Page 45 of Impossible
Heat rose in her cheeks and flooded other parts of her body. Perhaps this had been a foolish idea. She was rubbish at resisting temptation. She dropped her hands to her sides.
“You came,” he said, opening the door wider.
“Against my better judgment, probably. It’s a good thing you have such a thin household. If there was a chance I’d be seen, I would not have come.” She moved into the chamber.
He closed the door once she was inside. “If there was a chance you’d be seen, I would not have asked.”
His voice rustled over the back of her exposed neck like silk. “I was a bit nervous to ask you to come again tonight, but my motives were rather selfish.” He moved around to stand in front of her. “Last night was the best sleep I can remember.”
Joy radiated through her, and she had to stop herself from hugging him again as she’d done the night before. “I’m so glad.”
They stared at each other, and the moment bloomed into an awkward silence. At last, he pivoted and lifted his hand toward the bed. “Shall we?”
Feeling nervous again, Ada nodded. Last night, she’d kept her dressing gown on and slept on top of the bedclothes. Was she to join him beneath them tonight?
“Er, how do you want to do this?” she asked, too timid to meet his gaze.
“However you like. If you want to sleep in the bed with me, as opposed to on top of it, I have no problem with that. I want you to be comfortable. You are doing me a great favor.”
She lifted her eyes to his. “I want to do it.” Shaking away her reservations, she unfastened her dressing gown and slid it from her shoulders. Then she draped it over a chair and made her way to the bed. She pulled back the coverlet and slid between the bedclothes. Pulling the covers up to her chin, she laid her head on the pillow. “Is this all right?”
“It’s fine.”
Had his voice gone husky?
Ada made herself yawn, hoping it would help her feel tired. At the moment, she was rife with anticipation and that simply wouldn’t do. “I’ve so much to do before I leave Tuesday.” Perhaps conversation would distract them.
He threw off his dressing gown, and she noticed he was wearing a nightshirt, unlike the other nights she’d come to his room. Disappointment curled through her, for which she quickly and silently admonished herself.
“I was hoping to take you to see the remains of the castle stones tomorrow. If you have time,” he said, situating himself in the bed. With each shift of his body, she was more aware of their proximity. In a bed.
It wasn’t as if they hadn’t done this before! Just last night, in fact. Tonight was somehow different. They intended to sleep together.
Sleep!
What he said finally permeated her overtaxed brain. She turned her head on the pillow to look at him. “I’dloveto see the castle stones.” She’d stay up all night tomorrow to finish her work if necessary.
He lay on his side facing her, his hand propping his head. “Excellent. I’ll have Mrs. Debley pack a picnic.”
“That sounds delightful.” Decadent, really. Picnics near castle ruins were for other people of a higher station than Ada. Oh, she’d taken her charges on picnics, but that was completely different. “When I was a governess, I would arrange picnics for the children. But honestly, they were for me. I enjoyed the change of scenery. However, I never seemed to remember that they ran amok, and it was far more work than eating inside.”
“How long were you a governess?”
“Four years.”
“Did you enjoy it?”
“Mostly.”
His brow arched in that thoroughly alluring fashion that never failed to make her heart flip. “I’m surprised by your short answers. I expected you to tell me all about the household, the children, and probably ten other things.”
Ada laughed. She absolutely would have done that, but she didn’t like discussing that period of her life. “In the end, I don’t think it was the right kind of work for me.”
“I wouldn’t think so. You should be organizing battalions, not a few children.”
His high opinion filled her with pride. Ten years ago, she never would have imagined where she was today. In a viscount’s bed.
But it isn’t like that!
