The Play's the Thing (The Cricket Club Book 2) by Margaux Thorne

Author:Margaux Thorne [Thorne, Margaux]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2024-07-30T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Anna’s snoring woke him.

Jacob blinked a few times, trying to remember where the hell he was and how the hell he got there. He stretched along the warm creature in his arms, causing Anna to stir. Her snores became softer.

He glanced at the window. It was always difficult to tell with the glass, but he suspected it was close to dawn. The faint music of birdsong could be heard just outside the cottage.

Fuck.

He hadn’t meant to fall asleep. He had planned to lie with Anna just long enough for her to do so, and then pick her up and carry her back to her bedroom in the house. When her maids found her room empty, they would surely become distressed. He didn’t need a search party combing the grounds to find them huddled together in his little enclave.

But he’d failed. Anna’s body had been too enticing, her proposition too tempting. The moment Jacob had let his head lie next to hers on the pillow, he was done for. Her scent, an intoxicating blend of roses and lavender, had lulled him to sleepy bliss. He’d had no chance.

But there was still time. He had to move quickly if he was going to salvage this disaster.

Perception was such an interesting thing. Waking up with Anna in his arms certainly didn’t feel like a disaster; however, she would probably think so. Her father most definitely would. Jacob had no great love for Sir John, but no father deserved to have his daughter taken advantage of. And although Jacob’s motives had been pure, nothing about their current predicament could be perceived that way.

Anna’s snores picked up again. Jacob smiled. He was in trouble. He must be the only man in history to think a woman’s snores were adorable. He craned around to look at her. Anna’s mouth was slack and open, a tiny trail of drool running onto her pillow. Her hair was plastered across her forehead and onto her pink cheeks. The cottage didn’t retain heat well at night, but Jacob had done his job. Anna was pleasant and snug.

He could have gazed at her all day, memorizing the angles of her face, the way her nose was thicker at the tip than at the bridge. The way she had one small brown freckle at the corner of her eye and three moles on the side of her neck lined up like Orion’s Belt. Her lashes fluttered as if she were in the middle of a dream.

Was she dreaming of him? Or Phillip?

Instantly, Jacob kicked that bastard from his mind. He couldn’t imagine sharing an early morning with Anna ever again. He wouldn’t ruin it by thinking of that son of a bitch.

“Go back to sleep,” Anna said, her voice thick and gravelly.

Jacob grimaced. Did she know he’d been watching her? Should he be embarrassed about that? Should he apologize? He’d never stared at a woman in his bed.

“It’s almost dawn,” Jacob replied, though a few more minutes couldn’t hurt. Besides, it was cold outside, and so very warm inside with her.

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