Page 30 of Stay with Me

Could he see better in the dark than she could? Maybe his eyesight adjusted to the dark more readily than hers since she was accustomed to having light whenever she needed it.

“I’m checking to see if I’m really here.”

“Do you feel this?” His fingers skimmed along her arm.

“Yes.” The caress was light, exquisitely so, yet it seared her skin, making her keenly aware of his calluses and the pressure of his hands.

He drew a line to her shoulder. “And that?”

The stroke scorched her deeper, sending heat all the way to her middle. She closed her eyes, not sure whether to savor the delicious sensation or to fight against it. “I thought we just agreed on no touching.”

His fingers found her hair, and he twisted a strand between his thumb and forefinger. “I am only helping you determine that you are no longer a vision but are here with me.”

Not once had he seemed disturbed by her appearances, easily accepting that a spiritual realm existed and that she had been a part of it.

“Is it helping?” His voice dropped low.

The timbre reverberated inside her, echoing in her chest and ricocheting to every nerve. It sent a hum into her blood—a hum that was exciting and yet at the same time dangerous.

Were his caresses helping? No, they were only confusing her. Because now she had the strangest urge to reach out and touch him in return, wanting to let her fingers roam wherever they pleased. She’d start with his abs.

She gave herself a mental slap. Why was she acting like a hormonal teen around this man instead of a respectable twenty-seven-year-old?

She twisted away from him, forcing his hand away. She couldn’t let him cross the line they’d established. Maybe this was all normal flirting for him. But she never flirted. Never had, not even with Isaac. And she wouldn’t start now.

~ 13 ~

Nicholas fisted his hands on his thighs.What was wrong with him? He’d agreed with her about not touching. But then only seconds later, he’d touched her anyway.

Curses upon him. “My apologies. Please forgive me.”

“You’re fine.”

When he’d first met her, he’d determined to treat her like a sister and nothing more. But he had to concede that he couldn’t view her in a that way. ’Twas impossible. He was simply too attracted to her.

He pressed his fists to his eyes. If only his desires had remained buried with Jane. But ’twould seem the recent encounter with Lady Ellen had started a storm. Perhaps the suggestion they wed had increased the intensity of the squall. Now his encounters with Sybil were clearly stirring his yearnings into a raging whirlwind.

Could he resist the storm? Did he even want to?

He was, after all, twenty and nine years. Most men his age were long since married. Some men had even been married multiple times.

The question clanged inside his head as it had previously: Was it time to take a wife? If he did so, how would he be any different than his father and Simon, wedding a wife for what he could gain from her? Using her for his own satisfaction and for begetting sons?

He loathed the prospect of being like his kin. He’d wanted to have a different kind of marriage, one based on mutual respect,loyalty, and love. He supposed in some ways, that’s why he’d wanted to marry Jane, because he’d shared a heart match with her that he’d never witnessed in his father or brother with any of their wives.

Once Jane was gone, he’d given up hope he’d ever love another woman. The odds of having another heart match were unlikely. But could he at least find a woman he cared about and who cared about him? Maybe they wouldn’t share love, but they could share respect and loyalty. Couldn’t they?

He’d do best to wait until that kind of maiden came along. Yes, he had to resist this storm of desire that seemed bent on overcoming him. And that meant keeping his hands off Sybil.

The simple truth was that he had to control himself. He wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be in his life. She’d indicated she was only here temporarily, and during her stay, he didn’t want to hurt her or cause her to have any regrets.

“Why is Simon trying to kill you?” Her question was direct. Though he’d given her a vague answer about why he was in trouble during their first encounter, he sensed this time she wouldn’t be satisfied with anything less than a truthful answer.

“There are many reasons.” He situated her jacket against the cave wall and leaned against it gingerly, trying to minimize the pain.

She waited in silence. Even though the cave was dark, he could see her outline and that she’d crossed her arms to ward off the chill from rinsing in the river.

“Foremost, Simon wants me to reveal details about fortifications along the coast. The French have paid him to give them useful details as they strategize an attack, and he grows desperate to deliver. Since I am a courier for the king, he believes I am relaying important information to the coastal towns.”

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