The Secret Christmas Ciphers by Carolynn Carey Read Free Book Online Page B

look into her eyes. “You’re probably tired anyway,” she murmured. But then she turned back toward him and it so happened that her gaze was at the exact level of his groin. When her eyes widened, he knew she’d seen his erection pressing against his trousers.
    “I think—I hope—that we both want the same thing, my dear,” he said, praying he wasn’t misinterpreting what she’d said.
    She scooted over in the bed. “Will you join me?”
    He breathed a silent sigh of relief. “Shall I remove my clothes?”
    She nodded her head and gave him a wobbly smile. He smiled back. This was foolishness. He’d vowed to keep Abigail at arm’s length until this damned war was over. But a man could only resist so much temptation, and he’d been resisting Abigail’s charms for more years than he could count.
    He shrugged out of his coat, then flung it into a chair sitting beside the table. He’d started to tug his shirt out of his trousers when a tap came on the door.
    “What in Hades?” he muttered. He glanced toward Abigail and saw her pulling the covers up around her shoulders. Her eyes were wide.
    The tap sounded again, then the door was pushed open. His father stood in the doorway, grasping a bundle of papers in his right hand. His expression managed to convey both an apology and a degree of urgency. “More have arrived. I’ll await you in the library.” He pulled the door closed behind him.
    Silently cursing his luck, Derek turned back to face Abigail, who still sat straight up in bed with the coverlet pulled around her shoulders.
    “I’m sorry, my dear,” he said. “I’d ask you to wait up for me but I’m not sure how long this will take. Why don’t you go back to sleep?”
    She didn’t speak, just nodded, but a slight frown had formed on her brow, as though she was trying to puzzle something out. He hoped she understood that this interruption was not to his liking.
    He began stuffing his shirt back into his trousers. “I may be tied up the rest of the night, and I’ll probably have to leave in the morning. I’m not sure when I’ll return.”
    “I understand,” she said. “Do what you have to do. But you will say goodbye before you leave, I hope.”
    “I…” She’d surprised him. Wanting sex was one thing. Wanting to be apprised of his comings and goings was quite another, and he didn’t want to promise something he couldn’t deliver.
    “Never mind,” she said, correctly interpreting the reason for his hesitation. At least he hoped she understood.
    “I’ll see you when I can,” he murmured. He could promise that much at least. “Farewell.”
    If she spoke again, he didn’t hear her. He had already stepped out in the corridor and headed downstairs. Sex, sleep, and Abigail would have to wait.
     
    * * *
     
    As soon as the door shut behind Derek, Abigail lay back on the pillow and closed her eyes. A few seconds later, she opened them again. Her nap in the chair had apparently fulfilled her need for sleep, that along with the frustration of having practically succeeded in seducing Derek, only to have him called away by duty again.
    What was going on? What could his father have meant about more arriving? And why would they be meeting in the library?
    Abigail sat up in bed. The fire was low and the room was growing chillier by the minute. If she was wise, she’d lie back down and scrunch up under the covers, but her mind wouldn’t slow down enough to let her sleep. Something—some bit of information that she suspected was important—kept tickling the edges of her thoughts, trying to gain her attention.
    She threw the covers back, thrust her feet into her slippers, and hurried over to the hearth. After tossing a small limb on the fire, she stood back and watched while flames licked around its sides until the bark ignited and the fire mushroomed.
    Sighing, she dropped back into the chair where she’d waited for Derek earlier that evening. She didn’t intend to go to sleep this