Page 20 of The Secrets of Roan Island

I jump and scream, losing hold of the candelabra as I turn. The cold silver slips from my grasp, and I watch in horror as it falls.

A breath before the ground, Noah catches it, candles still holding to their needles, flames tilted sideways.

I’m certain he was several steps away when I whirled to face him. But I must have misjudged the distance in the dim light.

He straightens, clutching the candelabra in a tight grip. “You should be in bed.” His gaze bores into me, like an inquisitor waiting for a confession.

I refuse to cower, even though my stomach twists. David gave me much sterner, more disapproving looks. Besides, Noah’s expression shows more than disapproval, his eyes moving over me with a wild look that makes my body tremble. Then his gaze gets stuck, and his expression shifts, becoming even more feral.

With a quick look down, I realize the robe gapes open, my unbuttoned nightgown revealing more skin than is truly proper.Propriety dictates I should clutch the fabric closed like a prudish old woman, but I’m not afraid of my own sensuality. And while my work makes me intimately aware of how ill-behaved men might respond to it, I find myself increasingly curious about how Noah might.

In the dim light of the candelabra, it’s hard to see his reaction. Shadows dance over his features, but I can see the quick rise and fall of his chest. His dark eyes stare at me intensely, dropping to my lips, lower. His knuckles are white around the candle holder, so tight it seems the metal bends.

“You shouldn’t be out of your room,” he says, his voice low and husky.

I glance at the painting to hide my emotional tumult, then back at him, intending to say something disarming. Then I realize how much he looks like the bride in the portrait.

“Who is she?” I ask, ignoring his order.

“You should be in bed,” he repeats, ignoring my question.

My glare is a challenge. “Who is she?”

He grits his teeth, but to my surprise he answers, “My sister. Zarah.” There’s a dark energy radiating off of him that makes me curious to know more, but before I can ask, he says, “Why are you wandering the halls?”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“You could have read something.”

“Forgive me if I’m a bit tired of reading about the evil wiles of the temptress woman.”

He steps a little closer, eyes so black I can see the flickering candlelight reflected back at me. “You seem to be an evil temptress to me.”

“And is a man’s lack of self-control not an evil of its own?” The lack of conviction in my own voice surprises me.

“It is. Would you like me to show you?”

Startled by his agreement, I study his features more closely, swaying forward in the attempt.

“We tempt each other, don’t we, Miss Rose?” He leans in, his face near the crook of my neck, and takes a deep breath.

I can feel the movement of the air around me as he does. The warmth of his exhale, the alluring scent that grips me and narrows the space between us. Too soon, he straightens and steps back. “But we all must keep our desires in check.”

“Did you look at him, Ruby?”David’s voice echoes in my mind like a ghost I want to exorcise but can’t.

Noah turns and walks down the hall, taking the light with him. “I’ve arranged a boat to come for you tomorrow.”

Rattled by the encounter, and David’s haunting voice, I don’t move. I stand paralyzed, watching Noah’s receding form, the light diminishing the further he gets. I don’t want to be left in the dark, but I feel upended, my wants and desires at odds with the resurgence of David’s memory.

“I saw you. You lusted after him, didn’t you.”

“Who?” I asked.

It never mattered. It was a game David played because he got off on being powerful.

My breath catches in my chest as the hallway grows darker. Noah’s still speaking, but I can’t hear him. I’m frozen in place as the dark descends and David’s voice takes hold.

“You think you’re clean?” David sneered as he gripped my shoulders. “I should never have married such a whore.” He pushed me into the cellar.

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