Gideon’s hand closed over her arm—high enough to avoid the marks Hatherleigh had left—turning it so that the point of the bodkin was deflected harmlessly to the side. A step forward, a sweep of the leg, and she lost her balance all too easily.
One moment she was upright. The next Gideon had her pinned on the mattress—trapped, the bodkin twisted harmlessly from her grip, his other hand braced beside her shoulder to keep her from rolling.
Beatrice stared up at him.
Gideon met her gaze evenly.
Awareness broke through his concentration.
Her warmth beneath him. Her breath lifting softly against his chest. The unsettling rightness of her there, pinned beneath his weight yet somehow fitting him with dangerous ease.
His jaw tightened.
No.
He released her at once and shot to his feet.
PROGRESS
One moment Beatrice had been standing—bodkin raised, perfectly certain of her intentions—and the next the world had tilted sharply sideways.
The mattress caught her with a muffled thump.
For a stunned heartbeat she simply lay there, Gideon half-lying on top of her. One hand pinned to the mattress, the bodkin uselessly rolling upon the floor somewhere beside her, Gideon’s free arm caging her in so that she could not easily escape.
Good heavens. He had done that as though she weighed nothing at all.
She tensed beneath him, testing his hold, and found no give.
Panic flashed white behind her ribs.
For one breathless instant, it was not Gideon above her.
Then she blinked.
Gideon’s eyes were close enough for her to see the faint ring of gold around the brown.
It wasn’t the same.
The nightmare vanished.
It was Gideon. Gideon.
Beatrice took a moment to catch the breath that had been knocked out of her, just long enough for her to become aware of the solid press of his thighs bracketing hers. The strength in the arm that had trapped her wrist. The broad, unyielding line of his chest.
And the faint warmth of his breath…
But then Gideon was on his feet, extending a hand and hauling her upright.
“You extended your arm too far,” he explained, placing the bodkin back into her hand. “And you allowed me to get close.”
Beatrice forced herself to focus.
If Gideon could disarm her that easily, then she would certainly not be safe from a man who truly meant to harm her.
Hadn’t been… safe from men who truly meant to harm her.
She straightened immediately. Focus.
