Falling In Love Again (Heroic Rogues Series) by Marie Higgins Page B

against his, she nearly sighed aloud. They were as gentle as she remembered. Slowly, his lips moved against hers in a sweet kiss while his hand stroked her knee. The urge to relax against him became overwhelming, so she pulled away before she could follow her instincts.
    A smile stretched across his face. “That wasn’t so difficult, was it?”
    She quickly stood on shaky legs. “No, not at all.”
    With her heart threatening to jump up her throat, she turned back to her chores. Cleaning wasn’t foreign to her since her aunt and uncle didn’t have many servants, but picking up after a man was, especially one so handsome, was extremely unfamiliar.
    She grabbed an empty bucket and stuffed the used bandages in it. Every time her fingers brushed against dried blood she winced. What had she been thinking to apologize for stabbing him? In reality, he was still the reason she was penniless and going to a foreign place. Yet, he’d given her a glimpse of his kindness, and it surprised her that his heart wasn’t as black as she’d first thought.
    His gaze followed her. Even if she couldn’t see, she felt it by the way warmth tingled across her skin, and the butterflies jumped in her stomach. Not paying attention to what she was doing, she dropped what was in her hand and bent to retrieve it. Immediately, her bodice fell away from her chest and she placed her hand over it.
    Behind her, Hawk’s voice rumbled deep with a laugh. “My dear, Miss Stanhope. You’re trying harder to keep yourself together than you are cleaning my room.”
    She huffed and turned toward him. “Pray tell, what would you have me do? I told you yesterday the dress was too large.”
    “Should I assume your stays are not fastened correctly?”
    Heat flooded her cheeks and she gasped. “What an impertinent thing to ask.”
    “You forget, my dear, I’m a highwayman and once a pirate. I know things like this.” He laughed and motioned his arm. “Come and I’ll assist you since Mrs. Winters cannot.”
    Her limbs weakened and the bucket in her hands dropped to the floor. “I will not!”
    He shrugged. “Suit yourself, but I fear you’ll be fighting with your dress most of the day and not be able to do your chores in a timely manner.”
    Groaning with displeasure, she whirled around to prove she could work without messing with her bosom. After five minutes with trying to work with one hand, she surrendered.
    She walked to his bed. “Fine, I’ll allow you to assist me.” She presented her back. As she unlaced the bodice to loosen the material, her fingers shook. Hating what she had to do next, she bit her bottom lip and shrugged the gown down her shoulders until he could tie the stay’s laces together. Tightly, she held the bodice to her chest and prayed his hands only stayed on her back.
    He shifted on the bed before calloused fingers brushed her skin, pushing her long hair over one shoulder. As he tugged at the laces, his breath fanned her flesh, making goosebumps rise. She closed her eyes and prayed he’d hurry.
    The stays tightened around her, and thankfully he kept his hands on her back, but when he finished, he didn’t pull away. He gently rubbed her shoulders and neck. She waited, and as minutes ticked by, his breath became hot against her skin.
    He placed a kiss on her shoulder and her chest clenched. How could such a callous, cruel man prove so gentle? When he touched her with such toe curling softness she actually believed he cared. Had she misjudged him? Perhaps he was correct when he told her he was merely a soldier of a different cause.
    “Isabelle?”
    His deep voice warmed her. “Yes?”
    “You can move away from me now. I’m finished.”
    She quickly jumped to her feet. Keeping her back toward him, she fastened her bodice, realizing her bosom did fit better now.
    “I… I think I should see if the morning meal is ready.” Oh, why is my voice so shaky?
    “As you wish,” he answered deeply.
    She swallowed the cotton that had