Page 11 of No Ordinary Lady

After Marian had wiped the plate clean with a scrap of hard bread, she stood and headed for the washbasin.

She poured water in the basin, splashed some on her face and scrubbed her hands clean with his sandalwood soap. As she patted her skin dry, she threw a cheeky smile in his direction, and then let her hair down.

Daniel sat up a little straighter, utterly affected by that smile, and spellbound as she combed through her hair with his ivory comb. Her hair was long and blonde, tumbling almost to her waist.

He made a fist, fighting the longing to find out if it was as soft as it looked. Dear God! He’d been without a woman for only a few days, but it felt like an eternity somehow as he watched Marian prepare to sleep in the bed that should have been his, too. He supposed it was a commonplace event, but he’d never done this before—watch a woman prepare for bed with no expectation that he could join her in his immediate future.

She went to the bed and drew back the snowy white sheets Sunday had made his bed with, and tested the bounce of the mattress—all the while watching him from afar with a knowing smile. “It’s a nice big bed, sir.”

He gulped. “It is.”

“Seems a shame that only one of us will enjoy it and alone.” Then she returned to him and held out one hand. “I want you to share the bed with me.”

He remained seated. “Why?”

“Does there have to be a reason?”

He stood slowly, his breath catching. Anticipation and confusion coursed through him. He ought not to go to bed with Marian, given her warning and her profession. He ought to keep his eyes on her the whole night. A thief did not make a comfortable bed partner—not that he’d ever had one before.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for either of us to get more deeply involved.”

“I’m not asking you to marry me in the morning,” she said, grinning widely. “Just hold me until I fall asleep and if anything else were to happen between us, I want that, too. My entire life has been turned upside down in the last few hours, and I desperately need a distraction. I don’t have anyone but you to talk to, and I’m feeling very much alone in the world. Tell me everything will be better in the morning,” she said. “Even if it’s not true.”

“I can do that for you,” he decided, as he lifted one hand that trembled to her hair and tucked the strands behind her ear. “Everything will turn out for the best because tomorrow, you and I will go our separate ways and Crossman will never find you again.”

“Thank you, Danny,” she said as she immediately threw herself into his arms and squeezed him tight.

Daniel held her close, and as his hands skimmed quite naturally down the curve of her back, Marian laughed wickedly. She drew back a little, eyes locking on his. “I was right about you, after all. Not entirely a proper gentleman, after all.”

“Old habits,” he said in apology as he raised both hands into the air, away from temptation. “It won’t happen again.”

“I’m not at all offended. I’m flattered,” she promised as her own hands slid over his chest and down to stop at his waistcoat pocket, then toy with a button.

Her actions made him suck in his stomach and let out a slow breath as he fought not to become aroused. It was a struggle, and he captured her wandering fingers and kissed them. “Don’t taunt me.”

“I’m not. You smell nice and you’re lovely,” she whispered, pressing her face hard against his chest. “I’d forgotten.”

“Forgotten?”

“I don’t let men get close to me like this very often,” she admitted, wriggling against him maddeningly and sighing again. “It’s nice to feel completely understood. To want someone even when you know you can’t keep them.”

“Yes,” he agreed, and her hand resumed its wandering over his stomach again. His, however, fell away from her back as his stomach pitted. That was the worst feeling in the world, and it was a shock to discover someone else had been similarly disappointed in love. He drew back.

She looked up at him quickly. Silence stretched as they stared at each other. They clearly wanted each other tonight, but there was nothing to keep them together. They were strangers with nothing in common.

Oddly, Daniel felt the wrongness of that.

Marian licked her lips. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he promised with a forced laugh.

This time, he didn’t stop her hands when she drew closer. They explored each other. But it was torture and pleasure all rolled into one, thinking that tomorrow he’d never see her again. Marian was exactly the sort of woman that had always appealed to him. Sexually bold, expecting nothing in return.

Before he knew it, he had Marian bent over his arm and she was lifting her lips toward his.

They kissed, and it was glorious. Deep, long, drugging kisses that made his heart race and his body long for a bed beneath them. Marian wrapped herself around him, pressing her hips against his hardness and wriggling with impatience.

When he felt his shirt being pulled at, he almost helped undress himself. But he knew why he should not do that tonight. Marian was not part of his future. She’d come to him because she had nowhere else to go.