Read Never Wager Against Love for Free Online Page B

flow from him into her.  If she moved only a few inches, the back of
her would be pressed into the front of him.  He was truly a gentleman, so she
knew he would not make the first move since she’d previously made her wishes
known.  But she wondered what he would do if she tried to seduce him.  How
would he react if she turned, then pressed him onto his back?  She longed to
straddle him, to feel his hard cock beneath her.  She was so on edge, her every
nerve attuned to him, that she would only need to move back and forth on him a
few times before she exploded in passion.
    But as much as she longed to experience what she knew lay
between them, it would complicate her mission.  More importantly, it would put
his life in danger even more than it already was.  She could tell he felt
protective toward her.  Becoming lovers would only make him do something noble
and stupid.  She couldn’t allow that.  So she did what she had to do.  She
controlled her breathing and pretended to sleep.   And after a long while, she
finally dozed.
    *                    *                    *
    The scream made Arthur sit upright in bed.  He grabbed
Vanessa’s pistol, then waited until his eyes adjusted to the moonlight. 
Vanessa was thrashing in her sleep, but there was no one else around.  He put
down his gun then turned to her.
    “Shh, shh, sweeting,” he said, as he gently shook her arm. 
“You’re having a bad dream.”
    She didn’t awaken and her sobs came even harder.   He
grasped both her shoulders and shook. “Vanessa, love.  Please wake up.”  She
remained trapped in her nightmare, so he pulled her into his arms.  “Sweetheart,
please wake up.  It’s Arthur.  I’m here.  I’ve got you, sweeting.  I’ve got you
and I’ll never let go.”
    She stilled in his arms.  And for a moment he didn’t know whether
she was asleep or awake.  He could feel the warmth of her body next to his,
almost like she was a part of him.  Suddenly, he wanted to make love to her with
a fierceness he’d never known before.  He wanted to comfort her, show her she
was safe.  He wanted to keep her in his arms, where no one could ever harm
her.  He was about to bring his lips to hers when he looked down to see her
staring at him wide-eyed.
    “What happened?” she whispered.
    “A bad dream,” he said softly, trying to lighten the mood.  “Almost
certainly caused by no bed and a lack of dinner.”  Her face was wet from
tears.  He reached for his handkerchief and dried her eyes.  Somewhat
surprisingly she let him.  “Do you remember what you were dreaming about?”
    She shook her head.  “I never do.”
    He tenderly stroked her arm as he rocked her soothingly. 
“After the death of our parents, Hal used to have terrible nightmares.  He
never remembered them the next day.  Or if he did, he never told us what they
were.  I’ve heard that nightmares are a way of the mind dealing with issues we
cannot face during the day.  Perhaps, it is the same for you.”
    “I don’t know,” she said.  “The lady who runs the boarding
house where I stay said the neighbors complain when I have the dreams.”
    “Can’t you have the neighbors thrown in gaol?” asked Arthur,
as he kissed the top of her head tenderly.  “There must be some advantage to
working for the Crown.”
    She laughed, just as he knew she would.  “I shall consider
it the next time.”
    “Good.  In the meantime, I will hold you close.  And before
you reach for your cache of weapons, I have no romantic intentions.”  And he
rather surprised himself to realize that was true.  At least for the moment.  “I
just want to help both of us get a good night’s rest.”
    “Thank you,” she said, as she pillowed her head onto his
chest.  “Perhaps now I can sleep.”
    She was out within minutes.  And as Arthur dozed off moments
later, he thought how curious it was to lie with a woman without bedding