and at the same time she had struggled against prejudice, customers and suppliers who thought that because she was a woman alone they could cheat her—or seduce her. They did not succeed and over the years she had grown stronger, more confident. Independent. She would not allow anything or anyone to prejudice her position.
So what was she doing here, lying with a man she hardly knew?
Adam sighed and rolled over, slipping one hand around her hips. Immediately her body responded, relishing the contact, the way he moulded himself against her. Amber tensed, trying to ignore the siren call of her own desire.
She felt his breath on her thigh.
‘Is anything wrong?’
Something close to panic engulfed her. She must not give in. She must not allow these new and terrifying feelings to possess her, to swallow her up. This man was a danger to everything she had lived and worked for. If she allowed him to take her in his arms again she would be lost. He must be set at a distance. Like a drowning man she clutched at the only lifeline she could see.
Summoning every ounce of resolution, she gave a careless laugh.
‘Wrong? No, of course not. But I have to get on. There is a lot to do here.’
Immediately he released her and she could not ignore the little stab of disappointment that he did not argue. She said brightly, ‘I have my business to think of, and you will be returning to Lancashire very soon, will you not?’
‘Tomorrow, if matters work out well for me.’
Amber nodded. How right she was to distance herself from him! Adam threw back the covers and got up.
‘Where are you going?’
He turned back to look down at her, a rueful smile quirking his mouth and setting loose a net full of butterflies in her stomach.
‘To get dressed. I cannot lie with you naked beside me and not make love to you. I think that would be beyond any man.’
She blushed. ‘No, of course.’
She watched him walk away to gather up his clothes and pick up his saddlebag. He moved gracefully; his naked body was lean and lithe in the morning light, like any hero should be. She was grateful he had been hers, if only for one night.
‘I will take myself over there,’ he said, pointing to a clump of bushes, ‘and allow you to dress here undisturbed.’
He disappeared into the green undergrowth and Amber hunted for her own garments. The sight of them scattered around reminded her of the passion that had made it necessary to divest herself of them so haphazardly last night. Her blood heated at the very thought of what they had done, but almost immediately she shivered.
Such wanton, abandoned behaviour was quite shocking. If anyone learned of it her reputation would be lost and her business would almost certainly be ruined. She did not think Adam would speak of it to anyone. She trusted him, even more than she trusted herself. Hurriedly she picked up her chemise and scrambled into it.
Adam shook out his clothes and sighed. They were dry, but sadly crumpled and muddy from their time in the river. He had a clean shirt and neck cloth in his saddlebag, but had not thought to pack anything else.
A rueful smile touched his lips. He had not expected to rescue a damsel in distress and get a soaking for his troubles! However, the night that had followed had been more than ample reward. His mind drifted to lying beneath the stars with Amber in his arms. His lack of control troubled him. It could only be the consequence of the fight: he knew from experience how one’s senses were heightened by a battle. The exhilaration of victory made men reckless. That would account for the immediate, overwhelming attraction he had felt for her. It was completely foreign to him, but then all his other battles had taken place at sea and by the time they had reached port his euphoria had died and the harlots on the quay had held no appeal for him. He told himself it would be no different with Mrs Amber Hall, in the light of a new day. They could go their separate ways and think no more of each other. Thank goodness he had withdrawn in time, and there could be no risk of an unwanted child to complicate matters.
He shrugged on his jacket and raked his fingers through his hair one final time. No, she would be dressed by now, that luscious dark hair scraped back into some semblance of order, and they would be able to treat each other as polite, distant acquaintances.
Unfortunately fate had one more joke to play on him. When Adam stepped back into the clearing he found Amber dressed only in her chemise and stockings, a frieze blanket pulled around her shoulders. She had pinned up her hair, but she looked so fragile, so forlorn, that it was as much as he could do not to run to her and fold her again in his arms. His voice was sharper than he anticipated when he asked her what was amiss.
She jumped. The forlorn look was replaced by a bright smile as she held up a complicated tangle of pink ribbons and webbing.
‘I think I will need you to lace up my stays again.’
His lips twitched.
‘That is not something I have ever done before.’
‘Then consider it part of your education, sir!’
Amber placed the corset around her and presented her back to him. She bit her lip as she felt his hands against her spine, so close, so personal, but she must act as if this was nothing out of the ordinary, as if she was a woman of the world, used to a man’s touch.
‘There.’ He finished tying the laces and his hands moved to her shoulders, waking that traitorous demon of desire again.
With a light laugh she slipped away from him.
‘Enjoyable as it would be to dally here with you all day, Mr Stratton, I have work to do.’
She gave him an arch look and saw his frown, a quick contraction of his brow before he joined her in packing away the bolts of now dry cloth.
Amber found it easier to be working, avoiding awkward questions, but she had to force herself not to flinch when their hands met accidentally, and she was careful to restrict any conversation to their current task.
At last the final roll was packed and they set off, Adam riding beside the wagon. When they passed a field gate she lifted her whip and pointed.
‘You could reach Castonbury Park in half the time if you cut across country.’
‘Are you tired of me already, Mrs Hall?’
His quizzing tone made her heart lurch, and it was a struggle to smile and respond airily.
‘I am, of course, grateful to you, but I have my business to attend to, and I have no wish to keep you from yours.’
‘I should like to see you again, before I leave Castonbury.’
‘Oh, that is quite unnecessary, Mr Stratton.’
He shot a frowning look at her.
‘Have I offended you in some way?’
Heavens, how difficult it was to do this.
‘My dear sir, of course not. You have
