A Bright Particular Star (18 page)

“
O
nce again I am indeb
ted to you,
”
said Sophie, giving
him a grateful smile.
“
I confess I am
a little tired
.
”

He studied the lush curve of her lips.
“
You, tired?
”
he teased.
“
I am surprised
…
the day has been uneventful so far.
”

She was obliged to laugh at this, a
nd then said to Olivia
:
“
W
e
’
ll go up to our rooms
after you
’
ve eaten supper
,
if you have no objection.
”

“
None,
”
said Olivia,
removing
her gloves.
“
I am
exhausted too.
”

“
An e
arly night would be advisable;
I
’
ll
need all my
wits tomorrow
to deal w
ith
Eudora and Perry,
”
admitted
Sophie.

“
I
’
ll bid you
goodnight now
then,
”
said Theo.
“
I want to check th
e post horses will be ready
after breakfast and
,
afterward
,
seek out
Mr
Grey.
”

“
What about Peregrine?
”
inquired
Olivia.

“
I
’
ll invite him to join us too,
”
replied Theo
with wolfish grin.

****

A
fter supper,
Sophie and Olivia left
the parlour to seek out their beds, n
either
of them
looki
ng forward to the following day with any enthusiasm
.
They passed through the coffee room, a low pitched apartment
with heavy oak furniture
, and into the hallway.
There was no sign of Theo,
Peregrine or Lucius Grey
.

T
he landlord gave
d
irections to their bedchambers and, flustered by the string of imperious orders he had received earlier, was
at
pains to assure them e
verything had been done for Mrs
Sloane
’s
comfort.
A hot brick to warm th
e bed
and a bo
wl of chicken
soup
had
been sent up, and
one of the chambermaids was
acting as
Mrs
Sloane
’s
personal
maid.
Apologizing
if her mother
’s
demands had
been unreasonable, Olivia
’s
sympathetic manner and
accompanying
warm
smile
did
much to soothe the innkeepe
r
’s
ruffled sensibilities.
Refusing
his off
er to show them the way
, they went upstairs
.

The summe
r twilight had faded
and a hanging oil lamp lit the staircase.
It threw some light a
long the passageways
set at right angles to the top of the stairs, but the other lamps had
not yet been lit and beyond the central lamp
’s
radius, the corridors of the inn l
oomed ahead, dark and gloomy
.
Sophie
’s
room was to the right, so she kissed
Olivia
on the cheek and said,
“
Get some sleep and don
’t
worry about tomorrow.
”

“
I
’
ll try.
A
t least with my own room I shall have a respite
from Mama.
I suppose I had better
check on her
in case she needs anything.
”

Sophie grimaced.
“T
he way she treats you, she does
n
’t
deserve any attention
.
It
’s
a credit to your generous nature that you oblige her at all.
”

“S
he might already be asleep
.
I think the journey fatigue
d her more than she would admit,
”
said Olivia softly.
“
I
’
ll see you in the morning.
”

Sophie nodded
and walked away
to her room
.

Turning on her heel,
Olivia
made
her way
down the narrow corridor
in the opposite direction
.
The light was dim and t
he floorboards
were
uneven
.
Halfway
along
the passage, s
he caught her toe
on one of the warped boards
which made her
stumble and reach out for
the nearest door for support.

When
the room
’s
occupant chose that moment to open the
do
or
,
s
he lost her balance
.
Her fingers brushed against
something
in the darkness and instinctively
she
grasp
ed
at
it
.
By the time she realized she was
clutching
the finely-woven broadcloth of a gentleman
’s
coat
, she had toppled against
a solid masculine chest
.
An
arm of impl
acable strength shot about
her
and Olivia found herself
crushed against the man
’s
body.
A hand clamped over her mo
uth.
P
anic welled up
a
nd her
heart began to thump
.
She struggled, t
rying to gulp in air to scream
.

Suddenly, he bent his h
ead to whisper,
“D
on
’t
struggle
or cry out.
I’m
not going to hurt you.
”

She
froze.
The words had been quietly
spoken, but there was something familiar about the velvet cadence of that voice.
She could taste his skin w
here h
is palm rested against her lips.
It was clean,
tinged with soap
and salt
…
and strangely
comfort
ing.
H
is words
offered
reassurance, but it was the tone
th
ey were spoken in and an
underlying
tenderness in his
iron
grip
that
confirmed
he meant no immediate harm.

