Michael.
His nearness calmed her racing heart even as it sparked every other sense to life. She arched her back, pressing her bare bottom into the hard length of him. He was clearly more awake than he let on. The slide of his stiff member between her curves drew a low, rough sound from his throat as his leg insinuated between hers in silent demand.
His lips found her neck just as a series of loud bangs echoed through the house. Ah! That must have been what woke them. Behind her, Michael groaned and rolled away.
She turned to look at him as he arose from the bed, gloriously naked. The light was still too dim to see him clearly, but hissilhouette, lovingly outlined by the faint glow that spilled along the edges of the curtains, made her mouth water and her womanly place throb with need. She pressed her thighs together to ease the ache, now that relief would have to be postponed. Her brain, still befuddled by sleep and passion, attempted to make sense of the situation.
More loud banging and steps shuffling along the corridor outside their room. Michael swore softly and snatched up his trousers from the chair where he had dumped them last night, shoving his legs through. Josephine sat in bed.
“What is going on?” Her voice was husky from sleep.
“I don’t know, but I intend to find out. It must be important to disturb us at this hour.”
“What time is it?”
“Judging by the amount of light outside, I would say it’s not six in the morning yet,” he said as he punched his arms through the sleeves of his shirt and threw a dressing robe over it. He came to her and gave her a quick peck on the lips. “Stay right here. I’ll deal with whatever it is quickly and return to our bed. Then we can resume where we left off.”
His voice had lowered on the last sentence. The intimate sound curling around her heart and liquifying her center. But… no way was she going to stay in bed passively while he went and dealt with the issue by himself.
“Wait, I’ll go with you.” She jumped from the bed as naked as he had been, for they seldom wore clothes to bed anymore. Why bother when they wouldn’t stay on for long?
But Michael shook his head. “Stay here. There could be trouble afoot. I don’t want you to walk into a dangerous situation.”
With that, he walked out of the room. She heard him conferring with someone outside in the hallway, probably the butler, before she ran into her dressing room to get dressed.
A memory of another time when she had intruded on a late-night visit, with disastrous results, froze her in place for a moment. For the millionth time she wished she had stayed in her room that night when she had barged in on her brother being beaten by the Pasha and his men, setting off a chain of events that tore her away from Michael and landed her prisoner in the harem for twelve long years.
Fear wanted to make her stay hidden. Out of sight. But if there was trouble afoot, she should face it next to Michael.
There was no time to dress in proper clothes, and she would never manage on her own, but she donned her unused nightgown and threw a heavy dressing robe over it. This would do. She was covered from neck to toes. Besides, she would proceed with caution and stay out of sight until she assessed the situation.
She was descending the stairs when she heard a feminine voice in the drawing room, followed by Michael’s deeper timbre.
Inching closer, she was able to distinguish words and identify the voice.
“Sorry to intrude, Your Grace. But the matter is urgent, and I didn’t know where else to go.”
“You did well coming here. I’ll go fetch Josephine.”
She needed no more encouragement to enter.
Michael and Alice turned as she opened the door.
“Oh, it seems there’s no need to fetch my wife. She followed me, after all.”
Her cheeks warmed at his gentle reproach that she hadn’t waited, as he’d told her to.
“I wouldn’t have barged in if I hadn’t recognized Alice’s voice,” she explained. “But when I did, I wondered if there was trouble at the Ladies’ Lair.”
That’s what they had called the charity house where they housed women and children in need of help.
Michael came around and threw an arm around her shoulders, giving her a half hug and a kiss on the top of her head.
“I’ll leave you ladies to talk among yourselves.” He caught her eye, and every trace of teasing had vanished from his expression. “Please, don’t do anything rash. Or at least inform me before you do it.”
She stood on tiptoes to give him a quick peck on his lips. “I promise.”
“I’ll be in my study.”
