Scholar of Magic (Art of the Adept #3) - Michael G. Manning Page 0,94

without even realizing it. She needed the contact, the feeling of another living being. She needed him.

Her arms were pulling him closer, eager to enfold him. She could feel his fingers sliding up the inside of her skirt, sending delightful shivers of pleasure along her nerves.

And then she began to cry, even as she peeled his shirt away so she could kiss his chest. The tears flowed silently, though she couldn’t stop herself. Her passion was too great.

“William, I’m sorry,” she said softly, whispering in her lover’s ear.

“William! Wake up!”

***

Will’s eyes shot wide as he started awake. His face was hot and puffy, his throat still half choked by the sobs working their way up from his diaphragm. Janice was beside him, staring down from where she sat at the bedside. Her hand was on his chest, shaking him. “Are you all right? You were having a nightmare.”

He could hardly think. He felt broken, angry, upset, and paradoxically—somewhat aroused. Don’t forget embarrassed, he told himself as he turned his head to wipe his eyes on a pillow. Janice’s hand was still on his chest, burning like a hot brand. He sat up in the bed, catching the sheet before it fell to his waist, and Janice pulled her hand away. “Are you all right?” she asked again.

“I’m not sure,” he admitted. “It felt real. Why are you in here?”

“I came a little while ago. Your manservant said he would wake you, but then he decided he would make lunch first to surprise you. I snuck away so I could warn you.”

“You should have knocked,” he admonished her, pulling the coverlets closer to cover an even more embarrassing morning reaction.

Janice scowled. “I did, but then I heard you moaning and whimpering through the door. I wasn’t sure what had happened to you.” A sudden click announced the arrival of yet another person in Will’s bedroom. Janice leapt to her feet while Will took the opportunity to pull yet more covers over himself.

Tiny stood in the doorway, his mouth agape. Janice flushed red instantly. “It isn’t anything strange,” she blurted out. “I was just waking him up.”

The big man’s mouth slowly closed, though his expression remained blank. Without a word, he backed out and gently shut the door.

“That’s really all it was!” she called out loudly, then she whirled around to appeal to Will. “Tell him that—” Her words cut off as she saw that Will had piled several pillows around his waist, as though trying to hide something. “Is that?”

It was his turn to blush then. “I have to pee! Will you get out, please!”

Janice fled the room.

Chapter 21

Will, Blake, Tiny, and Janice sat at the dining table that seemed to be sinking beneath the weight of a ponderous and awkward silence. Blake’s third attempt at oat porridge sat in bowls in front of them, but no one had the heart to complain.

Tiny slowly and methodically spooned the food into his mouth, his eyes firmly on the bowl in front of him, as though it was the only thing that existed.

No one said anything for some time. Will took a few bites, absently noting that the porridge was marginally better than what Blake had made that morning. He would have complained, but when he opened his mouth to speak the first words that came out were spoken in a sullen tone. “I had to pee.”

Janice’s cheeks colored again. “Will you shut up!” She looked at the others anxiously. “I only meant to knock and wake him, but then I heard him weeping piteously. I didn’t know what had happened.”

“I wasn’t weeping,” argued Will stubbornly.

“Sobbing loudly, then,” she amended.

“It was a sad dream, but I wasn’t crying.”

Tiny finished his bowl, scraping the bottom to be sure he had gotten everything. Once he was sure it was empty, he set it aside and looked at them. Will had lost his desire to eat, so he pushed his still mostly full bowl across the table to the big man. Tiny picked his spoon back up, his eyes traveling to Janice’s face, to