His hand fell away from her mouth, but he did
not release her.
Instead
his hands slid to her
upper
arms and she found herself expertly swun
g around
in a single movement
until
she w
as wedged between his body
and the door frame.
Crushed clo
ser still
, she could feel his b
ody heat and detect the sharp tang of
shaving
soap.
The
stillness
was broken on
ly
by their breathing.

Suddenly, subtly, his embrace changed.
It became more
sensual,
h
is hands gliding over h
er back and
to her utter amazement
,
Olivia found herself
arching
toward
him
.
T
he thought spun through her mind
that their bodies fitted together perfectly, l
ike two halves of a whole.
Something deep within her welcomed
hi
s presence
.

Unable to s
ee clearly
,
her
every other sense was
heightened.
She coul
d hear the rasp of his breath and
was
conscious of the
hard angle
s
of his body
.
Muscular
thighs
rested against her legs, making he
r
aware of his latent power
.
The satisfying hardness of his
chest brushed
her breas
ts and beneath her gown her skin
grew unbearably sensitized
, sending a jolt of pleasure through her
.
Her hea
d slotted
neatly
u
nder his chin
, placing her
in the perfect po
sition to press her lips to
the warm, inviting column of his
throat
barely inches away
.
Somehow, the
feel of his body over hers felt deliciously right…safe,
comforting,
and yet at the same time incredibly erotic and holding the
promise of even greater
delights.
Unfamiliar
feeling
s
unfurle
d
inside her
and
instead of moving
away
, Olivia
stood motionless and
wanting
more.
H
er senses felt dazed
, sw
amped
,
the sensations
so
exquisitely
intense
she felt almost drunk
.

Then, a
broken gasp escap
ed her and
a
blush swept
over her
from her toes to the roots of her hair
.
Why was she
re
acting like this to
a
stranger?
If
he was a gentleman, he must
consider
her no better than a demi-rep
.
She peered
up
through the darkness
to try and make out his
features
.

“T
-Thank you, Sir,
”
s
he said, breathlessly.
“S
o foolish of me!
I should have brought a candle,
but my ro
om is just
along the passage.
Y
ou may release me now.
I hope I did not disturb you.
”

She saw the flash of
white teeth as he smiled
.

“
Not in the way you might think
,
”
came the
cryptic reply.

The
mellifluous
whisper
sent a quiver
through Olivia.

“
You
’
re as light as a feather,
”
he
muttered
.
“
I daresay I could break you
in two if I chose
, Miss Sloane.
”

He
moved
and it was
then s
he glimpsed
the white streak amid raven-black
hair.

“
Mr
Grey!
”

“T
he
very
same.
”

“
You knew it was me
all the time
?
”
s
he demanded
.

“
Of course.
”
He la
ughed softly
, his
breath grazing her cheek.

“
But you couldn
’t
even see me!
”

“
I don
’t
need
to.
I
can sense your presence even in darkness.
”

Her cheeks grew warmer still
at the sensual note in his voice.
“
Impossible!
”

“
Impossible?
Oh no
.
”

She stared
; h
er eyes were
adjusting
to the gloom and
sh
e could see his glittering
, hypnotic
gaze.

“
You see, e
very detail of you is imprinted on my memory
,
”
he was murmuring.
“
I may
have only touched your hand
, or brushed my lips
over your fingers, but I remember every occasion vividly
and with considerable pl
easure
.
”
Tilting up
her chin
, his eyes gl
eamed
blue fire
as he whispered,
“
I know your skin is flawless and incredibly soft
,
that your fingertips are long, tapered and sensitive
,
that your bone structure is
del
icate
,
that you have
a little
birthmark
between
the second and third fingers of
your left hand, and I know
your scent reminds me of long summer nights made for
love.
I
’d
like to know more
.
Much more.
I
t
’s
my belief
every part
of you is designed for driving a man to distraction.
”