A Knight in Central Park(11)

Sir Joe mumbled again, prompting her to attempt to ease her way off the bed. But before she could get away, he opened his eyes.

She froze.

They were nose to nose. She felt strongly compelled to say something. “Good day, Sir Joe. I trust you slept well?”

She followed his sluggish sleepy-eyed gaze to where his hand lay on her chest.

As if he were afire he tossed the covers aside and jumped from the bed. He pointed a reproving finger in her direction, his face a fiery red. “What are you doing in my bed?”

Towering over her with that menacing frown, he seemed to have overlooked the fact that he wore not a stitch of clothing. Or mayhap he enjoyed flaunting himself in such a manner. He had one of the finest chests she’d ever seen on a man. And she’d indeed seen her share considering her father hired no less than a dozen men whenever the crops warranted it. But not one of those men had ever taken off his breeches and stood naked before her as Sir Joe was doing now. His rigid manliness demanded her attention. She stared with wide, unblinking eyes, unable to bring herself to look away.

With an exasperated shake of his head, Sir Joe retrieved his clothing from across the room and stepped hastily into his breeches. “Alexandra,” he said as he turned back to her, “what kind of game are you playing?”

“’Tis no game, I swear. I have been cursed all of my life with a sleep-walking ailment.”

His face was pinched tight. “You are certifiably insane.”

“But you will help me nonetheless?”

With his face an annoyed shade of red and his teeth clenched together in such a menacing way, he looked angry enough to take on Sir Richard and his men.

The thought cheered her immeasurably.

“You may get your kicks out of pretending to be a maiden in distress and crawling into bed with strange men,” he said, “but I personally don’t find it amusing.”

Alexandra sat up, bristling at his words. “You, an unseasoned knight from a pampered world, are accusing me—” She pointed to her chest, “Alexandra Dunn of being a loose woman?”

Enough was enough. Pushing herself from the bed, she hobbled his way, wagging a finger at him as she went. “Although I have had fair enough chances to do so, I have never before crawled into a man’s bed. I am a virgin and I plan to keep my maidenhood intact until I marry.”

“Oh,” he said, “I get it. You’re looking for a husband.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You knotty-pated ox. It would be a stormy day in the forest before I would marry the likes of you...or any other man.”

He winced. “Where do you come up with these things? Knotty-pated ox?” He shook his head.

They both heard the loud click of the front entry door being opened and then clicking shut.

“Quick,” Sir Joe said, gesturing wildly with his hands. “Where’s your robe?”

“Belowstairs,” she said, wondering why the sudden concern. “Is something wrong?”

Sir Joe grabbed her arm and ushered her quickly towards his chamber door. Escape was impossible, for Shelly and another woman already blocked the doorway. Shelly was dressed in a loose-fitting blouse and tight breeches, while the other woman was attired in a matching two-piece garment that revealed long legs; the woman also wore the strangest footwear Alexandra had ever seen, making her appear three inches taller.

“Joe,” the woman with Shelly choked out, “what is going on here?”

Sir Joe’s countenance paled.

Shelly turned about and quickly disappeared.

Obviously the woman with the scowl had some sort of claim on Sir Joe. Alexandra shrugged. As long as he kept his promise to help her, she cared not how many women he courted.

Sir Joe rubbed a hand over his face. “It’s not what it looks like,” he told the woman. He gestured toward Alexandra and said, “She snuck into my room last night while I slept. I had nothing to do with it.”

Alexandra raised a brow. “You dare accuse me of being a wanton woman when you were the one who pulled me snug against your body and kneaded my breast?”

His jaw hardened. Her half-naked champion appeared to be at a loss for words.

“You touched this woman’s breast?” his lady friend asked.

Sir Joe shot Alexandra a piercing glance before he turned back to the woman and said, “I don’t know. I don’t recall.”

“You don’t recall?” The woman threw her hands in the air. “I come here to apologize for last night, find you in your bedroom with another woman, and you don’t remember whether or not you touched her breasts?”