Page 84 of Stay with Me

Her heart pumped faster. “Nicholas?” Her voice came out but a whisper.

He pressed a hard kiss against her temple, one filled with a possessiveness and determination that sent flutters throughout her.

She wasn’t dreaming, was she? She was with Nicholas. But how?

Her thoughts flew back to the last thing she remembered—lying on the floor of a dungeon cell in Reider Castle. She had died. She was sure of it. At least in the present time. A strange part of her had been aware of her body going numb, her organs shutting down, her vitals halting.

She’d almost felt as though she was floating above herself, but she hadn’t seen anything or anyone. And then everything had faded to nothing. Until this moment...

What had happened? Was she still alive in the past?

“Nicholas?” This time his name was stronger on her lips, and she pushed against him to sit up.

He drew sharply on the reins, and in the same motion, he pulled back from her, likely to observe her.

She struggled to open her eyes, and as she did, she found his handsome face hovering above hers. Nothing and no one had ever looked better than he did. Framed by thick lashes and dark brows, his brown eyes were as shadowed as a woodland at night. The scruff on his jaw and chin was darker and thicker than usual. Wavy strands of his hair blew across his forehead, which was wrinkled.

“How do you fare?” he asked as he caressed her hair back from her cheek.

“I’m alive.” She tried to raise her hand so she could stroke his face in return, wanting to assure herself that she was really with him. But she was weaker than she realized and could hardly move.

He nodded, his throat moving up and down in a hard swallow. He glanced away from her, as though overwhelmed with emotion and needing to gather a measure of control.

She used the moment to gain her bearings, taking in the sky through the branches overhead. The blue was light with hints of pink. Was it time for a sunrise or a sunset?

From the thickness of the vegetation, she guessed they were already deep into the Weald, that he was riding back to Devil’s Bend. She didn’t know how she’d managed to stay alive. Even more, she was surprised that he’d been able to sneak into Reider Castle and extricate her.

“How?” She managed to croak the one word.

Nicholas swallowed hard again. Then he glanced around. “Let us take a break here, and we shall eat of the fare my mother packed for us.”

“Your mother?”

Nicholas nodded again but didn’t answer as he dismounted and carefully settled her on a blanket in the tall grass. Even though he encouraged her to recline and continue to rest, with every passing moment, she seemed to be regaining more strength so that she could sit up easily.

Only as she situated her skirt around her legs was she aware that she was wearing a different gown, this one more luxurious and feminine, a velvety emerald green with fancy embroidery at the neckline of the bodice and at the sleeves. It was beautiful, even if it felt like it belonged on a queen and not a simple woman like herself.

From the strange barrenness underneath the gown, she could tell her bra and panties were gone and that she was wearing only a thin chemise. Although the thought made her a little sad, she guessed she should have known the longer she was in the past, the more likely she’d have to give them up eventually.

Nicholas’s vest stretched tightly across his shoulders and back as he untied a pack from the saddle.

What if he’d been the one to undress her? The very thought sent a burst of heat through her—a burst that wasn’t filled with embarrassment but laced with crackling anticipation.

She glanced away from him, not wanting him to see such blatant desire. She focused her attention instead on a cluster of pale-purple flowers. She didn’t know the names of many wildflowers, but it was a kind she’d never seen before in modern Kent, where certain vegetation and wildlife had become extinct over the centuries.

As Nicholas crossed to her with the pack and knelt beside her, she wanted to wrap her arms around him, drag him down on the blanket, and assure herself he was real, that this wasn’tsome kind of dream she was having as she floated through a place between two worlds.

But she held herself back as he pulled out a cloth bundle, untied it, and spread out an assortment of dried fish, bread, and cheese beside her.

Her stomach gurgled with the need for sustenance. How long had it been since she’d eaten?

When he lifted a wedge of cheese to her mouth, she reached for it, knowing she was awake enough now to feed herself. Her fingers brushed against his, and she lingered, letting the solid feel of his hand ground her in the reality of his presence. She was here with him. They were together again.

At her caress, he grew motionless, and she could feel him examining her. When she lifted her gaze to his, the dark wanting in his eyes enveloped her. And the warmth inside her only expanded. She was hungrier for him than she was for food. Could he see that in her eyes? She wanted him to, not caring how wanton that made her.

His gaze dropped to her mouth.

Kiss me, her whole body seemed to shout. And suddenly nothing else mattered. She didn’t need to know how he’d saved her and gotten her away from Simon. She didn’t need to know about the dress and whether he’d put it on her. She didn’t even need to know what time of day it was.

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