If she was going to be a spinster, why not enjoy one wild night with this man who was sinfully handsome? She trusted him to the depths of her soul. He was a dream come true, and she was not going to pass up the chance to experience his lips, hands, and any other bodily organ he wished to use on her.
“I am not finished arguing the matter with you, Octavian. So do not think you have won this point. But I need to get out of my gown and prepare for bed now. You’ll have to help me undress,” she remarked once they had finished their light repast. There was no lady’s maid here to assist and she wasnevergoing to summon the maid who had brought in the tea cart.
“All right, I’ll help you. But I am not discussing the matter of sleeping arrangements with you.”
“So that’s it? You are going to be a stubborn lout and sleep on the uncomfortable floor where you will catch your death of coldand be of no use to me or the Admiralty, I might point out. Is your mission not important? Besides, I do not wish to travel the rest of the way to Greenock with your dead body moldering in a hired coach.”
He grinned. “You’d probably cut me up and examine my body parts under a microscope.”
“That is not a bad idea,” she teased. “Octavian, there’s no hiding from each other. There is no ornamental screen here to shield us while we change out of our clothes or even use a chamber pot. How can we get more intimate than this?”
One eyebrow of his shot up and a gleam sprang into his eyes. “Perhaps I will show you how…one of these days.”
Please. Yes.
But she pressed on before she became distracted with thoughts of what he might do. She was eager to learn all she could from him before they parted ways. Even though he had spoken of a possible permanent arrangement, she dared not consider it or give herself hope. She would be crushed when he became disenchanted with her and they returned to leading their separate lives.
“Since we are going to seeallof each other over these next few weeks, a sensible next step of sharing a bed is not going to be that noteworthy,” she said. “If it does not work out, then I will not argue if you choose to move to the floor. Does this not sound fair and sensible? Do we have a deal?”
“No.”
Why did he have to be such a stubborn clot?
Well, she could be just as stubborn. “Fine, then you leave me no choice. I shall sleep on the floor, too.”
He frowned at her. “You will not.”
“You cannot stop me. If you sleep on the floor, then I sleep on the floor. We shall both get sick and die together.”
“Bloody blazes, Syd. Why must you be such a nuisance?” He rolled his eyes and then emitted a defeated sigh. “I know I am going to regret this. All right. Deal. We share the bed.”
Her hands shook as the import of his agreement rippled through her.
She had just convinced this gorgeous man to sleep with her.
Could she convince him to do more than just sleep with her?
No. No.
What an outrageous thought.
True, they would soon be married.
But they were not married yet.
It was enough of a struggle just getting him to this point.
Perhaps she would raise the matter ofmorein a few days, once he had grown accustomed to having her in bed with him.
Octavian wheeled the tea cart and their dirty dishes into the hall for one of the inn’s attendants to pick up while Syd quickly took care of her necessaries and washed up. She wished she could laze in a steaming hot bath, but that luxury would have to wait for another time.
Octavian then had his turn attending to himself while she turned her back to him and began to undress. But she hadn’t gotten very far, merely removed her walking boots and stockings, and unpinned her hair before she reached an impasse. “Octavian, will you help me with the hooks and laces?”
Wordlessly, he dried his hands and walked across the chamber to where she was standing.
Syd held her breath as he stepped behind her and then nudged her hair aside before attempting to untie the first lacings. Tingles shot through her as his knuckles grazed her neck and she felt his warm breath upon her skin.
There was a charge between them that felt like bolts of lightning striking the ground.
