Page 45 of Irresistible
But he couldn’t spend the night in the library. Sooner or later, he had to go to their chamber and fight temptation once more.
“Dougal?”
He whipped around at the sound of Jess’s Welsh accent. She’d changed into her dressing gown and carried a candle. She hesitated just inside the library.
Moving toward her, he stopped in the middle of the room, worry coursing through him. “Did something happen?”
“No, I came to look for a book.” She stepped farther into the library, her gaze fixed on him.
“What book? I’ll help you.” Anything to keep from thinking of her. From looking at her.
Her mouth twisted. “I’m not sure.” She glanced toward the open doorways—the one she’d come through and another that led to a separate room.
Dougal quickly moved to close both doors. One of them creaked, and he winced, hating when houses made noise. It was incredibly unhelpful in his endeavors. He went to join Jess, speaking in a low tone. “Why do you think you need a book?”
“There’s a key for this code. There are repetitive words that I think mean ‘the’ or ‘and’ or ‘or’—those kinds of words that appear more frequently. If I could isolate those, that might help me determine letters, which I can then use to decipher the rest.”
He nodded, admiring her intellect. “You think the key is a book.” He stroked his chin. “They do like writers.”
“Or a poem—any sort of writing. I believe they would use a key from something they love. Something by one of the writers the rooms are named after.”
“An excellent notion,” he said. “Shall we look?”
“Yes.” She set her candle on a table. There were sconces on the walls and two chandeliers offering illumination, plus the fire. “Do you know where they might be located?”
“As it happens, I spent some time in here this afternoon while you remained in our chamber.” Dougal went to a case where he’d seen Shakespeare and Wordsworth.
Jess looked at the shelf and groaned softly. “I am overwhelmed by the prospect of having to look through Shakespeare. All the playsandthe sonnets.”
“I would think they would choose one of the most romantic of the sonnets.”
“That would make sense.”
Dougal pivoted toward her. “Rather than randomly try things, perhaps we should ask the Chesmores what their favorite poems or books are. We’ll need them to be specific.”
She nodded with enthusiasm. “Brilliant.”
The creak of the door signaled that someone was arriving—that was the only good reason for noisy houses. It wouldn’t be strange for him and Jess to be caught here at this time of night, but the fact that he’d closed the doors would appear odd.
Instinctively, Dougal snaked his arm around Jess’s waist and drew her against him. “Just go along with me,” he whispered. “Arch your neck.”
Her eyes widened slightly and briefly before she did precisely as he asked, exposing the slender, delectable column of her neck. He could see her heartbeat in the vein just beneath her ivory skin, like a beacon. Dougal lowered his head and kissed her just there. She gasped softly, her hand clutching his nape. His body thrummed with want. It would be so easy to lose himself…
“Oh!” The feminine exclamation forced Dougal to—begrudgingly—lift his head.
Jess didn’t immediately release his neck, which only stoked his desire.
The Chesmores, garbed in their dressing gowns, moved into the library. Mary’s blonde hair was gathered into a queue with the long waves pulled over her left shoulder, making her look rather young.
“Goodness, didn’t mean to interrupt,” Gil said with a hearty chuckle. “I see we’re not the only ones who find the library stimulating.”
Mary cast a longing glance toward her husband. “We often come here to read and…snuggle.”
Dougal was willing to wager a large sum they did more than snuggle. Shag was far more like it.
Jess released him and faced their hosts. Dougal also turned, but he kept his hand around Jess’s waist.
“You’re welcome to stay,” Gil suggested.
