Heading down the hall, Rex made his way into the kitchen where he found the servant’s door. The weather was slowly warming but the night was still cool as he stepped into the alley. Moving around the house, he found a gate to the garden. Stepping inside, the garden was still bare and surrounded by other townhomes, but a bench sat in the center with a small view of the sky.

Sitting on the bench, he gazed upward and glanced at a window where a candle flickered upon a table. A silhouette of a woman moving about the room. Either Mrs. Fields was feigning illness or Petal was still awake.

He stood and moved closer. It was Petal. As if she knew he was there, she moved to the window and rested her elbows upon the sill. Then one of her hands lifted to cradle her cheek as she stared out into the night.

What was she dreaming of? A knight in shining armor who came and rescued her? A low rumble emitted from his chest. Would she throw herself in his arms? Beg him to take her?

Everything in his body tightened, particularly his nether regions. Drawing in a deep breath, he tried to refocus his thoughts. He didn’t want to stand down here and wonder what she might be thinking. He wished to ask her.

Without giving a second thought, for if he did, he might very well change his mind, he began climbing up the side of the house. A trellis helped him make it to the second floor, but from there it got trickier. He used a windowsill and then a loose brick to make it halfway up but then he couldn’t find another foothold. Nor, did it seem, could he lower himself back the way he’d come. He tried several times but couldn’t find the foothold.

To make matters worse, the light glow from her window suddenly extinguished. She’d blown out her candle and was going to bed.

“Petal,” he whispered but got no response. “Petal,” he called louder. Still nothing. Finally, he gave a near shout. “Petal!”

He’d nearly given up hope when he heard a window open above him. “Rex?” she called back.

Looking up, he could see her scanning the garden below. “Below your window.”

Her eyes darted down to his and then widened. “Merciful saints, what are you doing?”

He’d have shrugged if he wasn’t clinging to a wall between the second and third floor. Instead, thinking quickly, he made something up. “I thought I smelled smoke. I was worried there was a fire in your room.”

“So you scaled the wall of the garden?” she cried. “Please get down from there. You are rather frightening me.”

“I find I am frightening myself.” His fingers were beginning to ache. “If I should fall, there is a satchel of money in my coat pocket across my bed. Use it to reach your sister.”

“Fall?” she cried and then disappeared from view.

“Petal,” he yelled now. For the first time since he’d found himself stuck, fear trickled down his spine. He’d been in higher places before. But usually there was a method of descending. Perhaps it had been a mistake to tell her about the money. “Please tell me you’re not leaving me here.”

“Don’t be absurd,” she yelled back and then stuck her head back out the window. “Though, you are helping me to do laundry tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry?” he asked.

In response a rope of blankets came sailing out the window. “I’ve tied it to my bedpost. I think the knots will hold.”

“Think?” He swallowed a lump in his throat. Very slowly he let go of the crack in the brick that his fingers clutched and used one hand to test the knots. They didn’t slip at all as he tugged but he wouldn’t know until he actually attempted the climb.

“I’m not a sailor. My skills in knot-tying are limited,” she called. “Give a good tug down and I’ll pull up. We’ll see if it holds.”

He did as she commanded and, to his surprise, they didn’t budge. “Here goes.” He brought the sheet toward his body and let go with the other hand to grasp the fabric.

She pulled as he climbed, though he wasn’t sure how much it helped. He absolutely would not point that out, however. Her quick thinking may very well have saved him tonight. A wave of appreciation washed over him. How many women would have been so resourceful?

She was…special. As his hand clasped the sill of her window, she grasped his wrist with both her hands, pulling until he’d leveraged himself up and through the opening.

He wished his landing had been more graceful but between her tugging and his lunging to avoid death, he fell forward, knocking into her and sending them both crashing to the ground.

Wrapping his arms about her, he managed to twist in midair so that it was his shoulder that hit the floor and not her back. As he grunted in pain, her soft curves crashed into his body, sending both pain and desire sizzling through him.

