Until You

Chapter Three

Ethan peered down at the strange woman who lay unconscious on the seat across from his in his carriage and once again, he scolded himself for interfering. He should not have picked her off of the streets after that scoundrel robbed her and left her for dead, but unfortunately for Ethan who had witnessed the whole thing, he wasn't the type to walk away from a woman in distress – even if that woman was keeping him from finding a suitable nanny for Elizabeth.

He swore, running his trembling hands through his hair. It would seem that finding a willing nanny was his biggest concern as opposed to finding a suitable one; Elizabeth did manage to send them all running for the woods once they had had the misfortune of spending a few days with her. The best of them had only managed to endure an entire week before scurrying out the front door.

Ethan had hoped that as Elizabeth grew, her insatiable cravings for attention would die, but it only seemed to grow along with her. As it was, he had an eight-month-old who could not be soothed by all the nannies England had to offer.

Two months! Two months deprived of slumber and Ethan felt like he had completely lost the remainder of his sanity. It certainly explained his decision to deviate from his original mission of finding a nanny for Elizabeth to picking a wounded stranger off of the streets, the cost of which guaranteed him and the rest of his household yet another sleepless night.

Groaning, he leaned back against his seat and closed his eyes as the rocking movement of the carriage, coupled with the peace and quiet that came along with being far away from Elizabeth, quickly put him to sleep.

He was jolted awake by the sound of the door of the carriage opening. Straightening, he forced his numb feet down the carriage, only turning around briefly to gather the stranger into his arms.

She moaned, her head settling on his chest as her arm fell limply to the side. For a brief second, he hesitated, questioning yet again his decision to bring her home with him. For all he knew, she was a homeless woman. Perhaps she was a thief working hand-in-hand with a scoundrel to gain the pity of an unsuspecting stranger and rob them blind once she had gained access into their home?

He stared down at her once more, pushing the fiery mass of hair that shrouded her face aside in order to take a proper look at her – she was bruised, even more so than he had noticed on the sidewalk. The scratch on her forehead appeared worse than he had first imagined and the cut on the side of her lips wasn't something he had noticed when he took a look at her the first time. Blood stained her white blouse, ruining it.

Her injuries seemed too real to Ethan to have been staged. If indeed they were real and she was no thief, then he suspected she was a traveler; it would explain her decision to leave her bag unattended in a crowded street.

Turning to face the house, he made his way inside and carried her up the stairs to a guest room. He placed her on the bed and rang the bell twice, summoning a maid.

Leaning down slightly, his gaze scanned the blood that stained her blouse. Pushing it down until it exposed her bare neck, he was thankful to find that her injuries did not extend to her body... At least it didn't extend to the part of her body that decency did not allow him access to.

Even as the thought drifted through his mind, his gaze moved down her blouse to her chest, her breasts pushing slightly against the white fabric. He hadn't been this close to a woman in several months, he thought, his gaze lingering on her. He didn't think it was appropriate, but for a second, he ignored propriety, giving in to the warmth that crawled through his skin at the sight of her.