Strangers at Dawn by Elizabeth Thornton Read Free Book Online

should be demanding that he get off her and leave her room at once. But the release of all the tension she’d been bottling inside her for weeks past left a curious void in its wake. She was far more inclined to weep into his shoulder than push him away.
    “It seems we both made a mistake,” she said.
    There was a smile in his voice. “I’m not so sure that coming to your room was a mistake. Deirdre can be a virago when she’s in a temper. She wouldn’t have missed with that bottle you tried to brain me with. I think that’s when I realized you weren’t Deirdre.”
    “Is Deirdre your wife?”
    “No, thank God!”
    Once again she found herself returning his smile.
    She liked him, she really liked him. He hadn’t threatened her or lost his temper when she’d attacked him. He was a powerful male animal, but he seemed as tame as a lamb. She hoped Deirdre knew how lucky she was. Such men were few and far between.
    But they were becoming too cozy, too intimate. Or maybe it was the flickering darkness that held her in thrall.Now that she wasn’t afraid of him, she was taking his impression through her senses, and all her senses were humming. But maybe, if she could see him clearly, she wouldn’t like him at all.
    It was time to put a stop to this. She pushed against his shoulders with both hands and he complied at once. He relieved her of his weight, but he made no move to get off the bed.
    She rose on her elbows and said, as graciously as she could manage, “Let’s forget this every happened, shall we? It was an honest mistake, and no one need ever know about it.”
    “Except us.”
    “Yes.”
    She could feel it again, the weighing and assessing of every breath she took, every word she uttered, and she said quickly, “I think you’d better go.”
    There was the oddest silence, then he said softly, “I don’t want to leave, and I don’t think it’s what you want either.”
    A shiver passed over her, then another. She tried to muster a retort and failed miserably. He was right. She didn’t want him to leave. But that was insane. He was a stranger. A few minutes ago she’d been terrified of him. Then what had brought about this change in her?
    She didn’t want to lie to him, so she asked a question instead. “What makes you think I don’t want you to leave?”
    “Nothing. Everything. Put it down to intuition, but I sense …”
    “What do you sense?”
    He stroked her face with the pads of his fingers, a fleeting gesture that–she really must be insane—she wished he would prolong. “I sense,” he said gently, “that the lady is in need of a friend.”
    Unexpected tears stung her eyes. She rarely cried, and especially not in front of anyone. She was too levelheaded.The last time she’d cried was after her father’s funeral, and that was in the privacy of her own room.
    This man really did possess an uncanny insight into how her mind worked. Even those who were close to her thought she was completely self-sufficient. She tried to be. No. She had to be.
    She swallowed before she spoke, but her voice held a betraying quiver all the same. “That’s a strange thing to say when you don’t even know me.”
    He edged closer and she inhaled the heady flavor of brandy. “Do I seem like a stranger to you? Truthfully, mind.”
    “I … no.”
    “How do I seem?”
    She had to think about it before she put her thoughts into words. “You seem familiar.” In truth, he felt like a long-lost friend and that was absurd. “But that’s nonsense, of course. I’m sure we’ve never met.”
    “So am I.” Gentle hands cupped her face. “I think you’ve bewitched me. What do you think? Tell me what you feel.”
    She felt as though she’d had too much to drink. She felt as though she had lost her bearings. She felt as though there was nothing in the world but this small room and the comforting presence of the man beside her.
    It must be the darkness, the flickering lights, the rain that was now lashing