Page 34 of How the Earl Entices

Thatwoke him.

His eyes flew open and blinked to bring into focus a beautiful face peering down at him through the blue light of pre-dawn.Grace.He was in her bed. And this time he wasn’t tied down.

He reached to stroke her cheek. “What are you—”

“Shh!” Her hand covered his mouth. “Listen.”

A commotion resonated through the inn. Loud knocking and shouts, heavy footsteps on the hallways and stairs—

“They’re searching the rooms,” she whispered. Panic flashed in her eyes.

He came instantly alert and reached up to remove her hand from his mouth. “It’s all right,” he assured her in a soft murmur, placing a kiss to her trembling fingers.

He cocked his head and listened. Down the hall, someone banged a fist against one of the doors and demanded to search the room. Angry shouts answered, followed by the opening of doors, hard steps, then the slamming shut of the door. A brief pause, only for the noise to be repeated at the next door. Two men were moving down the hall room by room, coming closer.

The alarm in her eyes shined brighter as the pounding of fists on doors and shouts to open grew louder. “What do we do?”

“Let them in.” And be arrested. He prayed she’d keep her promise and claim he’d kidnapped her.

A fist banged on their door, and she jumped with a soft gasp. The door shook on its hinges beneath the fierce pounding. “Open up!”

Ross moved to ease her aside and slip out of bed to open the door.

Without warning, she grabbed onto his shoulders and slid over on top of him, straddling him to hold him in place beneath her slight weight. Well,thatcertainly captured his attention…in all kinds of delicious ways.

She called out before he could stop her, “What is it? Who’s there?”

She didn’t have to fake the surprise in her startled voice. Or the determination in her eyes when she touched a finger to his lips in a plea to keep silent.

Ross narrowed his eyes. What the devil was she was doing?

“Constable’s men,” a man shouted back.

“It’s the middle of the night, for heaven’s sake!” She turned her head to yell at the door but kept her eyes locked with Ross’s. Bewildered anger rose in her voice. “I was sound asleep. What do you want?”

“We’re searching the rooms. Open your door.”

“I will do no such thing!” Indignant outrage now overtook any lingering panic or surprise.

His chest tightened with trepidation. She certainly had spine. But she’d get both of them hanged if she wasn’t careful.

“Sir, I am a lady!” she shouted, loud enough for the drunken hostlers all the way down in the yard to hear. “You expect me to open my door to a stranger when I’mdishabille?”

He mockingly mouthed,Dishabille?Then arched an eyebrow as he raked his gaze over her, taking in the tent of a night rail and how her hair hung in a riot of toffee-colored curls across her slender shoulders. Oh, he could think of lots of adjectives to describe the way she looked at that moment, all right, deliciously sleep-rumpled and warm, with her thighs straddling his waist, butdishabillewasn’t one of them.

Her shout took the men in the hall by surprise, as well, based upon their momentary silence. Then one of them called out, “We’re searching the entire inn. There’s a dangerous criminal on the loose.”

She stiffened instantly. Wariness flashed in her eyes.

He knew exactly what she was thinking, how she was doubting everything he’d told her. She practically pulsed with distrust.Damnation!He couldn’t even plead his innocence to her, with those men within earshot at the door. All he could do was hope she didn’t give him up.

Not moving her suspicious gaze from his, she asked, “What did he do?”

“Broke out of the gaol at Chilworth last night.”

Her shoulders eased in a silent sigh of relief, yet her fleeting doubt of him pricked more than he wanted to admit.

When she began to slide off him to open the door to let the men search the room, he stopped her with a hand to her hip and a warning shake of his head. Those men might not be actively looking for him, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t recognize him. So far, she’d managed to keep them outside in the hall. He prayed that’s where they stayed.