Grasping her tighter he rolled onto his back and then kept going until she was underneath him. “Petal, are you all right?” He knew she was. He’d protected her. But she felt like no woman he’d ever known underneath him and his current goal was to stay in this position as long as possible. His shoulder ached but he couldn’t care less.

“I’m fine. You?”

She tilted her chin to look up at him and he nearly lost his breath. The air bottled in his chest. Nearly falling to his death hadn’t made it catch like that.

“I’m quite well, thanks to you. How did you think of that so quickly?”

She pressed her lips together but it didn’t quite hide a smile. “You’re not the first person to become stuck on that wall.”

Who else had tried to climb into her window? Had it been a man? A rumble erupted from his throat. He’d kill him if he found out who it was. “Who?” he asked, his voice rough with jealousy.

Her lips spread into a grin. “Jacob. But he was only ten, which is a bit more understandable than a grown man attempting to scale my garden trellis.”

His eyebrows lifted and for a moment he just stared down at her. She was absolutely stunning. Her large eyes sparkled with laughter as her full lips parted in a grin. Though on the floor, he felt a great deal lighter than he had in a very long time. “Petal, you are the sort of woman who would drive scores of men to attempt to scale your garden wall. I am trying to remember when I’ve met a more lovely creature.” Then he dropped lower, his mouth hovering just above hers.

She drew in a shaky breath. “Please let me up, my lord.”

“What?” Rex attempted to process her words. Drawing away, he could see her smile was gone. In its place, her mouth had tightened.

Petal turned her face away. “This is not at all proper. You must get up.”

“As you wish,” he rumbled, but pain—and regret—made his movements slow. As soon as he’d lifted off of her, she scurried away from him and stumbled to her feet, crossing the room to stand on the other side of the bed. A vein pulsed in her neck as she drew in a shaky breath. She wasn’t completely immune, which was comforting to know.

Once there, her eyes assessed him with unwavering attention as one might look at a snake about to strike. “You must leave, my lord.”

He gave a single jerk of his chin. “Can I help you remake the bed at least?”

“That won’t be necessary. Please go.” Then she pointed to the door.

Rex gave her a long look, his chin dropping so that his eyes were intent upon her. She nearly squirmed under the gaze. Instead, she straightened her shoulders and added, “Please.”

His mouth pinched as he began walking toward her, or the door, she couldn’t be certain. Drat. Why had she placed herself between him and the only exit that didn’t involve a three-story drop?

He stopped a few feet in front of her. “But don’t you wish to know why I was two-and-a-half stories up the wall outside your window? Aren’t you even a tiny bit curious?”

A little huff of breath escaped her lips. She was curious and he knew it. He was certainly using that against her now. “That has nothing to do with you leaving.”

One corner of his mouth quirked up. “I disagree. Now is the time for us to have a private conversation.” Then he stepped closer. Gently, he reached his hand toward her and brushed back a stray lock of hair from her face. “I have a fair number of more private questions I’d like to ask.”

She grabbed his hand and pushed it away. “There will be no private conversations. Go.”

“You were more than happy to rest in my arms this afternoon, my little flower.” He quirked a brow as moved another half step closer.

Daffodil refused to step back. His proximity was creating a riot in her body, it ached and fluttered, her breath coming in quick gasps. To move away would be a relief. But she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d caused such a reaction. “I was half dead with smoke inhalation.”

He let out a low chuckle that danced along her nerves sending shivers of pleasure down her spine. “I’ve told you, Petal, I’ll behave. I’ve made a promise to Theo and he is the one person in this country I’d not disappoint.”

“All the same, you should go.” Daffodil pointed to the door. “Sleep well, my lord.”

“Rex,” he repeated as he turned on heel and marched toward the door.

It clicked closed behind him; Daffodil’s shoulders sagged. She was relieved, of course. But as her fingers trailed down the piece of hair that he touched, she wondered if those shoulders had betrayed her and slumped in disappointment.