Embarrassment forced a rush of blood to her cheeks. Desire sent it flooding in another direction, too. Her whole body burned. But then she was huddled beneath a heap of blankets.
Except she wasn’t beneath the blankets.
Claudia wiggled her toes, the cool air proving her worst fear accurate.
Oh, Mother Mary!
She forced her eyelids apart, forced herself to look at the shirtless rogue propped up on one elbow.
“You’ve been watching me sleeping?” Claudia winced as she dared to examine her current state of dishabille. She was sprawled like a starfish, a starfish whose silk nightgown happened to be riding halfway up her thighs, clinging to her breasts and erect nipples.
If her cheeks were red before, they must be a dark shade of crimson now.
“I don’t know why you’re embarrassed,” Mr Lockhart said as his hungry gaze slid up and down the entire length of her body. “You look angelic while sleeping, though I doubt an angel would hike up her nightdress while moaning with pleasure.”
Mortification threatened to consume her.
“What happened to you wearing a shirt to bed?” she snapped, grabbing the end of the coverlet and pulling it up to her neck. “You made a promise. It was part of our bargain.”
“I promised to wear it to bed. I did not promise to keep it on all night.”
Claudia couldn’t help but take another furtive glance at Mr Lockhart’s muscular physique.
Lord have mercy!
Every fibre of her being itched to run her hands over the bulging contours, longed to twirl her fingers in the dusting of dark hair on his chest. Tha
nkfully, the bedsheets hugged his waist and hips and—
Hell’s bells!
Hudson Lockhart was naked beneath the sheets.
“Wh-what time is it?” Panic held her rigid.
“Nine.”
“Nine? But I never sleep late.”
“We were talking until the early hours.” He inhaled deeply, and his chest expanded to torment her all the more. “But you’re right. I’m to visit my parents at noon and haven’t time to lounge around.”
Without offering a word of warning, he threw back the bedsheets and jumped out of bed. Leaving her with a perfect view of his pert buttocks, he reached high, every muscle in his back rippling as he stretched his limbs.
Oh, this man was as cunning as the devil.
No doubt he was about to grab hold of his manhood and piddle into the chamber pot. He took pleasure in unsettling her composure. Naivety made her a prime candidate for teasing. He knew exactly what to do to draw attention to her lack of experience.
Well, not anymore.
Timidity had become rather tiresome.
Lord knows how long he had stared at her breasts while she relaxed in peaceful slumber. At some point in her life, she would see a man naked. It might as well be now. Having shared a bed with him, should she not be a little bolder? Besides, something had changed during the early hours when she’d listened to him speak of the Indian weather. A deeper connection had formed—an intimacy she had never known.
“Then surely I’m to come with you when you visit your parents.” Claudia slipped out of bed and padded over to the washstand. Heavens, it was cold. “We should ring for Lissette to bring fresh water and have a maid light the fire.”
Claudia did not have to look at Hudson Lockhart to know she had captured his attention. The heat from his gaze journeyed over her back, scorching her skin in its wake.
“Haven’t you forgotten something?” he said, his tone low and husky.