The Sheik's Son

“Good night,” he murmured and shuffled off to his bed.

Sebastian took the stairs slowly. It had been a long journey, a long day and a long week. Dorset had been in a foul mood and most of the problems were small ones that were being compounded. He was exhausted and Dorset had told him to go on ahead and that he would join the party tomorrow.

He had agreed. He turned down the hallway and into the wing. He had stayed at the Chateau several times and always enjoyed one particular room. It reminded him of a garden and Madame Necker always had it ready for him.

The door opened quietly and the light from the fireplace was only embers. He removed his clothes and wearily climbed into bed. The room was dark and he fell almost instantly asleep in the quiet blackness.

Sophie awoke once in the night. She looked to the windows and they were closed. Her eyes were heavy. She moved the bedclothes off of her legs and flipped onto her back. The country was so quiet and peaceful.

Sebastian had thrown his arm over his head and his fingers had felt something like silken thread. Too tired to care, he dismissed it as a low-hanging tapestry and went back to sleep.

As the night turned into the early morning, the sky was filled with silver and grey. He was lying on his back in sleep when he felt a distinct form press into him from the side. It was so odd. His mind was groggy and confused. Had he spent the night with Juliette?

When he heard a feminine sigh, his eyes instantly snapped open. He didn’t move a muscle. He looked around him and saw everything was as it should be. He was in the garden room. He saw his clothes on the back of the chair where he had placed them. He saw the fireplace and the colors of the room and the four-poster bed around him. Yes, it was Madame Necker’s Chateau. All was as it should be.

He was naked with the bedclothes only half covering him, but that had been his own doing. He remembered asking the elderly butler about his room and climbing the stairs. He turned his head slightly. A woman was lying in the bed with him. He racked his brain. No. No. No. Nothing had happened. What was going on here?

She was wearing a thin white shift and the cloth had wrapped around her knees so he could see her smooth white calves. She was slender and feminine and from the thin shift he could make out her thighs and rounded bottom, and instantly felt the blood rush to the one place that he didn’t need it right now.

He moved his head along and saw a slender back and then the strands of auburn hair against the whiteness of the bedclothes. His heart started beating fast. What was going on here? He tried to rack his brain. What had Dorset said before he had made the journey? Think. He had been invit

ed by Madame Necker to the house party. Several people would be there. Yes. This all made sense. No! There was only one reason Dorset would make this tiresome journey into the country.

Christ! He knew with certainty who lay in the bed next to him and it both frightened him and thrilled him. So many times he had wanted to touch her hair and feel its texture and this time he did. He moved his fingers along the edges of the strands and felt the silken texture. Then he moved a curl between his fingers and ached to smell it.

How had this happened? He could only guess that Sophie had chosen this room first and the sleepy butler had not been awake enough to realize that Sebastian was walking into a powder keg. She sighed again in her sleep and moved onto her back as he moved his hand away.

He turned onto his side, fist under his chin to support himself, and admired her sleeping profile. One creamy shoulder was exposed as her chemise had slipped in sleep. He watched her easy breathing and her small hand flung out. The small fingers and nails were so close that he could reach out and put his palm into hers. No. He knew only too well how truly dangerous this was. Not only that he was innocent, but that the house would be waking soon.

If he was caught here, there would be so many questions with very few answers and none of them would be good. No one would believe him that nothing had happened. Hell, he wouldn’t have believed it if the story had been told to him. He couldn’t risk it. More than that, he didn’t want to risk her reputation. If one person saw him, it would be over.

He racked his brain and closed his eyes. He was rock-hard, which didn’t help the situation. It was so frustrating but he would move slowly, dress, and leave. Simple. He let several seconds tick by before he made a slow movement to ease off the bed.

He heard a quick intake of breath and knew she was awake. Fuck. Too late.

“Oh my God,” she whispered.

She didn’t even believe her own eyes. She had been having a lovely dream. She, Lizette, Germaine and Madame Necker were walking along the river. It was a dreamy day with clouds but not cold, and with a sun that was not too bright. It was only when her Grandmother called her to tea by the river’s edge that she left her friends.

She had wanted to stay but didn’t want to disappoint her grandmother. She left to take tea when she had been stopped by the Comte de Buffon. She had never met him so she only knew him when he introduced himself.

“We are all animals, my dear. We have needs that must be met. Even you,” he said, then walked away.

Sophie stood looking after him for what seemed like hours before her grandmother called her again. Needs. What needs? Then she had woken up. She stretched lightly and then realized she was not alone. She turned to look and blinked once. Then she widened her eyes as sleep left her.

Sebastian saw her widened eyes and frightened look. Damn! “No, Sophie.”

He knew she was about to scream. It was a natural reaction. He couldn’t allow that. She would bring the whole house down upon them. He did the only thing he could think to do. In a swift movement he was fully on top of her, placing his hand over her mouth.

Sophie felt the crush of his weight on top of her and his hand covering her mouth. Insufferable bastard! She had been asleep, lying in a complete state of bliss, when he had come into her room to do what exactly? And now he dared quiet her?

Sophie shook her head to have him let her go, arching into him unwittingly. He refused to release her. She tried to grab at his forearms but he was much too strong for her.

“Sophie, think! Don’t scream. You’ll bring the whole house here. You’ll be ruined.” His brown eyes met her hazel ones and slowly he removed his hand.

“Did you think about that when you came here for your little seduction?” she hissed quietly. However, she knew he was right. If she screamed, everyone would come running. Her father would be ashamed, and her grandmother? She felt certain her grandmother might faint first and then beat her.

Sebastian smiled and settled onto his forearms. “This isn’t how it looks.” He had a lopsided grin on his face and Sophie had an irresistible urge to smack it off of him.