“I was curious too,” he admitted, letting his smile show, as well as flashing his eyes in mockery because he sensed that she needed the awkwardness broken. “What is it that keeps my dearwife working so hard, and so late at night? Although I suppose it was more sleeping than working.”
“I was…” She struggled to stay focused.
“A new novel?” He peered past her to the papers strewn across the desk.
“Oh!” She threw herself across them, covering them with her body. “It is nothing.”
“Quite the reaction for nothing.”
“It’s private,” she tried again. She narrowed her eyes warningly at him as she continued to cover her work. “And I thought you said that I was free to write as I wished.”
He held out his hands as if in surrender. “I was only asking.”
“And I am telling,” she said rather sharply.
Sebastian could not help but chuckle at her abrasiveness. He knew little about his wife; that was true. But one thing he did know was how passionate she was about her work, how determined she was to make it the center of her life. And while some men might scorn such pastime, he admired it.
“I should not have asked,” he relented. “But if you ever need another set of eyes…” A casual shrug. “I do not judge.”
She scoffed. “Yes, you do.”
“Oh, only sometimes.”
She kept her eyes narrowed on him, and he kept his expression light. That made her suspicion melt, and she relaxed considerably.
“I am sorry,” she offered. “I… I am just rather private when it comes to my writing.”
“It’s fine,” he assured her. “And I did not mean to pry.”
She studied him closely. Eyes still narrowed, it was clear that she had yet to fully trust him. Which was fair, as he had done little to earn it.
And while he told himself he did not care one way or the other if she did come to trust him, he knew deep down in the pit of his soul that was a lie. As to why it was… he did not want to consider it.
“Bedtime, then?” he asked. “Surely you are not going back to work.”
She exhaled and shook her head before rubbing her eyes. “No, not tonight. Best that I get some rest…” She yawned and stretched her limbs, then pushed back her chair to stand.
That was when her legs gave way.
“Oh!” she cried as she tumbled, the chair falling out from under her, arms flailing wildly.
Sebastian acted without thinking. He lunged forward, one arm going under her, the other pulling her to his body. She was so much smaller than he, so light, that it was easy to lift her in the air and then hold her close so she would not fall.
And when he had her, their bodies pressed tight, he froze.
His arms were wrapped around his wife. Her arms, too, had found his neck. She looked up at him, her eyes wide, her mouth half open, unable to move because the shock of the moment had stunned her into submission.
He could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Or maybe that was his own heart? Behind her, the fire crackled, the flames shivered, and the silence grew between them as neither seemed willing to pull away.
Sebastian had not considered his attraction to his wife. It had not seemed relevant. It was enough that they got along, that they could be in the same room without bickering. But now, with her in his arms, feeling her soft body as it shuddered, her breathing heavy, her eyes gazing into his own, he found it difficult to escape the sensation that… that… that she was quite possibly the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.
“Oh!” Helena yelped, pushing herself out of his arms. She stumbled back, nearly falling again.
“Sorry,” he blurted. “I did not mean?—”
“It is fine.”
“You were falling.”
