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He froze, his lips stiff against mine. His body went rigid, and I rubbed my thumb along his cheekbone, the way a rider comforts a startled horse. I didn’t push, though my every instinct was to claim his mouth for mine, to taste him in a way no one had before.
Slowly, he relaxed. First, an exhale. Then, his shoulders softened. Finally, he moved his lips, giving me permission to move mine. I eased away, then came at him again, this time flicking my tongue along his lower lip.
He whimpered, an incongruous sound in a man so strong, and with a gentle shove, I lowered us to the ground. The grass was cold and damp and I didn’t care one whit. I wanted this man, this dark, strange, vulnerable man.
Given the bulge pressed against my thigh, he wanted me, too.
We kissed, then, stretched out on the lawn. His lips were soft and gaining confidence, which drove me even higher. I lay half on top of Rafe, one leg between his so I could rut against him. He soon returned the favor, and desire threatened to outpace my common sense.
His hands grew rough, raking through my hair, gripping my arms. He startled me by rolling us over, bracketing me with his arms. “You.” He ground out the word between clenched teeth. “This cannot be right, but—”
He broke off. Slowly, I reached for his glasses, sliding them off and setting them carefully on the grass. The damp seeped in at my collar and below my coat, easy enough to ignore. I should still be caught up in my panic, but Rafe’s presence made me feel safe. Teasing a fingertip along one brow, I murmured, “I do not believe anything so good could truly be wrong.”
He sighed. “Mother hopes me feelings for your friend Margaret will grow into something, but since the moment you arrived, I couldthink of no one else. You’re as brave and clever as you are—”
I hushed him with another kiss, catching his head in both hands and holding him where I could go deeper. His gasp gave me an entrance and soon I knew the sweet feel of his tongue against mine. His prick was an iron bar against my thigh. I kept him there until we were both breathless.
“Vincent,” Rafe gasped between kisses. “We should…the Cor…”
I closed my eyes and swallowed my disappointment. “You’re right.”Though I might always associate kissing Rafe with danger. “We should go inside.”Where I will sleep on that god-forsaken cot. “Inside.”
“And…” His knees slotted between mine and he sat back on his heels. “I should…we should not….”
I laid my palm against his cheek. “I’ll go to my room and you go to yours.”
He nodded, gazing around the area, as remote as he’d been when we first met. I pushed up to my elbows and he climbed to his feet. I wanted something, some acknowledgement of what had just happened. Rafe turned, as if to start patrolling the tree line.
My instinct for self-preservation warred with my heart.
Self-preservation won. Rafe stalked off into the night. With soggy trousers and a flagging prick, I headed for the small room with its smaller cot. I hadn’t gone far, however, when Rafe called my name.
“Thank you, Vincent Fairchild. You are…” He muttered a curse and I bit my lip to keep from laughing. Uncertainty looked good on him.
“Good night, Rafe. We’ll talk more tomorrow.” Though I could only guess what he thought of me, I could no more have kept the smile from my face than I could have flown to the moon.
The house was barely warmer than the air outside, and I felt the cold more keenly for Rafe’s absence. Before laying down, I stood outside the room where the women were sleeping. One snored softly. Since I didn’t hear the ravings of a madman, I judged them both to be safe.
Or as safe as any of us could be, which doesn’t seem to be very safe at all. Danger came from behind the wards.
Chapter Sixteen
The next morning, I woke with a gasp, sitting straight up in bed. Gulping air, I fought off memories of the dream.
I lost.
Rutger stared at me from some kind of container. It was tall and wide and made of glass, and it was filled with water. My friend beckoned me closer, his light hair floating around his head, his mouth moving as if he thought to warn me of something. He made no sound, only let out a stream of bubbles with each attempt.
I had to rescue him. That was plain. I spied a ladder leaning against the container and darted up it. But the higher I climbed, the taller the container became. At last I gave up, my heart full of despair. I found myself back on the ground and instead of Rutger, Rafe stood in the water. Tall and angular, he did not attempt to speak, and no bubbles came from either his mouth or nose. His eyes, though, were pools of shadow.
Dreaming about Rutger after kissing Rafe. I poked at my conscious but found no trace of guilt. Rutger and I were friends, companions. Rafe and I hadn’t declared even that much.
My friend and companion would not begrudge me last night’s kiss, though if he did, well, the problem would be his.
“Rafe!”
Della’s cry brought me out of bed. The cold floor burned against my bare feet, and though I wasn’t dressed, I opened the bedroom door. Sticking only my head through, I called to her. “What’s the matter? Do you need help?”
“It’s Rafe.” She stood near the front door, arms wrapped around her body as if protecting herself from something painful. “He’s not in the workshop and the tower light’s gone out.”
