no explanation would suffice.
“The shirt,” she said. “Unbutton it.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes!” She snatched for the shirt and started to hastily undo the buttons. “You will have to sneak out the window…” The top buttons came undone, exposing a thick layer of chest hair that covered a muscular chest. Her hands started to shake… “Perhaps running through London without a shirt on will be awkward, but it is a small price to pay.”
She was halfway through unbuttoning his shirt, just as she was doing her best not to stare. With each removed button, more skin was exposed, and with the way that this strange man eyed Octavia… it was a wonder she was able to concentrate at all.
It might be easier if he were not so handsome and muscular. How did a simple street thug develop a build like this…
“I think I need to stop you now.” His hands gently took hold of hers. “Before this goes any further.”
She tried to pull her hands free, but he hung on. “Let me go.”
“Only if you promise to stop undressing me.”
“You think I want to do this?” She glanced at the closed doorway. “We do not have time for this. They will be back any second!”
“Who?”
“Who do you think? The Duke!”
Still holding Octavia’s hands, he effortlessly overpowered her, forcing her arms to her side. There, he stood tall over her, his dark eyes locked onto her, battering her back, sucking away her confidence so that she felt small and powerless.
