seemed only natural he should reach out and capture her body against the door as his fingers felt for the keys. She took a deep breath, allowing the swell of her breasts to brush against him. He looked down and gazed into her wondrous eyes.
A much more experienced woman would have known how the lure of her charms seduced a man. Perhaps this proved to be the appeal that drew him to her side—then again, perhaps not. Those luminous eyes held him tight and seemed to draw him to the edge of sapphire pools. His head spun. Fingers grasping the key, he smiled down at her, and the color ripened. She was like an open book; he could easily read her desire to be kissed.
Not a man to disappoint, he lowered his head and captured her mouth. The soft tissue molded to his. He heard her sigh, and she placed a hand upon his sleeve. As their kiss deepened, he felt a squeeze of her fingers. Reluctantly, he drew his head away.
Under his watchful gaze, she lifted those smoky lashes from her cheek and stared back at him. “If we do this again, we’ll miss our dinner.”
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. “Would that be such a bad thing?”
A soft rose stained her cheek, accentuating the freckles across her nose. He pressed his mouth to both cheeks. “But I will concede your point today.” Still staring, he inserted the key and turned the lock. She pulled the door open, and he followed her inside.
“You want me to wait down here?” he asked jokingly as she placed a foot on the stairs. To his surprise, she answered, “Yes, I shan’t be long.”
Disappointed, he nodded and moved to her settee. Lowering his body to the cushions, he listened to the thud of her feet as she hurried upstairs. His mind drifted to a delicious daydream, one in which those footsteps would bring her to his bed. Sighing with contentment, he placed his hands behind his head and dreamed.
The vision of his home materialized. The huge master bedroom would be lit by the flames in the fireplace, and she’d come to him. In his mind’s eye, he could see her, the light dancing across her body, wrapping it in a golden glow, and like today she’d be wearing nothing but a smile. “Oh, yes,” he murmured, a grin splitting his face from ear to ear.
****
Mary Rose hurried to her room to pick up her best dress and a corset. Elaine could help her put it on. Tonight she wanted to look her best. Stepping into her room, she moved toward her wardrobe, then stopped. An odd feeling rolled across her skin. Frightened, she glanced around to see if anyone was watching.
Her brow furrowed, she moved toward her bed and, keeping her feet away, lifted the edge of her quilt and peered beneath. No feet, no boots, nothing. Still, the feeling wouldn’t go away. Mary Rose swallowed and felt the rapid beat of her heart beneath her chest. “I’m being foolish,” she whispered.
At her dresser, she opened a drawer to pull out her innerwear. Her eyes continued to dart toward the doorway, making sure no one filled the space. Then, moving again toward the massive wardrobe, she stopped in her tracks. A hem of green silk hung caught in the door. A cold chill ran down her arms as the terror rose in her throat. Someone had been in her home.
Afraid to breath, she listened to the sounds around her. What if they were still there? Her ears strained, but she heard nothing. Keeping a wary eye, she gently opened her wardrobe and looked inside. Her dresses had been pushed around. A drawer on the left had the sleeve of her gown lying against it. There could be no doubt. Her things had indeed been disturbed.
Swallowing the urge to run screaming from the room to let the marshal know, she took down the green satin and folded it over her shoulder. If someone had been in her room, they might be watching her now. Her thoughts turned to the shadow of the man from the other night. Feeling the overwhelming need to get out, she closed the wardrobe and moved toward the doorway. Reaching behind her, she grabbed the door and pulled it closed.
In the shadows of the hallway, Mary Rose waited, yet no one materialized. She inched along the corridor, her eyes alert to any movement. At the top of the stairs,