Page 45 of Her Unsuitable Match

She hadn’t spoken to him. He’d assumed she slept. That seemed easier.

Pippa stubbed her toe at the foot of the bed and yelped, then covered her mouth. Except that was foolish. She needed to wake Myles, given the amount of distress in his voice.

The banked embers glowed just enough for her to reveal her husband’s profile as she grew closer. His head was tilted back. His chest moved up and down rapidly, matching the sound of his ragged breathing. Pippa hurried to his side.

How did she wake a grown man from a nightmare?

She touched his left hand where it rested, draped over the arm of the chair. And she whispered his name. “Myles? Myles, you are dreaming. Wake up, Myles.”

He shifted. Then gasped as he leaned forward abruptly, and his hand came up to snatch at her arm. He gulped in air, and Pippa hurried to kneel before him. She put both hands upon his knees, peering through the semi-darkness at his face.

“I am here, Myles. You are safe. We are at Ambleside.” She repeated the information to him again, then dared to reach up and lay the palm of her right hand against his scarred cheek.

“Pippa?” he spoke her nickname in a hoarse voice. His hand covered hers upon his cheek. Had her heart not already been pounding with worry, she might’ve noticed that it skipped when he called her that.

“Yes, Myles. I’m here.” She brushed her thumb across his cheek, the feel of his rough skin and stubble reassuring her. “You had a nightmare.”

He shuddered. When he spoke again, he sounded more himself. His voice warm and gentle. “I woke you.”

“I am glad you did.”

He abruptly stood, pulling her to her feet. “You will catch cold, kneeling on the floor in nothing but a nightdress.”

She shivered, and he gathered her closer. “I am perfectly fine. You are the one having a terrible dream. Let me worry over you a moment, before you try to rescue me from a cold floor.”

He gently squeezed her hand. “Thank you for worrying. But now, back to bed. I will be well enough. It was only a dream. And a mild one at that.”

“Mild?” she repeated, aghast. He guided her back to her bed.

“I am well. You should rest.”

But she didn’t let him hand her up into the bed. Philippa kept hold of him instead. “You cannot be serious.” Then she shivered again and reached for his other hand, realizing how cold his skin felt to her touch. “Myles, you are the one who will catch cold. With the fire banked, this room is freezing.”

“I have a blanket—”

“Your fingers are like ice.”

“I am perfectly—”

“Get in the bed.”

Perhaps her lack of patience caused Pippa to speak those words without thinking how they would sound. But once she said them aloud, compassion wouldn’t let her take them back. Myles had woken from a nightmare. He was cold. The bed was warm and comfortable.

And large enough for two.

“Philippa, I cannot possibly impose on you in that way.” His voice lacked any conviction, though. He sounded completely unsure of himself.

“You sleep on one side, I will take the other. We are married, after all. And you are still wearing trousers, I noticed.”

In the darkness, he cleared his throat. Shifted from foot to foot. “It didn’t seem advisable to be half naked in the chair. And…well. We might be married, but we certainly haven’t agreed to—” His words became strangled.

“Myles.” She closed her eyes tightly, searching for words in the corners of her mind. “It is very late. You are cold. We are married. And…and I trust you.” Stunned silence answered her words. “You have always been protective and respectful of my wishes. A gentleman. And we both need our sleep, so you can enjoy your family tomorrow. Please. We will pretend that it doesn’t matter. And sleep in the same bed.”

Except it did matter. She had never shared a bed with another person in her life. Not even her own sister. And to sleep next to a man? Wearing nothing but her nightgown? Positively indecent. She’d never been so vulnerable.

As she shifted over to the cooler, previously empty side of the bed, and he settled into the warm spot she had left to come to his aid, Pippa knew sharing the bed mattered a great deal.

She closed her mind to pondering on the why, and instead she rolled to keep her back to her husband. She closed her eyes and curled herself into a ball. As far from him as she could.