Chapter Twenty-Five
Did that mean she liked him when he was not?
He nearly asked her but decided her answer would make no difference to their current situation.
Damian stared at the empty side of the bed. Did he dare?
He was tired. And, despite his desire, he was not the type of gentleman who would ever attempt seduction of an innocent miss.
He was respectful and honorable and could certainly control all natural urges.
“Are you certain?”
Georgie blew out a sigh and rolled her eyes. “I am going to sleep. You can sleep on the floor or in a comfortable bed. It does not matter to me.” She then rolled to her side and put her back to him before she bunched the pillow and relaxed. “You are just forbidden from being unpleasant.”
Clearly, she did not suffer from the same desires as he did. Then again, why would she? Georgie was an innocent miss, which he once again reminded himself as he decided to sleep on the empty side of the bed.
He had barely got comfortable when Damian felt sleep come over him and his last thought was that he had been concerned for no reason.
The surprise came with the early morning sun when he woke with the realization that he had managed to sleep through the night peacefully.
He had always avoided sleeping with anyone because he thought it would be disruptive.
In fact, he could not remember sleeping so deeply or waking in such a comfortable and contented state.
The only discomfort he suffered was a physical reaction to Georgie in the bed, which should not be a surprise since she was currently wrapped around him, her head on his chest and thigh over his, and his hand covering hers on his abdomen.
This was definitely the perfect way to awaken.
It was only as the fog in his brain cleared that Damian truly became aware, and then alarmed, by the way they were cuddled together.
No wonder he was achy with need. How had he managed to remain deep in slumber, or had Georgie just moved onto him and that was why he had awakened?
Except, the two of them were in the middle of the bed, neither at opposites sides near the edge as they had been when they drifted off last night, which meant they had both moved toward the other in their sleep.
His dilemma—did he try and disengage himself without waking her, or wake her so that he could rise, or remain exactly as he was?
If Georgie were to wake up on him as she was now, no doubt she would be embarrassed and likely apologize profusely, when there was no reason. He wanted to save her that awkwardness.
Besides, he liked the comfort of her lying there, sleeping on him, just as he had enjoyed offering her that comfort in the mail coach when she had drifted off that first day.
The only difference was that this was more intimate.
And even though he was achy with need and would like to wake her in the most delicious manner, Damian knew that he could not.
Therefore, he would remain exactly as he was, suffer through the discomfort, knowing that there would be no relief, and simply enjoy having her in his arms since this would likely be the only time he would ever experience this peace.
Yes, it was peaceful, and his soul warmed, as did his heart, as that gnawing ache that he had first noticed less than a sennight ago began to diminish.
Was it because he wasn’t alone or was it because of Georgie?
Was it something he really wanted to give more consideration to?
*
She was so warm and snug and didn’t want to wake up just yet. Without opening her eyes, Georgie knew that it was morning and the room was lighter, but that didn’t matter. She wanted to remain in bed and maybe sleep a little longer.
Last night had been the best sleep she had gotten in a very long time because she remembered nothing after Damian finally settled on the other side of the bed.
Except, she couldn’t remain in bed. If it was light, it was morning and they needed to arrive at the port so that she could find Grace.
Her eyes flew open. How could she have forgotten her rush to find her sister? She needed to wake Damian now so that they could leave before her sister sailed away to America.
Georgie lifted her head only to realize where it had been—on his chest.
She sucked in a breath and slowly looked up, only to experience a rush of relief to note that his eyes were still closed and he continued to slumber.
Her face burned as she realized that not only had her head been on his chest but her thigh was over his.
Oh, if he woke and found her…She didn’t know what he would do, but Damian must never know.
As gently as she could, she first slipped her hand from beneath his resting on his abdomen, which she wasn’t certain if that was worse than her thigh being over his.
She then shifted and rolled, taking her leg away from his, except when her knee brushed against the hard length of his arousal, she nearly changed her mind as the deep ache that had begun the day before returned.
No. He was asleep and likely dreaming of that blonde or redhead who has shared the mail coach with them that first day and gently rolled again so that she was back to how she had fallen asleep—curled on her side and her back to him. Only then did she relax.
Or, at least she tried to, but her heart and pulse still pounded, and her body ached with longing from her breasts to nether regions—the same aches that had plagued her for at least a day.
Oh, if only…
No! They would not be intimate. She still had a missing sister. And, with those thoughts, Georgie pushed the blankets away and sat up in bed, no longer concerned that she might wake Damian. They needed to reach the port.
Georgie sucked in her breath at the sight of him, his auburn hair tousled from sleep, more scruff on his face, and a warm softening in his blue eyes. Goodness, some woman would be very lucky one day to wake up to such a vision each morning.
“Did you sleep well?” she asked as she crossed to the mirror and began to pull the pins from her hair since she had failed to do so the night before.
“Better than I have since…well, frankly, I cannot remember.”
Georgie reached into her valise to retrieve her brush hoping that he didn’t notice her blush. The only reason she believed that it was present was because her face burned.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yes. Quite well,” she answered as she tried to twist her hair back into a chignon except, she did not have all her pins.
“We need to leave for the port,” she reminded Damian because he was not yet out of the bed. They could not afford to dawdle, she needed to get away from the chamber, and the bed, especially while Damian was still in it.
He chuckled and sat up, then moved to a chair after he collected his boots and began to put them on.
While he was occupied, and with one hand holding the twist and knot in place she returned to the bed to search for the pins, where she found several, but they were in the middle of the bed, where she had awakened and not where she had fallen asleep.
Hopefully Damian did not notice, but if he did, she would be able to invent an excuse that he would believe.
What did men know about hairpins anyway?
“I will return momentarily.”
“Where are you going?” she demanded in alarm.
“I am going to make arrangements so that we can break our fast before we leave.”
Yes, well, she was hungry, but before saying anything else, she checked her pocket watch. It was barely eight in the morning. “Thank you but do hurry.” Only when he was gone and the door had shut did Georgie relax and sink down into the chair Damian had earlier occupied.
Goodness.
Waking this morning in the way that she had would never be forgotten and she would be forever grateful that he remained asleep and would never know that she had slept on him.