EscapeWithMe by Ruby Duvall

hips were wrapped in snug breeches. He looked too good in
those clothes. Too overpowering.
    “Let us talk, madam. We’ll start there.” He walked around to
the vanity and she backed up even farther. He chuckled as he sat on the
vanity’s stool. “I’ll not attack you, Samantha. Pray sit there and talk with
me.” He gestured at the foot of the bed, which was well within arm’s reach of
where he sat.
    Sam was hard-pressed to trust him. Both Brian and Mrs. Hayes
had been charming at first, and more than just charming, Ryder West was
magnetic. Flickers of potential danger were there in his face and his attention
focused on her in a way that made her skin prickle. Brian had turned on that
magnetism only rarely, and it had kept her ensnared for a long time.
    All she knew of Ryder was that he sought a man wanted by the
authorities, and he was casually sitting in a brothel. Neither did anything to
recommend his good character.
    As the awkward silence stretched out, the smoldering look he
gave her made her fingers dig into the wood of the bedpost. Did he know how he
was staring at her?
    Smiling unexpectedly, the lieutenant broke the silence. “Of
course I don’t demand that you sit at all. Did I overhear that you are from New
York?” She nodded. “You lived there all your life?”
    “I’ve spent the last few years elsewhere, but I grew up near
New York.”
    “An interesting city. It will rival London someday.”
    Sam couldn’t help a small hmph at his comment. “You
have no idea.” He arched an eyebrow and she scrambled to keep the conversation
going. More conversation and less staring. “London is much older though. New
York can never beat that.”
    “True, madam.”
    “So you’ve been to America? How did you like it?”
    His lips stretched into a nostalgic smile. “Very much. Were
it not for certain circumstances, I may not have returned to England.”
    “Really?” It was pleasant to know he liked America, though
maybe she was still annoyed at the marquess. “Wouldn’t you miss your home?”
    “My home has been aboard a ship the past ten years.”
    “You’re in the navy?” she guessed. He certainly had the look
of a navy man. His sun-bleached hair and tanned face, not to mention his
militarily clean-cut look.
    “Was. Until Parliament reaches a decision regarding our
forces in the colonies, we are paid off indefinitely. However, I’ve no intention
to resume my commission.”
    “Why’s that?” She rounded the corner of the bed and sat,
though as far from the lieutenant as possible. His eyes flicked down to the
toes of her stockings and then slid up her body.
    “You already know the answer to your question, madam. After
all, you were witness to my conversation with the publican this morning.”
    “Ah, your search for the elusive mystery man,” she recalled.
“Who is he?” The lieutenant smiled again and her stomach leapt at the sight of
his wide grin.
    “I wish to know more about you. Why did you really come to
London?” He leaned forward and set his elbows on his knees. “And don’t tell me
that rubbish about being a Loyalist.”
    It was a good question, one she didn’t have an answer to. It
certainly hadn’t been her own choice to wake up in London. When she remained
silent, he sat up straight.
    “Shall I guess?” He made a show of looking thoughtful,
rubbing his chin and studying her. “Actresses are assumed to hold two
occupations, one on stage and one on their backs.” Sam blinked at his
bluntness. “I do not believe you came here to do either. You were shocked Mrs.
Hayes sold your evening to me, and an abbess like her keeps a very close eye on
her nuns. You wouldn’t be allowed the freedom of other actors.”
    “I already told you I hadn’t known what Mrs. Hayes
intended.” Sam finally got the nun joke, though it was way too late to beat the
punch line. “You said you would guess why I was in London. You haven’t guessed
anything yet.”
    “No, I haven’t.” He spoke