Read Online The Seduction of Sarah Marks by Kathleen Bittner Roth - Free Book Online Page B

bit of empty space. Donning a silk dressing gown, she took up the oil lamp, and shutting little Daisy in the room behind her, went in silent pursuit of sustenance. Reaching the main floor, she stood in the corridor a moment, pondering. Where to find the servant’s stairwell that led to the kitchens below? The dining room. Of course. She headed toward the rear of the house.
    A subtle change in the air, and she paused. Then she felt more than heard a door snick open behind her. Oh, dear.
    “Are you lost?”
    No mistaking that deep, husky voice sliding across her skin and leaving a tingling in its wake. And her in a nightrail! With the lamp in one hand, and clutching the buttons at the top of her robe—as if that would lend a bit of dignity—she turned.
    At the sight of him, her breath hitched. She’d not seen him since their arrival. If anything, he’d grown more gloriously handsome.
    He slipped his hands into his pockets and casually leaned a shoulder against the door’s frame. He wore a shirt with the sleeves rolled back, a pair of dark trousers, and black slippers. That curly hair of his hung softly over his forehead as though he’d swiped his hands through it so many times, he’d given up and let it fall where it may.
    Her skin prickled. “Lord Eastleigh. I am so sorry to disturb you.”
    Pushing away from the threshold, he strolled over to where she stood. “You don’t bother me in the least. I often have trouble sleeping when the moon is full. Tonight being no exception.”
    “It’s kept me awake as well.”
    He studied her through lowered lids.
    Her stomach decided to harangue her again. Had he heard? Heat crawled up her neck and spread through her cheeks.
    “Hungry?”
    Oh, yes, he’d heard. “How utterly embarrassing.”
    “Don’t be.” His eyes, dark and curious, settled on her mouth. The prickling that had been skating on the surface burrowed deep beneath her skin and raced along every nerve in her body.
    She stood there, staring into those mesmerizing eyes as if she’d lost all reason. Gathering her wits, she took a step back.
    He came forward, closing more distance between them than what she’d managed to carve out in her retreat. “Hemphill has been a bit concerned about the way you’ve been playing with your food. You ate a good meal that one night at the inn, but other than that, you’ve apparently eaten little these past three days.”
    She could smell him now, the scent of soap and musk and a hint of liquor. Her hand tightened around the top button of her dressing gown.
    His gaze dropped from her mouth to where she clutched her robe, skipped back up to her lips, and then to her eyes. The pulse low in her belly struck a new beat. What was happening to her? She cleared her throat. “Well, it seems my appetite has suddenly returned with a vengeance, and I was concerned I might not sleep at all if I didn’t do something about it. I was looking for the kitchen, but if it’s an imposition, I can forego.”
    “Come.” He set his hand to the small of her back, and taking the lamp from her, held it aloft while he guided her along the hallway. “I’ve been known to sneak in at night on occasion, myself.”
    Oh, his touch! So hot it seared through the silk of her dressing gown and chased after the tingling that refused to abate.
    She should run.
    Her stomach growled again.
    A low chuckle reverberated through his chest. “We need to take care of that hunger, or you’ll be pacing the floor until breakfast.”
    By the time they reached the kitchen, Sarah was a bundle of nerves, from the top of her head to her bare feet. Oh, no! Please don’t let him notice she’d not bothered with slippers. Or the havoc his nearness provoked. She eased away from his hand.
    He didn’t seem to notice her maneuver. He set the lamp down and pulled a chair to a large wooden table. “Sit. I know where to look.”
    A quick survey of the paraphernalia in front of her produced a few bowls nesting inside one