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“You have done more than enough,” she said, and found she meant it. “Truly, I am grateful.”

“Perhaps I should stay a little longer,” he suggested, his brown eyes softening further. “Just to be sure you are well.”

“I would like that,” Laura rasped.

For a moment, they simply stared at each other. The flickering candlelight caught something in her eyes, which reflected in his.

She was no longer a captive of the wild panic that had pulled her from sleep, screaming. Now, she felt something entirely different. A heady awareness that made her go rigid and warm all at once, like a wave lapping at the shore.

She knew they should pull apart, that she should move away.

I cannot do it. I cannot move. This feels… so right.

She saw the change register in Nathaniel as if he had heard her thoughts. His breath caught in his throat.

She inhaled deeply. He smelled like the mountains. She wanted to bottle up his scent and save it forever. She could feel the careful control he’d kept wound tight begin to slip as he leaned in.

The initial brush of his lips against hers was so unexpected and tender that she started for a moment and looked up at him. But the hesitation vanished in a heartbeat, and she kissed him back. Her lips met his, delicate pecks melting into something warm and natural.

The sheer, solid reality of him, of his broad shoulders and tall frame, shattered every defense she had left.

Her hands slid back up his shirt to the broad planes of his muscular chest, fingers curling into the soft fabric at his collar, drawing him closer rather than pushing him away.

The kiss was unhurried at first, a gentle exploration that seemed to ask a question she didn’t know how to answer. Then it grew warm, searching, and fiercely desperate. He buried his fingers in her hair and tilted her head, his tongue prying her lips apart before plunging in.

She arched into him, intoxicated by his heat and his taste. She felt the walls between them crumble, but she wanted more.

Like a bucket of ice water poured over burning coals, reality crashed back in. Cold shock chased the warmth in her chest.

What am I doing? I know what this leads to, what could happen if I… if we…

She went rigid in his arms. Panic, sudden and sharp, flooded her veins. She pulled back from him so abruptly that she almost overbalanced and toppled off the mattress.

“I am so sorry… I…”

She pressed the back of her trembling hand hard against her mouth, as if she could seal the taste of him inside. Or scrub it away entirely.

“Are you all right?” Nathaniel asked, alarm lacing his voice. He reached out a hesitant hand to her, his brow furrowed. “Did I hurt you?”

“No, it is not you.” Laura shook her head quickly, far too quickly, the movement jerky and unconvincing. She pulled her arms tight around her, hugging her middle as if trying to hold herself together. “No, you did nothing wrong.”

“What is it, then? You can tell me.”

“I only need… I need to be alone. Please. I am sorry. I cannot say any more than that.”

The ensuing silence was deafening, a hammer against her temples.

Nathaniel didn’t move immediately, as if still processing the words. He studied her for a long, agonizing moment, his dark brown eyes searching every inch of her face. Then he rose from the bed.

He crossed to the connecting door in a few long strides and paused, his expression unreadable in the shadows between them. Then he inclined his head in a quiet, formal gesture.

“Goodnight.” His voice carried a soft, sorrowful note that made her heart hurt.

He turned and stepped back into his room, pulling the door shut behind him.

The faint click of the latch echoed in the air, leaving her alone in the soft light from the candle on her bedside table, with the fear that had plagued her more than any nightmare ever could.

CHAPTER 10